CRESTED BELL-BIRD. 
closely, and did not seem disposed to move on my near approach. Each nest 
abounded with black hairy caterpillars—a circumstance which has already 
been observed and recorded by field naturalists in regard to the species. The 
presence of such life has not liitherto been satisfactorily accounted for, and the 
suggestion that the caterpillars are placed there by one of the pair as food 
supplies for the sitting bud has been rejected. I am unable to concur in the 
rejection. The fact of each bird sitting so closely led me to the conclusion 
that they could not be there for any purpose other than food. However, 
subsequently, I shot one of the species (not one of the nesting buds) and had 
the contents of its stomach preserved for examination on my return. Such 
examination, with the aid of a strong magnifying glass, revealed the presence 
of scores of the hairs of the caterpillars, together with the segments of their 
bodies and softer inner parts. The rich and varied notes of the species are well 
known to every Australian bushman, as also are its extraordinary ventriloquial 
powers. The several combinations of notes I fix as seven. Some combinations 
are inimitable, or at least have not an equivalent in the English language. 
Some, however, have an equivalent, perhaps fanciful. Three of these I translate 
as follows : One, ‘ Billy Pope,’ thrice repeated : another, ‘ Honour the Pope,’ 
oft repeated; and a third, ‘ Where’s Subiaco ? ’ These birds together with 
their compeers in song, Sphenostoma cristatum, Cracticus nigrigularis, Collyno- 
cinda rufiventris and Pachycepliala falcatci (which were invariably found in 
association) made the scrub-lands ring again with their melody. The abo¬ 
rigines call the bird ‘ Baacka Baacka,’ evidently in imitation of one of their 
combinations of notes.” 
G. F. Hill has observed from Borroloola: “ These buds were found only 
on the dry, stringy bark ( Eucalyptus) ridges. A nest, built of bark and leaves 
and lined with grass, was found in a fork of a small eucalyptus sapling on 6th 
January; it contained, besides two fresh eggs, about one dozen living larvae 
of a moth ( Spilosoma sp.). It is not uncommon to find the larvae of Spibsoma 
obliqua in the nests of Oreoica cristata in Victoria, but it is somewhat remarkable 
to find larvae of a very closely allied species in the nests of the Northern Territory 
Birds.” 
Whitlock has written of the Dirk Hartog form: “ Rather local in its 
haunts, favouring the very largest bushes, especially wanya thickets, where 
it nested. I observed no difference in its well-known notes or general conduct 
from mainland birds. I found several nests containing eggs. Both nests and 
eggs were similar to typical ones. No hairy caterpillars were found in these 
nests, though a hairy larva resembling that of the European tiger-moth 
(Chelonia caja) simply abounded at the time. Bell-Birds were frequently 
noted on Peron Peninsula in similar haunts.” 
VOL. XI. 
25 
