BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
73 
Eggs. —Usually three, light or rich bluish-green, heavily blotched with 
reddish or chestnut-brown markings, which sometimes obscure the ground 
colour. Breeding-season: September to January. 
3. Varied Triller Lalage leucomela Vigors and Horsfield—3A. Female 
leuc-o-mcl'-a —Gk, lencos, white; Gk, melas (melanos ), black. 
Distribution .—Tropical Australia and the coastal districts of eastern 
Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. 
Notes— Also called the Pied Caterpillar-eater and White-eyebrowed 
Caterpillar-eater. Mostly stationary, but in New South Wales it is a 
migrant; arrives during October and departs in February or March. Seen 
mostly in pairs; much shyer in habits than the White-winged Triller, its 
song is similar, but much softer, some of the notes resembling those of 
the Cicada-bird. Food: insects and their larvae; also certain native fruits 
and berries. 
Nest. —A small, shallow, saucer-shaped structure, composed of plant- 
stalks, rootlets, and grasses, woven together with cobwebs; usually built 
at the junction of a thin forked horizontal branch, and near the end of it. 
Egg. —Pale to bright apple-green, uniformly blotched and spotted 
with markings of reddish or chestnut-brown, sometimes forming a zone at 
the larger end. Breeding-season: in eastern Australia from October to 
January or February. 
4. Cicada-bird (Jardine Caterpillar-eater) Edoliisoma tenuirostre 
Jardine—4A. Female 
E-dol'-i-l-som'-a —Gk, edolios, a kind of bird; Gk, soma , body: ten-u-i - 
ros-tre —L., tenuis, slender; L., rostrum, bill. 
Distribution .*—Northern and eastern Australia, chiefly coastal and 
contiguous districts. 
Notes .—“Cicada-bird” is an appropriate name; its call-notes resemble 
the buzzing sound of a large cicada; like “Kree-kree,” uttered continu¬ 
ously. Mostly seen in pairs; arrives in New South Wales towards the end 
of September and departs during February. Food: insects; fond of 
cicadas, procured among the leaves and branches of trees. 
Nest. —A small, open, shallow structure, composed of lichen, pieces 
of thin bark, plant-stems, and leaves, woven together with cobwebs; lined 
with finer materials, and decorated on the outside with lichen. An average 
nest measures 3^ by 2 inches. Usually built into the angle of a forked 
horizontal branch of a tree, up to 70 feet or more from the ground. 
Egg. —Varying from pale bluish to greenish-grey, spotted and 
blotched with umber, slaty-brown, and underlying markings of lavender. 
Breeding-season: October to January. 
5. Leaden Flycatcher Myiagra rubecnla Latham—5A. Female 
My-i-ag'-ra —Gk, myiagra, flycatcher: ru-be-cu-la —L., rubeciilus, reddish. 
Distribution .—North-western Australia, Northern Territory, and 
eastern Australia (from Cape York to Victoria) ; also found in New 
Guinea; accidental to Tasmania. 
