cheer his hard-working partner with his song, accompanying his notes by spreading the long feathers at the back of his head and brandishing his tail aloft. The nest of these birds, which is deep, cup-shaped, and very fragile, is usually formed of leaves woven neatly together, and is placed in a bush at a considerable height from the ground. The eggs, from two to three in number, are white, thickly covered with reddish brown markings of various shades, largest and most numerous at the broad end, and often intermixed with a few dark grey patches, that appear to penetrate deep into the shell. * * * * * The HOOK-CLAWED BABBLERS (_Crateropus_), another group of the same family, are recognisable by their strongly-built body, rather long, powerful, and slightly arched beak, which is compressed at its sides; moderate sized, strong feet, armed with formidable hooked and pointed claws; short wings, in which the fourth quill exceeds the rest in length; and long tail, formed of large feathers, and slightly graduated at the sides. The plumage is thick, harsh, and rarely very brightly coloured. THE WHITE-RUMPED BABBLER. [Illustration: THE WHITE-RUMPED BABBLER (_Crateropus leucopygius_).] The WHITE-RUMPED BABBLER (_Crateropus leucopygius_) is chocolate-brown on the upper part of the body; the top of the head, face, and rump are white; the feathers on the under side brownish grey, edged with white, this bordering presenting the appearance of crescent-shaped spots; the quills and tail-feathers are marked with a series of dark lines; the eye is deep carmine-red, the beak black, and the feet grey. These Babblers are social in their habits, and are always met with in small parties, numbering from eight to twelve birds. Their flight, which is performed by alternate rapid strokes of the wings and a hovering motion produced by broadly expanding the pinions and tail, is rarely sustained for any great distance, and has no pretence to either grace or speed. In the brushwood, on the contrary, they exhibit a wonderful power of climbing and creeping through dense foliage, such as will bear comparison with that of the Mouse Birds themselves. Few sights are more amusing than that presented by a party of these noisy chatterers, as they fly quite close together from bush to bush, settling on each one in turn, creeping through it in all directions, and screaming violently whenever anything attractive or unusual catches their eye, then, having snapped up as many insects and devoured as many buds and leaves as their appetites require, they re-assemble, and fly off in closely-packed array, to repeat the same process at another spot. We are entirely without particulars either respecting their nidification or manner of breeding. [Illustration: THE WHITE-TUFTED LAUGHING THRUSH (_Garrulax leucolophus_).] * * * * *