CATERPILLAR-CATCHER. 
Mr. J. W. Mellor writes : “I saw this bird in New South Wales, at the 
Tuggerah Lakes between Newcastle and Sydney, where on Dec. 10, 1904, I 
found a nest with the usual single egg. I also saw these birds on North-West 
and Tryon Islands in the Capricorn Group, off the Queensland coast.” 
Campbell has some good notes on the nest-finding of this species, and 
wrote : “ We observed that the male bird possessed a song or call-note 
resembling the pulsating sound of a large cicada singing. The alarm-notes 
of both male and female are a Parrot-like ‘ tweet-tweet-tweet, 5 or * wheet- 
wheet-wheet,’ ” and gave records of a series of egg -robbing experiments by 
Shepherd, with the conclusion “ that the time taken to build and lay another 
egg averaged between ten and eleven days (actual intervals, twelve, ten, nine, 
twelve, eleven days respectively). Both birds aided in the construction of 
their nest.” 
Broadbent observed that it was “ common about Cardwell.” 
Macgillivray stated only: “Frequents the open forest country at Cape 
York, where it is fairly common.” 
McLennan’ s notes, as given by H. L. White, read : “ King River, 
16/11/15: A single bird seen. 28/11/15: Number of birds calling in man- 
groves. Continued fairly plentiful in mangroves, scrub and forest, till I left 
the district. Stomach contained pale green caterpillars.” 
Campbell and Barnard’s notes from North Queensland read : “ As in 
the case of the Barred Cuckoo-Shrike, this bird was slightly smaller and of 
cleaner appearance than specimens obtained in southern localities. Can 
this migratory species be scientifically subdivided ? If so, what are the 
respective bounds of the so-called subspecies of Mathews ? If jardinii (or 
tenuirostris ) of South Queensland migrates to New South Wales or to Victoria 
to breed, where does obscurus of North Queensland migrate to to nest. It 
does not remain in Central Queensland during the winter, but arrives, \ from 
the north in October.” 
The confusion in Campbell’s mind is seen in the next quotation dealing 
with birds from the Torres Straits Islands : “ Smaller size generally (wing 
120 mm.), and shows less striations on the under-surface than does a female 
from Richmond River, New South Wales (wing 130 mm.). A male from 
Port Moresby, New Guinea, is similar to a male obtained by Mr. H. G. 
Barnard and myself at Cardwell. There are in the National Museum 
collection a female and a male, showing a transition stage of plumage, from 
the Solomon Islands. The species is a migrant to New South Wales and 
Victoria, and eggs have been taken as far south as Western Port. Mr. 
McLennan first heard this Caterpillar-eater calling near some mangroves, 
18/12/19, and procured the female above mentioned 12/1/20.” 
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