THE GEELONG NATURALIST. & x14 
NESTS AND EGGS OF THE YELLOW-BREASTED 
THICKHEADS (Pachycephale). 
Bx A. J. CAMPBELL. 
Read before the Geelong Field Naturalist Club, Nov. 5th, 1895. 
Or our smaller forest feathered friends few are more beautiful, 
and certainly none possess sweeter voices, than the Yellow-breasted 
Thiekheads. It is to be hoped that this article will furnish a 
complete history of their various nests and eggs up to date, besides 
assist collectors to separate the different species of the birds them- 
selves. i 
PACHYCEPHALA GUTTURALIS (Latham). 
WHITE-THROATED THICKHEAD. i 
FIGURE.— 
RxrFERENCE.— Cat. of Bds., Brit. Mus., Vol. VIII, p. 192. 
Previous Derscriprions OF  Eaas.— 
Campbell: * Southern Science Record,” (1882). 
North: “Cat., Nest and Eggs, Aust. Birds," p. 64, (1889). 
QEOGRAPHICAL  DrsTRrIBUTION.—Queensland, New South 
Wales, Victoria and South Australia, also Lord Howe’s Island. 
Nzsr.—Cup-shaped, composed chiefly of shreds of bark and 
finedark colored twigs, neatly lined inside with finertwigs,rootlets,and ` 
sometimes portions of fine grass, and placed usually a few feet 
from the ground in a thick bush in a gully, or in a scrub near a 
stream. Dimensions, over all about 5 inches by 23 inches in depth. 
Egg cavity, 24 inches across by 14 inches deep. 
Eccs.— Clutch 2-3; oval in shape, slightly compressed at one 
end; texture of shell fine, with glossy surface; color yellowish- 
white, speckled particularly about the upper quarter with spots of 
dark brown or umber, intermingled with duller markings which 
appear as if beneath the surface of the shell. In some rare 
instances the ground color has a pinkish tint with the markings 
reddish-brown and dull purple or slate, altogether resembling 
a Honey-eater type. Dimensions in inches of a proper clutch— 
(1) 91 x “68; (2) 9 x ‘67; (3) '9 x 68. Of a pinkish set, (1) 
‘92 x 69; (2) ‘88°71. 
OssERYATIONS.—The beautiful White-throated Thickhead is 
a true scrub or forest loving bird, where its clear sweet voice is 
oftener heard amongst the flowering Eucalypts than the vocalist 
itself is seen. 
The White-throated Yellow-breasted Thickheads are a trifle 
puzzling, but strict attention to the geographical distribution 
greatly assists the oologist in separating the different species or 
varieties of which there are four. 
The general or common species (D. gutturalis) ranges from 
Rockingham Bay district (Q) round to South Australia, grading 
