Transcriber’s Note:

The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

THE
BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

BY

JOHN GOULD, F.R.S.,

F.L.S, F.Z.S., M.E.S., F.ETHN.S., F.R.GEOG.S., M. RAY S., HON. MEMB. OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF TURIN, OF THE ROY. ZOOL. SOC. OF IRELAND, OF THE PENZANCE NAT. HIST. SOC., OF THE WORCESTER NAT. HIST. SOC., OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM AND NEWCASTLE NAT. HIST. SOC., OF THE NAT. HIST. SOC. OF DARMSTADT AND OF THE TASMANIAN SOCIETY OF VAN DIEMEN’S LAND, ETC.

IN SEVEN VOLUMES.

VOL. III.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 20, BROAD STREET, GOLDEN SQUARE.

1848.

LIST OF PLATES.
VOLUME III.

[1]. For Amadina modesta read Estrelda modesta.

[2]. For Amadina Gouldiæ read Poëphila Gouldiæ.

ERYTHRODRYAS RHODINOGASTER.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

ERYTHRODRYAS RHODINOGASTER.
Pink-breasted Wood-Robin.

Saxicola rhodinogaster, Drap. Ann. Gén. des Sci. Phys. de Bruxelles.

Muscicapa Lathami, Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. i. p. 410. pl. 13.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pl. 8.

Petroica rhodinogaster, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn. Add., vol. ii.

Erythrodryas rhodinogaster, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., August 9, 1842.

Pink-breasted Robin, Colonists of New South Wales.

The great stronghold of this species is Van Diemen’s Land, particularly the western parts of the island. I feel assured that it is rarely seen on the main land of Australia, from the circumstance of the total absence of skins in collections from those parts. In one instance only did I meet with it on the continent, and that was in a deep ravine under Mount Lofty in South Australia; I shot the specimen, which on dissection proved to be a young male.

In habits and disposition this and the following species are very dissimilar to the Red-breasted Robins (Petroica), being much less spirited in all their actions. They prefer the most secluded and remote parts of the forest, particularly the bottoms of deep gullies, the seclusion of which is seldom broken by the voice or presence of any living being, and where animal life is almost confined to aphides and other minute insects, upon which they exist. There are times, however, especially in winter, when they leave these quiet retreats and even enter the gardens of the settlers; but this is of so rare occurrence, that few persons can have had opportunities of observing this bird in a state of nature, except those who have visited the localities above described. I shot several specimens in the gullies under Mount Wellington in Van Diemen’s Land; and on visiting, in company with the Rev. T. J. Ewing, the enchanting spot selected by my ever-esteemed friend Lady Franklin as a site for a Botanic Garden, I observed it to be tolerably numerous there. Through the kindness of Ronald C. Gunn, Esq., who liberally placed the whole of his collection at my disposal, I was enabled to obtain examples of many species, in every stage from youth to maturity; among others, of the present bird, which Mr. Gunn informed me had been collected on the Hampshire Hills, a locality where it is very abundant.

The food of the Pink-breasted Wood-Robin consists solely of insects, which it procures by darting out in pursuit of them while passing by in the air, and also on the ground.

It exhibits the peculiar actions and manners of the Robins by sitting about on stumps and stones at the bottom of the gullies, presenting its full breast like the Robin of Europe.

Its nest is formed of narrow strips of soft bark, soft fibres of decaying wood, and fine fibrous roots matted and woven together with vegetable fibres, and old black nests of spiders. The eggs are three in number, smaller but very similar to those of Petroica multicolor; of a greenish white thickly sprinkled with light chestnut and purplish brown; eight lines and a half long, by six lines and a half broad.

Like the true Petroicas, the sexes present considerable differences in their colouring.

The male has the head, neck, throat and back sooty black; a small spot of white in the centre of the forehead; wings brownish black; a few of the primaries and secondaries with an oblong spot of reddish brown on the outer web near the base and another near the tip, forming two small oblique bands when the wing is spread; breast and abdomen rose-pink, passing into white on the vent and under tail-coverts; irides and bill black; feet black, with the soles orange.

The female has an indication of the white spot on the forehead; all the upper surface brown; wings and tail brown, with the markings on the primaries and secondaries larger and of a more buffy colour than in the male; throat brownish buff; chest and abdomen brownish grey; vent and under tail-coverts buff.

The young male during the first autumn closely resembles the female; for the first two months after they have left the nest, they have the centre of each feather striated with buff.

The Plate represents the male and female of the natural size.

ERYTHRODRYAS ROSEA: Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

ERYTHRODRYAS ROSEA.
Rose-breasted Wood-Robin.

Petroica rosea, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 142.

Erythrodryas rosea, Gould in Ibid., August 9, 1842.

This pretty little Robin inhabits all the brushes which skirt along the south-eastern coast of New South Wales. I also observed it to be numerous in the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range, and it doubtless frequents similar situations in all other parts of the country. It penetrates to the very depths of the forest, and chooses as its favourite abode the most secluded spots. It is a solitary species, more than a single pair being rarely seen at one time, is excessively quiet in its movements, and so tame, that in the course of my wanderings through the woods of Illawarra and in the neighbourhood of the Hunter, it frequently perched within two or three yards of me while resting my wearied limbs under a dense canopy of foliage, and listening to the songs of the various species surrounding me. What has been said respecting the habits and manners of the Pink-breasted Robin is equally descriptive of those of the present bird; its food is also precisely of the same kind, and is captured in a similar manner.

Although it is by no means rare in the localities I have mentioned, but few specimens yet adorn our Museums, and it certainly had not received any scientific appellation until I proposed the one given above, in a letter addressed to the Zoological Society of London during my residence in New South Wales.

Of its nidification and the number and colour of its eggs nothing is at present known.

It has a cheerful inwardly uttered song, the strain of which is very like that of the other Robins, but is much more feeble.

The male has the forehead crossed by a very narrow band of white; crown of the head, throat and all the upper surface dark slate-grey; chest rich rose-red, inclining to scarlet; lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; wings and the six central tail-feathers blackish brown; the three outer ones on each side tipped with white, the white predominating over the inner webs, particularly on the two lateral feathers; bill and feet blackish brown; gape and soles of the feet yellow.

The female differs considerably from her mate, having the forehead crossed by a narrow band of buff; all the upper surface greyish brown; wings brown; secondaries crossed by two obscure bands of greyish buff; tail of a browner tint, but otherwise marked like that of the male.

The figures are those of a male and a female of the natural size.

PETROICA MULTICOLOR: Swains.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

PETROICA MULTICOLOR, Swains.
Scarlet-breasted Robin.

Muscicapa multicolor, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 243.

Red-breasted Warbler, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 17.

Petroica multicolor, Swains. Zool. Ill., 2nd Ser. pl. 36.—Gould in Syn. of Birds of Australia, Part I.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 30.

Goȍ-ba, Aborigines of Western Australia.

Robin, Colonists.

This beautiful Robin is a denizen of the wide extent of country reaching from New South Wales on the east to Swan River on the west, including Van Diemen’s Land and all the small islands lying off the southern coast. In Van Diemen’s Land it is much less common than on the continent, and is also far less numerous than its near ally, the Petroica phœnicea. I have not been able with any degree of certainty to trace how far it proceeds northwards. I believe, however, that a few degrees from the latitude of Sydney is the limit of its range in that direction.

Although closely allied to the Petroica phœnicea, its structure on examination will be found to present some trifling modification, which better adapts it for arboreal existence; and although frequently on the ground, where it has much of the habits and actions of the Saxicolinæ, the low bushes and woods skirting the open plains and sterile districts are its favourite places of resort.

Its food consists solely of insects of various orders, its modified structure enabling it to capture both aphides and swift-flying insects as well as the less agile Coleoptera.

When far removed from our native land, recollections and associations are strong incentives to attachment for any object that may remind us of our home; hence this beautiful Robin, which enters the gardens and even the windows of the settlers, is necessarily a great favourite; its attractiveness is moreover much enhanced by its more gay attire, the strong contrasts of scarlet, jet-black and white rendering it one of the most beautiful to behold of any of the birds of Australia. After a careful comparison of a large number of specimens, I feel fully satisfied that the scarlet breast of this species, like that of the Robin of Europe, is assumed during the first autumn, and that it is never again thrown off; but, as might be expected, it is much more brilliant and sparkling during the breeding-season than at any other period of the year. I have remarked that a slight difference exists in the depth of the colouring of specimens from the western and eastern coasts, those from the former, particularly the females, having the scarlet more brilliant and of greater extent than those from New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land; the difference is, however, too trivial to be regarded otherwise than as indicative of a mere variety.

Its song and call-note much resemble that of the European Robin, but are more feeble, and uttered with a more inward tone.

The nest is a very compact structure of dried grasses, narrow strips of bark, mosses and lichens, all bound firmly together with cobwebs and vegetable fibres, and warmly lined with feathers and wool or hair; in some instances I have seen it lined entirely with opossums’ hair; it is generally placed in the hollow part of the trunk of a tree, or in a slight cavity in the bark six or seven feet from the ground, but I have found it placed in a fork of a small upright tree more than thirty feet from the ground. The eggs, which are three or four in number, are greenish white, slightly tinged with bluish or flesh-colour, rather minutely freckled with olive-brown and purplish grey, the latter more obscure than the former; these freckles are very generally dispersed over the surface of the shell, but in some instances they also form a zone near the larger end; the medium length of the eggs is nine lines, and breadth seven lines.

It usually rears two or three broods in the year, the period of nidification commencing in August and ending in February.

The male has the head, throat and upper surface black; forehead snowy white; a longitudinal and two oblique bands of white on the wings; breast and upper part of the belly scarlet; lower part of the belly dull white; irides very dark brown; bill and feet black.

The female has all the upper and under surface brown, with the breast strongly tinged with red.

The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size, perched on a sprig of a species of Corea, which I found growing on Kangaroo Island.

PETROICA ERYTHROGASTER.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp.

PETROICA ERYTHROGASTRA.
Norfolk Island Robin.

Muscicapa erythrogastra, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 479.—Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 944.

—— multicolor, Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 944.

Red-bellied Flycatcher, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iii. p. 343. pl. 50.—Ib. Supp., vol. ii. p. 216.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 400. pl. 32.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vi. p. 209. pl. C.—Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 147.

Petroica pulchella, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 142, male.

—— modesta, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 147, female.

I have been induced to give a figure of this Robin, which I believe to be strictly confined to Norfolk Island, in order to clear up the confusion which has hitherto existed respecting it and the Petroica multicolor, with which it has been confounded. Under the impression that the two birds were identical, and that the terms erythrogastra and multicolor were synonymous, I was induced some years ago to characterize the male of the present bird under the name of pulchella, and the female under that of modesta, believing as I then did that it was a distinct species; subsequent research has however enabled me to perceive the errors into which I had fallen, and I now proceed to point out the differences between the two species, and to restore to the Norfolk Island bird the term erythrogastra, originally applied to it by Latham. The P. erythrogastra may be distinguished then from its near ally by the greater size of the bill; by the greater extent and more silvery hue of the white feathers on the forehead; by the tail being wholly black, while in the P. multicolor the lateral feathers are white; by the white on the wing forming a large spot near the shoulder, instead of a line as long as the secondaries; and by the scarlet of the breast and abdomen being much more intense in colour: the females of the two birds also differ from each other, the tail of the P. erythrogastra being wholly brown, while that of the P. multicolor has the lateral tail-feathers marked with white.

The male has the forehead silvery white; a small patch on the wings near the shoulder, under wing-coverts, the flanks and under tail-coverts white; chest and abdomen very rich scarlet, the remainder of the plumage deep black; bill black; feet brown.

The female has the crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail reddish brown; throat white, tinged with brown; chest and centre of the abdomen washed with scarlet; lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; flanks brown; bill blackish brown; feet yellowish brown.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PETROICA GOODENOVII: Jard. and Selb.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

PETROICA GOODENOVII, Jard. and Selb.
Red-capped Robin.

Muscicapa Goodenovii, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 245.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pl. 8, fig. 2.

Petroica Goodenovii, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., Add., vol. ii.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

Mȅ-ne-gȅ-dang, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

Red-capped Robin of the Colonists.

The red crown and much smaller size of this beautiful Robin at once distinguishes it from every other species of the genus yet discovered. Although not plentiful in any part I have visited, it is very generally distributed over the whole of the southern portion of Australia. I have observed it myself in South Australia and in New South Wales, and Mr. Gilbert killed it in Western Australia, where, however, it is very local, for he only met with it in two spots, one in the York district and the other at Kojonup, about one hundred miles towards the interior from King George’s Sound. I have not yet heard of its being an inhabitant of the northern portion of the country.

I generally observed it either singly or in pairs, and it appeared to give a decided preference to the beds of dry rivulets, and to thinly timbered plains, the dense brushes near the coast never being visited by it; it would seem therefore to be a species peculiar to the interior of the country.

The whole of the actions and economy of this bird so closely assimilate to those of the Petroica multicolor, that it is unnecessary to repeat a description of them here; of its nidification no information has yet been obtained; but in this respect also it doubtless closely resembles the same species.

It possesses a peculiarly sweet and plaintive song, very much like that of the European Robin, but more weak and not so continuous.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds.

The male has the upper surface, neck, upper part of the breast and wings brownish black; wing-coverts and secondaries edged with white, forming a broad stripe along the wings; middle of the outer web of the quills with a narrow white margin; forehead, crown, and lower part of the breast bright scarlet, passing into white on the vent; irides, bill and feet blackish brown; soles of the feet yellow.

The female, as is the case with the females of the other species, differs much from her mate in the colouring of the plumage, which difference will be more clearly perceived in the accompanying illustration than by the most minute description.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PETROICA PHŒNICEA: Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

PETROICA PHŒNICEA, Gould.
Flame-breasted Robin.

Petroica phœnicea, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 105; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

Van Diemen’s Land and the south-eastern portion of the Australian continent constitute the natural habitat of this species; in the former country it is very common, but in New South Wales and South Australia it is not so numerous, and is very local. It is far less arboreal than the Petroica multicolor, giving a decided preference to open wastes and cleared lands rather than to the woods: in many of its actions it much resembles the Wheatears and other true Saxicoline birds, often selecting a large stone, clod of earth or other substance, on which to perch and show off its flame-coloured breast to the greatest advantage. As the season of nidification approaches it retires to the forests for the purpose of breeding, building its cup-shaped nest in the chink of a tree, in the cleft of a rock, or any similar situation. It is a very familiar species, seeking rather than shunning the presence of man, and readily taking up its abode in his gardens, orchards, and other cultivated grounds. It is to be found in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town at all seasons of the year, and I have even taken its nest from a shelving bank in the streets of the town.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds, which are principally procured on the surface of the ground.

It has a pretty cheerful song, uttered somewhat low and inwardly; the male generally sings over or near the female while she is sitting upon her eggs.

The nest, which is thick and warm, is formed of narrow strips and thread-like fibres of soft bark, matted together with cobwebs and sometimes wool, and lined with hair and feathers, or occasionally with fine hair-like grasses. The general colour of the eggs is greenish white, spotted and freckled with purplish and chestnut-brown: much variety occurs in these markings, some assuming the form of large bold irregular spots and blotches, while in others they are merely minute freckles; the eggs are three in number; their medium length nine lines, and breadth seven lines.

I have not yet satisfied myself respecting the changes which this species undergoes, or what time elapses before it assumes the red garb; some individuals certainly breed while in the brown dress, and they may frequently be heard singing while clothed in this sombre-coloured plumage; the Petroica multicolor, on the contrary, would appear to obtain its red breast during the first autumn, as I have a specimen killed on the 8th of February with a fine red breast, while the colouring of the other parts of its plumage is indicative of immaturity.

The male has the crown of the head and all the upper surface sooty grey, except a small white spot across the forehead, a patch of the same colour on the shoulders and the anterior edges of the tertials; primaries and tail-feathers greyish black, except the outer feathers of the latter, which are nearly all white; the second tail-feather on each side is also tinged with white; upper part of the throat sooty grey, the rest of the under surface rich scarlet; under tail-coverts white; irides, bill and feet black.

The female is uniform brown above; wings dark brown; tertials and wing-coverts edged with reddish grey; tail brown; the outer tail-feathers on each side almost wholly white; all the under surface reddish grey; irides, bill and feet black.

The young resembles the female, but has the centre of the feathers lighter, and the corners of the mouth yellow; bill and feet blackish brown.

The Plate represents the male, female and nest of the natural size.

PETROICA BICOLOR: Swains.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

PETROICA BICOLOR, Swains.
Pied Robin.

Muscicapa cucullata, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 51?

Hooded Flycatcher, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp., vol. ii. p. 223? and Gen. Hist., vol. vi. p. 216?

Petroica bicolor, Swains. III. Zool., 2nd Ser., pl. 43.

Jil-but, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

Goȍ-ba-mȍgin, Aborigines around Perth, Western Australia.

Black Robin of the Colonists.

If we consider the Pied Robins from Swan River and the north-west coast of Australia as identical with, or mere varieties of, those killed in New South Wales, from which they differ only in being smaller in all their admeasurements, then the range of the present bird will be very extensive, and in fact its dispersion over the Australian continent almost universal. The Petroica bicolor has never been found in Van Diemen’s Land, nor is it probable that it proceeds so far south. It loves to dwell in the open parts of the country rather than in the thick brushes. I have always found it most numerous on such flats as were studded here and there with large trees, among the lower branches of which, as well as on the ground immediately beneath them, it might be observed darting about for insects in the most bold and active manner; the jet-black colouring of its upper surface, contrasted with the whiteness of the other parts, rendering it very conspicuous, particularly when its wings and tail are displayed to their full extent.

Its food consists solely of insects of various kinds, particularly coleoptera and their larvæ.

The breeding-season commences in September and continues during the four following months; in this period two broods at least are reared. The nest, which is rather small and shallow, is formed of dried grasses, strips of bark and fibrous roots, bound together and partly smoothed over with cobwebs, the inside being lined with fine wire-like fibres, and generally a little wool at the bottom; it is placed on the dried branch of a small tree, resting against the trunk, or in the fork of a fallen branch within two or three feet of the ground. The eggs, which are three in number and of a rather lengthened form, are light olive green without any spots or markings, but occasionally washed with brown, particularly at the larger end; their medium length is ten lines and a half, and breadth seven lines and a half.

This species possesses a simple call-note, so feeble and weak as only to be heard at the distance of a few yards.

The male has the head, throat, neck, back, rump, upper tail-coverts and the two centre tail-feathers deep velvety black; the next tail-feather on each side black on the inner web, white on the outer web, and largely tipped with black, the remainder of the tail-feathers white, largely tipped with black; feathers covering the insertion of the wing white; wings dull black, the secondaries edged with white; an oblique band of white across all but the two first primaries near their base; under surface of the shoulder, breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; irides brownish black; bill black; feet blackish brown.

The female has the upper surface dark brownish grey; wings brown, with the oblique band less prominent than in the male; under surface light brownish grey, passing into white on the vent and under tail-coverts; tail brown, the lateral feathers white at the base, the white continuing to near the tip on the external web of the outer feather.

The young immediately after leaving the nest is dark brown, with a stripe of light brown down the centre of each feather, the markings of the wings and tail resembling those of the adult; under surface like the upper, but becoming white as it proceeds towards the vent.

The Plate represents the male and female on a branch of the Currijong, all of the natural size.

Petroica Fusca: Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

PETROICA FUSCA, Gould.
Dusky Robin.

This unadorned species of Robin is very abundantly distributed over all those parts of Van Diemen’s Land that are suitable to its habits; it gives preference to thinly-timbered hills, and all such plains and low grounds as are sterile and covered here and there with thickets and stunted brushwood. In its manners and whole economy it closely assimilates to the Red-breasted Robins; I frequently observed it sitting on the stumps of dead and fallen trees, on the railings of inclosures, gardens and other similar situations. Its food appeared to consist solely of insects, which it swallows entire, even coleoptera of a large size.

Its nest, which is rather large and of a cup-shape, is formed of coarse fibrous roots, small twigs, strings of bark and dried grasses intermixed with very fine hair-like fibrous roots, wool, and the soft seed-stalks of mosses. The size and form of the nest depend upon the nature of the situation chosen for a site; if a ledge or fissure of a rock, it is much spread out, but with the inside and top very neatly finished; the opening measures on an average about two inches and a half, and the nest is about one inch and a quarter in depth.

The eggs, which are three or four in number, differ in colour from those of every other member of the genus, but more nearly assimilate in tint and markings to those of Petroica bicolor than of any other. They are of a light greenish blue, freckled and spotted with minute indistinct markings of brown; their medium length is ten lines, and breadth seven and a half lines.

Although I have paid considerable attention to the distribution of this species, I have never been able to meet with it on the continent of Australia, or in any other country than Van Diemen’s Land; still I cannot positively assert that it is not an inhabitant of the Australian continent. It is very numerous about Hobart Town, both in the gulleys under Mount Wellington, and on the opposite side of the Derwent towards Clarence Plains.

Its note is low and monotonous, without any peculiar character.

The sexes differ from all the other members of the genus in being alike in colour, and cannot possibly be distinguished without the aid of dissection.

Head, and all the upper surface reddish brown tinged with olive; wings and tail brown; primaries and secondaries crossed by a narrow line of white at the base; the outer tail-feather on each side margined externally, and at the tip with white; under surface pale brown, passing into buffy white on the vent and under tail-coverts; irides, bill and feet blackish brown.

The young is very dark brown above, striated with deep buff; beneath mottled brown and buffy white; the latter colour occupying the centre of the feathers.

The Plate represents a male and two young birds of the natural size.

PETROICA SUPERCILIOSA: Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp.

PETROICA SUPERCILIOSA, Gould.
White-eyebrowed Robin.

Petroica superciliosa, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIV. p. 106.

For our knowledge of this new species of Petroica we are indebted to the researches of Mr. Gilbert, who while in company with Dr. Leichardt, during his adventurous expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, discovered it in the neighbourhood of the Burdekin Lakes towards the Gulf of Carpentaria. The following remarks in Mr. Gilbert’s Journal comprise all that is at present known respecting it:—“May 14th. In a ramble with my gun I shot a new bird, the actions of which assimilate to those of the Petroicæ and the Eöpsaltriæ; like the former it carries its tail very erect, but is more retiring in its habits than those birds; on the other hand, its notes resemble those of the latter. It inhabits the dense jungle-like vegetation growing beneath the shade of the fig-trees on the banks of the Burdekin. I succeeded in procuring two specimens.”

Superciliary stripe, throat, abdomen, under surface of the shoulder, and the bases of the primaries and secondaries white; lores, ear-coverts, wing-coverts, and the primaries and secondaries for some distance beyond the white deep black; all the upper surface, wings and tail sooty brown; all but the two central tail-feathers largely tipped with white; bill and feet black; irides reddish brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

DRYMODES BRUNNEOPYGIA: Gould
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. C. Hullmandel Imp.

DRYMODES BRUNNEOPYGIA, Gould.
Scrub Robin.

Drymodes brunneopygia, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 170.

I discovered this singular bird in the great Murray Scrub in South Australia, where it was tolerably abundant; I have never seen it from any other part of the country, and it is doubtless confined to such portions of Australia as are clothed with a similar character of vegetation. It is a quiet and inactive species, resorting much to the ground, over which and among the underwood and low stunted bushes it passes with great ease; it appeared rarely to take wing, but to depend for security upon its dexterity in hopping away under the dense underwood of the most scrubby parts; I have, however, occasionally observed it to mount to the most elevated part of a low bush, and there pour forth a sharp monotonous whistling note, not very unlike that of some of the Pachycephalinæ; indeed it was its note that first attracted my attention and led to its discovery. When on the ground, and sometimes when perched on a twig, it elevates its tail considerably, but not to the extent of the Maluri.

This new form evidently belongs to the Saxicolinæ, and has many habits in common with the members of the genus Petroica.

The sexes are alike in colouring, but the female is much smaller than her mate; the young, as will be seen in the accompanying Plate, resembles the immature Petroicas in the character of its plumage.

Head and all the upper surface brown, passing into rufous brown on the upper tail-coverts; wings dark brown, the coverts and primaries edged with dull white; primaries and secondaries crossed near the base on their inner webs with pure white; tail rich brown, all but the two middle feathers tipped with white; under surface greyish brown, passing into buff on the under tail-coverts; irides, bill and feet blackish brown.

The Plate represents an adult male and a young bird of the natural size.

EÖPSALTRIA AUSTRALIS: Swains.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. C. Hullmandel Imp.

EÖPSALTRIA AUSTRALIS.
Yellow-breasted Robin.

Muscicapa Australis, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. li.

Southern Motacilla, Motacilla Australis, White’s Journ., pl. in p. 239.

Southern Flycatcher, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 219.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 369.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vi. p. 216.

Pachycephala Australis, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 242.

Muscipeta, sp. 15, Muscicapa Australis, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 385.

Eöpsaltria flavicollis, Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 250.

—— Australis, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd edit. p. 45.

Yellow-breasted Thrush, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 23.

Eöpsaltria parvula, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 144. female?

Yellow Robin, Colonists of New South Wales.

This is a very common species in all the brushes of New South Wales; I also observed it in most of the gardens in the neighbourhood of Sydney, as well as in those of the settlers in the interior. It is very Robin-like in its actions, particularly in the habit of raising its tail at the moment of perching, and in the sprightly air with which it moves about. It is by no means shy, and may often be seen crossing the garden walks, perching on some stump or railing, regardless of one’s presence, at which time the fine yellow mark on its rump is very conspicuous. Its powers of flight are but feeble, and are seldom employed to do more than enable it to flit from bush to bush or from tree to tree, in a peculiarly quiet Robin-like manner; never displaying the restless activity of the Pardalotes, Acanthizas, and many other tribes of birds. Its food consists entirely of insects, which are more frequently taken on the ground than on the trees.

It breeds in September and October. The nest is a beautiful, compact, round, cup-shaped structure, about three inches in diameter and an inch and a half deep, composed of narrow strips of bark, wiry fibrous roots, and in some instances grasses; the outside held together with cobwebs, and sparingly speckled over with mouse-eared lichen and small pieces of bark, hanging loosely about it; the inside of the nest is generally lined with leaves, but occasionally with portions of the broad blades of grasses. It is generally placed in the fork of some low tree in an open or exposed part of the brush, is a neat structure, and sometimes so nearly resembles the bark of the tree upon which it is constructed, that it is almost impossible to detect it, so extraordinary is the instinctive power of imitation with which the bird has been endowed. The eggs are usually two in number, of a bright apple-green, speckled and spotted all over with chestnut-brown and blackish brown, the latter tint being much less conspicuous than the former; they are nine lines long by seven and a half lines broad.

It is not migratory, and so far as is known, is confined to the southern and eastern portion of the country.

The sexes are alike in colour, but the female is somewhat smaller in size: the young on leaving the nest has the plumage streaked and spotted very similar to that of young Robins, but obtains the plumage of the adult at an early period.

Head and all the upper surface, wings and tail, with the exception of the rump, very dark grey; chin white; all the under surface and rump wax-yellow; irides, bill and feet black.

The figures are of the natural size.

EÖPSALTRIA GRISEOGULARIS, Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. C. Hullmandel Imp.

EÖPSALTRIA GRISEOGULARIS, Gould.
Grey-breasted Robin.

Eöpsaltria griseogularis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 144; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

Bȁm-boore, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

The fact of one species representing another, as they are frequently found to do, on opposite sides of large continents, is in no instance more clearly exemplified than in the two species of the genus Eöpsaltria inhabiting Australia, which, although closely allied in size, structure and colouring, as well as in habits and economy, inhabit very different countries, one being confined to the eastern, and the other to the western portion of the continent.

The Eöpsaltria griseogularis is abundant in every part of the colony of Swan River, inhabiting thickets and all spots clothed with vegetation of a brush-like character. “In its actions,” says Mr. Gilbert, “this bird is very like the Robins, being much on the ground, and when feeding constantly flying up and perching on a small upright twig. It does not appear to be capable of great or continued exertion on the wing, as it is rarely seen to do more than flit from bush to bush. Its most common note much resembles the very lengthened and plaintive song of the Estrelda bella, but differs from it in being a double note often repeated; it also utters a great variety of single notes, and during the breeding-season pours forth a short but agreeable song.

“The nest is very difficult to detect, the situations chosen for it being the thickly wooded gum-forests of the mountain districts and the mahogany forests of the lowlands; from the forks of the younger of these trees a great portion of the bark generally hangs down in strips; and in the fork the bird generally makes its nest of narrow strips of the bark bound together with cobwebs, while around the outside a quantity of dangling pieces are suspended, giving it the exact appearance of other forks of the tree; the inside of the nest has no other lining than a few pieces of bark laid across each other, or a single dried leaf, large enough to cover the bottom. It breeds in September and October, and lays two eggs, which are more lengthened in form than those of Eöpsaltria Australis, and are of a wood-brown obscurely freckled with yellowish red, ten lines long by seven lines and a half broad.

“Its stomach is muscular, and its food consists of insects of various kinds.”

The sexes are precisely similar in outward appearance.

It is stationary in Western Australia, but the extent of its range over the continent is not yet known.

Crown of the head, ear-coverts, sides and back of the neck, and back grey; throat and chest greyish white; abdomen, rump, upper and under tail-coverts rich yellow; wings and tail greyish brown, the extreme tips of the latter edged with white; bill dark horn-colour; irides very dark reddish brown; legs and feet dark olive-brown.

The figures are male and female, of the natural size.

EÖPSALTRIA LEUCOGASTER: Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp.

EÖPSALTRIA LEUCOGASTER, Gould.
White-bellied Robin.

Eöpsaltria leucogaster, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 24, 1846.

The White-bellied Robin is a native of Western Australia, but is only to be met with in the hilly portions of the country. Mr. Gilbert states that the first specimen he procured was killed on the Darling range, near the gorge of the River Murray, at an elevation of about seven or eight hundred feet, and that he afterwards met with it on the southern extremity of the same range, between Vasse and Augusta, but that he never observed it on the lower grounds between the mountain range and the coast. Like the other species of the genus, it was constantly seen clinging to the bark of large upright trees, or straight and small stems, in search of its insect food. It is extremely quiet and secluded in its habits, is almost exclusively confined to the neighbourhood of small mountain streams, where scarcely any other sound is heard than the rippling and gurgling of the water over the rocks, and on the slightest approach it immediately secretes itself among the thick scrub or brushwood. Its song very closely resembles that of the Petroicæ.

Immediately before the eye a small triangular-shaped spot of black; above the eye a faint line of greyish white; crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail dark slate-grey; the lateral tail-feathers largely tipped with white on their inner webs; all the under surface white; irides dark brown; bill and feet black.

The Plate represents the bird of the natural size, on one of the beautiful and rare plants of Western Australia, a species of Anigozanthus, the distinctive appellation of which I have not been able to ascertain.

MENURA SUPERBA: Shaw.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

MENURA SUPERBA, Davies.
Lyre-Bird.

Menura superba, Davies in Linn. Trans., vol. vii. p. 207. pi. 22.—Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lxi.—Collins, New South Wales, vol. ii. pl. in p. 93.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 313.

Le Parkinson, Vieill. (Ois. Dor.) Ois. de Parad., pls. 14, 15, 16.

Megapodius menura, Wagl. Sys. Av., sp. 1.

Menura Lyra, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 577.—Vieill. Gal. des Ois., pl. 192.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, p. 71.

Menura Novæ-Hollandiæ, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lxi.—Temm. Man., tom. 1. p. lvii.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 478. pl. 88.

Parkinsonius mirabilis, Bechst.

Menura vulgaris, Flem.

Menura paradisea, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 351.

Superb Menura, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 271.—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 159. pl. cxxiv.

Pheasant of the Colonists.—Beleck, Beleck and Balangara of the Aborigines.

Were I requested to suggest an emblem for Australia among its birds, I should without the slightest hesitation select the Menura as the most appropriate, being not only strictly peculiar to Australia, but, as far as is yet known, to the colony of New South Wales.

Perhaps no bird has more divided the opinion of ornithologists, as to the situation it should occupy in the natural system, than the one here represented; and although more than fifty years have now elapsed since the bird was first discovered, little or no information has been hitherto published respecting its economy and habits, as ornithologists have had only its external structure to guide them in their opinions. Aware of this fact, I paid considerable attention to the subject while in Australia; and after a minute observation of the bird in a state of nature, I am decidedly of opinion, that it has not, as has been very generally considered, the most remote relationship to the Gallinaceæ; but that it forms, with the American genera Pteroptochos, Scytalopus, and their allied groups, a family of the Insessorial Order, to which Troglodytes, Amytis, Stipiturus, Malurus, Dasyornis and Psophodes closely assimilate in their habits, and of which they will in all probability be hereafter found to form a part. Notwithstanding the great size of Menura and the extraordinary form of its tail, in almost every other point it presents a striking resemblance to its minute congeners: like them, it possesses the bristles at the base of the bill, but to a less extent, the same unusual mass of loose, flowing, hair-like feathers on the back and rump, the same extraordinary power of running, the like feebleness of flight; all which will, I trust, render it evident that there are sufficient grounds for the opinion I have here expressed. Many intervening genera will, doubtless, yet be discovered to complete the series of affinities: at all events, if, as I am informed is the case, the young of Menura are helpless and blind when hatched, it cannot with propriety be placed with the Gallinaceæ.

In the structure of its feet, in its lengthened claws, and in its whole contour, the Lyre-bird presents the greatest similarity to the Pteroptochos megapodius of Kittlitz. Another singular circumstance by which their alliance is rendered still more evident, is the fact that Pteroptochos differs from the other families of the Insessorial Order in having fourteen feathers in its tail, and that Menura also differs in the same particular in possessing sixteen. The immense feet and claws of these two birds admirably adapt them for the peculiar localities they are destined to inhabit; and the same beautiful modification of structure is observable in the other genera, equally adapting them for the situations they are intended to fulfil. Thus Menura passes with ease over the loose stones and the sides of rocky gullies and ravines, while the Maluri trip over the more open and even ground, and the Dasyorni with equal facility thread the dense scrubs and reed-beds.

As I have before stated, the great stronghold of the Lyre-bird is the colony of New South Wales, and from what I could learn, its range does not extend so far to the eastward as Moreton Bay; neither have I been able to trace it to the westward of Port Philip on the southern coast; but further research can alone determine these points. It inhabits equally the brushes on the coast, and those that clothe the sides of the mountains in the interior; on the coast it is especially abundant at Western Port and Illawarra, and in all probability over a great portion of the unexplored intervening country: in the interior the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range, and according to Mr. George Bennett, the Mountains of the Tumat country are among the places of which it is a denizen. Of all the birds I have ever met with, the Menura is by far the most shy and difficult to procure. While among the brushes I have been surrounded by these birds, pouring forth their loud and liquid calls, for days together, without being able to get a sight of them; and it was only by the most determined perseverance and extreme caution that I was enabled to effect this desirable object, which was rendered the more difficult by their often frequenting the almost inaccessible and precipitous sides of gullies and ravines, covered with tangled masses of creepers and umbrageous trees: the cracking of a stick, the rolling down of a small stone, or any other noise, however slight, is sufficient to alarm it; and none but those who have traversed these rugged, hot and suffocating brushes, can fully understand the excessive labour attendant on the pursuit of the Menura. Independently of climbing over rocks and fallen trunks of trees, the sportsman has to creep and crawl beneath and among the branches with the utmost caution, taking care only to advance when the bird’s attention is occupied in singing, or in scratching up the leaves in search of food; to watch its actions it is necessary to remain perfectly motionless, not venturing to move even in the slightest degree, or it vanishes from sight as if by magic. Although I have said thus much on the cautiousness of the Menura, it is not always so alert: in some of the more accessible brushes through which roads have been cut it may frequently be seen, and even on horseback closely approached, the bird apparently evincing less fear of those animals than of man. At Illawarra it is sometimes successfully pursued by dogs trained to rush suddenly upon it, when it immediately leaps upon the branch of a tree, and its attention being attracted by the dog which stands barking below, it is easily approached and shot. Another successful mode of procuring specimens, is by wearing a tail of a full-plumaged male in the hat, keeping it constantly in motion, and concealing the person among the bushes, when the attention of the bird being arrested by the apparent intrusion of another of its own sex, it will be attracted within the range of the gun: if the bird be hidden from view by the surrounding objects, any unusual sound, as a shrill whistle, will generally induce him to show himself for an instant, by causing him to leap with a gay and sprightly air upon some neighbouring branch to ascertain the cause of the disturbance: advantage must be taken of this circumstance immediately, or the next moment it may be half-way down the gully. So totally different is the shooting of this bird to anything practised in Europe, that the most expert shot would have but little chance until well experienced in the peculiar nature of the country and the habits of the bird. The Menura seldom, if ever, attempts to escape by flight, but easily eludes pursuit by its extraordinary power of running. None are so efficient in obtaining specimens as the naked black, whose noiseless and gliding steps enable him to steal upon it unheard and unperceived, and with a gun in his hand he rarely allows it to escape, and in many instances he will even kill it with his own weapons.

The Lyre-bird is of a wandering disposition, and although it probably keeps to the same brush, it is constantly engaged in traversing it from one end to the other, from mountain-top to the bottom of the gullies, whose steep and rugged sides present no obstacle to its long legs and powerful muscular thighs; it is also capable of performing extraordinary leaps; and I have heard it stated that it will spring ten feet perpendicularly from the ground. It appears to be of solitary habits, as I have never seen more than a pair together, and these only in a single instance; they were both males, and were chasing each other round and round with extreme rapidity, apparently in play, pausing every now and then to utter their loud shrill calls: while thus employed they carried the tail horizontally, as they always do when running quickly through the bush, that being the only position in which this great organ could be conveniently borne at such times. Among its many curious habits, the only one at all approaching to those of the Gallinaceæ is that of forming small round hillocks, which are constantly visited during the day, and upon which the male is continually trampling, at the same time erecting and spreading out its tail in the most graceful manner and uttering his various cries, sometimes pouring forth his natural notes, at others mocking those of other birds, and even the howling of the native dog or Dingo. The early morning and the evening are the periods when it is most animated and active.

It may truly be said that all the beauty of this bird lies in the plumage of his tail, the new feathers of which appear in February or March, but do not attain their full beauty and perfection until June; during this and the four succeeding months it is in its finest state; after this the feathers are gradually shed, to be resumed again at the period above stated. I am led to believe that they are all assumed simultaneously, by the fact of a native having brought to my camp a specimen with a tail not more than six inches long, the feathers of which were in embryo, and all of the same length. Upon reference to my journal I find the following notes upon the subject:—“Mar. 14, Liverpool range. Several Menuras killed to-day: their tails not so fine as they will be.” “Oct. 25.—I find this bird is now losing its tail-feathers; and, judging from appearances, they will be all shed in a fortnight.”

Although upon one occasion I forced this bird to take wing, it was merely for the purpose of descending a gully, and I am led to believe that it seldom exerts this power unless under similar circumstances. It is particularly partial to traversing the trunks of fallen trees, and frequently attains a considerable altitude by leaping from branch to branch. Independently of its loud full call, which may be heard reverberating over the gullies to the distance of at least a quarter of a mile, it possesses an inward and varied song, the lower notes of which can only be heard when you have successfully approached to within a few yards of the bird during the time it is singing. This animated strain is frequently discontinued abruptly, and again commenced with a low, inward, snapping noise, ending with an imitation of the loud and full note of the Satin Bird, and always accompanied with a tremulous motion of the tail.

The food of the Menura appears to consist principally of insects, particularly centipedes and coleoptera; I also found the remains of shelled snails in the gizzard, which is very strong and muscular.

I regret that circumstances did not admit of my acquiring a perfect knowledge of the nidification of this very singular bird; I never found the nest but once, and this unfortunately was after the breeding-season was over; but all those of whom I made inquiries respecting it, agreed in assuring me that it is either placed on the ledge of a projecting rock, at the base of a tree, or on the top of a stump, but always near the ground; and a cedar cutter whom I met in the brushes informed me that he had once found a nest, which, to use his own expression, was “built like that of a magpie,” adding that it contained but one egg, and that upon his visiting the nest again some time afterwards he found in it a newly-hatched young, which was helpless and destitute of the power of vision. The natives state that the eggs are two in number, of a light colour, freckled with spots of red. The nest seen by myself, and to which my attention was drawn by my black companion Natty, was placed on the prominent point of a rock, in a situation quite secluded from observation behind, but affording the bird a commanding view and easy retreat in front; it was deep and shaped like a basin, and had the appearance of having been roofed; was of a large size, formed outwardly of sticks, and lined with the inner bark of trees and fibrous roots.

General plumage brown; the secondary wing-feathers nearest the body, and the outer webs of the remainder rich rufous brown; upper tail-coverts tinged with rufous; chin and front of the throat rufous, much richer during the breeding-season; all the under surface brownish ash-colour, becoming paler on the vent; upper surface of the tail blackish brown; under surface silvery grey, becoming very dark on the external web of the outer feather; the inner webs of these feathers fine rufous, crossed by numerous bands, which at first appear of a darker tint, but on close inspection prove to be perfectly transparent; the margin of the inner web and tips black; bill and nostrils black; irides blackish brown; bare space round the eye blackish lead-colour; legs and feet black, the scales mealy.

The female differs in wanting the singularly formed tail, and in having the bare space round the eye less extensive and less brilliantly coloured.

The Plate represents the two sexes, about half the natural size.

PSOPHODES CREPITANS: Vig. & Horsf.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

PSOPHODES CREPITANS, Vig. & Horsf.
Coach-whip Bird.

Muscicapa crepitans, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. li.

Coach-whip Flycatcher, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 222.

Coach-whip Honey-eater, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 187.

Psophodes crepitans, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 329.

Djou, Aborigines of New South Wales.

This bird, so renowned for the singularity of its note, is very abundant in many parts of New South Wales, to which portion of the Australian continent it appears to be confined, as I have never met with it in collections from any other part of the country. It is to be found only in dense brushes, such as those at Maitland, Manning, Illawarra, and the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range; in fact, the localities that are suitable to the Menura and the Wattled Talegalla, are congenial to the habits of the Coach-whip Bird, which in some degree assimilate to those of the former; and the loud full note of this bird, ending sharply like the cracking of a whip, with which the woods are constantly reverberating, appeared to me, although very dissimilar, to be analogous to the peculiar call of the Menura; and I would further remark that a great resemblance is observable in the structure of the two birds.

The Coach-whip Bird is a shy and recluse species, for although its full notes indicate its presence, it rarely exposes itself to view, but generally keeps in the midst of the densest foliage and among the thickest climbing plants, frequenting alike those that have intertwined themselves with the branches of the tallest shrubs, and those that form almost impenetrable masses near the ground, and through which it threads its way with the utmost ease. In these arboreal habits it less resembles Menura than in other parts of its economy. It is extremely animated and sprightly in all its actions, raising its crest and spreading its tail in the most elegant manner, generally carrying this organ slightly raised, but never elevating it in the grotesque style of the Blue Wrens (Maluri). These actions become even more animated during the spring, when the males may often be seen chasing each other, frequently stopping to pour out their notes with great volubility, making the brushes ring for a considerable distance around them, and displaying themselves to the greatest advantage.

The food consists of insects of various kinds, obtained almost entirely from the ground, and sought for by scratching up the leaves and turning over the small stones, precisely after the manner of the Menura.

Independently of its peculiar whistle, which must be heard to be understood, as it is impossible to convey an idea of it by words, it possesses a low inward song of considerable melody.

The rounded form of the wings and graduated tail, as well as the softness of the feathers of the back, have induced some authors to consider it to be allied to the Bush Shrikes of America (Thamnophili); but the structure of its bill, which is so essentially different, being totally devoid of the notch on both the mandibles, must have been overlooked, and in no one of its habits or actions does it assimilate to those birds.

The sexes are much alike in colour, but may be readily distinguished by the more obscure plumage, and lesser size of the female. The young of the first year are of a much browner hue, a character of plumage that soon gives place to the adult livery. Of its nidification I regret to say I know nothing, although I paid great attention to the subject myself, and offered rewards for its nest and eggs, and for any information respecting them.

The male has the head, ear-coverts, chin and breast black; a large patch of white on each side of the neck, all the upper surface, wings, flanks, and base of the tail-feathers olive-green; the remaining portion of the tail-feathers black, the three lateral feathers on each side tipped with white; under surface olive-brown, some of the feathers on the centre of the abdomen tipped with white, and forming a conspicuous irregular patch; irides brownish red; bill, inside and out, and base of the tongue black; feet reddish brown.

The Plate represents the male and female of the natural size, on the branch of a plant growing abundantly in the brushes of the Hunter, with the scientific name of which I am not acquainted, but which is called the Cherry by the colonists.

PSOPHODES NIGROGULARIS: Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. C. Hullmandel Imp.

PSOPHODES NIGROGULARIS, Gould.
Black-throated Psophodes.

Psophodes nigrogularis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 23, 1844.

The addition of a second species to the genus Psophodes will be hailed with pleasure by every one who makes the science of ornithology a matter of study; nor will its discovery be a subject of surprise to us, as it is only another illustration of that beautiful law of representation which is conspicuously carried out in Australia. The habitat of the present bird will doubtless be hereafter found to be as strictly confined to the western part of the continent as that of the P. crepitans is to the eastern. As yet only a single example has reached me, and in all probability no other specimen has ever fallen by the gun of any individual. It is to Mr. Gilbert’s perseverance that science is indebted for the knowledge of this new bird, and his notes which accompanied the specimen (a male) I here transcribe:—“Inhabits thickets of a small species of Leptospermum growing among the sand hills which run parallel with and adjacent to the beach. It utters a peculiar harsh and grating song which it is quite impossible to describe, and which is so different from that of every other bird I ever heard or am acquainted with, that I shall have no difficulty in recognizing it again wherever I may hear it. I heard it for the first time, together with the notes of many other birds equally strange to me, in the vicinity of the Wongan Hills a few weeks back, but could not then obtain a sight of the bird, although I knew from its singular and never to be mistaken note that it was only a few yards from me.”

Plumage of the upper surface olive; under surface ashy, passing into brown on the flanks and white on the centre of the abdomen; primaries brown; tail light olive-brown, the four lateral feathers crossed near the extremity with a hand of black, and tipped with white; throat deep black, with a stripe of white from the angle of the lower mandible, just within the black; bill dark horn-colour; irides dark brown; feet dark horn-colour.

The figures are of the natural size.

SPHENOSTOMA CRISTATUM: Gould.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

SPHENOSTOMA CRISTATUM, Gould.
Crested Wedge-bill.

Sphenostoma cristatum, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 150.—Ib. Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

Several years have now elapsed since I published the characters of this bird in the “Zoological Proceedings,” and a figure of the head in my “Synopsis.” I had little or nothing to communicate respecting its history at that time, and I regret to say that the interval has not added to my knowledge of the subject. The specimen from which my description and figure were originally taken was a female; and although the male differs but little in its outward appearance, still the rather more produced form of the bill supplies a key as to what tribe of birds it appears to be most nearly allied, that of Psophodes; at the same time it must be admitted, that the affinity is somewhat remote, and it may be that my conclusions are not well-founded: a knowledge of its habits will materially assist in clearing up this point.

It is an inhabitant of the low scrubby trees and Polygonum, bushes which stud the hot plains of the interior of Australia, particularly those on the borders of the Lachlan and Darling: Mr. Charles Coxen has also killed it on the Lower Namoi, but could tell me nothing of its habits. Whether it has any kind of loud sharp whistle analogous to that of the Coach-whip-bird (Psophodes crepitans), or if it has the same shy disposition, it would be interesting to ascertain; and to these points, as well as to all other details connected with its history, I would call the attention of those who may visit the interior, or may otherwise be favourably situated for observing them. The sombre tints of the bird are very like the colour of the earth of the plains it inhabits; and when the nature of its food shall have been ascertained, its wedge-shaped bill will doubtless be found admirably adapted for procuring it.

General plumage brown, lighter beneath; chin and centre of the abdomen greyish white; wings dark brown, edged with pale brown, the fourth and fifth primaries conspicuously margined with white; four centre tail-feathers dark brown, indistinctly barred with a still darker hue; the remainder brownish black, largely tipped with white; bill blackish brown; feet lead-colour.

The figures are of the natural size.

MALURUS CYANEUS: Vieill.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

MALURUS CYANEUS, Vieill.
Blue Wren.

Sylvia cyanea, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 545.

Motacilla cyanea, Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 991.

—— superba, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 10.

Superb Warbler, Shaw in White’s Voy., pl. in p. 256, upp. fig.—Ib. Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 754. pl. 58.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 117, but not the plate.

Malurus cyaneus, Vieill. Gal. des Ois., p. 265. pl. 163.—Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 221.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 72. fig. 3.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

Superb Warbler, Blue Wren, etc., of the colonists.

Of the lovely group of birds forming the genus Malurus, the present species is the oldest known, being that figured in White’s Voyage to New South Wales, under the name of Superb Warbler, a term by which the bird is still familiarly known in Australia. It is abundantly dispersed over every portion of the colony of New South Wales, and I observed it to be equally numerous on the plains of the interior to the northward; but how far its range may extend in that direction, can only be determined when those parts of the continent shall have been fully explored. I also killed specimens in South Australia, which I then believed to be identical with the present bird; but on comparison since my return, I find them to be more nearly allied to the Malurus longicaudus, at the same time possessing characters different from either; a further knowledge of the South Australian bird is therefore necessary, before I can determine to which it is referable, or if it may not be distinct from both.

The kind of country to which the Malurus cyaneus gives preference is of a wild and sterile character, thinly covered with low scrubby brushwood, especially localities of this description situated near the borders of rivers and ravines. During the months of winter it associates in small troops, of from six to eight in number, probably the brood of a single pair; it is of a very wandering disposition, and although never migrating to any great distance, is continually traversing the district in which it was bred, retiring at night-fall to roost in the accustomed haunt. At this period of the year the plumage of the sexes is so nearly alike, that a minute examination is requisite to distinguish them, and hence has risen the supposition that there was but one male to several females. The old males, however, have at all seasons the bill black, whereas the young males during the first year, and the females, have this organ always brown; the tail-feathers also, which with the primaries are only moulted once a year, are of a deeper blue in the male than in the other sex. As spring advances they separate into pairs, the male undergoing a total transformation, not only in the colour, but also in the texture of its plumage; indeed, a more astonishing change can scarcely be imagined, its plain and unassuming garb being thrown off for a few months and another assumed, which for resplendent beauty is hardly surpassed by any of the feathered race, certainly by none but the Humming-birds and Cotingas of America: nor is the change confined to the plumage alone, but extends also to its habits; in fact, its whole character and nature appear to have received a new impulse; the little creature now displaying great vivacity, proudly showing off its gorgeous attire to the utmost advantage, and pouring out its animated song unceasingly, until the female has completed her task of incubation, and the craving appetites of its newly-hatched young call forth a new feeling, and give its energies a new direction. After satisfying myself that the gaily-adorned plumage of the male is only assumed during the summer season, I endeavoured to ascertain at what periods these changes take place, and I found that the adult males generally begin to assume their blue dress in March, and to throw it off again for their winter garb in August; but although the greater number undergo their periodical change simultaneously, still individuals may occasionally be met with in their brilliant plumage even in the depth of winter, owing to some peculiar circumstance having caused them to retain it later than usual, or having induced them to assume it at a much earlier period.

During the winter months no bird can be more tame and familiar, frequenting the gardens and shrubberies of the settler, and hopping about their houses as if desirous to court, rather than shun, the presence of man; but the male, when adorned with his summer plumage, becomes more shy and retiring, appearing to have an instinctive consciousness of the danger to which his beauty subjects him; nevertheless they will frequently build their little nest and rear their young in the most populous places. Several broods are reared annually in the Botanic Garden at Sydney, and I saw a pair busily employed in constructing their nest in a tree close to the door of the Colonial Secretary’s Office in that town. The short and rounded wing incapacitates it for protracted flight, but the amazing facility with which it is enabled to pass over the surface of the ground fully compensates for this deficiency: this mode of progression is scarcely to be called running, but is rather a succession of bounding hops, performed with great rapidity: while thus employed its tail is carried perpendicularly or thrown forward over the back; in fact, except during flight, this organ is rarely, if ever, carried horizontally.

The breeding-season continues from September to January, during which period at least two, if not three, broods are reared: the young of one being scarcely old enough to provide for themselves, before the female again commences laying: independently of rearing her own young, she is also the foster-parent of the Bronze Cuckoo (Chalcites lucidus), a single egg of which species is frequently found deposited in her nest; but by what means, is, as in the case of the European Cuckoo, unknown.

The nest, which is dome-shaped, with a small hole at the side for an entrance, is generally constructed of grasses, lined with feathers or hair: the site chosen for its erection is usually near the ground, in a secluded bush, tuft of grass, or under the shelter of a bank. The eggs are generally four in number, of a delicate flesh-white, sprinkled with spots and blotches of reddish brown, which are more abundant, and form an irregular zone at the larger extremity: they are eight lines long by five and a half broad.

The song is a hurried strain impossible to describe, but somewhat resembling that of the Wren of Europe, a bird to which the Maluri also assimilate in many of their actions.

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of various kinds, collected on the ground, the trunks of fallen trees, etc.

The male in summer has the crown of the head, ear-coverts and a lunar-shaped mark on the upper part of the back light metallic blue; lores, line over the eye, occiput, scapularies, back, rump and upper tail-coverts velvety black; throat and chest bluish black, bounded below by a band of velvety black; tail deep blue, indistinctly barred with a darker hue and finely tipped with white; wings brown; under surface buffy white, tinged with blue on the flanks; irides blackish brown; bill black; feet brown.

The female has the lores and a circle surrounding the eye reddish brown; upper surface, wings and tail brown; under surface brownish white; bill reddish brown; feet fleshy brown.

The Plate represents two males and a female with the nest, the former engaged in feeding a young Cuckoo.

MALURUS LONGICAUDUS: Gould.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

MALURUS LONGICAUDUS, Gould.
Long-tailed Wren.

Malurus longicaudus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 148.

This species offers so general a resemblance to the Superb Warbler (M. cyaneus), that some ornithologists may still be inclined to consider it identical with that species; there are, however, differences in their characters which I find to be constant, and which are, I think, of sufficient importance to justify their being separated. The examination of great numbers of specimens enables me to affirm that the present species has the blue markings much more intense, is superior in size, and has a much longer tail. If the larger birds had been inhabitants of a warmer climate, where insect food is more abundant, it would have permitted the supposition that temperature had had some influence in effecting this difference; but as exactly the reverse is the case, I have been strengthened in my opinion of their being distinct, and have accordingly given it a name; that of longicaudus appearing to me the most appropriate, as at once distinguishing it from the Malurus cyaneus, in which that organ is much shorter. It is so universally dispersed over Van Diemen’s Land, as well as the islands in Bass’s Straits, that to particularize any one part of the former island where it is found more than another would be vain, since it is present in every gully, and every other place where low scrubby bushes and underwood are to be met with: I have also received a single specimen in its winter dress from Kangaroo Island, which I believe is referable to this species. Active and cheerful, and possessing a sweet warbling song, the present bird is as much a favourite in Van Diemen’s Land as the Superb Warbler is in New South Wales, and, like its congener, in the winter season it is equally tame and familiar. It is subject to the same changes of plumage, and its whole economy is so similar as to render a separate description unnecessary. Its nest is also similarly constructed, but is rather of a larger size; it is usually composed of grasses and leaves warmly lined with feathers, and in some instances with the fur of the Kangaroo and Opossum; and placed either in a small bush near the ground, or artfully built in a tuft of grass. The season of reproduction commences in August and lasts until January, during which time two or three broods are reared. Like the M. cyaneus, it is also the foster-parent of the Bronze Cuckoo (Chalcites lucidus). The eggs, which bear a similar character, but proportionately larger than those of the M. cyaneus, are four or five in number, of a flesh-white, blotched and spotted with markings of reddish brown, particularly at the larger end, where they form an irregular zone: they are nearly nine lines long by six and a quarter broad.

The long legs of this species admirably adapt it for the ground, and for traversing the fallen trunks of trees, along which, with tail erect, it passes with the utmost activity: it is also frequently to be observed among the low trees and bushes, the male often selecting a small prominent bare twig, whereon to perch and warble forth his animated song.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds, which are generally taken on the ground: the stomach is muscular, and was frequently found to contain grains of small sand intermingled with its natural food.

The male in summer has the crown of the head, ear-coverts and a broad lunar-shaped mark on the upper part of the back metallic blue; lores, line over the eye, occiput, scapularies, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts velvety black; throat and chest bluish black, bounded below by a band of velvety black; tail dark blue, indistinctly barred with a darker hue and finely tipped with white; wings brown; under surface buffy white, tinged with blue on the flanks; irides blackish brown; bill black; feet brown.

The female has the lores and a circle surrounding the eye reddish brown; upper surface, wings and tail brown; under surface brownish white; bill reddish brown; feet fleshy brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

The beautiful Creeper introduced into the Plate is the Billardiera longiflora.

MALURUS MELANOTUS: Gould.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

MALURUS MELANOTUS, Gould.
Black-backed Wren.

Malurus melanotus, Gould in Proceedings of Zool. Soc., November 10, 1840.

The only place in which I observed this extremely rare species was the Belts of the Murray in South Australia; but although it was there tolerably abundant, it was so extremely shy and distrustful, that the few specimens in my collection, and which in all probability are the only examples in Europe, were obtained with the greatest difficulty. It was most frequently observed on the ground, particularly in the small open glades and little plains by which the outer belt of this vast scrub is diversified. The period of my visit was in winter, consequently the specimens I collected were all out of colour, or more properly speaking, divested of the rich blue and black plumage of summer, in which state a single specimen has been forwarded to me by one of the party that accompanied His Excellency Colonel Gawler and Captain Sturt, when those gentlemen visited the Murray in 1839. It is a most interesting species, inasmuch as it possesses characters intermediate between the M. cyaneus and M. splendens, having the blue belly and conspicuous pectoral band of the latter and the black back of the former; from both, however, it differs in the length of its toes, which are much shorter than those of its near allies: this difference in structure exerts a corresponding influence upon its habits and actions; for while the others run over the ground with great facility, the Black-backed Wren far exceeds them in this power; hence arose the great difficulty of procuring specimens. Instead of exerting any power of flight, they effected their escape by the extraordinary manner with which they tripped over the small openings and through the scrub, each troop appearing to have a leader, and keeping just beyond the range of the gun: this shyness was rather remarkable, since I and my party were probably the only white persons they had ever encountered; like the Chestnut-backed Ground Thrush, they would appear to have an instinctive dread of man.

The male in summer has the crown of the head, chin, throat, abdomen, upper part of the back, upper and under tail-coverts beautiful metallic blue; ear-coverts verditer-blue; lores, back of the neck, band across the breast and lower part of the back velvety black; external margins of all the wing-feathers green; tail bluish green, indistinctly barred with a darker tint, and slightly tipped with white; bill black; irides and legs blackish brown.

The female has the lores and circle surrounding the eye reddish brown; all the upper surface brown; under surface brownish white; wings brown; tail green, each feather slightly tipped with white; bill reddish brown; feet brown.

The male in winter has the bill black, like the M. cyaneus.

The figure is that of a male and female of the natural size.

MALURUS SPLENDENS.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

MALURUS SPLENDENS.
Banded Wren.

Saxicola splendens, Quoy et Gaim., Voy. de l’Astrol., Zool., tom. i. p. 197. pl. 10. fig. 1.

Malurus pectoralis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part I. p. 106.

Djur-jeel-ya of the Aborigines of the lowland, and Jeer-jal of the Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

This species may very justly be considered as more gorgeous and resplendent than any other of its race, its whole plumage sparkling with beautiful shining metallic lustres, beyond the power of our pencil to imitate in a drawing. At the time I gave a description of this little beauty in 1837, I was totally unaware that it had been previously published in France, and I am gratified that an opportunity is now afforded me to correct my error, and to figure it under the very appropriate specific title conferred upon it by Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard.

The Malurus splendens is an inhabitant of the western coast of Australia; but over what extent of country it may range cannot be ascertained, until the further progress of geographical research in this portion of Australia enables us to solve the problem. It is, I believe, very generally distributed over the Swan River settlement, where I am informed it inhabits scrubby places and underwood, sallying forth over the more dry and open forest during the day, and choosing, as Mr. Gilbert thinks, swampy places to roost in; at least he observed it returning to such situations in great numbers in the evening just before dark; and he moreover states, that not more than two males, or rather birds in colour, were observed to five females, or birds in the brown plumage; for, like the other members of the genus, the gorgeous colouring is only seasonal.

Its song very nearly resembles that of the Van Diemen’s Land species, M. longicaudus. It breeds in September and the three following months: the nest is constructed of dried, soft grasses, and lined either with hair, wool or feathers, is of a dome-shape, the cover of the top resembling the peak of a cap, and is about six or eight inches in height: the eggs are generally four in number, of flesh-white, thickly blotched and freckled with reddish brown, especially at the larger end; eight and a quarter lines long by six and a quarter lines broad. The situation of the nest is much varied, being sometimes built among the hanging clusters of the stinkwood tree, at others among the upright reeds growing just above the water’s edge on the borders of lakes and the banks of rivers.

The stomach is muscular, and its food consists of insects of various kinds.

The male in its summer dress has the crown of the head, back, scapularies, and upper tail-coverts deep metallic blue; ear-coverts verditer-blue; throat and all the under surface deep shining violet-blue; lores, crescent-shaped mark across the chest and back of the neck deep velvet-black; external edges of the wing-feathers green; tail greenish blue, indistinctly barred with a darker tint; bill black; eyes and feet blackish brown.

The female has the bill, lores and circle round the eyes reddish brown; crown of the head and all the upper surface brown; the external margins of the wing-feathers slightly tinged with green; tail as in the male, but paler, and slightly tipped with white.

The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size.

MALURUS ELEGANS: Gould.
J. & E. Gould del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp.

MALURUS ELEGANS, Gould.
Graceful Wren.

Malurus elegans, Gould, Birds of Australia, Part I. Aug. 1837.