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Tae AD \ v v he 1 eg oi) ae | ey wi oe Sai a *) ee atl _ a2 v y ey : ft INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS NEQT OR GA WITH CHAPTERS ON BIRDS MORE OR LESS USEFUL BY ROBERT HALL Author of ‘‘ A Key to the Birds of Australia and Tasmania” Helbourne _ PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR AT 312 FLINDERS-ST ‘ 1900 oe [copyRicHT] Ze THE INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS OF VICTORIA VITWyISNY NUazLSIM 6 VIIWYISAY Sam HLNON 8 VIWUISAY AWHINaa L VIIO NAIIH. LNOgy “WIWALSAY HLAOS B SIIWM HLNOS MIN ‘ 0OSYONOY Os 6794079 ani\, VINOLIIA 39 SYAYNW LNJVeay ‘9 NVIdAJ “VINVWSWL C “WITVULSNW Usy4y HINOS “H (sum NVISSWQ DNINY 1D ONOWHIIY Own NI) “ONVISNAIND hinds ‘Ce ‘ ONWISN3IIND HINON “2 (YadONd) ANOLINUIL NYIHLYON | NVISSAUOL NOIDIM NVITVULSAY IHL 40 SNOIIY-8NS WNAWS: |, “TNSECTIVOROUS BIRDS VLC PT On ye WITH CHAPTERS ON BIRDS MORE OR LESS USEFUL BY a ROBERT HALL Author of ‘A Key to the Birds of Australia and Tasmania” WMHelbourne PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR AT 312 FLINDERS-ST 1900 [COPYRIGHT | COUN ENS: PAGE PART I.—Brrps Excuustvety INSECTIVOROUS OR MOSTLY So - 2 = 5 3 = 1 PART II.—-Brrps INSECTIVOROUS AND VERMIN-DESTROYING 183 PART III.—Brrps' INSECTIVOROUS AND GRANIVOROUS (BENEFICIAL) - - : - - 201 PART IV.—Brrps’ INSECTIVOROUS AND FRUGIVOROUS (More oR Less USEFUL) - - : 221 PART V.—Brrps OFFENSIVE IN CERTAIN SEASONS TO FRuIt-GROWERS AND AGRICULTURISTS - 243 INTERSCAPULARY REGION (Gurlazes REGION ) ( CIAN TLE ) EAR COVERTS 4 , FOWN SREATER wine COvERTS necen arene 6 ‘ MEDIAN WANG CCVERTS a ! ; FOREHEAD : nae wage ; / 7 LORES I AVI, \ ; Lesse 6 COVERTS : SECONDARIES | a 7 ‘ meg ap Jen! | 4UND NECK ~~ GENYs PRIMARIES \ oh = CHEENS EN ~ SCHIN ’ FHROAT LOWER rHRoar ‘\ FORE wecH sHUMERAL FEATHERS —7— ~~ SPURIOUS wing y 5 ia k g aA = ; ~ / SY soy : i, WY L (pug — = Ss se - = 5 NAILS UMDER TAIL CovERTS— Figure of a Bird, showing the principal external characters. ROG ERO: THE purpose of this handbook is to foster an interest in the insectivorous birds of our colony, and to aid in the pro- tection of them. To attain that end the subject has been fashioned in a manner which I trust will appear homely. Foreign words have been rendered simple, and no special scientific arrangement has been adopted. The diversity of the diet of our birds has induced me to place them under separate heads, and a short account of their habits, food, nest, eggs, and geographical distribution in Australia and Tasmania has been given. In certain cases, as the Swift, Roller, Grass-Warbler, Halcyon, Merops, Black Fan-tail, and Cuckoo-Shrikes, the birds also appear further north, but nearly all belong to the Australian sub-region. The numerals under geographical distribution are explained in the reference map, and the areas adopted are based upon Professor Spencer’s scheme of faunal sub-regions of the Australian region. This will show over what portions of the continent our birds are to be found. A plate of a bird is given, to show the more important external characters used in the description of a species; and to recognize them in the field, and the economic value of the bird, a pair of field- glasses will be found to be invaluable. Ona special page are provided cross references to the valuable charts of the insectivorous birds of Victoria and their eggs, to be issued Shela) at an early date by the Education Department, Victoria. viii INTRODUCTION. This will enable our young people to associate promptly various parts in the life-history of each bird. In addition, sixty plates are reproduced, slightly more than half of which are from John Gould’s “ Birds of Australia,” and, unless stated to the contrary, the remaining subjects are provided by the author’s camera. The woodcuts are from cabinet specimens. Those who desire to know more of the closely allied forms than is here mentioned could consult with advantage the “Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum,” Gould’s work, or the “ Key to the Birds of Australia and Tasmania.” I have quoted freely from papers contributed by myself to science associations, more especially to the proceedings of the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria ; and I am pleased to express, because of kindly interest shown, my indebtedness to Charles A. Topp, Esq., M.A., LL.B., a late president of the association named. As no work dealing with the useful birds of our colony has been previously issued, I trust this one will prove of service to the fruit-grower, the agriculturist, and the naturalist. R. EL ee eae oes BIRDS EXCLUSIVELY INSECTIVOROUS OR MOSTLY SO. THE position of nearly all the birds arranged under this head is that of Passeres, or Perchers, and a review of the habits of our birds will show that the Passeres, if not altogether insectivorous, are very much so. It has been necessary, however, to exclude a certain number that are for the most part frugivorous, or else have proved them- selves troublesome in summer, These are noticed in sub- sequent parts. In my correspondence bearing on this subject I have often urged those people with country occupations to foster the healthy pursuit of bird-study, with the hope that we might all be benefited by their observations in the field. One of the replies seems to me to be characteristic :—‘‘ From my point of view the study of small birds is profitable as well as healthy, for we would be actually starved off the land if it were not for our bird friends, both large and small. As much as possible I leave cover to protect and preserve them. In the damp parts of Victoria ground vermin is so numerous and prolific that our regard for the birds is by no means a sentimental one.” 9» - 2 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS OF VICTORIA, It is quite patent to you all that the class of country in which each of you is situated need not be moist to harbour more pests than are good for the new conditions of culti- vation. I trust, therefore, you will afford all the protection in your power to the birds that are insectivorous or mostly so. WHITE-BACKED MAGPIE (WHITE-BACKED CROW-SHRIKE), Gymnorhina leuconota, Gld. Jim-no-17 nd lit-ko-no' ta. Gumnos, naked ; rhinus, nostril ; lewkos, white ; noton, back. GYMNORHINA LEUcONOTA, Gould, ‘Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii., pl. 47. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. —Areas 4, 6. Kry TO THE SpEcIES.— Adult male—Whole of back pure white, like neck and rump ; throat and breast black ; bill pointed and slightly hooked ; nostrils bare of feathers, and placed about the middle of the bill (longitudinal slit). Adult female—Similar to the male ; back not so white. Young— Whole of back clouded with grey. Unver the subfamily Gymnorhine of the Laniide or “ Crow-Shrikes” there are thirteen species recorded for Australia and Tasmania. Of these only four belong to the genus Gymuorhina—one of which, G. hyperleuca, occurs in Tasmania ; a second, G. dorsalis, in Western Australia ; while the remaining two, our common magpies, are to he found widely distributed over the Australian continent, It is with these two—the Black-backed (G. tibicen) and the White-backed (G. lewconota)—Victoria is concerned. Though it may seem strange, the former keeps principally to the north of the Dividing Range, and the latter to the south. Magpies are not always gregarious. They mate for life, and families of two to five are generally to be seen as if governing each a small area. Sometimes a pair, or the occupiers of a block, will not breed for a year, but they join + INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS the multitude in the following summer. Though magpies are fond of wheat, they are trebly drawn to the luscious grasshopper, a horde of which they will attack in a most beneficial way for the agriculturist. The season 1897-8 was so poor in insect life that young magpies died in their nests in different parts of the Wimmera. Just as spring seems to come first to the plants near sea levels and later to the “alpine” forms, so does this species build a nest earlier in the valleys than on the hills. This seems to me to be true as regards the small difference of, say, 300 feet. Tn my notes on magpies I find the young birds have as much wish to stay with the parents throughout the spring as young albatrosses have, but it is not allowable in the former case. ‘The keen observations of Mr. Geo. Graham, recorded in his letters to me of August, 1898, state clearly (with small additions by the writer) the case of forced individual migration. ‘Three out of seven families that occupy my paddocks have with them each a bird of last season’s breed- ing, and to all appearance it intends to stay with them throughout the summer. When the next brood is incubated the family will increase from three to five (two always being the number of the brood here—Heytesbury), and, providing there are no accidents, it remains until about next May, when one disappears, and shortly after another goes. At this time there is a deal of chasing among the magpies, and I have concluded that it is the young male that is being driven away. The young male becomes blacker and darkens sooner than the female, as well as I can judge. I think the parent male would not permit the opposite sexed young also to remain in camp during spring, so the junior male has to go. If the young male should be allowed to remain with the parents into the next season it does not mate during its first year. I have also noticed OF VICTORIA. 5 the adult females of two families trying to drive away the young females by repeated attacks of sometimes thirty minutes’ duration. The old bird would pin the young one to the ground, but it seemed to have no other effect than to make the young one afraid of its mother. The male parent stands by, looking on, and takes no active physical part in the contest. In both cases the youngsters stood the ill-treatment till the duty of nest-building compelled the dame to leave them in possession. After the young of the new brood are hatched out it is amusing to see the dejected attitude of the oldest daughter (unmarried) when the mother happens to approach it in quest of food for the new brood. In May or June following it disappears, and probably begins housekeeping on its own account. Just at this time a new patch of forest has been opened up, and, if only of a few acres, a pair of magpies will find their way into it. But all is not complete yet, as someone has shot the male because it thrashed his domestic fowls. The female cleared out at once, and returned in a few days with four males, the strongest and best fighter eventually becoming her mate.” It is interesting to direct a field- glass on a parent bird with a nest of young. You can see it fill the mouth with insects almost to bill-overflowing, then fly into the nest and equally distribute the collection to the young. I think young magpies must be trained to catch snakes, and that it is not an intuition with them. Proof to this effect is not strong, but a bird I know in domestication almost went into hysterics one day when an unassuming lady visitor came in with a boa dangling from her neck. The bird got a terrific fright, screeched, and hid itself for nearly three hours. My friend, Mr. W. J. Stephen, has a female bird, taken from a nest four years ago, which is a splendid talker. In 6 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS the spring of 1897 an inclination to sit was observed. The following year (August, as with wild birds) it showed a similar desire, and some assistance was given as soon as it showed itself in earnest. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stephen were good enough to keep a rough diary for me of the nest-building, which shows how the bird, in spite of being turned out of its chosen spot several times, persisted in building a nest, using for preference pieces of wire, stiff twigs, and also some strips of stiff white calico, but re- jecting pink flannelette. At Box Hill there is a semi-domesticated pair of birds that have lived and reared their young in a garden for five consecutive years. They added to and renovated their first nest up to the third year, and built another for the fourth year. This I know by the broken leg the male bird has had from the beginning of 1893. A pair of this species living at Pakenham has reared three families of young without any black pigment in their plumage, but these albinos do not seem to live long in captivity. Nest.—Cup-shaped ; large ; formed of sticks externally, grasses and hair internally, and nicely lined ; placed high or low according to the size of tree available. Evgs.—They vary considerably in colour. The ground colour may be light green, light brown, or intermediate shades; the markings may be streaks and blotches of chestnut, reddish-brown, or varying brown ; some will be heavily blotched, others will be lightly so. Clutch, 3 to 4. Length, 1°5 inches ; breadth, 1 inch. OF VICTORIA. a | BLACK-BACKED MAGPIE (Preinc Crow-SHrike), Gymnorhina tibicen, Lath. Jim-no-12'-nd_ ti-bi'-sen. Gumnos, naked ; rhinus, nostril; t¢bia, flute ; canere, to chant. GYMNORHINA TIBICEN, Gould, ‘‘ Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii, pl. 46. GEOGRAPHICAL DIsTRIBUTION.—Areas 3, 6, 7. Key To THE SpEeciIES.—Black band across white back ; throat and breast black ; bill pointed and slightly hooked ; nostrils bare of feathers, and placed as longitudinal slits about the middle of the bill. DurRinG certain times, as when the seed grain is in the ground, the ‘‘’pies” are not in favour with every cereal grower. That it destroys the prospect of a crop at such time is not real to me, although the evidence of a stomach full of grain certainly weighs against its good name. Soft- bodied injurious vermin are very much reduced in number at the same time. For eleven months of the year the bird is indispensable to the grower, doing what other birds never do, and even- tually adding its quota to the handsome results the quality of the ground, with a minimum of pests, has given. But for the magpies the cleaning of our grounds would periodically cost us heavy sums, and like the “ whin,” when let alone for years, it would rather shock us when the evil day could no longer be staved off. Something of this handsome bird might be said with advantage in a homely way. It appears that in captivity magpies show an aversion to anyone who has annoyed them, as well as to anyone who looks like the person who 8 7 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS has annoyed them. The voice of the offending person is quite sufficient to startle the bird and make it rush “ post haste” to the gate to waylay or torment the arriving juvenile or lady. Although it is principally children and ladies that they have a grievance against, some children and ladies se SS cas Fig. 1. Black-backed Magpie and Nest. One-fifth natural size. pass by as very good friends. No stones are picked up by the bird as if to throw and injure. One magpie known to myself, upon hearing an enemy’s voice will invariably rush to the gate, pick up a stone, and try to get through the pickets with the stone in its beak. Under domestication OF VICTORIA. 9 a magpie can be very pugnacious, according to the provo- cation given that leads all mankind to be treated alike. Magpies fly at you for a reason similar to that of a hen with its chicks in danger. The male bird, and not the female, appears to be the attacker of man, and _ the attacked is not only a man, woman, or child, but may be a dog or a species of small bird, or, as is better known, a hawk or crow. Small birds, as Robins and Acanthize, that are breeding at the same time as the magpie, may have their nests pulled to pieces, the young destroyed, or even the old birds, if they can be caught, It is in this respect a brutal bird. Both male and female attack hawks. The magpies fly desper- ately at you when either eggs or young are in the nest, as well as when the latter have recently left the nest, but later their pugnacity ceases. In individual cases the magpie will keep the pugnacious temperament very strongly for some weeks, or even months, and woe betide you if you should meet such a hot-tempered bird. In breeding season it recognizes its arch-enemy, man, whether on horseback or in the buggy, and far beyond a quarter of a mile from its nest it will follow him and endeavour to make war on him. The Black-breasted Plover will fly at dogs, for pro- tection of its eggs, just as the magpie will fly at a crow for a like reason. I should say the bird has learnt by direct experience (not instinct) to regard mankind in the light of an enemy ; experience, because in the remote and sparsely populated districts, where the birds are not subject to the persecutions of schoolboys or other egg-hunters, they are of a much milder disposition. As we approach the towns their ferocity increases. In the mallee country Mr. Goudie has noted and com- municated to me that a person going near the nest of a 10 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS magpie is not attacked as he would be in the case of a nest nearer the coast, even when the mallee nest contains young. I have climbed to examine nests in this latter part, and although they contained young the old birds flew straight away to watch from a distance, offering no resist- ance whatever. When I was a schoolboy I made a visit to Point Cook with a companion, and we took fifteen young magpies from five nests. In no one case did the parents fly at us, although it was a pity they did not do so. Because the country was closed to everyone without a permit to traverse it the magpies were very trustful. I know of a Black-backed Magpie at Hawthorn which has built a nest in a peach tree. For the past three years it has been living under the domesticated réle. The bird, not having full freedom, could only work at the nest between 7 and 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. and on the wifole of Saturday and Sunday. The nest was placed 7 feet 6 inches above the ground. It was compact, neatly made of various twigs, and slightly lined with feathers. The whole breadth was 14 inches, that of bowl 4'5 inches, and depth of cavity 2°5 inches. In October three eggs were laid in it, and the dimensions averaged—diameter, 1:08 ; axis, 1‘D inches. The colours were also normal — ground bluish-grey, under markings purplish, over markings dark brown. It is rarely that either of these species lays five eggs to the clutch, but cases in both were reported to me in 1597. Mr. H, S. Burcher, of Mossgiel,.N:S.W., on loth September, 1898, writes to me :—“ TI noticed a very remark- able incident last week in the finding of a Black-backed Magpie’s nest with five eggs. This is quite out of the ordinary for a magpie here, as it is the first time I have ever found five eggs in a nest. I left them at the first time OF VICTORIA. 11 to make the note you wrote for, when on passing the second time I found, to my surprise, the five eggs had gone, although the birds were still there. Noticing the inside of. the nest was not so deep as before, I pushed my hand further down and felt the five eggs. It seems that they had built a thin lining over the eggs, which I first thought was to hide them away, but I found out after they had made a partial new nest on top of the other and laid another clutch. The first set of eggs was poorly developed, and fairly easily blown. Between the laying of the two sets of eggs there was an interval of some fourteen days, including the time occupied in depositing the second clutch.” Nest.—Similar in every way to the previous species. Both are placed in the forks of perpendicular branches. Kggs.—The specimens taken from five different nests show very varying differences. The ground colour will be pale green or brown. The spots may be lilac or chestnut, and the streaks of the same. Clutch, 3. Length, 1:5 inches ; breadth, 1:1 inches. 12 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS MAGPIE-LARK (Mup-Larx, Pe-wit), Grallina picata, Lath. Gra-lina ptk'-a-ta. Gralle, stilts; pica, a magpie. GRALLINA AUSTRALIS, Gould, ‘‘ Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii, pl. 54. }EOGRAPHICAL DisTRIBUTION.—Areas 1 to 9 inclusive ; accidental in 5. Kry TO THE SpecrES.—Breast black; under parts pure white ; throat white in female, black in male; upper surface black ; bill broader than it is high; second primary longer than the secondaries. Ir is a useful species, very broadly distributed. Fruit- growers and market gardeners around Melbourne in 1896 received a very nice visit in force from this species. For seasons previous and since it has visited us only in pairs, and then few and far between. They came just before the Wood-Swallows retired, and what the latter left the former have been attentive to, preferring those kinds of creeping things that are found in damp places. This so- called Mud-Lark is greatly the life of the place, its “ pe-wit ” always announcing its approach when on the wing. The charm of the bird is best exhibited when gracefully walk- ing by the green banks of the creeks or shallow ponds, but the faery form peculiar to it is lost as the gentle crea- ture leaves the earth for higher fields, when its flap and heavy flight are totally different to what one would expect from its manners upon the moist ground, where its black and white plumage affords a most agreeable contrast. Water in creeks and pools generally harbours “ snails,” and where the latter are very often they prove the hosts of OF VICTORIA. 13 sheep “fluke.” This bird, in common with the White- fronted Heron (Blue Crane), makes war upon the mollusc hosts, and thus considerably reduces the danger and loss, especially to our western graziers, Fig 2. Magpie-Lark, male and female. One-fifth natural size. Nest.—Cup-shaped ; made of mud, and lined internally with grasses ; placed near water and generally in a eucalypt on a horizontal Lough. 14 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS Eggs.—Two, three, or four to a sitting. One set may be rich reddish-brown, with markings of a stronger colour ; a second set may be nearly white, with brown spots upon it, varying between olive and nutty brown. Length, 08 inch ; breadth, 0°6 inch. HOUSE-SWALLOW (WELCOME SWALLOW), Hirundo neoxena, Gld. Hi-run'dd né-0-zé' nd. Hirundo, a swallow ; neos, new ; zenos, strange. HIRUNDO NEOXENA, Gld., ‘‘ Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii., pl. 13. GEOGRAPHICAL DiIstRIBUTION.—Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. Key To THE SpeEcrEs.—Tail forked; throat rust-red ; abdomen white ; ear coverts glossy blue, like back ; nostrils lateral. Tuts beautiful creature of the air was quite content, on account of the moderately mild season, in 1896, to stay in Victoria. In March the birds assembled in hundreds in Elizabeth-street, Melbourne, and I was inclined to conclude one contingent was preparing to make a journey. These birds settled on the projecting mouldings of the third floor of a five-storied building, each uttering a single note, which collectively constituted a din of weak voices. Mr. Frank Tate, M.A., has told me of a flock of several hundreds entering a school building near Kerang, which he believes to have been the arrival of the flock in their return migratory journey. It is well for agriculturists in the district that this flock kept the even tenor of its way. In March there are three features observable about these birds. At first, that they are combative. One pair for several OF VICTORIA. 15 minutes fought while on the wing; having ascended to a high altitude a downward chase followed, when they appeared as comet-like objects floating rapidly through the air, chattering all the time. Secondly, that the male is a vocalist with a considerable amount of ability, for if the 0% i : Fig. 3. House-Swallow and Nest. One-fifth natural size, sun be shining, as you know it often enough does at that time in this bright country of ours, a strain of music continuous for minutes is produced, while it rests upon a post or other suitable object. As it now wishes to choose a partner for the next and following months it must need be busy with the duty of the season. Thirdly, 16 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS that owing to the amount of moisture regularly falling upon the ground, they find a part of their sustenance there. As one floats above the short grass the little body assumes an ovate form and the tail feathers become lowered. The short legs prohibit them from standing anywhere other than on a flat surface, and it is not unusual to have them pleasantly rise from the asphalt path as you approach. Swallows gather moths and other insects from the grass as they rise, noiselessly hovering within a few inches, and at times appearing motionless. On the 3rd of April I was interested in watching 14 swallows skimming the surface of the Surrey Hills reservoir. This was at 4.45 p.m., and soon the active flock became 23, after which the number quickly reached 70. The arrivals all came from the south, and still continued until the number totalled about 200 in 30 minutes from the arrival of the first group. They arrived in companies of from 12 to 18. The sun was brightly setting, and the weather mild. The scene above the artificial lake was truly a pretty one, with the distant birds of apparently small proportions and light colour, while those in the foreground were large and dark, all gliding in a circular form till one almost imagined the whole scene was in revolution. ‘Fhe flock left at 5.30 p.m. as the light faded, and all occurred as in an instant, and I was left to contemplate, with only a faint idea that they had moved northwards to their usual roosting place in a group of timber. It surely goes without saying that everyone is familiar with the Common or Chimney Swallow, yet such facts as the following, gathered by the writer and an able corres- pondent, Mr. George Graham, will appear as new to us in the natural history of the species. OF VICTORIA. 17 Nesting Habits.—The species starts to nest in July if the weather be favourable, though the month will vary with the season and latitude. It is an early and late breeder. The chosen position of the nest is a very varied one, such as in caves, spouts of trees over water, barns, under veran- dahs, and even in a dog-kennel, if the dog has been absent some time. In this latter position the bird has been known to breed for five years (per Mr. C. Gabriel). Even the floating gate of the Williamstown Graving Dock has its nest, under one of the iron ledges. Whether or not the birds resort to the same nest annually I cannot say, but since 1881 two nests in the same hollow of a tree have been occupied each year during the whole 16 to 17 years up to 1898. One of these nests was pulled down on the 16th year prior to spring, and was not rebuilt. I take it the birds were turned aside from the usual custom and went elsewhere. In the building of a nest the birds occa- sionally make a mistake and persist in doing so. If the nest falls they start again, and a second time it falls. On other occasions nests are partially built and abandoned. A pair will start a nest, and by the time it is half done a number of swallows assemble, fly to and from the nest, twitter considerably, and work is suspended apparently as a consequence, Such nests are not again touched. It is interesting to know that a House-Swallow in England hatches its eggs in exactly the same time as one in Victoria. The following four observations show—(a) an egg is laid on each consecutive day ; (b) the clutch takes 15 days to incubate ; (c) the young open their eyes on the ninth day ; (d) the young left the nest in Observation I. in 24 days, in Observation IV. in one calendar month (30 days). Observation I.—August-September, 1899, Heytesbury, Victoria.—To last year’s nest, in a much-weathered hollow : 3 18 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS at the base of a eucalypt trunk, the birds commenced additions as early as the 6th August, and by the 13th a new tier of plaster, one inch thick, was laid. Imme- diately following this an inner lining of rabbit’s fur, feathers, &e., was fixed in ample time for the first egg. First egg deposited in nest 23rd August, second egg 24th August, third egg 25th August, fourth egg 26th August, fifth egg 27th August. The birds immediately sat, and brought out five young on the llth September. On the 4th October young left the nest for the first time. Observation IT.—September, 1899, Heytesbury, Vic- toria. To experiment, the old nest was broken away and taken quite out of sight of the birds. This gave an oppor- tunity to find the time required to build a complete nest. The operation commenced on 7th September, and by the 19th instant the earthen cup was finished. By the 30th instant the lining was fixed and an egg was laid. Without giving any clear explanation the owners made no further advance with this nest, and the single egg remained un- incubated. Observation III.—October-November, 1899, Heytesbury, Victoria. The first egg was deposited in nest on 12th October, and a second on the following day. Several days’ watching showed no further development. Considering the nest was abandoned the observation ceased. Passing the nest some weeks later two young were found to be progressing favourably. Observation IV.—October-December, 1899, Heytesbury, Victoria. Nest in bole of eucalypt. The second egg was deposited on 18th October, the third on 19th, and fourth on 20th. By analogy with this species the first egg was aid on the 17th October. On 5th November the young hatched out, their bodies being rather nude and the down OF VICTORIA. 19 grey. The eyes opened on 14th November. Young grow- ing rapidly on 17th November, quills well out and showing grey tufts. By the 19th inst. the grey is giving way to black, with chocolate on throat and vent. At this stage the young are so strong and cling so tenaciously to the nest that it is dangerous to take them out for examination, especially on the 22nd inst., when the crown and back are dull black. On 5th December the young left the nest for the first time. When it is found a clutch of eggs will not develop, certain birds, such as Gymnorhina tibicen, place a false flooring to the nest, thus covering the eggs, and immediately relay. Judging from the following note it is most probable the swallow does not come under this head, but under the one where birds turn out their eggs when proved valueless. “In a hollow trunk that has been used for 15 years,” writes Mr. Graham, ‘‘I found the nest, freshly lined with feathers. Shortly afterwards I felt an egg in it, and on the following day two additional, thus proving carelessness in my touch, or that three eggs were laid in 48 hours. I do not believe an error was made on my part. On the fifteenth day all three eggs disappeared. About nine days later three more eggs were found in the nest, and they are there now (weeks later), probably infertile, as doubtless were the others. There are no rats, cats, or bird-nesting boys in this neighbourhood, so I venture to think the birds, finding no young came on the appointed day (fifteenth), threw them out.” Young.—The providing for the young necessitates each parent visiting the nest every 3 minutes. This is done alternately, judging by 20 visits to the nest in one hour, of which each sex made ten. If only one nestling is supplied at a time, the five in the family would each be fed 20 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS every 15 minutes. After the young have quitted the nest for the first time, they return during the heat of the day for several days following. The pipe in the tree above the nest serves the family as a night camp for 10 to 12 days after the young have first left the nest. The non-sitting bird camps in a place apart from the nest during the period the nest is tenanted. While the majority leave the district during the early autumn, a few remain, and then the old birds sing or twitter as well apparently as in the spring. It is not unlikely that this is a training for the remaining young in preparation for the following spring and summer. Introduced Enemies.—-The fox and cat from the mother country cause considerable trouble among our birds. The cat, at the moment, I have noted, is raiding the dry parts of North-Western Australia just as the fox is doing in the south-eastern portion. Near Swan Hill I know the hall of a country house that has a nest in it, and two nails below, upon which the two birds perch in the dusk. In six weeks previous to lst October, 1898, seven birds were killed by the cat that kept its place in this lobby. If one of a pair was caught the mate would go away for about one to three days and return with a consort. In a day or more one of that pair would be captured, and away the other would go for a mate and return with it. As to which sex was killed no one could say, but I should think the same one, and every time the stranger, thus showing the persistency of one bird to follow up an idea, just as one of the same species will start to rebuild its nest after it has been purposely knocked down on four occasions within a month. In those districts where swallows build mostly in burnt- out trees, the fox makes a thorough inspection, and all that are not more than 6 or 8 feet above the ground sooner or OF VICTORIA, 21 later are precipitated, sometimes when empty, at others when containing the sitting birds. The fox will jump or scramble up the distance and grasp in its mouth nest and bird. It seems most unfortunate this scourge should have got among our terrestrial fauna, of which that beautiful form the Menura has not suffered least. Nest.—Open, made of mud, and cup-like, the inner lining being of feathers or grasses. fggs.—Ground colour white, much spotted with ruddy- brown or faint lilac. Clutch, 4 to 5 eggs. Length, 0°75 inch ; breadth, 0°5 inch. FAIRY MARTIN (BoTTLE SWALLow), Petrochelidon ariel, Gld. Pet-ro-kel'i-don ; @rv-el. Petros, a rock ; chelidon, a swallow ; arzel, a sprite. COLLOCALIA ARIEL, Gould, ‘* Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii., pl. 15. GEOGRAPHICAL DisTRIBUTION.—Areas 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. Key to THE Specirs.—Under surface whitish; throat with tiny black streaks ; entire head rufous ; rump creamy-white ; tail forked ; nostrils without any superior membrane, round and exposed, Tus fairy-like swallow arrives in Victoria towards the end of August and leaves again after the summer. If the winter is mild many flocks will stay throughout the year. Although fond of plenty of water, a company will associate their nests in an almost dry creek bed and live in the vicinity of it. From here they daily forage and do well. The generic name originally given was at the time specially 22 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS applicable. | Lagenoplastes (/agena, a bottle or flask).] The birds build bottle-shaped nests made of mud, and have them upon the cliff or under a bridge until 20 to 40 are together. This makes up the colony, to which they annually return. Work is carried on in the cool of the day—morning and Fig. 4. Fairy Martin. One-sixth natural size. evening. Half a dozen birds will help to build each nest (grass and feather lining), about 3 to 7 inches apart, and if, at any subsequent time, you should break off a neck, the whole colony immediately starts repairing it. In less than 15 minutes several thousand mud ‘‘bricks” have been OF VICTORIA. 23 carried and plastered together, and order has been restored. Mr. Price Fletcher in a private diary says: —“ Unfortunately this curious and closely constructed home is no protection against some of its feathered foes, for I have seen the Red- rumped Kingfisher, instructed doubtless by its habit of breaking into the tree-ants’ nests in order to make a nesting place for its own eggs and young, make persistent war on the colonies of Fairy Martins. The kingfishers fly up, catch the end of the neck or entrance spout in their beaks, and gradually break it off until they reach the eggs or young, which they ruthlessly devour. I have known the pretty little Pardalote or Diamond-bird, which usually builds a nest at the end of a tunnel 2 feet long excavated in some sandy tank, deliberately take possession of one of those spouted nests of the Fairy Martin, and hold it against all opposition from its original constructors, and safely rear a brood of young.” In another case I know of an introduced sparrow that took possession of a nest that was about being completed by the Martins. As this sparrow absolutely refused to leave the nest the Martins mudded it in. Perhaps it was sick and could not leave. In any case my friend released it. Nest.—Made of mud, with a neck to it that is retort- shape, the funnel extending from the bowl several inches ; the inner lining is made of grasses and feathers. A colony of nests is placed under a bridge or on a bank. The figure will illustrate it. Fggs.—White or white spotted with tawny brown ; the spots may be distributed over the egg or at the larger end only. Three to five generally for a sitting. Length, 0:7 inch ; breadth, 0°5 inch. 24 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS TREE MARTIN (TREE SwALLow), Petrochelidon nigricans, Vieill. Pet-ré-keli-don nig'ri-kans. Petros, a rock ; chelidon, a swallow ; nigricans, blackish. CoLLOCALIA ARBOREA, Gould, ‘‘ Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii., pl. 14. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. —Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. ) > >) ’ 3 > Kery TO THE SPECIES.—Under surface whitish ; throat whitish, with tiny black streaks; frontal band sandy buff; rump whity- brown ;. tail forked ; nostrils without any superior membrane, round and exposed. Or every hundred intelligent people who see martins in the woods or near bridges I feel sure ninety-eight never distinguish this species from the second martin of the genus (P. ariel, Gld.) That is because there is practically but one difference, and in the distance not discoverable without field-glasses. One has the forehead rufous only, the other has the forehead and crown rufous, each characteristic being always constant. Both have similar ways, and very often occupy the same nature of surroundings. P. nigricans, as well as I know, stays for the winter and breeds in holes in. trees, while P. ariel prefers creeks and cliffs against which to build, or bridges, under which they colonize and nest. Ina way it is a migratory bird, leaving after Feb- ruary and returning in August or September. Being strictly arboreal, it hunts in flocks, feeding largely upon micro-insecta. In this respect it is invaluable as an insect exterminator, functioning as few other birds than swallows can do. When each ninth or tenth generation of the aphis comes into existence the birds display wonderful OF VICTORIA. 25 activity among the winged insects. While the Fairy Martin feeds in a lower stratum, upon the rivers, and the swifts in a high stratum of air, this species works the intermediate one. That is to say, different kinds of insects which live in different strata of air have different kinds of swallows to keep them in subjection, although a theory of this nature is perhaps better taken in a general way. It is strengthened by substituting the House Swallow for the Tree Martin. There isa Black and White Swallow (Cherameca) that occasionally is seen in the Wimmera, but only on rare occasions. The classical name leads one to believe it eats Phylloxera, which I have no doubt it does when winged. Two species of swifts visit us annually, in November and December, and stay till February. A Swift has never been known to rest upon its feet in Victoria, and only a doubtful one in Australia. They breed in China, and are so rapid in flight that they can breakfast in Asia and dine in Australia on the same day. Nest.— Hollow of a tree limb, with decayed wood as a base. Lggs.—White, spotted with reddish brown at larger end, more or less. Three to a sitting. Length, 0°75 inch ; breadth, 0.5 inch. 26 - © INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS MASKED WOOD-SWALLOW, Artamus personatus, Gld. Ar'ta-mus per-son a tus. Artamos, a butcher ; personatus, masked. ARTAMUS PERSONATUS, Gould, “ Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. 11., pl. 31. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. —Areas 3, 4, 6, 7, 9. Key To THE Specres.—Under surface of body beautiful grey ; rump and upper tail-coverts clear ashy-grey like the back. Male—Face and throat jet black. Female—Lighter in markings of head and throat. As with the previous member, it is insectivorous to a nicety. When opportunity occurs it shows an interest in an apiary, Seemingly it dves not despise the odorous pear slug, according to a neighbour market gardener, who further remarked to me “ An odour so powerful that we are obliged when picking fruit to keep to windward of greatly infested trees, and leave them to the care of hellebore and Summer- birds.” There is little doubt about the former, but I question any special service by the latter. Spring sees a struggle in vocal development ; its usual rapid, rasping note is left aside for a moment or two occasionally, and an endeavour to pour forth a bar of melody for the benefit of a member of the gentler sex of its kin is made. The effort is great, and the result, though comparable to the song of many of the bird fauna, falls feebly and brokenly upon the ear of one accustomed to better results from such an effort. However, it is an advance decided on the little varied croak that early becomes ordinary. OF VICTORIA. | ag In 1895 I noted this species did not appear to build as early as the following, and nature favoured the deposit- ing of two eggs as a clutch in the majority of cases, Of eighteen nests personally observed, five contained each three eggs, eleven contained each two eggs, two con- tained each one egg. The young were as a whole well advanced in the eggs, and other nests with plumaged young had two in each. Fig. 5. Nest and Eggs of Masked Wood-Swallow. One-fifth natural size. Just as the manner is with many other birds so is it with these, that of flying angrily and boldly at you as you observe the perfect quiet of their young in the nest. The mother bird is more retiring in her fear, and the per- sistent darting flights, almost direct to the intruder, de- volve upon the male. The interest in watching their ~ movements is about as keen as in many other families. 28 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS On Christmas eve I observed that two young were about to fly from a nest built in an odd-looking piece of dead timber near the ground, which I had watched for eight days previously. One would serve as a cabinet repre- sentative specimen, so I withdrew it at 7 p.m. For an hour and a quarter I kept fifty yards away, watching other birds, and returning then I found the parents had removed the remaining young swallow, probably for preservation sake. Meanwhile I had extracted three fresh eggs (the third one laid the day previously) from another nest of this species, and placed therein the young bird mentioned. The layer of the eggs, returning at once, looked astonished, but immediately and carefully gathered the young bird under its plumage. Continuing this mild experiment, the young feathered bird was now extracted, after being there for fifteen minutes, and a member of the White-browed species, born two days previously, was placed in the nest. The proprietor female bird returned, and a second time gently covered the creature, this time almost a featherless one, as if it belonged to it, and the loss of three eggs was purely a philosophical matter. This young bird was taken through its cradled course of life by the ninth day later, and released on the same day as the two in the nest from which it was removed. The young of the previous species at 24 hours of age are downy and well stored with vitality. The last movement of one made in methylated spirit was the drooping of the neck and head upon its chest after 205 minutes had elapsed from the time of placing it in the bottle. The majority of nests were loosely constructed, but where fibrous roots were with ease available invariably they were used, and the results were compact nests, neatly OF VICTORIA. 29 arranged. The birds gather the constructive material in the vicinity of the place chosen for the nest, and seem_ ingly do not care to move away from it. A typical example is easily noticed in the case where a fence divides an orchard from a gorse field, for, on the orchard side, 10 yards from the fence, you will find nests constructed wholly of fruit-tree fibrous rootlets, while on the gorse side each nest is composed of grasses and twigs that can be gathered amongst the bushes. There are, of course, exceptions. Three characters of combinative material appear to be used, though they pertain possibly more to local influences, and may have but little weight in a wide study of the Artamidez :—1. In orchards, rootlets of the trees, internally fine, but with coarse mantling. 2. In lightly-timbered paddocks, grass stems principally, chlorophyll-bearing before completion, occasionally a few horsehairs, 3. In well-timbered country, twigs of the trees, with a finer internal lining of linear leaves. The bowls of all the nests are similar in dimensions, but those of the complete structure may vary occasionally to twice the normal measurements. ‘The positions, as with the previous species, generally range about 6 feet, and often enough only 2 feet, from the ground. Nests are placed higher in occasional places here, but, with the exception of Pinus insignis and a few species of eucalypti, the rule is, low to mother earth. The two species build promiscuously, favouring a break of low scrubs, which is used for this purpose. The nests are placed in prominent positions, each species as a whole keeping together, but intermixed in both cases with several of each other incubating in their midst. By the middle of December many of each species were preparing homesteads for the third brood, and they seldom 30 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS use the nests of a past family for a future one. Late builders were observed in the early portion of this month (January) carrying twigs. After sundown those birds not engaged in the night tasks of caring fcr the young or eggs congregate in bodies of from 10 to 15 close to each other ina tree or shrub convenient to the nests and near the ground. It may be a large fruit tree, a sweetbriar bush, or one of many other vegetable forms. With both kinds I find an egg is deposited each day, and the first of the clutch hatches out on the twelfth day of sitting. The young of the two species fly upon the eleventh or twelfth day from hatching, subject to a slight variation in a number of broods. Nest.—Saucer-shaped ; twigs externally, with finer grasses within them ; very flimsy or neatly made. Further reference above. Eggs —Two or three, sometimes four, to a sitting. The under surface may be light brown, or light green occasion- ally, and all blotched with light or heavy brown. Length, 0°S inch; breadth, 0:7 inch. OF VICTORIA, 31 WHITE-BROWED WOOD- SWALLOW (MATIN, SUMMER-BIRD), Artamus superciliosus, Gld. Ar'ta-nus si'per-sil''d'sus. Artamos, a butcher ; super, over ; cilium, eyelid. ARTAMUS SUPERCILIOSUS, Gould, ‘‘ Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii., pl. 32. GEOGRAPHICAL DISsTRIBUTION.—Areas 3, 4, 6. Key To THE Sprectes.—Under surface of body vinaceous chestnut ; a broad white eyebrow; bill long and pointed, the culmen exceeding the length of the hind toe and claw. THE annual arrival of the White-browed Wood-Swallow in Victoria is noticed between the latter end of October and the early part of December, varying as the grasshoppers are early or late in appearing. On so common an insectivorous bird very little more than a general notice has been given hitherto, so that I reproduce here from the Victorian Naturalist a portion of a series of observations made by myself in 1895. Reference is also made to A. personatus, both species being flocked together. Previous to settlement for the season they show con- siderable knowledge or instinct, and generally seem to choose a locality where for the season insect life is specially abundant. At the same time it is noticeable that a certain number are generally associated with a distinct area. Hawk- ing singly, in pairs, or in a flock, constantly assembling upon the grassed ground, they raid. In the latter case they move by jump motion. Often does a single bird (but never a silent one) choose a pinnacie, some twenty feet high, 32 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS upon the upper portion of a tree, and, settling itself to the business of the evening, leaves its headquarters in direct pursuit of a dipterous or other winged insect. Returning it essays another chase, continuing to repeat the same for a considerable time, soaring downwards and winging its active upward way by a series of rapid flaps. Previous to entering upon the serious portion of life—nesting— the birds assemble in flocks amongst the lower portions of the higher leafy vegetation, causing a vocal din such as one would not expect from a group of birds so graceful in their movements. The harsh, sharp, and powerful chirps of a hundred birds, continuously repeated, are not as pleasant (at all events somewhat modified) as in the sobered parents of 21 days later. I remember a large flock of the swallows taking possession of a cluster of timber in which were a Black Fantail, its mate, nest, and eggs. Only occasionally could the little bird be heard. It tried and generally succeeded, after they had retired for the night. The second of a weekly visit showed their desire for nest-building had in part set in, and the constructions were completed in one or two days. Some were rapid in work, while others appeared to play in comparison. A clutch of eggs was observed on 8th November, with the birds still in flocks on the 17th of the same month. With this species both sexes incubate. The young of others were on the wing by the 23rd, but before leaving the nests a relic of inheritance was distinctly noticeable in the horizontal and perpendicular motions of the short- plumaged tail. It is in perpetual daily motion, and agrees with the day movements of those of the parents. The fledgling, when taken from the nest, announced itself by two calls, one imitative of the general note of the mother, OF VICTORIA. 33 though more broken and feeble, and the second of fear. The latter was the result of being away from its nest 15 minutes. This bird we endeavoured to domesticate, but without success; it refused to eat. The eggs varied in markings slightly, with a deep or light ground colour ; one egg ina set of three had the zone of spots at the narrow end, the other two were normal. They differed on the average only a shade in dimensions, and in the number to a clutch from four to two. Of twelve nests observed, three contained four eggs, six three eggs, three two eggs ; all well incubated. The nests about here, though slight in structure, were generally faithfully built of rootlets or grasses, or more often twigs and grasses, and in many cases artistically arranged. They were seldom above 6 feet from the ground, and placed in all manner of places, preference being given to perpendicular slight stems, though nearly as often placed upon the horizontal firm twigs or branchlets of assorted shrubs and bushes. One nest was placed in the socket for a padlock slip-panel, a second in a furze or whin hedge, many in bushes of the same or in Leptospermum, others in acacia wattles, and fewer in eucalypts, as far as this district is concerned. That these two members were here in considerable num- bers may be deduced from the fact that 40 nests, building, tenanted, and vacated, were observed by the writer on the 16th December within a mile’s walk, and nearly within the straight line lying between its termini. Two orchards, a belt of furze or whin, and an almost dry watercourse had to be passed by. The nests were placed in the orchards more numerously than in the legume whin, the areas being equal. Plum, pear, apple, and cherry trees received the nesting honours. One nest was placed in a “ sweetbriar ” low to the ground, that is about 2 feet from it, in the township of 4 34 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS SN oe Surrey Hills. My chord of generosity was somehow struck, so I placed a piece of basalt in the nest, in order that the birds would be saved more serious distress later on. Next week the nest was gone, and so would have been the eggs but for the stone. This does not cast a reflection on the Surrey Hills boys, for they are not below the average in moral principles. On a previous occasion I referred to the sensitiveness of this bird. Its hardihood is now the chief feature, for no less than seven times was a nest in a young elm enclosed within a guard destroyed, this being done to save restless boys from making investigations and damage to the struc- tural beauty of the tree. Each time the nest was bodily taken away, leaving only a remnant, the birds would persist in rebuilding it within the same fork, till the seventh part edifice was destroyed, and I have no doubt they then sought pastures new, for no further attempt to build was made in that tree. Nest.—Similar to preceding species. Several nests may be placed in orchards. Eggs.—Similar to preceding species, though varying greatly. Obsolete marks of greyish-brown appear as if beneath the surface. OF VICTORIA. 30 eee WOOD-SWALLOW, Artamus sordidus, Lath. Ar'td-mus_ sor’did-us. Artamos, a butcher ; sordidus, greyish-brown. ARTAMUS SORDIDUS, Gould, ‘‘ Birds of Australia,” fol., vol. ii pl. 27. ty | GEOGRAPHICAL DIsTRIBUTION.—Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. Key To THE SpEcrES.—Under surface of body dull brown; chin scarcely any darker; back and rump brown; two or three quills of wing edged with white; bill long and pointed, the culmen exceeding the length of the hind toe and claw. Tus, the common Wood-Swallow of Victoria, is to be found throughout the year in the colony. The other members upon our list are migratory in one sense of the word, leaving before, and returning after, the winter season. The birds have the peculiar habit of closely hanging like a hive of bees. There are eight or nine species of this insectivorous genus, of which five generally migrate, sometimes six.