24 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
Notes. —A migrant, arriving in New South Wales during October 
and departing in February or March. Usually in pairs, frequenting the 
brushes and dense scrubs. Similar in habits to the Grey Fantail, but un¬ 
like that species it is often observed on the ground or on fallen logs, 
seeking its food. Food: insects, chiefly flies, caught on the wing or on 
the ground. 
Nest. —Shaped like a wineglass without the foot-piece, composed of 
dried grasses and bark-fibre held together with cobwebs, and lined with 
finer materials; the tail-piece is about 2 to 3 inches in length. Built on a 
horizontal thin branch of a tree up to 20 feet or more from the ground. 
Eggs. —Two, sometimes three, stone or buff-coloured, with a zone 
of lavender round the larger end. Breeding-season: November to Janu¬ 
ary. 
4. Boat-billed Flycatcher Machcerirhynchus flaviventer Gould 
—4A. Female 
Mach-cer -i-rhyncK-us — Gk, mac hair a, sword; Gk, rhynchos ( rhugchos ), 
beak: flav-i-vcn’-ter —L., flavus, yellow; L., venter, belly. 
Distribution. —Northern Queensland, from Cape York to Cardwell. 
Notes. —Also called Yellow-breasted Wherrybill; usually in pairs, in¬ 
habiting the dense scrubs of the coastal areas. A very active and lively 
species, constantly on the move, uttering an agreeable twittering song. 
Food : insects, caught both on the wing and among the leaves of trees. 
Nest. —A saucer-shaped structure, composed of dried stalks of flower¬ 
ing plants, matted together with cobwebs, the inner portion consisting 
entirely of fine dried tendrils of plants. Built in the angle of a thin hori¬ 
zontal forked branch of a bushy tree. 
Eggs. —Two, white, with a zone of purplish-red spots round the larger 
end. Breeding-season : September to December. 
5. Pied Flycatcher Arses kaupi Gould 
Arses — L., arses , a raising or lifting of the voice or foot: kaupi—].]. 
Kaup, German ornithologist. 
Distribution. —Northern Queensland (Cairns district). 
Notes. —Also called Kaup’s Flycatcher and Black-breasted Flycatcher. 
In pairs, frequenting the dense scrubs; very active, spreading its tail and 
erecting the feathers on the nape and crest; it creeps and hops about the 
trunks and branches of trees seeking insects, chiefly moths and their 
larvie, in the crevices of the bark. 
Nest .— Like a miniature basket or hammock, attached on two sides to 
two thin pendent parallel stems of a vine, composed of thin dried stalks of 
ferns and tendrils of plants, bound together with cobwebs, and decorated 
with lichen ; lined with fine rootlets. Often built in a tree or in vines, up to 
30 feet from the ground. 
Eggs. — Two, whitish, spotted, particularly at the larger end, with 
reddish and lavender markings. Breeding-season: November to January. 
