SOME BIRDS OF THE MANGROVES 
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PLATE XXIII 
SOME BIRDS OF THE MANGROVES 
1. Large-billed Warbler Gerygone magnirostris Gould 
Ge-ryg’-on-e —Gk, gerygone, born of sound : mag-ni-ros -tris —L., magnus, 
great; L., rostrum, bill. 
Distribution. —Northern Territory and northern Queensland (Cape 
York to Cardwell district). 
Notes. —Also called Large-billed Bush-warbler, Large-billed Fly- 
eater, and Flood-bird. Inhabits the mangroves, where it spends most of 
its time among the leaves and blossoms capturing the smaller kinds of 
insects; it has an extremely weak, twittering song. 
Nest. —A dome-shaped structure with a hooded entrance at the side; 
several inches of nesting material hang from the body of the nest, which 
is composed of fine bark woven together with wool and spiders' webs; 
lined with feathers. Placed in the foliage of a mangrove tree, at about 
7 feet from the ground. 
Eggs. —Two, white, heavily marked on the larger end with reddish- 
brown markings. Breeding-season: November (Melville Island). 
2. Green-backed Warbler Gerygone chloronota Gould 
chldr-o-not'-a —Gk, chloros, yellow-green; Gk, noton, back. 
Distribution. —North-western Australia and Northern Territory. 
Notes.— Also called Green-backed Fly-eater. Inhabits the mangroves 
and adjacent scrubs; it is very shy and retiring in disposition and difficult 
to locate among the leaves of the mangroves as it creeps about in search 
of insects upon which it solely subsists; it has a piping note though occa¬ 
sionally other notes are uttered in slow succession. 
Nest— Similar in shape to that of the Large-billed Warbler; com¬ 
posed of soft shreds of grass and fine rootlets, and thickly lined with 
thistledown. Built among the foliage of a mangrove tree. 
Eggs. —Two or three, white, freely marked with fine, elongated, red¬ 
dish-brown dots, which predominate at the larger end, sometimes forming 
a zone. Breeding-season: December. 
3. Dusky Warbler Gerygone tenebrosa Hall 
ten-e-bro -sa —L., tenebrosus, dark. 
Distribution. —Mid and north-western Australia, from Carnarvon to 
the Fitzroy River. 
M 
