164 
CHISHOLM, Fairy Warbler 
r The Emu 
L Jan. 
the presence of the White-throated Warbler near Rockhamp¬ 
ton, and added that he failed to identify a second species of Gery- 
gone, seen near the junction of Louisa Creek with the Fitzroy 
River. Recent events have indicated that this was probably his 
own “Cardwell Gerygone.”* We met the species first at “Fairy 
Bower/' a tract of pseudo-jungle bordering a creek, some five 
miles from Rockhampton. A nest hung, at a height of five feet, 
from a small horizontal bough of a tree twenty or thirty yards 
from the creek. It was emphatically not the nest of G. albogn- 
laris, being “dumpier” — as round in the body as a tennis ball, and 
about the same size — and with a much more pronounced hood 
over the entrance. Moreover, it had the northern Gerygone s’ 
trait of being associated with a wasp’s nest, the vicious owners of 
which rendered examination risky. The birds did not appear at 
once, and when they did return they proved to be very shy and 
restless, much more so than the White-throated species, which 
they resembled in colour. Even then, however, it was possible 
to see that they had less white below the bill and were a good deal 
smaller. Moreover, though the nervous, chattering notes (some¬ 
times a prelude to song) were akin to those of the southern 
Yellow-breast, the song itself was by no means the familiar 
chromatic scale; it was less plaintive, and closer to the bright 
melody of the Mangrove Warbler ( G. cantator). A second nest 
inspected along the same creek was similar in situation and con¬ 
struction, but this time the wasps' nest was absent. Here the 
sitting bird was caught on the nest and examined. In neither 
case, however, was a specimen taken, “Fairy Bower” being a 
sanctuary. 
Mr. W. B. Alexander and myself had the impression that the 
species was probably the “Yellow” Warbler, but Mr. H. G. 
Barnard, the only member of the party who knew this species 
in the field, was doubtful on the point. Apart from the big ex¬ 
tension of range, there seemed to him to be several little points 
of difference. So the question had perforce to be left open. 
We next encountered the bird at Olsen’s Caves, some twenty 
miles north of Rockhampton, in a patch of poor scrub; and again 
we saw several pairs near Yeppoon, some 35 miles from the city, 
and this time within a stone's throw of the coast. Here the ani¬ 
mated chatter guided me to a pair that were feeding a young 
Bronze Cuckoo—a hungry creature about three times their size. 
'Fhe specific identity of this parasite was not apparent, but later 
developments suggested it to be the little-known Rufous-breasted 
Bronze Cuckoo ( Lamprococcyx russatns). 
Interest in the problem having grown, we were pleased to hear 
the unknown Gerygone singing freely at Byfield, 25 miles north 
* A specimen of G. flavida in the Queensland Museum collected by 
Broadbent and labelled “Rockhampton” proves that this was the 
case. — Editor. 
