Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
THE SONG BIRDS
THE BABBLING THRUSHES
Tit-Babblers
Another group of small birds having the strong feet and short, blunt bills of the Tits are appropriately known as Tit-Babblers, but otherwise in structure and habits they agree with the other members of the subfamily. Lack of space prevents considering these more fully, and also the many others regarded, rightfully or not, as belonging to the Timeliida, though perhaps we should not omit the curious little Fern-bird (Bowdleria punctatus) of New Zealand. About seven inches in length, the general color above is a dusky fulvous brown, while the lower parts are white spotted and streaked with blackish, and there is a narrow white streak over the eye. The Fern-bird,”Utic,”or Swamp Wren, is a very shy bird found in dense swamps and tangles along lagoons, where it is more often heard than seen, though its monotonous call is sure to attract attention. A sight of the bird is usually momentary and generally occurs in a chance manner, as it flies with feeble flight and depressed tail for a few feet in a direct line and low, as it drops with a scramble into the fern of its own color. It builds a deeply cup-shaped nest in the midst of a tussock of grass and lays three or four dull white, closely spotted eggs.