MASKED WOOD-SWALLOW. 
When their wings caught the sun they shone like silver and satin, and a 
more elegant bird could not be imagined. The white on their tails was at 
times very conspicuous, as well as their black throats. They utter a constant 
twitter, reminding one somewhat of the cry of a startled grass-parrot. We 
found sixteen of their nests, as a- rule very poor structures, placed seven to 
ten feet from the ground in Melaleucas. Where two thickish branches forked, 
a few twigs were arranged in a cup-shaped fashion which sat, as it were, in 
the fork. In many cases, the contents could easily be seen from below, 
though some nests were much better fashioned than others, deeper and lined 
with dry grasses. They usually chose horizontal forked branches, and nearly 
all the eggs were near hatching, while some nests had unfledged young. Four 
nests had one young one each, one had two, and one had three young, seven 
nests had two eggs each, two had three, and one had one egg.” 
Mr. Sandland, writing from Balah, South Australia, states : “Is a 
stationary species and easily the most common of the Wood-Swallows. 
I can see plenty of nests each season in certain patches of scrub.” 
I think this statement needs confirmation in view of other reports. 
Mr. Tom Carter’s notes read : “ Artamus per sonatas. A few were 
seen at Broome Hill almost every summer, and, occasionally, very large flocks. 
Odd pairs of birds had been observed resting in the late spring of previous 
years, but in November, 1912, there w r as a most unusual irruption of them. 
They arrived suddenly, in great flocks, and were in all my paddocks, making 
a great chattering and fuss. On November 1.2th I saw several birds, but by 
the 17th they were everywhere and had commenced to make their nests, 
one of which, containing two eggs, was found on the 22nd. The nest was 
built in a hollow in the top of the stump of a tree which had broken off, about 
9 feet from the ground. Another nest was built in the thick foliage of a 
Stinkwood Tree, about 8 feet above ground. It contained three eggs. A 
third nest was in a prickly banksia bush, only 4 feet from the ground, and 
contained four eggs. On Nov. 27tli young birds were seen in another nest. 
As my shearing was in full swing at the time, I was unable to make as many 
notes as I should have liked, but many other nests were observed, and the 
boys mustering, remarked that their nests and eggs were everywhere. 
The nesting material was mostly green stalks of everlastings, sometimes 
with the flowers attached, and linings of fine dry roofs and grass. The 
nests were rather shallow, inside diameter about 24 inches. Full clutch 4 
eggs. The bulk of the birds went away as soon as the young were strong 
on the wing, which was towards the end of the year. An odd nest containing 
4 eggs was seen on Dec. 8th. At Point Cloates this species was rarely seen, an 
occasional bird or two being noted when parching hot winds were blowing 
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