Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
THE SONG BIRDS
THE FLYCATCHERS
Black-and-white Fantail
With a brief description of the Black-and-white Fantail (R. tricolor), also of Australia, we must close the account of this inter esting family. This trim little bird, often called the Wagtail and Traveler's Companion, has the general plumage glossy black, with a line over the eye and the lower parts white. It is one of the most tame and familiar of the Australian birds, says Mr. Gould, being constantly about the houses, gardens, and stockyards of the settlers, often running along the backs of cattle, horses, and sheep in search of parasites, or hopping in the grass before the devouring mouths of such animals, watching for startled insects. It passes most of its time on the ground, over which it runs and darts with the utmost celerity, and when skirting the stream with tail erect and shaking from side to side, it presents an appearance very similar to that of the Pied Wagtails. It builds a cup-shaped nest, placing it often on a bare branch over water, and lays three or four creamy, spotted eggs; at least three broods are reared in a season.
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