An Australian Bird Book Part 36

The Spotted and Chestnut-backed Ground-Birds are rare and are very quiet and shy as they run back under the shade of a bush. Thus, they are seldom seen, though they are very beautiful in their richly-spotted plumage. Driving along mallee roads, one sometimes sees these birds make a short, quick run to cover. A good name is required for them. Ground-Bird is not very definite.

The rich brown Pilot Bird rarely flies, but keeps low down in the dense tangles and undergrowths in country like that about Ferntree Gully. It must be patiently waited for, as it is very shy.

It, apparently, values its services highly, for it often calls "A-guinea-a-week."

The larger Scrub-Robin which lives only in the interior flies little, but, as shown in the figure, it has long legs, suitable for running.

Its color is not the dark-brown suitable for dark scrubs, but is the light-brown which matches the dead mallee twigs lying so thickly on the ground under the scrub. We met the Scrub-Robin on Eyre Peninsula, but it was difficult to get a second look at it. Almost as rare are the closely-similar Chestnut-rumped and Red-rumped Ground-Wrens. Few will see these birds, as they live only in the drier parts.

That interesting bird--the Coachwhip Bird--is far more often heard than seen. Along the densely-scrubbed creeks of Eastern Australia, the interesting whip-crack of this bird is very often heard. An exact representative lives in West Australian scrubs. I was surprised to hear, in several places lately, the Rufous-breasted Whistler (Thickhead) called the Coachwhip Bird. It has been found that both birds take part in the peculiar call which has a loud crack very like that of a whip. This bird dwells in the dense eastern scrubs, and uses its short wings but little for flight. It was seen, however, recently at Sandringham, a few miles from Melbourne.

The Australian Babblers are of interest from all points of view. Their habits are peculiar; their calls are varied and usually pleasant, and their large domed stick nests are common objects along a country road.

Usually seen in companies of from four to a dozen, these birds work energetically and systematically. They are entirely insectivorous, and so are of great value economically. They are tame, as I have watched a flock at work in the gardens in the middle of a town such as Dunolly.

They occasionally visit orchards and attack the codlin moth pupae.

They are said never to squabble, and so are called "Happy Family"

or "Happy Jacks." Their names, however, are many. The commonest is, perhaps, "Catbird." There is a "Catbird," a Bower-Bird, in Queensland, so the use of that name should be discouraged. Babblers sometimes make six or seven nests, laying only in one. The others are said to be shelter nests, or possibly play nests.

That pleasing songster--the White-browed Field-Wren--is uniformly streaked with black both above and below. It is fairly common, but is not often seen unless looked for. Dogs will follow the scent of this bird, as they do that of a quail; so it is sometimes called the Stink-Bird by sportsmen.

Now we come to two of the four native Skylarks. Who has not, while lying on his back on the gra.s.s enjoying a rest in the warm suns.h.i.+ne, 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 (_t.u.r.didae_) 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 pa.s.sing 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.

(continued below)

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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.

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=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

Like 270, but small white patch near outer edge of wing; s.h.i.+er; f., sim. Insects.

3 3

=272* Coachwhip Bird= (Whip, Stockwhip), _Psophodes crepitans_, E.S.Q., E.N.S.W., E.V.

Stat. c. _dense scrubs_ 10

Dark olive-green; black crest, breast; white side of throat, centre of abdomen, tip-tail; f., smaller, duller. Insects.

Loud full note ends in a whip crack.

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