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THE WOMBAT. 53 
Returning by a somewhat different route to Airey’s Inlet, we 
came upon several more nests of the Tasmanian Honeyeater, all 
built within a couple of feet of the ground. Qne contained a single 
addled egg. 
The same evening we rode back to Anglesea, halting now and 
again where birds were plentiful. The tall messmate that held the 
Crow Shrike’s nest we had found the day before tried first the 
climbing capacity and then the nerve of my young companion to 
the utmost, but he persevered till leaning far out he reached the 
coveted prize: a pair of pink-flushed eggs, of which one unfortunately 
struck a ridge in the hat I held beneath to receive it, and broke. 
We spent the night at Anglesea, and left for home after 
breakfast the following morning. We were tempted to explore a 
swamp lying in a gully a few miles along the road. There seemed 
no bird life about at all; but presently the cry of a hawk reached 
us from above, and looking up we saw the bird, first a speck in the 
blue vault, and then increasing to the vision, as with swoops and 
wheelings it flashed downwards to the reedy pool not thirty yards 
from where we stood. Just as it seemed to touch the reeds and 
we recognised it as the male Swamp Hawk (Qircus Gouldi) its 
larger mate flapped heavily up from beneath. We waded in, but 
only found a few feathers and some bent down reeds, so that it was 
evident nest-building proper had not commenced. 
Two miles on we met a party of Choughs, and found one of 
their mud-built nests high up a tall Mucalypt, quite safe from any 
sort of interference. 
Near Jan Jue the Orange-winged Tree Runner (Szttella 
chrysoptera) was noticed, and a Robin’s (P. Leggii) nest with young. 
In an adjacent tree a Frontal Shrike-tit, a bird not often seen in 
these parts, was busy cracking a piece of bark for insects. 
A. was very anxious to find the nest of the White-face which 
I had seen on the outward journey. I did not think much of his 
chance of finding it, and was therefore considerably surprised when 
he returned to where I was waiting on the rdad with a pair of the 
unmistakable spotted eggs in his hand. He had got them from 
the nest from which I took the cuckoo’s egg three days before, 
and which I certainly thought was an ordinary tomtit’s nest. I 
went over with him to inspect the nest more closely, but there was 
absolutely nothing about it by which it could be differentiated from 
the nest of G. chrysorrhoa unless it were aslightly larger entrance, 
which might very well haye been caused by the cuckoo. There 
were several tomtits about : perhaps they had built the nest, and 
the Whiteface having observed the Cuckoo’s labour-saving device 
had followed suit. 
