THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
principal character by which it may be distinguished. Like the other species 
of the group, it appears to enjoy an extensive range over the grassy districts 
of the country, the specimens in my possession having been killed on the 
Liverpool Plains and at Port Phillip.” A species, G. campestris, later 
renamed C. magna, by Gould, has proved to be not an Australian bird. 
Mr. Tom Tregellas has written me : “ The Grass-Warbler is one of the 
most elusive of our scrub-loving birds, and having much the same habits and 
living in the same locality as the Emu-Wren and Striated Field-Wren, is found 
in close conjunction with them. Shy and retiring, small and sombre-coloured 
it is extremely hard to observe, hiding in the smallest corners available. The 
bird has a peculiar low plaintive call and in the fastnesses of the dense thickets 
this has a weird effect. It is a delightful little bird to study, and when nesting 
is usually in company with the Reed-Warbler in the swamps, making its nest 
in company with them in clumps of lignum, reeds or swamp grass.” 
Mr. F. E. Howe’s account states : “ This little visitor appears to arrive 
in the district late in the season, and about November and December its 
peculiar double note, preceded by a hissing sound, is heard in the crops. 
After the crops are cut they nest in the long grass, and on the 28th Dec., 1907, 
we flushed a bird that had just started to build. There were only a few webs 
holding some grass leaves, and on 12th January, 1908, four pretty eggs were 
in the finished nest.” 
Mr. Edwin Ashby writes : “I have seen these in clumps of bulrushes 
near Mannum, South Australia, and have seen a nest that was built near the 
river in standing corn. Except along the banks of the Murray and on Lake 
Alexandrina near its mouth, I have neither seen nor heard of this bird in this 
State.” 
Captain S. A. White’s notes read : “ This wonderful little bird was very 
plentiful at the Reedbeds when much of the country was under swamp, but 
now that the country has been partly reclaimed these birds are seldom seen 
or heard. They are to be found in numbers still along the reclaimed swamps 
of the River Murray. They utter a sweet little note like ‘ tweet-tweet ’ and 
at times 4 ting-ting ’ ; their nests are very difficult to locate and are made of 
grass stems beautifully interwoven in a dome-shape with the entrance on 
one side and very often completely enveloped in two broad dock leaves which 
are neatly sewn at the edges, a most remarkable piece of work.” 
Berney has written from the Richmond district, North Queensland : 
“ The Grass- Warbler is a constant resident with us, but is much more often 
heard than seen ; it keeps to the bulrush beds, where one may sight its small 
form as it clings to the top of a rush for a moment, and then drops out of sight. 
This bird has a single sweet liquid note, with which is interspersed a sharp 
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