GRASS BIRD. 
dwelling near rivers and swamps must be familiar with the weird call of the 
Grass-Bird and yet have never seen the little recluse, so closely does he conceal 
himself amid the dense vegetation in which he makes a home.” 
Mr. Tom Carter has written : “ Dark Grass Birds ( Megalurus gramineus) 
were fairly common along the margins of freshwater lakes and swamps near 
Lake Muir, and also round Albany. They creep about in a very mouselike 
way in the tangled undergrowth on the edges of the water, and also in the 
rushes over the water. They have a faint, but high-pitched musical note 
like ‘ Pe-pe-pee,’ which I found rather difficult to locate. It is much like the 
note of Certhionyx variegatus (Pied Honey-eater), but not so loud. Unlike 
the Reed- Warblers, these birds are tame in their habits, and can easily be 
called up close to one. They appear to breed late in the season, December 
and the early months of the year. Some birds were shot by me in December 
1911 that were evidently breeding, and recently fledged young were shot on 
April 24 of the same year, at which time the adult birds were moulting.” 
Milligan described a West Australian form, writing : “Was shot by 
me at Lake Yanchep, 35 miles north of Perth, during the last Christmas holi- 
days. Whilst writing these notes I have before me skins of the Lake Yanchep 
bird, and of f M. gramineus from Victoria and from Mandurah estuary, which 
is situate some 40 miles south from Perth. Little difference exists between 
the Victorian and Mandurah skins. On the other hand, the difference 
between those skins and the Lake Yanchep skins is most marked. The latter 
is very much smaller, and in addition lacks the oily fulvous colour of the upper- 
surface, sides, flanks, and tail-coverts of the former, and in lieu of it has a 
dullish lustreless smoky-brown. Another point of difference is that the Lake 
Yanchep bird is striated from chin to abdomen. . . . The estuary where 
the Mandurah bird was obtained is salt, and possesses extensive mudflats 
covered with samphire. The water of Lake Yanchep is fresh, and heavily 
charged with carbonate of lime, the formation surrounding the lake being 
limestone. Is it not possible that the presence of the rich fulvous colour of 
the estuary bird is due to the mudflats, and the absence of it in the Yanchep 
bird to the harsh and harder limestone water ? The notes of the new bird 
are two melancholy ones, resembling in sound the syllables 4 tee-tee.’ In 
the protected area of the Swan River, at Perth, the local bird has three notes, 
‘ titty-tee-tee. ’ The birds were numerous, but difficult to flush, owing to 
their secretive habits.” 
Whitlock gave a long account under Milligan’s name from which I extract 
the following ; it should be noted, however, that Milligan distinctly stated 
that the Lake Yanchep bird which he described was different from the one 
which Whitlock refers to : tc The usual call is ‘ Tee, tee, tee, tee,’ uttered in 
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