Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union

“ An easy way to find the nest is to stand within sight of the male, when he is fussing about, uttering the harsh call note, and watch for the female. Presently she may be observed flying from bush to bush, until she disappears into the topmost twigs of some solitary mulga. Ten chances to one there you will find her nest, which, from the ingenious way the narrow leaves of the mulga are woven into the sides, is by no means a conspicuous object. On the Yalgoo goldfield I obtained an egg of the Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcococcyx basalis) in a nest of this Acanthiza. ”

“ During the whole time I was near the female Atrichornis she did not utter any sound, though the male called out frequently in No. I mass of débris some 70 or 80 yards away. The male never appears to leave his haunt in this large heap of débris (as far as I can detect) ; consequently, he is perhaps something like the Lyre-Bird (Menura superba) in this respect, and does not feed the hen on the nest, and she has to go out and collect her own food. I would not be surprised if this is the case, and also that the construction of the nest is carried out entirely by the female. ”

“ Though there were outcrops of rocks near two of its haunts at Lake Austin, and again a huge outcropping quartz reef at Lake Way, I never saw an individual amongst the debris surrounding these formations. The species of salt-bush it prefers grows to a height of about 3 feet. The leaf is very small and sappy, and at fruiting season it has a small bright red berry, which is not unpleasant to the taste. When bruised the leaves have a scent like common garden sage. These bushes always grow singly, and generally on rich alluvial flats, but also on low sand-hills. ”

“ I do not consider Cinclosoma marginatum a shy bird. As before mentioned, it still frequents country where active mining operations are in progress, and can be seen within easy distance of the main street of Wiluna. All that is necessary is to walk through the bush quietly, keeping one's eyes well ahead. At the first alarm, perhaps, a pair may run under a bush, but if the observer stands motionless the female, followed by the male, soon comes out again, and both will quietly feed right up to one's feet if reasonable quiet is maintained. ”

“ The grass, which is also common in some of our forests, is known as Carex longifolia (R. Br.) In all probability, if the eggs had been fresh instead of so heavily incubated, then the female might not have returned again to the nest, as was the case with the type clutch, which was quite fresh when found. The nest I left for the time being, as I wished to photograph it in situ later; and, in order to protect it from the impending hail and rain, I stood a long sheet of pine bark over it on a slant from the ground against the pine log. ”

“ Again, A. apicalis is an animated, fussy species, always restless, and seldom silent. I resolved to keep an eye open for others. About a mile away, and in similar scrub, I came across a second pair, and, though it was early in the breeding season, I resolved to watch them, in the hope that they were building. After the exercise of much patience, I followed them to a sheltered spot in the scrub which they seemed loth to leave. There I spied a neat, dome-shaped nest, placed low down, without any concealment, in the tea-tree scrub. It looked remarkably substantial for an Acanthiza's nest. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Much to my disappointment, this was the only nest of these rare eggs I found. I visited the locality again and again, and often encountered the main flock, but, despite much searching, all was in vain. I can only surmise that, the species being resident, many pairs may breed during the summer rains, when insect life is so much more abundant in these interior regions. No doubt beetles and such creatures form a large proportion of the diet of these interesting birds. When feeding a flock keeps in open order and one or other is constantly on the run. ”

“ What I really required in the first place was a heavy iron hoop, with the net attached, so that when it was placed over the nest it would press its way through the surrounding grass and go right down flat on the ground. There can certainly be no doubt that the bird got away owing to the space between the rather limp ring of the net and the ground. Certainly I could have cleared a space all around the tuft of grass, and so let the net go flush to the ground, but the chances were that the bird would never have gone near the place again. ”

“ But the male Bower-Bird, and also, I think, the female, is a great mimic, and reproduces to perfection the notes of many surrounding birds. All the same, he seems to have a preference for harsh sounds, such as the alarm notes of the local Shrike-Thrush, Carter Honey-eater, White-browed Babbler, and the tremulous cries of young Hawks clamouring for food. I have heard a male imitate the notes of Cracticus leucopterus to perfection, and, again, a female gave a perfect rendering of those of Cracticus picatus. ”

“ I went quietly in the direction of the sound and towards an immense mass (No. 1 mass in plan) of fallen trees and other scrub débris, and hid behind a rosewood (Dysoxylon fraseranum) log. Very soon the shrill note issued from the confused mass of débris and only about 10 feet away. The bird was moving about, mouse-like, amongst this heap of rubbish in the heart of the scrub (see photo.) ”

“ I am inclined to think we have much to learn respecting its breeding habits.
Narrow-billed Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcococcyx basalis) .- Fairly common, its high-pressure notes being much in evidence around the margins of Lake Violet. I got several eggs from nests of Malurus leucopterus, and also found a young bird just ready to leave a nest of Acanthiza whitlocki, and again saw a second pair of these birds feeding a young one, which I caught. ”

“ I have always noticed that this noisy little bird inhabits the most impenetrable parts of the scrub, and where the undergrowth is thick and the ground is strewn in many places with great masses of débris, consisting of an accumulated entanglement of trees, branches, vines, and other rubbish (see photos.) ”

“ On dissection, my suspicions proved to be correct—she was a fully adult female. Whilst on this subject, let me repeat that the colour of this nuchal band is not lilac, but in these East Murchison birds of a vivid pink, with just a suspicion of silvery-lilac when viewed in certain lights. In the female it is much smaller than in the male, and rather difficult to detect when the bird is in repose. The same is the case with the male, the band in both sexes then appearing as a narrow longitudinal stripe, rather more conspicuous in the male than in the female. ”

“ Playground of Lyre-Bird (Menura superba) , near where the male Scrub-Bird (Atrichornis rufescens) daily frequented.
FROM A PHOTO. BY S. W. JACKSON, SYDNEY.
part, and within 30 yards of the nest of the Atrichornis (see photo, and plan) . It is remarkable that this pair of Lyre-Birds, which I frequently noticed at "Atrichia Slope," should have their nest so close to that of the Atrichornis, and the male to have his hillock or play-ground within 15 yards of the large heap of débris (mass No. I) which the male Atrichornis daily frequented when carrying on his mimicry. ”

“ At Lake Austin, in 1903, I shot a pair of small birds I could not identify. Speaking from memory, I think they were identical with the present species. They were sent down to the Perth Museum with other skins, but I never learned to what species they had been referred.
This little Honey-eater is confined to tracts of country where large mulga and other tree-like bushes are growing. It does not seem to favour eucalypts, but I have seen it amongst flowering acacias. It is a very difficult bird to pick out from a party of Acanthizæ, busy, like itself, in searching the foliage for insect prey. ”

“ The black markings on these eggs being small renders them much less conspicuous than the more boldly marked eggs of other allied species. The nest was a very shallow depression, probably scratched out by the parent bird, and had no lining of any kind whatever, the flakes of mud being probably added after the eggs were laid. Surrounding the nest were a few pieces of white quartz and nearly black ironstone. The only vegetation was a sparse growth of stunted samphire, the tallest sprays of which did not exceed 6 inches in height. After packing the eggs, I turned my attention to the female. ”

“ Getting another sight of the female Atrichornis to-day pleased me very much, and it was my intention to carefully watch, and later on remove and thoroughly search this mass for No. 2 nest; I would then lose no opportunity of shooting the female. If No. 2 nest should be in one of these huge masses of débris, then the chances of finding it are very remote indeed, for to remove one of these large heaps of confused rubbish and trees is a big undertaking (see photos.) ”

“ Two handsome clutches had the markings all massed together at the apex, and another egg in a third clutch was quite white. Curiously enough, I shot a specimen of this Acanthiza nearly white, but it showed sufficient of the snuff-coloured upper tail coverts to make identity pretty certain. Compared with A. uropygialis, and other species found in the south-west of this State, I consider A. robustirostris a silent bird. It is especially quiet and wary when the young are hatched. I have often stood by a nest containing young, and waited in vain for the parents to show themselves. ”

“ Occasionally one may unexpectedly flush an individual in some more or less frequented spot; but as a rule to find these birds one must go to the undisturbed flats and systematically tramp through all the closely-growing vegetation, and, if in luck, an odd bird, or at times even a pair, may be flushed, with a startling suddenness, into a flight of 40 or 50 yards, when they drop into the herbage again just as suddenly as they rose. I have never seen this species fly at a greater height than 8 or 9 feet. ”

“ According to my observations, the female does all the building, the male hanging around the nesting site and keeping an eye on things in general. The favourite situation for the nest is a medium-sized or even small narrow-leaved mulga bush, growing in company with two or three similar bushes, but often quite isolated. Where the mulga is large and growing in thickets it is useless to look for the nest, although the bird itself may be found feeding there. ”