YELLOW-BREASTED SHRIKE ROBIN. 
that when Latham met with drawings of this species in the Lambert series 
he gave it three new names, placing the paintings in two different genera but 
selecting the same two specific names as had previously been used by White 
and himself. 
Probably on account of its commonness, little was recorded by the early 
workers, Caley’s notes reading : “ This bird is called Yellow Robin by the 
colonists. It is an inhabitant of brushes.” 
Gould’s notes are also short : “ This is a very common species in all the 
brushes of New South Wales ; I also observed it in most of the gardens in the 
neighbourhood of Sydney, as well as in those of the settlers in the interior. 
It is very Robin-like in its actions, particularly in the habit of throwing up 
its tail, and in the sprightly air with which it moves about. It is by no means 
shy, and may often be seen crossing the garden walks, perching on some stump 
or railing, regardless of one’s presence, at which time the fine yellow mark 
on its rump is very conspicuous. Its powers of flight are but feeble, and are 
seldom employed except to enable it to flit from bush to bush or from tree to 
tree. Its food consists entirely of insects, which are more frequently taken 
on the ground than on the trees.” 
Mr. E. E. Howe has written me : “ This bird, half Shrike and half Fly- 
catcher, is one of the commonest forms through this district (Victoria). It is 
exceedingly plentiful along the creeks, but is also common in the timber and 
scrubs. It is most confiding and inquisitive, and often, as I have been watching 
Pycnojptilus, a Robin would suddenly dart past and, perching sideways on 
the butt of a tree, would remain motionless for half a minute, and, in this posi- 
tion, be hard to detect. They start to nest in September and rear two broods, 
the second about December. Three is the usual clutch, but I took six from 
a nest on the 23rd September, 1906, and five from another on the 7th October 
in the same year. Incubation takes about fourteen days, and I have noticed 
one bird leave the nest and its place taken by the mate. The young when 
born are blind, and the naked skin is of a curious polished black, the gape is 
yellow, and the mouth is of bright orange. The eyes open in about eight days, 
and at this stage the mouth is of a yellowish-pink and the plumage is well 
fledged. They are about three weeks old when they leave the nest, and the 
plumage then is of dark brown, mottled with lighter rufous. At a later stage 
the yellow of the breast is assumed, but it is still mottled with rufous, and 
I should say the adult plumage is not assumed until about eight months old 
or after the second moult.” 
Mr. H. Stuart Dove wrote : “In a small gully not far from the Tyldesley 
River, East Gippsland, Victoria, I found a nest of the Yellow Robin in a tall 
slender swamp tea-tree built against the main stem just where a small branch 
vol. vin. 
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