BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
77 
Nest. —In a hollow spout or in a hole in a dead tree, always at a great 
height from the ground. 
Eggs. — Three to five, pure white and rounded. Breeding-season : Oc¬ 
tober to December. 
14. Rainbow-bird Mcrops oruatus Latham 
Mcr'-ops —Gk, merops, bee-eater: or-na-tus — L., oruatus, adorned. 
Distribution. —Australia generally; also occurs from the Celebes to 
New Guinea. 
Notes. — Also called Bee-eater, Spinetail, Sandpiper, Pintail, and 
Kingfisher. Usually in flocks; arrives in September or October, departs 
in February or March. A handsome bird with a graceful, occasionally 
erratic flight, and a shrill whirring call-note. It prefers the more open 
areas to the thick forest country; procures its food on the wing, spends a 
good deal of its time perched on dead limbs, fences, and stumps, from 
which positions it will dart out in pursuit of some insect. 
Nest. — A tunnel in the ground, from 1 to 3 feet long, with a cavity 
at the end. Usually the tunnel is slanting and made in the side of a de¬ 
pression in sandy soil. The nesting-cavity is lined with the wing-cases of 
beetles. 
Eggs. — Five to seven, pure white and glossy. Breeding-season: Octo¬ 
ber to January and February. 
15. White-breasted Wood-swallow Artamus leucorhynchus Linne 
Ar-tam-us —Gk, artamos, butcher: leiic-o-rhyncli-us — Gk, leucos, white; 
Gk, rhyncftos ( rhugchos ), beak. 
Distribution. —Australia (with the exception of the south-western 
portion). 
Notes. —Usually in flocks; arrives in New South Wales in Septem¬ 
ber, departs in March ; it does not occur in the southern portions of this 
State. A beautiful bird in coloration and graceful in flight; also very 
affectionate. A most useful species, destroys immense numbers of in¬ 
jurious insects and their larvae. 
Nest. — A cup-shaped structure, composed of dried grasses; built in 
the fork of a dead tree, or in a hollow spout, often in an old mud nest of 
the Magpie-lark. 
Engs. —Three or four, white or creamy-white, spotted and blotched 
with pale brown, yellowish-brown, and very faint bluish-grey markings, 
chiefly at the larger end. Breeding-season: August or September to Janu¬ 
ary or February. 
16. Black-faced Wood-sw r allow T Artamus melanops Gould 
mel'-an-ops —Gk, mclas ( inelanos ), black; Gk, ops, face. 
Distribution. —Interior of Australia generally. 
Notes. —Chiefly stationary, but is a winter visitor to south-western 
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