Chapter XIV: Part I: p. 19. 2nd edit. p. 41 (9)

The nest is rather a large structure, composed of sticks, and lined with fibrous roots and a few leaves of the gum-tree; it is usually placed in the fork of a swamp oak (_Casuarina_) or other trees growing on the banks of creeks and rivers, but is occasionally to be met with in the depths of the forests. The eggs are generally three in number, of a bluish white, in some instances stained and smeared over with blotches of buff; in others I have observed square-formed spots, and a few hair-like streaks of deep brown: their medium length is one inch and six lines by one inch and two lines in breadth.

Head, all the upper surface, wings and tail deep brownish grey, the tail indistinctly barred with deep brown; on the back of the neck an obscure collar of reddish brown; throat, the under surface and thighs rufous, crossed by numerous narrow bars of white, the red predominating on the thighs; under surface of the wings and tail grey, distinctly barred with dark brown, which is deepest on the former; irides and eyelash yellow; cere and gape yellowish green; base of the bill lead-colour, tip black; legs yellow slightly tinged with green.

The young male has the cere and gape olive-yellow; irides and eyelash primrose-yellow.

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

BUTEO MELANOSTERNON: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter, del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

BUTEO MELANOSTERNON, _Gould_.
Black-breasted Buzzard.

_Buteo melanosternon_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
162.

_G̏oo-dap_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

If we examine the Australian members of the family of _Falconidæ_, we cannot fail to observe that it comprises representatives of most of the forms inhabiting similar latitudes in the northern hemisphere; no example of the genus _Buteo_ had, however, been recorded as an inhabitant of Australia until I discovered the present species, which is more nearly allied to the _Buteo Jackall_ of the Cape of Good Hope and the Red-tailed Buzzard (_Buteo Borealis_) of America than to any other. It is a fine and noble species, and although it does not appear to be common in any part of the colonies, it ranges over all the southern portion of the country. I have received it from Swan River, and procured it myself during my journey into the interior of New South Wales, about two hundred miles northwards of Sydney; I have also a specimen which was killed on the Liverpool Plains by one of the natives in my party.

The Black-breasted Buzzard generally flies high in the air, through which it soars in large circles, much after the manner of the Wedge-tailed Eagle; its black breast and the large white mark at the base of the primaries being very conspicuous when seen from beneath.

The sexes are alike in colouring but present the usual difference in size, the male being the smallest.

Crown of the head, face, chin, chest and centre of the abdomen deep black, passing into chestnut-red on the flanks, thighs and under tail-coverts; back of the head chestnut-red, becoming black in the centre of each feather; shoulders whitish buff; all the upper surface deep brownish black, margined with chestnut-red; primaries white at the base, deep black for the remainder of their length; cere and base of the bill purplish flesh-colour, passing into black at the tip; irides wood-brown; feet white tinged with lilac.

The Plate represents a male about two-thirds of the natural size.

MILVUS AFFINIS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter, del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

MILVUS AFFINIS, _Gould_.
Allied Kite.

_Milvus affinis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 140; and in
Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

_E-le-nid-jul_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

With the single exception of Van Diemen’s Land, this Kite is universally dispersed over all the Australian Colonies, and is equally as common at Port Essington, on the north coast, as it is on the southern portions of the country.

Its confident and intrepid disposition renders it familiar to every one, and not unfrequently costs it its life, as it fearlessly enters the farm-yard of the settler, and if unopposed, impudently deals out destruction to the young poultry, pigeons, &c. tenanting it. It is also a constant attendant at the camps of the Aborigines and the hunting parties of the settlers, perching on the small trees immediately surrounding them, and patiently waiting for the refuse or offal. The temerity of one individual was such, that it even disputed my right to a Bronze-winged Pigeon that had fallen before my gun, for which act, I am now almost ashamed to say, it paid the penalty of its life; on reflection I asked myself why should advantage have been taken of the confident disposition implanted in the bird by its Maker, particularly too when it was in a part of the country where no white man had taken up his abode and assumed a sovereign right over all that surrounds him.

The flight of this bird, which is closely allied in character to that of the _Milvus ater_ of Europe, is much less protracted and soaring than that of the typical Kites; the bird is also much more arboreal in its habits, skulking about the forest after the manner of the true Buzzards. Great numbers have been observed hovering over the smoke of the extensive fires so common in Australia, closely watching for Lizards and any of the smaller mammalia that may have fallen victims to the flames, or have been driven by the heat from their lurking places.

In the southern parts of Australia this bird is a stationary species; I did not, however, succeed in procuring its eggs, or any account of its nidification.

The sexes are so nearly alike that the single figure in the accompanying Plate will serve for a representation of both.

Feathers of the head, and the back and sides of the neck reddish fawn colour, with a central stripe of dark blackish brown; all the upper surface glossy brown inclining to chocolate, and passing into reddish brown on the wing-coverts, the shaft of each feather being black, and the extreme tip pale brown; primaries black; secondaries blackish brown; tail, which is slightly forked, brown, crossed by several indistinct bars of a darker tint, and each feather tipped with greyish white; throat brownish fawn colour, with the stem of each feather black; the remainder of the under surface rufous brown, with a central line of dark brown on each feather, which is broadest and most conspicuous on the chest; cere, gape and base of the lower mandible yellow; upper mandible and point of the lower black; tarsi and toes yellow; claws black; irides very dark brown.

The figure is about two-thirds of the natural size.

MILVUS ISURUS: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

MILVUS ISURUS, _Gould_.
Square-tailed Kite.

_Milvus isurus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. 1837, p.
140.—Ib. Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

_Ge-durn-mul-uk_ and _Mar-arl_, Aborigines of the mountain districts
of Western Australia.

_Kite_, of the Colonists.

This new species, although possessing the short feet, long wings, and other characters of the true Kites, may at once be distinguished from all the other members of that group by the square form of its tail. I met with it in various parts of New South Wales, and on the plains of the interior, still it is by no means abundant, and persons who had been long resident in the colony knew but little about it. I had, however, the good fortune not only to kill the bird myself, but, in one instance, to find its nest, from which I shot the female. I have also received two specimens from Swan River, which shows that, although the species may be thinly scattered over the country, it nevertheless enjoys an extensive range of habitat. It is a true Kite in all its manners, at one time soaring high above the trees of the forest, and at others hunting over the open wastes in search of food.

The nest which I found near Scone, in the month of November, was of a large size, built exteriorly of sticks, and lined with leaves and the inner bark of the gum-trees: it contained two eggs, the ground colour of which was buffy white; one was faintly freckled with rufous, becoming much deeper at the smaller end, while the other was very largely blotched with reddish brown; they were somewhat round in form, one inch and eleven lines long by one inch and seven lines broad.

In his notes from Western Australia, Mr. John Gilbert remarks, that it is there “always found in thickly-wooded places. Its flight at times is rapid, and it soars high for a great length of time. I found a nest on the 10th of November, 1839; it contained two young ones scarcely feathered, and was formed of sticks on a lofty horizontal branch of a white gum-tree, in a dense forest about four miles to the eastward of the Avon. I have not observed it in the lowlands, but it appears to be tolerably abundant in the interior. The stomach is membranous and very capacious: the food mostly birds.”

Forehead and space over the eye buffy white, each feather tipped and marked down the shaft with black; crown of the head, back and sides of the neck, throat, shoulders, both above and beneath, and the under surface generally reddish orange; the feathers on the crown and the back of the head, like those of the forehead, marked longitudinally and tipped with black, but in no part are these markings so widely spread as on the chest, whence they suddenly diminish, and are altogether lost on the abdomen, the uniformity of which, particularly on the flanks, is broken by obscure transverse bands of a lighter colour; upper part of the back and scapularies deep blackish brown; tips of the primaries on the upper surface dark brown, obscurely banded with black; internal web of the basal portion of the primaries, together with the stem and under surface generally, greyish white; secondaries dark brown banded with black, the remainder of the wing light brown, the edges of the feathers being still lighter; rump and upper tail-coverts white, with transverse bands of brown and buff; tail brownish grey, and nearly square in form, all the feathers, except the two outer on each side, marked with about four obscure narrow bands of black, the whole tipped with black; irides very pale yellow, freckled with light rufous; cere, base of the bill and feet greyish white; culmen and tip of the bill and claws black.

The female has the same character of markings as the male, but is readily distinguished by her great superiority in size.

The figure is that of a male two-thirds of the natural size.

ELANUS AXILLARIS.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter, del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ELANUS AXILLARIS.
Black-shouldered Kite.

_Falco axillaris_, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp., vol. ii. p. 42.—Shaw Gen.
Zool., vol. vii. p. 173.—Vieill. 2nde Edit. du Nouv. Diet. d’Hist.
Nat., tom. iv. p. 453.

_Circus axillaris_, Vieill. Ency. Méth., Part. III. p. 1212.

_Elanus notatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 141; and in
Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

A more careful comparison of the birds from various parts of the world, which have hitherto been classed under the old specific name of _Falco (Elanus) melanopterus_, has shown that, instead of their being all identical, each quarter of the globe is inhabited by its own peculiar species; and that although they all bear a general resemblance to each other, they each possess well-defined characters, by which they may be readily distinguished: in their habits, as might be supposed, they are as closely allied as in general appearance.

The species here represented is a summer visitant to the southern portions of the Australian continent, over which it is very widely but thinly dispersed, being found at Swan River on the west coast, at Moreton Bay on the east, and over all the intervening country; I have never seen it in collections from Java, although Sir William Jardine states that it is an inhabitant of that island, neither have I yet seen it from Van Diemen’s Land.

In its disposition it is much less courageous than the other members of the Australian _Falconidæ_ and, as its feeble bill and legs would indicate, lives more on insects and reptiles than on birds or quadrupeds.

I very often observed it flying above the tops of the highest trees, and where it appeared to be hawking about for insects; it was also sometimes to be seen perched upon the dead and leafless branches of the gums, particularly such as were isolated from the other trees of the forest, whence it could survey all around.

While under the Liverpool range I shot a young bird of this species that had not long left the nest; which proves that it had been bred within the colony of New South Wales, but I could never obtain any information respecting the nest and eggs.

The sexes closely assimilate to each other in colouring. The young differ in having the feathers of the upper surface tipped with buffy-brown.

The adults have the eye encircled by a narrow ring of black; forehead, sides of the face and under surface of the body pure white; back of the neck, back, scapularies, and upper tail-coverts delicate grey; a jet-black mark commences at the shoulders, and extends over the greater portion of the wing; under surface of the shoulders pure white, below which an oval spot of jet black; primaries dark grey above, brownish black beneath; tail greyish white; bill black; cere and legs pale yellow; irides reddish orange.

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

ELANUS INSCRIPTUS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter, del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ELANUS SCRIPTUS, _Gould_.
Letter-winged Kite.

_Elanus scriptus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., June 28, 1842.

I have nothing more to communicate respecting this new species of _Elanus_, than that I found a single specimen of it among a collection of skins that had been sent from South Australia. In size it considerably exceeds the Black-shouldered Kite, from which it also differs in the colouring of the upper surface, which is much darker and washed with reddish brown, the same part in the other species being delicate grey; the principal character, however, by which it may be distinguished, not only from its Australian relative, but from every other member of the genus yet discovered, is the great extent of the black mark on the under surface of the wing, which following the line of the bones from the body to the pinion, assumes when the wing is spread the form of the letter V, or if both wings are seen at the same time that of a W, divided in the centre by the body; which circumstance has suggested the specific name I have applied to it.

It will be admitted by every one that this new species is an interesting addition to the Australian _Falconidæ_, a group, of which the Fauna of that country is more meagre in species than any similar extent of country known.

Forehead and line over the eye white; head and all the upper surface dark grey, washed with reddish brown; wing-coverts deep glossy black; primaries greyish brown, becoming nearly white on their webs, all but the first two or three margined with white at the tip; secondaries brownish grey on the outer web, white on the inner and at the extremity; tertiaries brownish grey; two centre tail-feathers grey; the remaining tail-feathers pale brown on their outer webs, and white on the inner; lores black; all the under surface and edge of the shoulder white; on the under surface of the wing, following the line of the bones, a broad mark of black, assuming the form of the letter V; bill black; cere and legs yellow; claws black; irides orange.

The figure is of the natural size.

LEPIDOGENYS SUBCRISTATUS: _Gould_

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

LEPIDOGENYS SUBCRISTATUS, _Gould_.
Crested Hawk.

_Lepidogenys subcristatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p.
140; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

I regret to say that I am not sufficiently acquainted with this singular species to give any account of its habits and economy, but, judging from the feebleness of its bill and talons and the shortness of its tarsi, I conceive that it principally preys upon insects and their larvæ; and it is not improbable that honey and the larvæ of bees and ants, which abound in Australia, may form a portion of its food. Any information on this head that may have been ascertained by residents in Australia would, if made known, be of the highest interest to ornithologists, as an addition to the history of this singular form among the _Falconidæ_. Its extreme rarity, however, will, I fear, tend much to prevent the acquirement of this desirable information.

I saw it soaring high in the air over the plains in the neighbourhood of the Namoi, but never sufficiently near to admit of a successful shot. All the specimens I have seen were collected either at Moreton Bay or on the banks of the Clarence.

As little or no difference exists in the plumage of the specimens I have examined, I presume that the sexes are very similar.

Crown of the head, sides of the face, ear-coverts, and upper part of the back brownish grey; occiput and lengthened occipital plumes blackish brown; back and scapulars brown; wings uniform dark brownish grey above, beneath silvery grey; primaries and secondaries crossed by several bands, and largely terminated with black; rump and upper tail-coverts chocolate-brown; tail brownish grey above, lighter beneath, crossed by three narrow bands of black near the base, and deeply terminated with the same colour; throat, chest, part of the shoulder, and under tail-coverts greyish white tinged with rufous; abdomen, flanks and thighs buffy white, crossed with conspicuous narrow bands of reddish chestnut; bill bluish horn-colour; tarsi yellowish.

The Plate pourtrays the bird of the natural size.

CIRCUS ASSIMILIS: _Jard. & Selb._

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

CIRCUS ASSIMILIS, _Jard. and Selb._
Allied Harrier.

_Circus assimilis_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 51.

_Swamp Hawk_, of the Colonists.

The _Circus assimilis_ may be regarded as the commonest of the Harriers inhabiting New South Wales and South Australia; it also occurs, but in smaller numbers, in Van Diemen’s Land. Another Harrier is rather abundantly dispersed over all the localities suitable to its existence in Western Australia, and it is just possible that they may prove to be mere varieties of each other; if such should be the case, the whole of the southern portion of the coast of Australia, from east to west, must be included within the range of its habitat; still, without further evidence in favour of this supposition, I should consider them to be distinct species; and if this opinion is well-founded, the two species will be found to inosculate in the latitude of Spencer’s and St. Vincent’s Gulfs, as, in the collections lately forwarded to me by Mr. Harvey of Port Lincoln, I found two or three individuals precisely identical with those from Swan River. In size the _Circus assimilis_ is but little inferior to the Marsh Harrier (_Circus æruginosus_) of Europe, to which it offers a great resemblance in its habits and economy; being generally seen flying slowly and somewhat heavily near the surface of the ground, evincing a partiality to lagoons and marshy places, situations which offer it a greater variety and abundance of food than any other; the principal part of its food consists of reptiles, small mammalia and birds. I several times observed this species in the lagoons near Clarence Plains in Van Diemen’s Land, as well as in all similar situations in almost every part of New South Wales I visited.

I was not so fortunate as to find the nest of this Harrier,—a knowledge of its form and of the colour of its eggs is therefore yet to be ascertained. That it breeds in the localities in which I observed it I have little doubt, from the circumstance of the adults paying regular and hourly visits to the marshes in search of food, which was doubtless borne away to their young. When in a state of quiescence, this species, like the other Harriers, perches on some elevation in the open plain rather than among the trees of the forest; the trunk of a fallen tree, a large stone, or small hillock, being among its favourite resting-places.

The sexes offer the usual differences in the larger size of the female; the markings of that sex are also rather less well-defined, and have not so much of the grey colouring as the male.

Head and all the upper surface rich dark brown; the feathers at the back of the neck margined with reddish buff; face light reddish brown; facial disc buffy white, with a dark stripe down the centre of each feather; all the under surface buffy white, which is deepest on the lower part of the abdomen and thighs, each feather with a streak of brown down the centre; upper tail-coverts and base of the tail-feathers white; remaining length of the tail-feathers brownish grey; irides reddish orange; eyelash and cere pale yellow; bill dark brown, becoming light blue at the base; tarsi greenish white; feet bright orange; claws dark brown.

The female differs in being of a larger size and of a darker brown, particularly on the under surface, and in having the tail of a deeper tint and obscurely barred.

The figures are about two-thirds of the natural size.

CIRCUS JARDINII: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del. et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

CIRCUS JARDINII, _Gould_.
Jardine’s Harrier.

_Circus Jardinii_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 141; and
in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

This very beautiful Harrier, which is distinguished from every other species of the genus at present known by the spotted character of its plumage, is plentifully dispersed over every portion of New South Wales, wherever localities favourable to the existence of the Harrier tribe occur, such as extensive plains, wastes, and luxuriant grassy flats between the hills in mountainous districts. The extent of its range over the Australian continent has not yet been ascertained, and I have never observed it from any other portion of the country than that mentioned above, nor do specimens occur in collections formed in other parts.

In the third part of my “Synopsis of the Birds of Australia,” I expressed an opinion that the _Circus assimilis_ of Messrs. Jardine and Selby’s “Illustrations of Ornithology” was merely the young of the present species: this opinion, however, my visit to Australia proved to be erroneous; the _Circus assimilis_, as will be seen on reference to the preceding plate, proving to be entirely distinct. The present noble bird has been named in honour of Sir William Jardine, Bart., one of the authors of the work above mentioned; and which, as well as his other valuable publications connected with the science of ornithology, are well known to every zoologist.

To describe the economy of the Jardine’s Harrier would be merely to repeat what has been said respecting that of the former species. Like the other members of the genus, it flies lazily over the surface of the plains, intently seeking for lizards, snakes, small quadrupeds and birds; and when not pressed by hunger, reposes on some dried stick, elevated knoll, or stone, from which it can survey all around. Although I observed this species in all parts of the Hunter in summer, when others of the _Falconidæ_ were breeding, I did not succeed in procuring its eggs, or obtain any satisfactory information respecting its nidification; in all probability its nest is constructed on or near the ground, on the scrubby crowns of the low, open, sterile hills that border the plains.

The sexes present considerable difference in size, but are very similar in their markings; both are spotted, but the female is by far the finest bird in every respect.

Crown of the head, cheeks and ear-coverts dark chestnut, each feather having a mark of brown down the centre; facial disc, back of the neck, upper part of the back, and chest uniform dark grey; lower part of the back and scapulars dark grey, most of the feathers being blotched and marked at the tips with two faint spots of white, one on each side of the stem; shoulders, under surface of the wing, abdomen, thighs and under tail-coverts rich chestnut, the whole of the feathers beautifully spotted with white, the spots regularly disposed down each web, and being largest and most distinct on the abdomen; greater and lesser wing-coverts brownish grey, irregularly barred and tipped with a lighter colour; secondaries dark grey, crossed with three narrow lines of dark brown, and tipped with a broad band of the same colour, the extreme tips being paler; primaries black for two-thirds of their length, their bases brownish buff; upper tail-coverts brown, barred and tipped with greyish white; tail alternately barred with conspicuous bands of dark brown and grey, the brown band nearest the extremity being the broadest, the extreme tips greyish white; irides bright orange-yellow; cere olive-yellow; bill blue at the base, black at the culmen and tips; legs yellow.

The young has the whole of the upper surface nearly uniform dark brown, the tail more numerously barred, and the feathers of the chest and upper part of the abdomen striated, instead of spotted with white: in other respects it resembles the adults.

The front figure represents the female and the other the male, about two-thirds of the natural size.

STRIX CASTANOPS: _Gould_.

_Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

STRIX CASTANOPS, _Gould_.
Chestnut-faced Owl.

_Strix castanops_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 140; and
in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

Van Diemen’s Land is the native country of this Owl, a species distinguished from all the other members of the genus _Strix_, as now restricted, by its great size and powerful form; few of the Raptorial birds, in fact, with the exception of the Eagles, are more formidable or more sanguinary in disposition than the bird here represented.

Forests of large but thinly scattered trees, skirting plains and open districts, constitute its natural habitat. Strictly nocturnal in its habits, as night approaches it sallies forth from the hollows of the large gum-trees, and flaps slowly and noiselessly over the plains and swamps in search of its prey, which, as is the case with the other members of the genus, consists of rats and small quadrupeds generally, numerous species of which abound in the country wherein it is destined by nature to dwell.

I regret that the brevity of my stay in Van Diemen’s Land did not admit of sufficient opportunities for observing this bird in its native haunts, and of making myself acquainted with the various changes which take place in the colouring of its plumage. Much variety in this respect exists among the specimens in my collection; occasioned not so much by a difference in the form of the markings, as by a difference in the hue of the wash of colour which pervades the face, neck, under surface and thighs. In some specimens the face, all the under surface and the thighs are deep rusty yellow; in others the same parts are slightly washed with buff, while others again have the face of a dark reddish buff approaching to chestnut, and the under surface much lighter; I have also seen others with the facial feathers lighter than those of the body, and, lastly, some with the face and all the under surface pure white, with the exception of the black spots which are to be found in all. Whether the white or the tawny plumage is the characteristic of the adult, or whether these changes are influenced by season, are points that might be easily cleared up by persons resident in Van Diemen’s Land, and I would invite those who may be favourably situated for observation to fully investigate the subject and make known the results.

I found the white variety far less numerous than the others; and so much smaller in size, as almost to induce a belief that they were distinct.

The sexes differ very considerably in size, the female being by far the largest, and in every way more powerful than the male: the stroke of her foot and the grasp of her talons must be immediate death to any animal, from the size of the little Opossum Mouse to the largest of the Kangaroo-rats, upon which latter animals it is probable that future research will prove it sometimes subsists.

Fascial disc deep chestnut, becoming deeper at the margin and encircled with black; upper surface, wings and tail fine rufous brown, each feather irregularly and broadly barred with dark brown, with a few minute white spots on the head and shoulders; under surface uniform deep sandy brown; sides of the neck and flanks sparingly marked with round blackish spots; thighs and legs the same, but destitute of spots; bill yellowish brown; feet light yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

STRIX PERSONATA: _Vig._

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

STRIX PERSONATA, _Vig._
Masked Barn Owl.

_Strix personata_, Vig. in Proc. of Com. of Sci., and Corr. of Zool.
Soc., Part I. p. 60.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

_Strix Cyclops_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 140; and in
Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.?

It will be recollected that the habitat of the _Strix castanops_ is Van Diemen’s Land, to which island it is probably restricted; on the other hand, the bird here figured, although nearly allied to the preceding, not only differs in so many essential characters as to leave little doubt in my mind of its being specifically distinct, but is confined to the continent of Australia, over which it enjoys a wide range. With the exception of the north coast, I have received specimens from every part of the country. During my visit to the interior of South Australia, numerous individuals fell to my gun, which upon comparison presented no material variation in their colour or markings from others killed in New South Wales and Swan River.

If I were puzzled with respect to the changes to which the _Strix castanops_ is apparently subject, I am not less so with those of the present bird; for although I find the tawny and buff colouring of the face and under surface is generally lighter, I also find a diversity in the colouring of the different parts of the under surface; I have specimens in my cabinet with the face, all the under surface and the ground-colour of the upper pure white, and prior to my visit to Australia I characterized specimens thus coloured as a distinct species under the name of _Strix Cyclops_, but I have now some reason to believe them to be fully adult males of the bird here figured. I may remark, that out of the numerous examples I killed in South Australia in the month of June, I did not meet with one in the white plumage.

The _Strix personata_ is almost a third smaller than the _S. castanops_, and as the sexes of both species bear a relative proportion in size, the male of the one is about equal to the female of the other. The white spottings of the upper surface of the former are larger than those of the latter, and the surrounding patches of dark brown and buff are not so deep, giving the whole of that part of the bird a more marbled or speckled appearance.

Pale buff; the upper part of the head, the back and the wings variegated with dark brown, and sparingly dotted with white; under surface paler with a few brown spots; tail buff, undulated with brown fascia; facial disc purplish buff, margined with deep brown spots; bill pale horn-colour; toes yellow.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

STRIX TENEBRICOSUS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

STRIX TENEBRICOSUS, _Gould_.
Sooty Owl.

_Strix tenebricosus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p. 80.

A fine specimen of this species is comprised in the collection of the British Museum, and a second example graces my own; its habitat is undoubtedly the dense brushes of the east coast of Australia, where, like other Owls, it remains secluded during the day, and sallies forth at night in search of its natural prey. It is a fine and powerful species, and the rarest of the Australian members of the genus to which it belongs, from all of which it is conspicuously distinguished by the dark sooty hue of its plumage, and by the primaries being of one colour, or destitute of the bars common to all the other species.

Facial disc sooty grey, becoming much deeper round the eyes; upper surface brownish black, with purplish reflexions, and with a spot of white near the tip of each feather; wings and tail of the same hue but paler, the feathers of the wing of a uniform tint, without bars, those of the tail faintly freckled with narrow bars of white; under surface brownish black, washed with buff, and with the white marks much less decided; legs mottled brown and white; irides dark brown; bill horn-colour; feet yellowish.

The figure is of the natural size.

STRIX DELICATULIS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

STRIX DELICATULUS, _Gould_.
Delicate Owl.

_Strix delicatulus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV., 1836, p.
140; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

_Y̏on-ja_, Aborigines of the lowlands of Western Australia.

This is the least of the Australian Owls belonging to that section of the group to which the generic term of _Strix_ has been restricted; it is also the one most generally distributed. I observed it in almost every part of New South Wales that I visited; it is a common bird in South Australia, and I have also seen specimens of it from Port Essington. It has not yet been found in the colony of Swan River, nor can it be included in the fauna of Van Diemen’s Land. Although good specific differences are found to exist, it is very nearly allied to the Barn Owl (_Strix flammea_) of our own island, and, as might be naturally expected, the habits, actions and general economy of the two species are as similar as is their outward appearance: mice and other small mammals, which are very numerous, are preyed upon as its natural food. To attempt a description of its noiseless flight, its mode of capturing its prey, or of its general habits, would be merely to repeat what has been so often and so ably written relative to the Barn Owl of Europe.

Although the plumage of youth and that of maturity do not differ so widely in this species as in the other Australian members of the genus, the fully adult bird may always be distinguished by the spotless and snowy whiteness of the breast, and by the lighter colouring of the upper surface.

Facial disc white, margined with buff; upper surface light greyish brown tinged with yellow, very thickly and delicately pencilled with spots of brownish black and white; wings pale buff lightly barred with pale brown, marked along the outer edge and extremities with zigzag pencillings of the same, each primary having a terminal spot of white; tail resembles the primaries, except that the terminal white spot is indistinct, and the outer feathers are almost white; under surface white, sparingly marked about the chest and flanks with small brownish dots; legs and thighs white; bill horn-colour; feet yellowish.

The figure is of the natural size.

ATHENE BOOBOOK.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

ATHENE BOOBOOK.
Boobook Owl.

_Strix Boobook_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl., p. xv. no. 9.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. vii. p. 262.

_Boobook Owl_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. i. p. 362. no. 66.—Id. Gen. Syn.
Suppl., vol. ii. p. 64.

_Noctua Boobook_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 188.

_Athene Boobook_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Buck-buck_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

_Goȍr-goȍr-da_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Mȅl-in-de-ye_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

_Koor-koo_, Aborigines of South Australia.

_Brown_ or _Cuckoo-Owl_ of the Colonists.

I have seen individuals of this Owl from every one of the Australian colonies, all presenting similar characters, with the exception of those from Port Essington, which differ from the others in being a trifle smaller in size and paler in colour.

In Van Diemen’s Land this species is seldom seen, while it is very common throughout the whole length of the southern coast of the continent. It appears to inhabit alike the brushes and the plains, that is, those plains which are studded with belts of trees. It is no unusual occurrence to observe it on the wing in the day-time in search of insects and small birds, upon which it mainly subsists. It may be readily distinguished from _Athene maculata_ by its larger size, and by the spotted markings of its plumage; features which will be at once perceived by a reference to the figures of the two species.

The flight of this bird is tolerably rapid, and as it passed through the shrubby trees that cover the vast area of the belts of the Murray, it strongly reminded me of a woodcock. In such places as those I have last mentioned, travellers frequently flush it from off the ground, to which, after a flight of one or two hundred yards, it either descends again or takes shelter in any thickly-foliaged trees that may be at hand, when it can neither be easily seen nor forced from its retreat.

It breeds in the holes of the large gum-trees, during the months of November and December, and lays three eggs on the rotten surface of the wood, without any kind of nest. Three eggs procured on the 8th of November, by my useful companion Natty, were in a forward state of incubation; their contour was unusually round, the medium length of the three being one inch and seven lines, and the breadth one inch and four lines. They were perfectly white, as is ever the case with the eggs of owls.

“The native name of this bird,” says Mr. Caley, “is _Buck-buck_, and it may be heard nearly every night during winter uttering a cry corresponding with the sound of that word. Although this cry is known to every one, yet the bird itself is known but to few; and it cost me considerable time and trouble before I could satisfy myself of its identity. The note of the bird is somewhat similar to that of the European _Cuckoo_, and the colonists have hence given it that name. The lower order of settlers in New South Wales are led away by the idea that everything is the reverse in that country to what it is in England; and the _Cuckoo_, as they call this bird, singing by night is one of the instances they point out.” I believe that its note is never uttered during the day-time.

The sexes offer but little difference in the colouring of their plumage, but the female is the largest in size. A great diversity is found to exist in the colouring of the irides; some being yellowish white, others greenish yellow, and others brown.

Its food is very much varied, but consists principally of small birds and insects of various orders, particularly locusts and other Neuroptera.

Fore part of the facial disc greyish white, each feather tipped with black; hinder part dark brown; head, all the upper surface, wings and tail reddish brown; the wing-coverts, scapularies, and inner webs of the secondaries spotted with white; primaries and tail-feathers irregularly barred with light reddish brown, the spaces between the bars becoming buffy white on the under surface; breast and all the under surface rufous, irregularly blotched with white, which predominates on the abdomen; thighs deep tawny buff; irides light brown in some, greenish brown inclining to yellow in others; cere bluish grey; feet lead-colour.

The figures are male and female of the natural size.

ATHENE MACULATA.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

ATHENE MACULATA.
Spotted Owl.

_Noctua maculata_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 189.

_Athene maculata_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

This species is very generally distributed over Van Diemen’s Land; it also inhabits South Australia and New South Wales, but in far less numbers. It generally takes up its abode in the thickly-foliaged trees of the woods and gulleys, and usually selects those that are most shielded from the heat and light of the sun.

Little or no difference is observable in the habits and economy of this species and those of the diurnal Owls of Europe. The whole day is spent in a state of drowsiness bordering on sleep, from which, however, it can be easily aroused. Its visual powers are sufficiently strong to enable it to face the light, and even to hunt for its food in the day-time. Like other members of the genus it preys chiefly upon small birds and insects, which, from the more than ordinary rapidity of its movements, are captured with great facility.

The sexes are precisely alike in colour, and differ but little in size; the female is however the largest.

The drawing in the accompanying Plate was made from a pair of living examples which I kept for some time during my stay at Hobart Town, and which bore confinement so contentedly, that had an opportunity presented itself I might easily have sent them alive to England.

Facial disc white, each of the feathers immediately above the bill with the shafts and tips black; head and all the upper surface brown, the scapularies and secondaries numerously spotted with white; tail brown, crossed by irregular bands of a lighter tint, which become nearly white on the outer feathers; chest and all the under surface brown, blotched and spotted with tawny and white; primaries brown, crossed with bands of a lighter tint; thighs tawny buff; bill dark horn-colour; irides yellow; feet yellowish.

The figures are of the natural size.

ATHENE CONNIVENS.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ATHENE? CONNIVENS.
Winking Owl.

_Falco connivens_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xii.—Shaw, Gen. Zool.,
vol. vii. p. 186.

_Winking Falcon_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 53.—Ib. Gen.
Hist., vol. i. p. 221.

_Athene? fortis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 141; and in
Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

_Goora-a-gang_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

_Wool-bȍo-gle_, Aborigines of the mountain district of Western
Australia.

The range of this fine Owl appears to extend over the whole of the southern coast of Australia. I have received it from Swan River and from nearly every part of New South Wales; specimens from these distant localities differ a little in their plumage; those obtained in Western Australia being rather lighter in colour, and having the markings less clear and defined than those from New South Wales. There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes, but the female is somewhat the largest in size.

Brushes, wooded gulleys, and the sides of creeks are its favourite places of resort; it is consequently not so restricted in the localities it chooses as the _Athene strenua_, which I have never known to leave the brushes. It sallies forth early in the evening, and even flies with perfect use of vision during the mid-day sun, when roused and driven from the trees upon which it has been sleeping. I have frequently observed it in the day-time among the thick branches of the _Casuarinæ_ which border the creeks.

It will be seen, on reference to the synonyms, that I described this bird in the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” and figured it in my “Synopsis” under the specific name of _fortis_; but I have since ascertained, through the kindness of the Earl of Derby in affording me the use and inspection of the three volumes of drawings of Australian Birds, formerly in the possession of the late A. B. Lambert, Esq., that it is identical with the Winking Falcon of Latham; any seeming inattention on my part in describing an apparently new Owl without consulting that author will I hope be readily excused, as few ornithologists would think of looking for the description of this bird under the genus _Falco_.

Face and throat greyish white; crown of the head and all the upper surface dark brown, tinged with purple; scapularies, secondaries and greater wing-coverts spotted with white; primaries alternately barred with dark and greyish brown, the light marks on the outer edges approaching to white; tail dark brown, transversely barred with six or seven lines of greyish white, the extreme tips of all the feathers terminating with the same; the whole of the under surface mottled brown and white, the latter occupying the outer edges of the feathers; tarsi clothed to the toes, and mottled brown and fawn-colour; irides bright yellow; cere yellowish olive; bill light yellowish horn-colour; toes long, yellow, and covered with fine hairs.

The figure is about four-fifths of the natural size.

ATHENE? STRENUA: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ATHENE STRENUA, _Gould_.
Powerful Owl.

_Athene strenua_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 142; and in
Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

With the exception of the Eagles, _Aquila fucosa_ and _Ichthyiaëtus leucogaster_, this is the most powerful of the Raptorial birds yet discovered in Australia. Its strength is prodigious, and woe to him who ventures to approach its clutch when wounded. So far as I have been able to ascertain, the habitat of the _Athene strenua_ is confined to New South Wales; at all events no examples occur in collections made in any other part of Australia. It is strictly an inhabitant of the brushes, particularly of those which stretch along the coast from Port Philip to Moreton Bay. I have also obtained it in the interior on the precipitous sides of the Liverpool range, which are known to the colonists by the name of the cedar brushes, where the silence of night is frequently broken by its hoarse loud mournful note, which more resembles the bleating of an ox than any other sound I can compare it to. During the day it reposes under the canopy of the thickest trees, from which however it is readily roused, when it glides down the gulleys with remarkable swiftness; the manner in which so large a bird threads the trees while flying with such velocity is indeed truly astonishing.

Its food consists of birds and quadrupeds, of which the brushes furnish a plentiful supply. In the stomach of one I dissected in the Liverpool range were the remains of a bird and numerous green seed-like berries, resembling small peas; but whether they had formed the contents of the stomach of a bird or quadruped the Owl had devoured, or whether the large Owls of Australia, which certainly offer some difference in their structure from every other group of the family, live partly on berries and fruits, it would be interesting to know; a fact which can only be ascertained by residents in the country.

The bill of this species stands out from the face very prominently; it has also a smaller head and more diminutive eyes than the _Athene connivens_, although it is a much larger bird.

The sexes differ but little in the colouring of the plumage or in size.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail dark clove-brown, crossed by numerous bars of broccoli-brown, which become much larger, lighter, and more conspicuous on the lower part of the back, the inner edges of the secondaries and of the tail; face, throat, and upper part of the chest buff, with a large patch of dark brown down the centre of each feather; the remainder of the under surface white, slightly tinged with buff, and crossed with irregular bars of brown; bill light blue at the base, passing into black at the tip; feet pale gamboge-yellow; toes covered with whitish hairs; irides yellow; cere greenish olive.

The Plate represents the bird about two-thirds of the natural size, with a young Koala (_Phascolarctos fuscus_, Desm.) in its claws, an animal very common in the brushes.

ATHENE RUFA: _Gould_.

.ta h:47 r:23 s=''
_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ | _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
.ta-

]

ATHENE RUFA, _Gould_.
Rufous Owl.

_Athene rufa_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 24, 1846.

_Ng̏or-gork_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

A single specimen of this fine Owl was obtained at Port Essington by Mr. Gilbert, who shot it in a thicket amidst the swamps in the neighbourhood of the settlement. It is a most powerful species, fully equalling in size the _Athene strenua_, from which however it is at once distinguished by the more rufous tint of its plumage and by the more numerous and narrower barring of the breast. No other specimen was procured during Mr. Gilbert’s residence in the colony, neither have the collections transmitted from that locality since his departure furnished us with additional examples.

Facial disc dark brown; all the upper surface dark brown, crossed by numerous narrow bars of reddish brown; the tints becoming paler and the barrings larger and more distinct on the lower part of the body, wings and tail; all the under surface sandy red, crossed by numerous bars of reddish brown; the feathers of the throat with a line of brown down the centre; vent, legs and thighs of a paler tint, with the bars more numerous but not so decided; bill horn-colour; cere, eyelash and feet yellow, the latter slightly clothed with feathers; irides light yellow.

The figure is of the natural size.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. 4. Superscripts are denoted by a caret before a single superscript character, e.g. M^r.