Page:The Emu volume 9.djvu/278

 the shells. I carefully removed and packed them, and then broke off the branch holding the nest. The latter was a frail affair, and lacked neatness and finish in its architecture. The walls were very thin, the eggs being plainly visible from below. An attempt had been made to bend long horse-hairs into a circular form, with more or less success. These were held in position by spiders' webs and cocoons, but long ends had been left dangling about in a very unfinished manner. The whole structure was sufficiently elastic, and was attached to the branch of the tree with spiders' webs. The dimensions of the nest arc as follows:—Long diameter, 2¾ inches; short diameter, 2 inches; depth of cup, nearly 1 inch. The eggs were quite fresh, and the descriptions are as follow:—At first glance resemble those of some types of the Ephthianurinæ. Shape swollen oval, texture of shell being fine and slightly glossy; colour white, moderately marked with small rich reddish-brown spots, while some of dull purplish-grey, and appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell, are mixed with the other markings, but only at the larger ends of the eggs. Specimen a is much more heavily marked than specimen b, and the spots are larger. The markings on both eggs are confined chiefly to the larger ends. Measurements in inches:—(a) 0.71 x 0.49; (b) 0.68 x 0.48.

In the field this little bird looks almost uniform grey. A fully fledged nestling, shot 24th October, has a tinge of greenish-yellow on the throat, showing an affinity to Zosterops in this direction.

(Dicæum hirundinaceum).—A few around Bore Well, but nowhere common.

(Pardalotus ornatus).—Uncommon. I shot specimens for identification in the scrub near Lake Violet, and met with a few pairs in the gums around Milly Pool. In a hollow, termited trunk was a nest-hole, but the young had obviously flown, so I did not climb up.

(Pardalotus rubricatus).—A single specimen was procured at Bore Well.

(Myzomela nigra).—Found in scattered pairs throughout the district, but showing a preference for stony hill-sides. I found several nests, and secured perfect clutches of eggs, also a pair of nestlings. The female does all the work of nest-building. The male perches near at hand on some conspicuous twig, where he utters his monotonous call, with an occasional erratic flight around. When the female arrives with building material he flutters down to the half-finished nest—I suppose to show his appreciation.

(Glycyphila albifrons).—Very common at Bore Well and around Wiluna and Lake Violet. I found a number of their neatly constructed nests. They were always placed low down. Two I found were in the cavity formed by the snapping in two of a dead mulga trunk. All these nests were lined with the buff-coloured down of the plant known as Dicrastyles fulva.

(Certhionyx variagatus).—A few pairs around Lake Violet, but more common on the big spinifex plain west of Bore Well. They arrived during the last week in July and early part of August. Parties were still travelling throughout the latter month. At Bore Well they fed, in company with the Wood-Swallows, on the curious ground-flowering plant, Brachysema daviesioides, and the foreheads and crowns of several I shot were so thickly