Part 57

Now we come to two of the four native Skylarks. Who has not, while lying on his back on the grass enjoying a rest in the warm sunshine, felt pleasure at the beautiful song of the Rufous Song-Lark as it soars singing away so high overhead? The British Skylark often receives the credit for the harmony of our four Skylarks. Two belong to this family, and two come later with the Larks and Pipits. One is larger and darker on the breast, hence the name Black-breasted Song-Lark. I saw many of these birds, when examining the glacial deposits at Hallet's Cove, near Adelaide. As there was a continuous chorus of these fine songsters above the crops, the reason for the name Harvest Birds was apparent.

The Thrush family (Turdidae) includes the British Song-Thrush, Blackbird, Nightingale, and many other famous songsters, The Australian Mountain-Thrush is larger and more prettily marked, but is not such a good songster as its European cousin--the Song-Thrush. It, however, has one of its calls closely similar to one of the calls of its more famous relative. It is a quiet, shy bird, though I walked within five feet of one this morning as it was busy digging up worms on the lawn in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. I left it at work pleased that my presence had caused no feeling of fear in so beautiful and so shy a bird. Its beautiful moss-covered nest is built even so early as July. It flies little, preferring to keep near the dark scrubs, especially the tea-tree scrub along the coast.

The Song-Thrush and Blackbird have been successfully introduced, and they are common in suburban gardens. Their delightful song makes richer the lives of busy city dwellers, though their attentions to soft fruits are not always appreciated. For sweetness and fulness of notes, however, these introduced birds cannot compare with our Harmonious Shrike-Thrush (315), deservedly named harmonica by Latham, a British ornithologist. The call of the latter bird, however, is not so continuous as that of the introduced birds.

The four Australian birds known as Chats take the next sub-family to themselves. The common Chat is known as a "Tang," "Nun," and "Tin-tac." While the White-fronted Chat is very common in the South, the beautiful Crimson-breasted Chat, with its crimson cap and pure white throat, and the Orange-fronted Chat, are found mostly in the dry interior, where they are known as Salt-bush Canaries. A good common name is urgently required for this Australian sub-family of birds. North calls them Nuns; but that name is preoccupied, and is suitable only for one of them. I was much interested last week (January, 1911) to see a male White-fronted Chat feeding a fully-fledged young Bronze Cuckoo. Two female Sparrows were also in attendance, one of which fed the Cuckoo three times while I was observing it. A female Bronze Cuckoo sat for some time by the young one, but did not interfere, or offer to feed it. The Chat returned the fifth time for the purpose of feeding the young Cuckoo, when the passing of a motor-car broke up the party. The young Cuckoo flew across the road and some distance on to a bush, where it resumed its constant wheezing whine. It is unusual to find birds so far apart as a Finch, like the Sparrow and a member of the Thrush family, like the Chat, feeding the one young Cuckoo.

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F. 122. TIMELIIDAE (27), BABBLERS, BABBLING-THRUSHES, 590 sp.--65(65)A., 447(443)O., 7(3)P., 75(75)E. (an ill-defined family).

6 6

=266* Spotted Ground-Bird= (-Thrush, -Dove), Babbling-Thrush, Cinclosoma punctatum, S.Q., N.S.W., V., S.A., T.

Stat. r. scrubby 10.7

Crown, back rufous-brown; back striped black; shoulders steel-black spotted white; throat, narrow chest band steel-black; eyebrow, patches on throat white; breast gray; tail tipped white; f., upper lighter; throat white, rufous patch at side. Insects. Rise with a whirr-r-r. Low piping whistle.

=267 Chestnut-backed Ground-Bird= (-Thrush), C. castano-notum, W.N.S.W., W.V., S.A., W.A., N.W.A.

Stat. r. plains 9

Upper chestnut-brown; eyebrow, side-throat white; throat, chest black; shoulder black spotted white; tail tipped white; f., duller; throat, chest gray. Insects.

1 1

=268 Pilot Bird=, Pycnoptilus floccosus, E.N.S.W., E.V.

Stat. v.r. dense scrubby gullies 6.7

Rich dark-brown; throat rufous mottled dusky; f., sim. Insects. "Guinea-a-week."

3 5

=269 Scrub-Robin=, Drymodes brunneipygius, N.S.W., V., S.A. (interior).

Stat. v.r. mallee, scrub 8

Upper brown; wings brown barred white; tail brown, slightly tipped white; under grayish-brown; long legs; shy, runs; f., smaller. Insects. Monotonous whistle.

2 2

=270 Chestnut-rumped Ground-Wren=, Red-rumped Scrub-Warbler, Hylacola pyrrhopygia, N.S.W., V., S.A.

Stat. v.r. dry scrubs 5.3

Upper brown; base tail chestnut-red, tip white; eyebrow white; under streaked black, white; f., sim. Agreeable song.

=271 Shy Ground-Wren= (Red-rumped, Cautious, Rufous-rumped), Shy Scrub-Warbler, H. cauta, V., S.A., W.A.

Stat. v.r. dry scrubs 5.7