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THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
PLATE XVI 
BIRDS OF THE BLOSSOMS AND OUTER FOLIAGE 
1. Yellow Weebill Smicrornis flavescens Gould 
Snn-crorn-is —Gk, smicros ( micros ), small; Gk, ornis, bird: flav-es'-cem 
—L., flavesens , becoming yellow ( flavus, yellow). 
Distribution .—Central Australia, north-western Australia, North¬ 
ern Territory, and northern Queensland. 
Notes .—Also called Yellow-tinted Scrub-tit or Yellow-tinted Tree-tit. 
The smallest bird inhabiting Australia. Usually keeps to the outer foliage 
of saplings and taller trees; its call-note is loud in proportion to its size; it 
also has a pretty song. It is very active in quest of insects and their 
larvae, keeping up a constant twitter while searching the foliage. 
Nest .—A small, dome-shaped structure with a narrow entrance pro¬ 
tected by a hood, near the top, composed of partly green stems of her¬ 
baceous plants, intermingled with plant down; lined with plant down and 
a few feathers. Usually attached to thin leafy stems near the top of a 
tree. r 
Eggs .—Two or three, creamy-buff, sparingly freckled with dull pur¬ 
plish-brown markings, with a faint zone of a violet shade on the larger 
end, or an indistinct zone of creamy-brown markings. Breeding-season: 
August to November or December, extending to April in the Gulf country. 
2. Brown Weebill Smicrornis brcvirostris Gould 
brev-i-ros-tris L., brevis, short: L., rostrum , bill. 
Distribution. Southern Queensland to Victoria and Western Aus¬ 
tralia. 
Notes — Also called Scrub-tit, Short-billed Scrub-tit, and Short-billed 
hnfwi,', U !!T y m pairs °, r sma11 parties > inhabiting the leafy branches of 
n u S \ dm ? S to the smallest twi gs and leaves of the 
insects and their larvae; has a low, simple 
song, the call-note, W innie-wieldt, ’ is frequently uttered. 
near/h/mA *j ou nded structure with a narrow spout-like entrance 
afd web/ hne 1 P °tt e r °f, fine grasse ® heId together with spiders’ cocoons 
tached to / / • C1 ' S a , nd S ° ft P lant -stalks or down. Usually at¬ 
tached to thin leafy tryigs near the top of a gum sapling. 
of I 1 ”/ 0 ’, cream y- buff to salmon-pink, with a zone 
lar-e end p buffy ' br ™. purplish-brown, or slaty-brown at the 
larger end. Bieeding-season: July to December or January. 
