THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
a tree, the eggs can often be seen through the material from beneath ; it is 
composed of a few pieces of green-plant stems and roots. The clutch is 
usually two in number, sometimes three, and I have seen nests containing 
eggs from the middle of September till the end of November.” 
Mr. E. J. Christian writes me : 44 These birds ought to be called the 
4 Grasshopper Birds 5 as the good work they do for us in the Riverina can 
never be over-estimated. I have seen acres and acres here simply covered 
with the birds and when you pass by sometimes the whole arise in a grey 
chirping mass. At other times only, those near you get up and the rest take 
no notice. Before settling on a good patch of grasshoppers one can hear 
an incessant din of far away whispering (very much like the chirping, only 
louder, of the Sparrow). Looking overhead one can see nothing but a huge 
black cloud of these birds fluttering about in the air. The two above- 
mentioned species congregate together, although the former ( personatus ) 
come earlier. The latter ( superciliosus ) generally prevail in numbers to a 
great extent. The birds (if the grasshoppers are thick) v/ill often stop in the 
one spot for days at a time devouring the pest, and I know of one part (1907) 
where for three days the birds were so thick in one flock that they extended 
for about one mile and a half down the road. These birds must return by a 
different route, for I have never seen them passing here on their northward 
journey. They stayed here for several weeks, from Sept. 15th to Oct. 15th, 
when the main flocks went further south and odd pairs separated with the 
intention of staying here and nesting.” 
Mi*. F. E. Howe wrote me : 44 During the last season (1908) and also 
that of 1907 this species was found breeding in the district and as near 
Melbourne as Doncaster. This was no doubt owing to the prevailing drought 
of Northern Victoria and New South Wales.” 
Captain S. A. White has written me 4 4 C. superciliosus is invariably seen 
in company with the preceding species, they nest together in the same tree 
and often within a foot of each other on the same branch, but I have never 
seen a case of interbreeding. This seems remarkable, for in their habits, 
size and everything else except colour they are identical. This is the most 
beautiful member of the family, but it is not so numerous in South Australia, 
at any rate, as the last species. Although my wife and I did not meet with 
the bird in Central Australia in 1913, yet I feel sure they range through this 
country, for it was met with in the Far North-west of South Australia in 1914 
in numbers. Like the preceding species, we have met with this bird in almost 
every part of this State.” 
It will be noted that the life histories of these two species are so inter- 
mingled as to be scarcely separable and that, while the ranges are not 
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