THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
of Kangaroo Island, and round the lagoons where the tea tree abounds, small 
parties of five or six being often seen hopping over the damp mud on the edges 
of the lagoons.” 
Mr. E. J. Christian has written me : “ It is frequently seen in the south 
(of Victoria) with four or five hens or young males. The greatest number I 
have ever seen was seven in the flock. They are hardly ever still, and can 
generally be seen in any southern hedge. If they can’t be seen, the plaintive 
notes of the hen can be heard. How and then the cock breaks out into a lovely 
whistle. In winter the cock seems to be like the hen, except the tail which 
remains bluish, generally pale and dull. In 1905 I noticed the first male in 
full plumage on August 2nd. In 1906, June 21st, I noticed first male with blue 
tails, getting bright blue. July 6th : Some males with brighter tails, no other 
parts blue. Sept. 6th : Males in full summer plumage. These notes were 
taken near Booroondara, 9 miles S.E. of Melbourne. In the Botanical Gardens, 
Melbourne, on Sept. 10th, several birds had blue heads only, brown bodies 
with blackish streak appearing. On the 12th, blue head and tail ; 17tli, blue 
head, tail and part of mantle ; 24th, half summer plumage and by the end 
of the month in full summer plumage. These birds seem to keep to their own 
particular part of the garden. On Sept. 29tli I was again in Booroondara, and 
the Wrens there were in various stages of summer plumage, not so forward as 
in Melbourne, some only with the tail blue. That day I noticed a hen with 
a white throat. The birds seem to leave Melbourne during the summer, and 
while they are nesting, returning in numbers in late autumn. In 1906 they 
began to come back in numbers on April 19th. This bird can often be heard 
singing at night-time, and on April 29th, I heard one singing at midnight on 
a moonless night. They are very valuable birds, devouring insects which 
live on fruit trees. Their favourite insect seems to be a small white moth 
which lives on the lawn, they run along and frighten it, and with lightning 
rapidity seize it. The male will often fly along parallel with the ground, with 
tail straight out behind him, and thus frighten the moths. While nesting 
is going on, generally about September, the male becomes very pugnacious 
and will fly at anything, even his own reflection in a window.” 
Mr. Tom Tregellas, after whose wife the Victorian bird w r as called, has 
sent me the following account : “ Throughout the year these Wrens are found 
in secluded spots in the bush, but on the approach of the nesting season many 
couples leave their haunts and sojourn for a while in the vicinity of houses and 
gardens, where they build their nests and rear two broods of young. In many 
of our suburban gardens they may be found nesting, usually in the ivy or creeper 
round the dwelling, and they lose all fear when in contact with civilisation. 
In the bush the nest is found in all positions from resting on the bare ground 
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