THE BIRDS OP AUSTRALIA. 
Nest. Cup-shaped, suspended from twigs by the rims. Composed of grass and on the 
outside pieces of bark joined on with cocoons. Lined with soft bark. Outside 
measurements, 2J inches deep by 4 wide. Inside, 1| by 2|- inches wide. 
(This nest contained two eggs of the Honey-eater and one of C. basalis.) 
Eggs. Two eggs usually form the clutch. A pair taken at Cardinia Creek, Beaconsfield, 
Victoria, on the 11th of December, 1909, is of a pale flesh-tint, marked, particularly 
at the larger end, with rounded spots of reddish-brown and purplish-grey. Rounded 
ovals in shape. Surface of shell fine and slightly glossy. 20-22 by 16 mm. 
Nest. A deep cup-shaped structure, composed chiefly of strips of bark and leaves, etc., 
lined with soft material, and suspended from the branch of a small tree or hush. 
Dimensions over all, 4 to 4J inches by 31 to 4 inches in depth. 
Breeding-months. August to December. 
Sir William Jardine recognised this bird as new in a collection of birds 
he had secured in Edinburgh, which came from Australia, and called it Ptilotis 
cassidix. He sent it to Gould who agreed with its novelty, and it was exhibited 
at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London under Jardine’s name. 
Gould then had it figured and made a description of this specimen, but the 
publication was delayed for a year. In the meanwhile another specimen 
turned up in Edinburgh, and Gould received specimens from Western Port 
Bay, Victoria. No description was ever offered by Jardine, so that when 
McCoy received specimens he described them as new, and naming it Ptilotis 
leadbeateri his description was issued in the Annals and Magazine of Natural 
History winch appeared on Dec. 1st, 1867. Gould’s plate was issued in the 
part for Dec. 1867 which came out the same day, and, as his description was 
accompanied by a figure, it takes precedence. It should be noted that McCoy 
drew attention to the crest as suggesting subgeneric separation. 
Little was known about the habits of this bird until Messrs. F. E. Wilson 
and L. G. Chandler made an intensive study and sent me their notes for this 
work. As publication would be a long time ahead they also published the 
results in the Emu as shown in my synonymy. As this constitutes practically 
all that has been published, I here transcribe their original notes regarding 
the habits and habitat. They wrote : “ The habitat of this bird is confined 
to the eastern portion of Victoria and possibly may be found to extend into 
the south-west corner of New South Wales, and, although considered a very 
rare bird, explorations in the mountainous districts in the vicinity of the 
Australian Alps might show it to bo more numerous. Our notes have been 
obtained in the Beaconsfield district only, thirty miles east of Melbourne, 
where the numerous little creeks form their homes. It has a variety of notes, 
two of winch are monosyllabic, but unfortunately some of them are extremely 
hard to write down on paper. After using the monosyllabic notes, they give 
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