GROUND WREN. 
and then it is that one obtains the best view of the colour. In most patches 
of scrub there are clear spaces, sometimes 15 feet across, and when a Ground 
Wren wishes to cross this it does so at a most astonishing rate, almost as though 
it were afraid of being seen in the open. I have never yet seen one of these 
birds in open country. Whether the Ground Wren hops or runs I will not 
definitely say, because I have not satisfied myself on that point ; but I believe 
that it hops. When it does rise from the ground it is only high enough to 
clear any bushes in the line of flight, and then the bird suddenly dives to earth 
again. In addition to the note uttered while flitting among the scrub, these 
birds have a beautiful song, or rather, I presume, the male has. The song 
is very soft, but very sweet, with a considerable range of notes. One must 
be within a few feet of the singer to hear it, and although it is difficult to get 
so close at the proper time, the trouble is w'ell repaid. Recently I managed 
to get within three feet of a Ground Wren by crawling to a clump of suckers. 
The bird stood pecking at the ground. It was early morning, and the bird, 
after preening its feathers, burst into a song. Suddenly it flitted back to the 
scrub, and at that moment down came a Honey-eater (P. ornata ) again. The 
Ground Wren brought its wings forward, spread its tail, and ruffled its feathers, 
until it looked like a ball, giving me a fine view of the red tail. The next 
instant the bird dived over a piece of scrub, and was lost to view.” 
Gilbert (a new worker with a famous name) has given a nice account of 
the typical form under the name Hylacola pyrrhopygia : “ Broadly speaking, 
the distribution of the Chestnut-rumped Ground- Wren extends from the 
coastal regions of New South Wales into Victoria. It is, however, most 
numerous along the sandstone ridges of the County of Cumberland, N.S.W., 
where it is resident, and which constitutes its breeding haunts. I have seen 
odd pairs at Ourimbah, 56 miles, and at Dora Creek, 80 miles north of 
Sydney, and also on ridges of the Barrengay Mountains, near Moss V ale, about 
100 miles south. Around Sydney this species shows a decided preference 
for the sandstone areas clothed with the numerous representatives of the 
orders of plants Proteacece, Butacece, and Epacridacece, including the stunted 
apple tree ( Angophora cordifolia). Very few species of other birds are to be 
found in the localities frequented by Hylacola pyrrhopygia. Of the two sexes 
the male is the bolder, and when one has mastered his call notes he can be 
lured out into the open with ease. In the spring time, when breeding is in 
full swing, I have induced him to come within a yard or two, and once when 
I had captured a young bird which had just left the nest I imitated his call 
and simultaneously made the young one squeak, which tactics succeeded in 
bringing him within hand’s reach. He was indeed a beautiful specimen, and 
all the while I held the youngster he ran around me whistling at his best. 
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