THE BIRDS OP AUSTRALIA. 
me some time ago. Miss Fletcher wrote : “ These birds are fairly common 
in this district. As a general rule each pair has its own haunt about which 
it keeps throughout the year. I have seen as many as five together in the 
autumn. Probably these were the young of last season not yet driven off 
by the parents. The rustling noise they make among the reeds often 
betrays them long before their presence would otherwise be known, or their 
‘ Tit-like ’ call recognised. When feeding quietly together their twittering 
resembles that of the Acanthizae. Their warning call also is very like that 
of the Tasmanian Tit, but the song of the male sounds like a feeble edition 
of that of the Maluri. As far as my observations have gone, I find that the 
Emu-Wrens are slow builders and also that the female does all the work. 
The male follows her as she collects and files to the nest with material, but 
does not assist his mate otherwise than by cheering her with a song. When 
flying with a piece of grass, she rolls it first into a neat bundle, and does not 
fly with a long piece hanging, after the manner of some birds. On reaching 
the swamp she drops into the centre of a tussock, slips out the other side, 
and continues so from clump to clump until the nesting site is reached. So 
far in this district these sword-grass tussocks appear to be the favourite 
places for their nests ... I found a nest with young ones ; even when 
I touched the tussock the nest was placed in, and the young wrens cried 
out, it was a few seconds before I found it. It was situated in a small sword- 
grass clump on the outside of the larger rushes and just on the edge of a 
sheep track through the bog. When building, the bird must have alighted 
on a Pampas clump and run along the ground to its nest. As far as I could 
judge the chicks were about four or five days old. Their eyes were closed 
and the feathers were showing on the wings and displacing the long black 
down. Every time the reeds rustled the little things opened their mouths . . 
The parents came around and watched with anxiety, and after a time 
gained confidence and fed the youngsters while we watched. Next day 
the chicks had their eyes open which were black ; the tail was developing ; 
they were feathering freely and the feathers were showing a yellowish tinge, 
those on the throat being bluish. . . Occasionally a bird will mount in 
a hopping manner to the top of a grass stem and peer round and then drop 
below the reeds again. Short flights are sometimes taken after an insect 
hovering over a few inches of water. . . I have also seen them picking up 
grass seeds. I have sometimes pursued them from clump to clump till finally, 
when the cover was exhausted, they have suddenly turned and flit past me 
in a nervous jerky manner and dropped into shelter again.” 
After this, Miss Fletcher made exhaustive studies of this bird, her 
results appearing in the Emu from time to time and reference can be made 
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