Page:The Emu volume 10.djvu/435

 notes of the following birds:—Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren (Sericornis barbara), Spine-tailed Log-runner (Orthonyx temmincki). King Lory (Aprosmictus cyanopygius), Yellow-rumped Robin (Eopsaltria chrysorrhoa). White Goshawk (Astur novæ-hollandiæ). White-throated Tree-creeper (Climacteris scandens). White-throated Thickhead (Pachycephala pectoralis). White-fronted Scrub-Wren (Sericornis frontalis), Lewin's Honey-eater (Ptilotis chrusotis), &c.; and when imitating the note of the Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren these fussy little birds came over to the heap of débris and sat on a twig over the Atrichornis as it called out beneath them. The loud alarm note of the Spine-tailed Log-runner it very frequently utters to perfection, and it is most difficult to discriminate which bird is calling—an Atrichornis or a Log-runner. On account of the breast bone and muscles of the voice apparatus being unusual, the Atrichornithidæ have been classed "Abnormal Song-Birds." The discovery of the male Atrichornis to-day gave me encouragement, and I naturally expected the bird had its mate somewhere in the vicinity. I first heard the bird to-day at 3 p.m., and I remained at the spot observing until after 4 p.m. I named this part of the scrub "Atrichia Slope," and it lies a few miles from my camp. Before leaving this locality to-day I examined a great many tufts of scrub-grass or sedge (Gahnia and Carex longifolia) close about the large heap of débris which the bird frequented, but I saw no sign of the nest or female. I then travelled through more scrub, and returned to camp before dark. I have never at any time seen an Atrichornis in a tree or bush; they live entirely on the ground, partly hidden amongst the masses of fallen timbers and débris, and never for a moment do they leave these places, and therefore appear quite terrestrial in their habits. Their strong legs and very small wings prove that they spend most, if not all, of their time on the ground.

After this date (7th October) I worked on and hunted day after day, and thoroughly searched all the dense scrub, tufts of scrub-grass or sedge, heaps of débris, &c., at "Atrichia Slope," and immediately surrounding the place where I had first seen the male bird; but my efforts were fruitless.

On the morning of the 16th October I sat on a log and listened for three-quarters of an hour at one of the large piles of débris, but there was no indication of or sound uttered by the Atrichornis, much less getting a glimpse of the bird. This silence was rather disappointing, so at about 9 a.m. I made a fresh start, and once again continued a systematic search. Shortly after 10 a.m. the area of my operations brought me to a small open space in the scrub, which was well covered with many tufts of a narrow, flat grass (Carex), which varied from 1 foot to 2 feet 6 inches in height, growing rather closely together. Through the western side of this growth the large section of the topmost portion of a fallen hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghami) was lying on the ground. This top part of the tree measured 65 feet long, and was about 3 feet thick at the larger end. This looked to me