Part 26

The Sericornis magnirostris an inhabitant of the brushes of New South Wales, both those which clothe the gullies and sides of the mountain ranges of the interior, as well as those near the coast; such as occur at Illawarra and on the banks of the Hunter, the Clarence, the Macleay and other rivers; it is never seen in the open country, and so far as I am aware, is entirely confined to New South Wales. Although it has nothing either in its form or colouring to recommend it to notice, it must always be an object of interest, from the very singular nest it constructs, and which, like that of Sericornis citreogularis, forms a remarkable object in the scenery of the portion of the country it inhabits. It is formed of a large loose mass of moss, and being attached to the extreme tips of the pendent branches, waves about with every wind that blows; it is very frequently constructed within reach of the hand, but is more often suspended at about ten, and sometimes as high as thirty feet from the ground; occasionally two or three are constructed together under a dense canopy of foliage, overhanging water or a deep and gloomy gully, and then present a very singular appearance. I procured several examples by shooting the branch asunder just above the nest. The nest so perfectly resembles the tufts of living moss which are attached to many of the extremities of the branches of the trees of the brushes, that it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other; and it is a question whether the bird purposely builds its nest in imitation of these hanging masses in order to elude pursuit, or whether it avails itself of the mass already formed, and by a little architectural skill converts it into a receptacle for its eggs. It would seem that the same nest is resorted to for several seasons in succession, and probably for a series of years; the entire mass consists of living moss, and the small hole left for an entrance is so skilfully concealed as scarcely to admit of detection. The breeding-season commences in August and continues until February, during which period many broods are reared. I procured a nest in September out of which flew three young birds, and others during the same month which contained eggs so recently laid that they could scarcely have been sat upon. The eggs are generally two or three in number; their ground-colour varies from bluish white to dull reddish white, with the larger end sparingly washed, freckled and streaked with dark brown; they are large for the size of the bird, being nine and a half lines long by seven lines broad.

It is a very active but shy bird, keeping much among the branches of the high trees, where it gains a plentiful supply of insect food; it may, however, be easily enticed into view by imitating the squeak of its young.

Its powers of song are very feeble.

The sexes do not differ in external appearance, nor do the young when fully fledged offer any variation in colour from the adult.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown, the forehead and tail becoming rufous brown; throat and chest brownish white; abdomen greyish white, passing into bright olive-green on the lower part of the flanks; bill black; feet light brown; irides brown.

The figures represent a male and a female of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA PUSILLA.

J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp. ]

ACANTHIZA PUSILLA. Little Brown Acanthiza.

Sylvia pusilla, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lvi.

Motacilla pusilla, White’s Journ., pl. in p. 257.

Bec-fin, Temm. Man. d’Orn. 2nd edit., tom. i. p. lxviii.

Dwarf Warbler, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 251.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 647.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 134.

Acanthiza pusilla, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 227, note.

The present bird is very generally dispersed over New South Wales, where it inhabits the brushes, thickets and gardens. It is most nearly allied to the A. Diemenensis, but may be distinguished from that species by its more diminutive size, by its much shorter bill and smaller tail. It is an active prying little bird, and spends much of its time amid the smaller leafy branches of the trees, from among which it collects its insect food: the tail is generally carried above the line of the body. The nest is of a dome-shaped form and is constructed of fine dried grasses and hairy fibres of bark, intermingled and bound together with the hairy cocoons of a species of Lepidopterous insect, and lined with feathers. The eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful pearly white, sprinkled and spotted with fine specks of reddish brown, forming in some instances a zone near the larger end; their medium length is eight lines and a half by six lines in breadth.

The sexes are so precisely similar in outward appearance, that dissection must be resorted to to distinguish the one from the other.

Forehead buff, each feather edged with brown; all the upper surface and wings brown, tinged with olive; tail reddish olive, crossed near the tip by a narrow band of black; throat and chest greyish white, each feather margined with black, giving that part a mottled appearance; flanks, abdomen and under tail-coverts buff; irides brownish red; bill dark brown; feet brown.

The Plate represents two individuals of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA DIEMENENSIS: Gould.

J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. C. Hullmandel Imp. ]

ACANTHIZA DIEMENENSIS, Gould. Tasmanian Acanthiza.

Acanthiza Diemenensis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 146; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

Brown-tail, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

I believe this species, like the Acanthiza Ewingii, to be peculiar to Van Diemen’s Land, over the whole of which country it is rather numerously dispersed, and where it inhabits forests and open woodlands, but evinces a preference to low and shrub-like trees rather than to those of a higher growth. It also frequents the gardens and shrubberies of the colonists; it is consequently one of the commonest and one of the best known birds of the island. Active and sprightly in its actions, it prys about the foliage with the most scrutinizing care in search of insects and their larvæ, which constitute its sole food. It frequently utters a rather loud harsh note, which is sometimes changed for a more full and clear strain; still its vocal powers are by no means conspicuous. It has a much more lengthened bill, and is altogether a larger bird than the Acanthiza pusilla, whose habitat seems restricted to the south-eastern portion of the Australian continent. The plumage of the sexes is alike, and their size and general appearance so similar, that without the aid of dissection it is impossible to distinguish them. The nest of this little bird, which is usually built in a low shrub, is rather a dense structure, being formed of grasses, fibrous roots and the inner bark of trees, warmly lined with feathers; it is of a globular form, with a small hole in the side near the top for an entrance, and is very similar in appearance to that of the Common Wren, Troglodytes Europæus. The eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful pearly bluish white, sprinkled and spotted with reddish brown. In some instances the spots form a zone round the larger end. The medium length of the eggs is eight lines and a half, and breadth six lines.

Independently of the task of incubating its own offspring, this species very frequently has to perform the additional labour of hatching and rearing the young of the Bronze Cuckoo (Chalcites lucidus), whose single egg or young is often found in the nest. It is a very early breeder, commencing in August and continuing until January, during which period two or three broods are generally reared by each pair.

Forehead rufous brown, each feather with a crescent-shaped mark of bright buff near its extremity and tipped with blackish brown; all the upper surface and wings deep olive-brown; upper tail-coverts reddish brown; tail olive-brown, crossed by a band of blackish brown; cheeks, throat and chest greyish white, each feather margined with a broken line of deep brown; abdomen and under tail-coverts greyish white, tinged with rufous, which is deepest on the flanks and under tail-coverts; bill dark brown; irides lake-red; feet brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA EWINGII: Gould.