File:A handbook of the birds of Tasmania and its dependencies (1910) (14563274529).jpg

Identifier: handbookofbirdso00litt (find matches)
Title: A handbook of the birds of Tasmania and its dependencies
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Littler, Frank Mervyn
Subjects: Birds -- Australia Tasmania
Publisher: Launceston, Tasmania : F.M. Littler
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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creamy-white, faintly tinged withpale sandy; upper tail coverts blackish-grey; tail feathers blackish-brown ; greater wing coverts and quills blackish-brown; thesecondaries and greater wing coverts are tipped, the former nar-rowly and the latter broadly, with pale sandy; cheeks and throatwhitish; neck, sides of body, and flanks very pale sandy; featherson throat and neck have dark shafts as in adult; breast andabdomen creamy-white. Nest.—The long, bottle-shaped nest is composed of mud orclay, and, like that of the Common Martin (of Europe), is onlyworked at in the morning and evening. These birds appear towork in small companies, six or seven assisting in the formationof each nest,one remaining within and receiving the mud broughtby others in their mouths. In shape these nests are nearly round,but vary in size from 4 to 6 or 7 inches in diameter, the spoutsof some being 8 or 9 inches in length. When built on the sidesof rocks, or in the hollows of trees, they are placed without any
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o o ^^oo o BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 71 regular order in clusters of thirty or forty together, some of thespouts inclining downwards, others at right angles, &c. (Gould). Eggs.—Clutch four to five; lengthened in form or oval;texture of shell very fine; surface glossy; colour white, but occa-sionally faintly freckled, especially about the apex, with lightyellowish-brown. Dimensions in inches :—(1) .7 x .48, (2) .7 x .48,(3) .7 X . 48 (A. J. Campbell). Breeding Season.—August to October. Geograp)iical Distribution.—Tasmania (occasional) and Aus-tralia in general. Observations.—According to IMr. A. J. Campbell, Mr. S. H.Wintle, geologist, was the first observer to direct attention (Vic-torian Xaturalist, February, 1887) to the fact that the Fairy IMartinshould be placed on the Tasmanian list of avifauna, because he hadfound the bird breeding at Bridport the season of 1883 and otheryears. Xo birds of this species were visible at that place when Ivisited it during the breeding seaso

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