BIRDS OF THE FOREST BORDERS AND GRASS-LANDS 131 
Notes. —Usually in pairs or flocks, frequenting open country and open 
scrub-lands. Similar in habits to the other White-faces. Its call-note is 
low and plaintive; it is rather a shy bird. Food: insects and seeds, procured 
on the ground. 
Nest. —Not recorded. 
Eggs. —Not recorded. 
9. Banded White-face Aphelocephala nigricincta North 
ni-gri-cinc'-ta —L., nigricans , blackish; L., cinctus , banded. 
Distribution .—Central Australia. 
Notes. —Also called Black-banded White-face. Usually in pairs or 
flocks, frequenting open country. It is similar in habits to the other 
White-faces, but its call-note is different and much sweeter. Food: insects 
and seeds, procured on the ground. 
Nest. —A bulky, dome-shaped structure with a long spout-like 
entrance, composed of dark-coloured twigs; lined with flower-stems, 
flower-pods, and feathers. Generally placed in a prickly bush or shrub. 
Eggs. —Usually three, pale pinkish-white, speckled and spotted with 
pale reddish-brown and purplish-grey markings, forming an irregular zone 
at the larger end. Breeding-season : April and May. 
10. Slender Thornhill Acanthiza morgani Mathews 
Ac-anth-iz-a —Gk, acantheon , thorny brake; Gk, zao, I live: morgani — 
Dr A. M. Morgan, Honorary Ornithologist, National Museum, Adelaide, 
South Australia. 
Distribution. —Interior of South Australia, central Australia to 
Western Australia (Shark Bay). 
Notes. —Also called Thin-billed Tit. Usually in pairs or flocks, fre¬ 
quenting open country studded with low bushes, rocky hillsides, and the 
margins of salt lakes. It is inconspicuous in habits; has a feeble song, 
and a call-note resembling “Tip-tip-tip,” uttered rapidly. Food: insects 
and their larvae, procured on the ground and in low bushes. 
Nest. —An oblong, domed structure with an opening near the top, 
loosely constructed of thin strips of bark and soft plant-stems, woven 
together with cobwebs; warmly lined with plant down. Generally built 
in a low bush. 
Eggs. —Usually three, pinkish-white, marked all over, but particularly 
at the larger end, with very small spots of dull reddish-brown. Breeding- 
season: July to August. 
11. Dark Thornbill Acanthisa hedleyi Mathews 
hedleyi —Charles Hedley, scientist, of Sydney, Australia. 
Distribution. —Western Victoria and southern South Australia. 
Notes. —Also called Dark Brown Tit. Usually in pairs or small flocks, 
frequenting samphire flats. It is extremely shy and quiet, and keeps very 
