The box contained fine nesting material pushed up against the leather from the inside.
The nesting material consisted of very fine bark strips and leaf matter of fine cut
grass consistency. The nest was
spherical in shape with two small holes as entrances. One of the holes contained a strip
of leather which they had cut from the curtain.
New material was added to the nest over time
without the curtain ever being pushed in. The box had previously been occupied by
brushtail possums.
Eastern pygmy-possums occur from South
Australia and Tasmania around the eastern seaboard as far as the southern tip of
Queensland. They are the size of a large mouse. They prefer nectar and pollen
although they will also eat insects. V. Turner, in the Complete Book of
Australian Mammals, reports their nests to be about 6cm in diameter, which makes
their choice of the above, very large box rather surprising. It suggests that they
are not fussy in their nestbox requirements.
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