224 
MELIPHAGID-fE. 
the Murray River in Victoria and South Australia in the south. 
I have never heard of this bird constructing a nest for itself, but it 
re-lines the deserted tenements of Myzanthagarrula, Acanthoohcera 
carunculata, or a depression in the top of the dome-shaped nest of 
Pomatostomus temporalis. The eggs are two in number for a 
sitting, but sometimes a third is added. Among a number of sets 
of the eggs of this species now before me, taken in Queensland, 
New South Wales, and Victoria, there is some variation in the tints 
and disposition of their markings, even when from the same 
locality, although they are nearly uniform in their measui’ements. 
A pair in the Australian Museum Collection are of a rich salmon 
colour boldly blotched, but particularly towards the larger end, 
with deep reddish markings, where a few obsolete spots of bluish- 
grey appear as if beneath the surface of the shell. Length (A) 
1-24 x 0-87 inch ; (B) 1-24 x 0-86 inch. 
A set in the Dobroyde Collection, taken by Mr. John Ramsay 
at Cardington on the Bell River, on the 2nd of December 1867, 
are of a deep salmon colour, with a zone of small irregular shaped 
markings of reddish-brown, intermingled with others of bluish-grey 
appearing as if beneath the shell; the remainder of the surface 
being but sparingly marked. Length (A) 1*25 x 0-85 inch ; (B) 
1-3 x 0-86 inch. 
A set taken at Gunbower on the Murray River, in September 
1883, are of a rich flesh colour, with a zone of roundish clouded 
spots of dark reddish-brown, together with subsurface markings 
of different shades of lilac and bluish-grey. Length (A) 1 -23 x 
0-87 inch ; (B) 1T8 x 0-86 inch. 
The breeding season of this species commences in September 
and lasts until the end of February. 
Hab. Rockingham Bay, Port Denison, Wide Bay District, 
Dawson River, Richmond and Clarence Rivers Districts, 
New South Wales, Interior, Victoria and South Australia, 
( Ramsay.) 
