THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
it passes with great ease ; it appeared rarely to take wing, but to depend for 
security upon its dexterity in hopping away to the more scrubby parts. I have 
occasionally observed it mount to the most elevated part of a low bush, and 
there pour forth a sharp monotonous whistling note, not very unlike some of the 
Pachycephalince ; indeed, it was its note that first attracted my attention to it. 
When on the ground, and occasionally when perched on a twig, it elevates its 
tail considerably, but not to the extent of the Maluri. The sexes are alike in 
colouring, but the female is much smaller than her mate ; the young resemble 
the immature Petroicce in the character of their plumage.” 
Captain S. A. White’s account is as follows : “ This bird has a fairly 
wide range and frequents the low broom scrub as a rule, although it is 
often found in the mallee. It is found almost at the most northerly end 
of the Flinders Range right down to the coast, being very numerous in the 
broom scrub on Eyre’s Peninsula. It is a shy bird and keeps well to cover 
and spends most of its time upon the ground. Although its note is soft 
and musical it is far reaching ; the nest is generally built in a dead bough 
on the ground or close to a stump, and being composed of dry bark they 
are difficult to pick out. Nesting-season, September to November.” 
Mr. Tom Carter has written me the following note : “ The Scrub Robin 
occurs in the vast areas of Marlock (Ma-a-lock) scrub extending to the east of 
Broome Hill, and southern part of the Great Southern Railway. It cannot be 
called common, but its quiet habits of feeding about on the ground and occasion- 
ally in low scrubs, cause its presence to be easily overlooked. The nest is built 
on the ground, and not always in scrub, as a nest was found, July 14th, 1910, 
in a fairly open piece of ground in a growth of silver grass ; one egg was in the 
nest and a single egg appears to be a ‘ clutch.’ On November 6th, 1910, two 
nests were found, each containing an almost full-grown nestling. The female 
birds showed the greatest anxiety for the young, and came so close that one 
of them was killed by my companion (a ‘ bush boy ’) striking it with a stick 
he held in his hand. These birds are very active in their movements on the 
ground (as might be inferred from their long legs). They are inquisitive in 
their manner, and will come close up to anyone keeping still in the dense 
Marlock scrub.” 
Mr. Edwin Ashby’s notes read : “ I have never seen this bird outside of 
the Mallee country. It is now getting rare in the mallee to the west side of 
the River Murray, but at Karunda, between the Murray and the Victoria border, 
it is very common. Soon after sunrise the cock birds can be heard calling and 
answering one another in the thick scrub, especially where there are large patches 
of round ti-tree bushes (Melaleuca ericifolia ) : these bushes grow mostly in the 
small flats between the sandy rises. On September 10th, 1919, I visited an 
208 
