CHESTNUT-BACKED GROUND-BIRD. 
heard them make was a faint 4 tsee-tsee,’ and this only appeared to be a call- 
note to the young after we had separated them — a habit common with Turnix 
varia in similar circumstances. The plumage of the young did not, as might 
have been thought, resemble the adult female. Instead of the light slate- 
grey breast of the latter, they were blotched diffusely with dark brown and 
greyish- white. The back, however, showed the cinnamon colour very distinctly. 
Probably they assume another phase of plumage more nearly approaching that 
of the female before they reach maturity. The species seems not only local 
in habit, but very sparsely distributed. Excepting those mentioned we only 
saw another pair, and then not in the mountains but in some casuarine scrub 
on the brackish salt bush plains.” 
McLennan’s notes read : 44 1 have been watching the antics or habits of the 
Chestnut-backed Thrush a lot of late, and have seen a good many of the birds 
in my rambles. These birds do not associate with any other of the feathered 
tribe. They live for the most part in couples, which presumably pair for life, 
subsisting upon the insects and other food to be found in the vicinity of their 
favourite haunts — the low shrubs and undergrowths in the arid regions of the 
Mallee. Being of a rather shy nature, they do not wander far from the same 
neighbourhood. The characteristic feature of these birds is the peculiar graceful 
motion they have of moving their heads and necks backwards and forwards 
when standing on the watch. The nest is always built on the ground, near 
the butt of a mallee bush or under some low shrub. The clutch is from one to 
three. When flushed, the bird flies but a short distance, and again settles. 
It resembles in some of its habits the Scrub Robin.” 
Whitlock recorded : 44 Ginclosoma castanonotum does not extend its range 
much farther south in this State (West Australia) than the Stirlings, where 
it is by no means common. At one of my camping places, in a large tract 
of white gum timber, I found one or two pairs, and had the good fortuity to 
walk right up to a sitting bird, which flew off her eggs close to my feet. The 
nest was a deep excavation in a very sparse tuft of fine grass, which in no 
way hid it from view. The interior was neatly lined with fine, flat grasses. 
The nest contained two fresh eggs. The female was very wary. I wished 
to photograph her near the nest, but she exhausted my patience, and would 
not come nearer than within twenty or thirty yards, where she remained 
sheltered by some low bush. This nest was in the open, and away from any 
tree trunk or other natural shelter.” 
Captain S. A. White has recorded : 44 Met with these birds at the 
western end of (the Gawler) Ranges and on Donald’s Plain. In the mallee 
a nest was discovered, situated in a depression in the ground close 
against a fallen mallee. The nest was constructed of strips of bark and 
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