





















> 
150 Mr. E. L. Layard on some little-known 
It was breeding during our visit; and we found several nests, 
but mostly with young ones. The structure is always placed 
in the fork of a perpendicular twig, composed of very fine 
fibrous material and the hairs of the young shoots of tree- 
ferns densely felted together. The interior of the nest is 
lined with coarser fibre. They all end in a long tail running 
down the perpendicular twig to which they are attached, 
though at the same time they are supported by a lateral twig 
running through their substance. Diam. outside 2" 9", 
inside 1" 9!; depth inside 1" 9", from tip to end of tail 5” or 6"; 
but I saw one fully 9”. The eggs are white, with various- 
sized brown-pink spots, rather inclining to form a ring at the 
greatest diameter, which is 7”, axis 84!". This species is ge- 
nerally distributed, and, from its bold manner and Joud cries 
of defiance, sure to attract notice. It follows the intruder on 
its haunts, chattering, scolding, spreading its fan-shaped tail, 
drooping its rounded wings, and, in fact, menacing its sup- 
posed foe till he has passed beyond its domain. 
Myracra azurEocaritya, Layard, Ibis, 1875, p. 434. 
This lively bird was another of my attractions to Taviuni; 
and we devoted many hours of special hunting for them. 
They haunt the densest forest, and are partial to “ cane- 
brakes” and tangles of lianas. My son, who procured the 
majority of our specimens, says he rarely found them except 
in pairs, and that the love-making of the male was very 
curious; standing on his tip toes, he elevated his lovely azure 
crest and uttered shrill cries to his more sombre-coloured 
mate. On Leopold shooting a female that cried out on being 
captured, the male fairly attacked him, and would not leave 
him, even for a sufficient distance to save his being blown to 
pieces by the discharge, for many minutes. We failed to find 
any nest, though (from the sexual development) they must 
have been breeding, or about to do so. : 
Mr. Tempest has sent me a young bird of this species from 
Bua. He says he thought it anon-breeding female; but the 
throat is a brighter chestnut-colour than others in my collec- 
tion, and the head has a blue tinge. I think it a young male, 
and that in youth this sex resembles the female. 


