Chapter IV: Part 4

I am unable to give any account of its habits and manners, but in these respects it doubtless closely assimilates to the other members of its group.

Crown of the head, stripe before and behind the eye black; lores rich orange; a mark from above the eye to the occiput, chest and centre of the abdomen white; throat and cheeks delicate crocus-yellow; rump and upper tail-coverts sulphur-yellow; back of the neck and back olive-grey; wings black, the external webs of the second and five following primaries white at the base; tips of the spurious wing scarlet; tail black; the three outer feathers tipped with white, the white spreading largely over the inner web of the outer feathers; bill black; feet lead colour.

The sexes do not differ in size or in the colour of their plumage.

The figures are of the natural size.

STREPERA GRACULINA: _Lefs._

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

STREPERA GRACULINA.
Pied Crow-Shrike.

_Réveilleur de l’Isle de Norfolk?_, Dand., tom. ii. p. 267.

_Corvus graculinus_ (White-vented Crow), White’s Bot. Bay, pl. in p.
251.

_Coracias strepera_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 173.

_Corvus streperus_, Leach, Zool. Misc., vol. ii. pl. 86.

_Noisy Roller_, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp., vol. ii. p. 121.

_Le Grand Calibé_, Le Vaill. Ois. de Par., &c., pl. 24.

_Cracticus streperus_, Vieill. Gal. des Ois., pl. 109.—Vig. and Horsf.
in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 261.

_Gracula strepera_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. vii. p. 462.

_Barita strepera_, Temm. Man., part i. p. li.

_Coronica strepera_, Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Strepera_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 329.

_Strepera graculina_, G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 50.

This species was originally described and figured in White’s ‘Voyage to New South Wales’: it is consequently the oldest and most familiarly known member of the group to which it belongs. It is very generally distributed over the colony of New South Wales, inhabiting alike the brushes near the coast, those of the mountain ranges, and also the forests of _Eucalypti_ which clothe the plains and more open country. As a great part of its food consists of seeds, berries and fruits, it is more arboreal in its habits than some of the other species of its group, whose structure better adapts them for progression on the ground, and whose food principally consists of insects and their larvæ. The habitat of the present bird appears to be confined to the south-eastern portions of the continent, where, as is the case with all birds whose range is so limited, it is a stationary species, merely moving from one district to another according to the season; at one time being more numerous on the open coast, and at another among the brushes, as each may offer it a greater variety or more abundant supply of food: the hilly portions of the country intersected with deep ravines are, however, decidedly its most congenial localities. Like the other members of the genus it is mostly seen in small companies, varying from four to six in number, seldom either singly or in pairs: I am not, however, inclined to consider them as gregarious birds in the strict sense of the word, believing as I do that each of these small companies is composed of a pair and their progeny, which appear to keep together from the birth of the latter until the natural impulse for pairing prompts them to separate.

Their flight is very different from that of the Crow, (which they much resemble in outward appearance) being much less protracted, and never of an elevated character; its utmost extent is from one part of the forest to another, or across a gully, in effecting which they sometimes pass over the tops of the trees, while at others they accomplish the distance by flitting from tree to tree. It is during flight that the markings of this bird are displayed to the greatest advantage, the strong contrast of its colours then rendering it a conspicuous object in the bush: while on the wing also it frequently causes the woods to ring with its peculiar noisy cry, by which its presence is often indicated when otherwise it would not be seen. On the ground it hops over the surface with the greatest facility.

The nest, which is usually constructed on the branches of low trees, sometimes even on those of the _Casuarinæ_, is of a large size, round, open, and cup-shaped, built of sticks and lined with moss and grasses; the eggs, which I was not so fortunate as to procure, are generally three or four in number.

The flesh of this species is frequently eaten by the colonists, and is by some considered a delicacy.

Of all the species of this singular and well-defined genus, the present, although not the largest in stature, is by far the handsomest, its markings being more clearly defined and the tints of its plumage more rich and contrasted than those of any of its congeners, the black being as deep as jet, and the white pure and unspotted; it differs also from all its allies yet discovered in having the basal half of the primaries and the basal half and the tips of the tail-feathers together with those portions of the shafts pure white.

The plumage of both sexes at all ages is so precisely similar, that by dissection alone can we distinguish the male from his mate, or the young from the adult; the female is, however, always a trifle less in all her admeasurements, and the young birds have the corners of the mouth more fleshy and of a brighter yellow than the adults.

All the plumage fine bluish black with the exception of the basal half of the primaries, the basal half and the tips of the tail-feathers, including those portions of their shafts and the under tail-coverts which are snow-white; irides beautiful yellow; bill and feet black.

STREPERA FULIGINOSA: _Gould_.

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

STREPERA FULIGINOSA, _Gould_.
Sooty Crow-Shrike.

_Cracticus fuliginosus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p.
106.

_Coronica fuliginosa_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Black Magpie_, of the Colonists.

The great stronghold of this species is the island of Van Diemen’s Land, in which it is a permanent resident; but its range extends to the islands in Bass’s Straits, and a few individuals have been found in South Australia. Its browner colouring, more arched and gibbose bill, its smaller size, and the absence of the white colouring of the under tail-coverts and of the base of the primaries, are characters by which it may at once be distinguished from all the other members of the group. The localities it frequents are also of a different description, those preferred being low swampy grounds in the neighbourhood of the sea and woods bordering rivers. Like the other species of the genus, it subsists on insects and grubs of various kinds, to which pulpy seeds and berries are frequently added.

It is very active on the ground, running over the surface with a motion between a run and a hop with great rapidity.

It breeds in the low trees, constructing a large, deep and cup-shaped nest very similar to that of the European Crow, and lays three eggs, of a pale vinous brown marked all over with large irregular blotches of brown, one inch and five-eighths long by one inch and a quarter broad.

Its note is much less shrill than that of the _Strepera arguta_.

I have seen this bird in a state of captivity, and it appeared to bear confinement remarkably well.

The sexes present no visible difference except in size, the female being smaller than the male; they may be thus described:—

All the plumage sooty black, with the exception of the ends of the primaries and all but the two middle tail-feathers, which are white; irides bright yellow; bill and feet black.

The figures are of the natural size.

STREPERA ARGUTA: _Gould_.

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

STREPERA ARGUTA, Gould.
Hill Crow-Shrike.

_Strepera arguta_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIV. p. 19.

The _Strepera arguta_ is abundantly dispersed over Van Diemen’s Land, but is more numerous in the central parts of the island than in the districts adjacent to the coast; it also inhabits South Australia, in which country it is more scarce, and all the specimens I have seen are rather smaller in size. I have never seen it in any part of New South Wales that I have visited, neither have specimens occurred in the numerous collections from the west coast that have come under my notice. It is the largest, the boldest and the most animated species of the genus yet discovered. If not strictly gregarious, it is often seen in small companies of from four to ten, and during the months of winter even a greater number are to be seen congregated together. The districts most suited to its habits are open glades in the forest and thinly-timbered hills: although it readily perches on the trees, its natural resort is the ground, for which its form is admirably adapted, and over which it passes with amazing rapidity, either in a succession of leaps or by running. Fruits being but sparingly diffused over Australia, insects necessarily constitute almost its sole food, and of these nearly every order inhabiting the surface of the ground forms part of its diet. It devours grasshoppers with great avidity, and as these insects are ever most abundant, the one would appear to be formed for the sustenance of the other.

Its note is a loud ringing and very peculiar sound, somewhat resembling the words _clink, clink_, several times repeated, and strongly reminded me of the distant sound of the strokes on a blacksmith’s anvil; and hence the term _arguta_ appeared to me to be an appropriate specific appellation for this new species.

All the nests I found of this species either contained young birds or were without eggs; I am consequently unable to give their size and colour. The nest, which is of a large size, is generally placed on a horizontal branch of a low tree; it is round, deep and cup-shaped, outwardly formed of sticks and lined with fibrous roots and other fine materials.

The sexes present no external difference whatever, neither is there much difference in size; the young are black from the nest, except that the tertiary feathers are strongly tipped with white, a character never I believe thrown off in adult age.

All the plumage brownish black, becoming much browner on the tips of the wing-feathers, and of a grey tint on the abdomen; base of the inner webs of the primaries and secondaries, the under tail-coverts and the apical third of the inner webs of the tail-feathers white; irides orange-yellow; bill and feet black; corner of the mouth yellow.

The Plate represents the bird about four-fifths of the size of life.

STREPERA ANAPHONENSIS.

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

STREPERA ANAPHONENSIS.
Grey Crow-Shrike.

_Barita Anaphonensis_, Temm. Pl. Col.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 345,
Atlas, pl. 47. fig. 1.

_Strepera plumbea_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIV. p. 20.

_Dje-läak_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Squeaker_, of the Colonists.

Having formerly considered the Grey Crow-Shrikes of New South Wales and Western Australia as distinct species, I assigned to the Swan River bird the specific appellation of _plumbea_; subsequent research has, however, proved them to be identical: I am therefore under the necessity of adopting the name of _Anaphonensis_, previously applied to the species by my friend M. Temminck, and of sinking that of _plumbea_ into a synonym.

No one species of the genus has so wide a range as the present, extending as it does from New South Wales on the east to Swan River on the west coast. It is, however, more local in its habitat than any of them, at least such is the case in New South Wales; for although it is tolerably abundant at Illawarra, at Camden, and in the park of C. Throsby, Esq., at Bong-bong, it was not seen in any other district that I visited. Mr. Gilbert states that he observed it in every part of Western Australia visited by him; and that he mostly met with it in the thickly wooded forests, singly or in pairs, feeding on the ground with a gait and manners very much resembling the Common Crow. Its flight is easy and long-sustained, and it occasionally mounts to a considerable height in the air.

Its note is a piercing shriek, very much resembling in sound the native name.

The stomach is very muscular, and the food consists of coleoptera and the larvæ of insects of various kinds.

It breeds in the latter part of September and the beginning of October, forming a nest of dried sticks in the thickest part of the foliage of a gum- or mahogany-tree and laying three eggs, the ground-colour of which is either reddish buff or wood-brown, marked over nearly the whole of the surface with blotches of a darker tint; their medium length is one inch and nine lines by one inch and two and a half lines broad.

The sexes resemble each other so closely in colour, that it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other, except by dissection.

All the upper surface leaden grey, becoming much darker on the forehead and lores; wings black; secondaries margined with grey and tipped with white; basal half of the inner webs of the primaries white, of the outer webs grey; the remainder of their length black, slightly tipped with white; tail black, margined with grey and largely tipped with white; all the under surface greyish brown; under tail-coverts white; irides orange; bill and feet black.

The figure represents a male of the natural size.

GYMNORHINA TIBICEN: _G. R. Gray_.

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

GYMNORHINA TIBICEN.
Piping Crow-Shrike.

_Coracias Tibicen_, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp., xxvii.—Shaw, Gen. Zool.,
vol. vii. p. 405.

_Barita Tibicen_, Temm. Man., part i. p. li.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p.
345.

_Piping Roller_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iii. p. 86. no. 23.

_Cracticus Tibicen_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
260.—Gould, Syn, Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Gymnorhina Tibicen_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd edit. p.
50.

_Ca-ruck_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

This species is universally diffused over the colony of New South Wales, to which part of the Australian continent I believe its habitat to be confined. It is true that a bird of this genus inhabits the neighbourhood of Swan River, whose size and style of plumage is very similar, but which I have little doubt will prove to be distinct. In fact, from what we see in other instances, it is natural to expect that there would be a species of this genus on the western as well as on the eastern side of the country, and that they would, as representatives of each other, be very nearly allied; I shall therefore consider the habitat of the present bird to be restricted to New South Wales until I have further proofs to the contrary.

The _Gymnorhina Tibicen_ is a bold and showy bird, which, when not harassed and driven away, greatly enlivens and ornaments the lawns and gardens of the colonists by its presence, and with the slightest protection from molestation becomes so tame and familiar that it approaches close to their dwellings, and perches round them and the stock yards in small families of from six to ten in number. Nor is its morning carol less amusing and attractive than its pied and strongly contrasted plumage is pleasing to the eye. To describe the notes of this bird is beyond the power of my pen, and it is a source of regret to myself that my readers cannot, as I have done, listen to them in their native wilds, or that the bird is not introduced into this country in sufficient numbers for it to become generally known; a more amusing and easily-kept denizen for the aviary could not be selected. As it dwells in New South Wales all the year round, breeds upon the trees bordering the cleared lands, and constructs a nest as large and conspicuous as that of the Crow of our own island, there can be no difficulty in procuring as many young ones as might be desired; and I trust, therefore, that whenever opportunities occur for sending living examples to England they will not be neglected.

Cleared lands, open flats and plains skirted by belts of trees are its favourite localities, hence the interior of the country is more favourable to its habits than the neighbourhood of the coast.

It lives almost entirely on insects, which are generally procured on the ground, and the number of locusts and grasshoppers it devours is immense. In captivity it subsists upon animal food of almost every kind, and that berries and fruits would be equally acceptable I have but little doubt.

The breeding-season commences in August and lasts until January, during which period two broods are generally reared by each pair of birds. The nest is round, deep and open, composed outwardly of sticks, leaves, wool, &c., and lined with any finer materials that may be at hand. The eggs are either three or four in number; their colour and size I regret to say I cannot give, having unfortunately neglected to procure them while in New South Wales. Of two other and much rarer species I possess the eggs; and although I might from analogy proceed to describe those of the present bird from them, I refrain from so doing.

The young assume the plumage of the adult from the nest, and no change takes place from age or season.

Crown of the head, cheeks, throat, back, all the under surface, scapularies, secondaries, primaries and tips of the tail-feathers black; wing-coverts, nape of the neck, upper and under tail-coverts, and base of the tail-feathers white; bill bluish ash-colour at the base, passing into black at the tip; irides rich reddish hazel; legs black.

The Plate represents the male and female, with the nest, rather less than the natural size.

GYMNORHINA LEUCONOTA: _Gould_.

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

GYMNORHINA LEUCONOTA, _Gould_.
White-backed Crow-Shrike.

_Barita Tibicen_, Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de la Coq., pl. 20.—Less. Traité
d’Orn., p. 345.

_Goor̈e-bat_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

This fine species of _Gymnorhina_, which has been confounded by the French writers with the _G. Tibicen_, inhabits South Australia, and extends its range as far to the eastward as the colony of New South Wales. I hear that it is tolerably abundant at Port Philip, and that it is sometimes seen on the plains near Yass. For my own part I have never met with it in New South Wales, but observed it to be rather abundant in South Australia. In the extreme shyness of its disposition it presents a remarkable contrast to the _G. Tibicen_; it was indeed so wary and so difficult to approach, that it required the utmost ingenuity to obtain a sufficient number of specimens necessary for my purpose. Plain and open hilly parts of the country are the localities it prefers, where it dwells much on the ground, feeding upon locusts and other insects. In size it is fully as large as any species of the genus yet discovered; it runs over the ground with great facility, and the long flights it frequently takes across the plains from one belt of trees to another, indicated greater powers of flight than is possessed by its near allies; in other parts of its economy it so nearly resembles the _G. Tibicen_, that it would be useless to repeat a description of them here. The same single note and early carol of small companies perched on some leafless branch of a _Eucalyptus_ appears characteristic of all the members of the genus.

It breeds in September and October, constructing a nest of dried sticks in an upright fork of a gum- or mahogany-tree. The eggs are three in number, very long in form, and of a dull bluish white, in some instances tinged with red, marked with large bold blotches or zigzag streakings of brownish red or light chestnut; the average length of the eggs is one inch and eight lines, and breadth one inch and one line. Occasionally eggs are met with which are spotted with black or umber-brown.

The sexes when fully adult present no other outward difference than the larger size of the female. Immature birds of both sexes have the whole of the back clouded with grey, and the bill of a less pure ash-colour.

Back of the neck, back, upper and under coverts of the wings, basal portion of the spurious wing, upper and under tail-coverts, and base of the tail-feathers white; remainder of the plumage and the shafts of the white portion of the tail-feathers glossy black; irides light hazel; bill bluish lilac-purple, passing into black at the tip; legs and feet blackish grey.

The Plate represents the two sexes rather less than the size of life.

GYMNORHINA ORGANICUM: _Gould_.

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

GYMNORHINA ORGANICUM, _Gould_.
Tasmanian Crow-Shrike.

_Cracticus hypoleucus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 106;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Organ-Bird_ and _White Magpie_ of the Colonists.

This animated and elegant bird is a native of Van Diemen’s Land, and appears to be very local in its habitat, for while it is never found below Austin’s Ferry on the southern bank of the river Derwent, it is very plentiful on the opposite side and in the interior of the country, particularly on the salt-pan plains, which would be dreary indeed were they not enlivened by the presence of this amusing bird, the Miners (_Myzanthæ_), and the Rose Hill Parrakeet. It is also to be met with in all the open parts of the country, in small troops of from six to twelve or more in number; but I did not observe it on the banks of the Tamar, and it certainly does not inhabit Flinders’ Island. It runs, and occasionally hops, over the surface with great quickness, but flies rather slowly, and upon alighting on a branch raises and closes one wing several times in quick succession, and in a very peculiar manner. When on the plains it utters a loud ringing call, but when perched on the dead branches of the trees soon after day-break, it pours forth a succession of notes of the strangest description that can be imagined, much resembling the sounds of a hand-organ out of tune, which has obtained for it the colonial name of the Organ-Bird. It is very easily tamed; and as it possesses the power of imitation in an extraordinary degree, it may be readily taught to whistle various tunes as well as to articulate words; it consequently soon becomes a most amusing as well as ornamental bird for the aviary or cage. The stomach is very muscular, and the food consists of insects of various kinds, grubs, caterpillars, &c., which are procured on the ground.

A nest I found was placed among the topmost branches of a high gum-tree, was round, cup-shaped, and outwardly constructed of sticks interspersed with strips of bark, short grasses, and tufts of a species of swamp grass, to which succeeded an internal lining of coarse grass, which again was lined with the inner bark of the stringy bark-tree, sheep’s wool and a few feathers, felted together and forming a dense and warm receptacle for the eggs; it was about ten inches in diameter, and about four or five inches in depth.

The eggs were four in number, of a lengthened form with a ground-colour of greenish ashy grey, spotted and blotched, particularly at the larger end, with umber-brown and bluish grey, the latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell; they were one inch and five lines long by one inch broad. The young assume the adult livery from the nest, and appear to keep in company of the parent birds during the first ten months of their existence.

The male has the crown of the head, cheeks, throat, all the under surface, scapularies, primaries and tips of the tail jet-black; nape of the neck, back, upper and under tail-coverts, and base of the tail-feathers white; bill dark lead-colour at the base, passing into black at the tip; legs black; irides bright hazel.

The female differs in having the nape of the neck and back grey, and the primaries and tips of the tail-feathers brownish black.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

CRACTICUS NIGROGULARIS: _Gould_.

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

CRACTICUS NIGROGULARIS, _Gould_.
Black-throated Crow-Shrike.

_Vanga nigrogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V.; and in
Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Cracticus varius_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 261.

The Black-throated Crow-Shrike finds a natural asylum in New South Wales, the only one of the Australian colonies in which it has yet been found, and where it is by no means rare, although the situations it affects render it somewhat local; it is a stationary species, breeding in all parts of the country suitable to its habits and mode of life; districts of rich land known as apple-tree flats, and low open undulating hills studded with large trees, are the kind of districts to which it peculiarly resorts: hence the cow-pastures at Camden, the fine park-like estate of Charles Throsby, Esq., at Bong-bong, and the entire district of the Upper Hunter, are among the localities in which it may always be found.

It is usually seen in pairs, and from its active habits and conspicuous pied plumage, forms a rather striking object among the trees, the lower and outspreading branches of which are much more frequented by it than the higher ones; from these lower branches it often descends to the ground in search of insects and small lizards, which however form but a portion of its food, for as its powerful and strongly-hooked bill would lead us to infer, prey of a more formidable kind is often resorted to; its sanguinary disposition, in fact, leads it to feed on young birds, mice, and other small quadrupeds, which it soon kills, tears piecemeal and devours on the spot; wounded individuals on being handled inflict severe blows and lacerations on the hands of the captor, unless great care be taken to avoid them.

The nest, which is rather large and round, is very similar to that of the European Jay; those I examined were outwardly composed of sticks, neatly lined with fine fibrous roots, and generally placed on a low horizontal branch among the thick foliage.

The eggs are dark yellowish brown, spotted and clouded with markings of a darker hue, and in some instances with a few minute spots of black; their medium length is one inch and three lines by eleven lines in breadth.

The breeding-season commences in August, and continues during the four following months.

The sexes are so precisely alike in colouring, that although on comparison the female is found to be rather less than the male in all her admeasurements, they can only be distinguished with certainty by dissection.

Head, neck and chest black; hinder part of the neck, shoulders, centre of the wing, rump and under surface white; two middle tail-feathers entirely black, the remainder black largely tipped with white; bill lead-colour at the base, black at the tip; legs black; irides brown.

The young during the first autumn are very different from the adult, particularly in the colouring of the head and chest, which is light brown instead of black; the bill, as in most youthful birds, is also very different, the basal portion being dark fleshy brown instead of lead-colour.

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

CRACTICUS PICATUS: _Gould_.

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

CRACTICUS PICATUS.
Pied Crow-Shrike.

_Cracticus picatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 22, 1848.

_Ka-ra-a-ra_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

_Magpie_, of the Colonists.

This is in every respect a miniature representative of the _Cracticus nigrogularis_ of New South Wales; it must, however, be regarded as a distinct species; its much more diminutive size will warrant such a conclusion from every ornithologist who compares them.

It was found at Port Essington by Mr. Gilbert, where it exists in considerable abundance. He states that it is an extremely shy and wary bird, inhabiting the most secluded parts of the forest, and is as frequently seen searching for its food on the ground as among the topmost branches of the highest trees. In its habits, manners, mode of flight, and in its loud, discordant, organ-pipe-like voice, it closely resembles the other members of the genus. It is usually seen in pairs, or in small families of four or five. Its nest is built of sticks in the upright fork of a thickly-foliaged tree, at about thirty or forty feet from the ground.

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of various kinds, but principally of coleoptera.

The sexes are not to be distinguished by any markings in the plumage, but the young are dressed in a brown colouring like those of the other members of the genus.

Collar at the back of the neck, centre and edge of the wing, rump, abdomen, under tail-coverts and tips of all but the centre tail-feathers white, remainder of the plumage deep black; irides dark reddish brown; bill ash-grey, the tip black; legs and feet dark greenish grey.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

CRACTICUS ARGENTEUS: _Gould_.

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

CRACTICUS ARGENTEUS, _Gould_.
Silvery-backed Butcher-Bird.

_Cracticus argenteus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
126.

Examples of this new species were discovered on the north coast of Australia, both by Captain Grey and B. Bynoe, Esq., to the latter of whom I am indebted for one of the specimens from which my figures were taken.

The _Cracticus argenteus_ is directly intermediate in size between _Cracticus destructor_ and _Cracticus nigrogularis_, and moreover exhibits a remarkable participation in the colouring of those two species; having the white throat and chest of the former, and the parti-coloured wings, conspicuous white rump, and white-tipped tail of the latter; it differs, however, from both, as well as from all the other members of the genus, in the light or silvery grey colouring of the back, and hence the term of _argenteus_ has been applied to it.

No account of its habits has yet been received, but they doubtless resemble those of the other species of the genus.

Crown of the head, ear-coverts, shoulders, primaries, and all the tail-feathers for three-fourths of their length from the base, black; back silvery grey; throat, all the under surface, sides of the neck, some of the wing-coverts and the margins of several of the secondaries, rump, and tips of the tail-feathers pure white; bill horn-colour; feet blackish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

CRACTICUS DESTRUCTOR.

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

CRACTICUS DESTRUCTOR.
Butcher-Bird.

_Vanga destructor_, Temm. Man., Part I. p. lix.—Vig. and Horsf. in
Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 213.—Gould in Syn. Birds of
Australia, Part I.

_Barita destructor_, Temm. Pl. Col. 273.

_Wäd-do-wäd-ong_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

_Butcher-Bird_, of the Colonists of Swan River.

This bird is a permanent resident in New South Wales and South Australia, where it inhabits the margins of the brushy lands near the coast, the sides of hills, and the belts of trees which occur in the more open parts of the country; in fact I scarcely know of any Australian bird so generally dispersed. Its presence is at all times betrayed by its extraordinary note, a jumble of discordant sounds impossible to be described. It is nearly always on the trees, where it sits motionless on some dead or exposed branch whence it can survey all around, and particularly the surface of the ground beneath, to which it makes perpendicular descents to secure any large insect or lizard that may attract its sharp and penetrating eye; it usually returns to the same branch to devour what it has captured, but at times will resort to other trees and impale its victim after the manner of the true Shrikes: mice, small birds, and large _Phasmiæ_ come within the list of its ordinary diet. September and the three following months constitute the period of incubation. The nest, which is large and cup-shaped, is neatly formed of sticks, and in some instances beautifully lined with the shoots of the _Casuarina_ and fibrous roots. Considerable difference is found to exist in the colour of the eggs, the ground colouring of some being dark yellowish brown, with obscure blotches and marks of a darker hue, and here and there a few black marks not unlike small blots of ink; while in others the ground colour is much lighter and the darker markings are more inclined to red, and to form a zone round the larger end; the eggs are generally three in number, one inch and three lines long by eleven lines broad.

Under ordinary circumstances this species is very shy and retiring, but at times is altogether as bold; as an evidence of which I may mention, that having caught a young _Eöpsaltria_ and placed it in my pocket, the cries of the little captive attracted the attention of one of these birds, which continued to follow me through the woods for more than an hour, when the little tenant, disliking its close quarters, effected its escape and flitted away before me: I immediately gave chase; but the Butcher-bird, who had been following me, pounced down within two yards of my face and bore off the poor bird to a neighbouring tree, and although I ran to the rescue, it was of no avail, the prize being borne away from tree to tree until the tyrant paid the forfeit of his life by being shot for his temerity.

The sexes are so similar in appearance, that it is impossible to distinguish one from the other by any other means than dissection.

The male has the crown of the head, ear-coverts and back of the neck black; a white mark from the base of the bill to the eye; back and rump dark greyish brown; upper tail-coverts white; wings blackish brown; the middle secondaries white along their outer edges; tail black, all the feathers except the two middle ones tipped with white on their inner webs; under surface greyish white; bill bluish lead-colour at the base, passing into black at the tip; feet blackish lead-colour; irides very dark reddish brown.

The female resembles the male, but is more obscure in all her markings; and the young differ in being clothed in a plumage of mottled tawny and brown.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

CRACTICUS QUOYII.

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

CRACTICUS QUOYII.
Quoy’s Crow-Shrike.

_Barita Quoyi_, Less. Zool. de la Coq., tom. i. p. 639. pl. 24.—Ib.
Traité d’Orn., p. 345.

_Mol-göl-ga_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

We have abundant evidence that New Guinea and the continent of Australia belong to one and the same group of islands, and that both countries are adorned with similar forms of botany and zoology. In some instances the same species are found to inhabit both countries, and of this fact the present bird is an example. M. Temminck, to whom I showed specimens killed in Australia, assured me that they were identical with those from New Guinea. The northern coast is the only portion of Australia in which this bird has been observed. It is tolerably abundant at Port Essington, where it inhabits the mangrove swamps generally, even those close to the settlement.

Mr. Gilbert states that it is one of the most shy and wary birds that can well be imagined; and that the nature of its usual haunts precludes in a great measure all chance of getting a sight of it. He has never met with it in any other situation than the darkest and thickest parts of the mangroves, where there is a great depth of mud, and where the roots of the trees are very thickly intertwined; it is among these roots that it is constantly seen searching for crabs. Its note is short and monotonous, and very like the name given to it by the aborigines, _Mol-göl-ga_, the second syllable being prolonged and forming the highest note; it also utters other sounds, some of them resembling those of the _Cracticus leuconotus_; at other times it frequently emits a note very similar to the cry of young birds for food.

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of crabs, and occasionally of coleoptera, neuroptera, and the larvæ of insects of various kinds.

The entire plumage black, each feather of the upper and under surface broadly margined with deep glossy green; irides dark reddish brown; bill very light ash-grey, passing into leaden grey at the base, and dark bluish grey on the culmen near the tip; legs and feet greenish grey.

The bill appears to vary very much in colour; being in some instances entirely ash-grey, except at the tip, where it is black; while in others the basal two-thirds is black and the tip grey: whether this difference is occasioned by age or sex has not yet been ascertained.

The figure represents a male of the natural size.

GRALLINA AUSTRALIS.

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

GRALLINA AUSTRALIS, _G. R. Gray_.
Pied Grallina.

_Gracula picata_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 29.

_Pied Grakle_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 130.—Ib. Gen. Hist.,
vol. iii. p. 169.

_Tanypus Australis_, Oppel.

_Grallina melanoleuca_, Vieill. Anal. d’une Nouv. Orn., pp. 42 and
68.—Ib. Gal. des Ois., pl. 150.—Ib. 2nde Edit. du Dict.
d’Hist. Nat., tom. xiii. p. 41. pl. F. 32.—Ib. Ency. Méth.
Orn., Part II. p. 693.—Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol.
xv. p. 233.

_Grallina bicolor_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 233.

_Grallina Australis_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit. p.
33.

_Grallina picata_, Strickl. in Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 335.

_Corvus cyanoleucos_, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. iii. p. 49?

_Magpie Lark_, Colonists of New South Wales.

_Little Magpie_, Colonists of Swan River.

_Bÿ-yoo-göol-yee-de_, Aborigines of the lowland, and

_Dil̈-a-but_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

Future research will, in all probability, establish the fact of this bird being universally dispersed over the greater portion of Australia; I have specimens in my collection from New South Wales, Swan River, and Port Essington, all of which are so closely alike that no character of sufficient importance to establish a second species can be detected. Those that came under my observation in New South Wales were never seen very near the coast, but frequented the rich alluvial flats and sides of the creeks and rivulets of the interior.

Few of the Australian birds are more attractive than the present, or more elegant and graceful in its actions, and these, combined with its tame and familiar disposition, must ever obtain for it the friendship and protection of the settlers, whose verandahs and house-tops it constantly visits, running along the latter like the Pied Wagtail of our own island; in fact, the two birds, except in size, are very similar. Mr. Gilbert states that in Western Australia he observed it congregated in large families on the banks and muddy flats of the lakes around Perth, while in the interior he only met with it in pairs, or at most in small groups of not more than four or five together; he further observes, that at Port Essington, on the north coast, it would seem to be only an occasional visitant, for on his arrival there in July it was tolerably abundant round the lakes and swamps, but from the setting-in of the rainy season in November to his leaving that part of the country in the following March not an individual was to be seen; it is evident therefore that the bird removes from one locality to another according to the season and the more or less abundance of its peculiar food. I believe it feeds solely upon insects of various kinds, particularly aquatic grubs, grasshoppers, and coleoptera generally.

The flight of the _Grallina_ is very peculiar, and unlike that of any other Australian bird that has come under my notice; it much resembles that of the Common Pewit of Europe, and is performed with the same heavy flapping motion of the wings; still the flight of the two birds differs materially during their passage through the air, the _Grallina_ passing noiselessly and generally in a straight line, while the Pewit makes sudden turns and dips,—a peculiarity in its mode of flight which must have been noticed by all who have seen the bird on the wing.

Its natural note is a peculiarly shrill whining whistle often repeated.

The nest may be regarded as one of the anomalies of Australia, so unlike is it to anything usually met with; it is from five to six inches in breadth and three in depth, and is formed of soft mud, which soon becoming hard and solid upon exposure to the atmosphere has precisely the appearance of a massive clay-coloured earthenware vessel; as if to attract notice, this singular structure is generally placed on some bare horizontal branch, often on the one most exposed to view, sometimes overhanging water and at others in the open forest. The colour of the nest varies with that of the material of which it is formed: sometimes the clay or mud is sufficiently tenacious to be used without any other material, but in those situations where no mud or clay is to be obtained it is constructed of black or brown mould; the bird, appearing to be aware that this substance will not hold together for want of the adhesive quality of the clay, mixes with it a great quantity of dried grass, stalks, &c., and thus forms a firm and hard exterior, the inside of which is slightly lined with dried grasses and a few feathers. The eggs differ considerably in colour and in shape, some being extremely lengthened, while others bear a relative proportion; the ground-colour of some is a beautiful pearl-white, of others a slight tinge of buff; their markings again differ considerably in form and in their disposition, being in some instances wholly confined to the larger end, in others distributed over the whole of the surface, but always inclined to form a zone at the larger end; in some these markings are of a deep chestnut-red, in others light red with large clouded spots of grey appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell. The eggs are generally four, but sometimes are only two in number; their medium length is one inch and three lines, and their breadth nine lines. It breeds in October and November.

Although the sexes are very similar in size, the female may at all times be distinguished from the male by her white forehead and throat, a fact I determined many times by actual dissection, thus showing the fallacy of the opinion entertained by some naturalists of their being two distinct species.

The male has a line over the eye, a patch on each side of the neck, a longitudinal stripe on the wing, tips of the secondaries, rump, upper tail-coverts, the basal two-thirds and the tips of the tail, under surface of the shoulder, breast, flanks, abdomen and under tail-coverts white, the remainder of the plumage black with a deep bluish tinge on the head, throat, chest and back, and a green tinge on the primaries and tail; bill yellowish white; irides straw-yellow; feet black.

The female differs in having the forehead, lores and chin white. The young on leaving the nest have the irides black; in other respects they resemble their parents, but are of course far less brilliant in colour.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

GRAUCALUS MELANOPS.

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

GRAUCALUS MELANOPS.
Black-faced Graucalus.

_Corvus melanops_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxiv. no. 1.

_Ceblepyris melanops_, Temm. Man., p. lxii.

_Rollier à masque noir_, Le Vaill. Ois. de Parad., pl. 30.

_Black-faced Crow_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 116.—Ib. Gen.
Hist., vol. iii. p. 46.

_Graucalus melanops_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
216.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Kai-a-lora_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

_Nu-lär-go_, Aborigines of the lowland, and

_Nü-laarg_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

_Blue Pigeon_ of the Colonists.

New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land, Swan River and Port Essington are each inhabited by _Graucali_ so nearly allied to the present bird, that by many persons it would be considered questionable whether they were not referable to one and the same species; but as this is by no means certain, I shall confine my remarks to the bird inhabiting New South Wales, which is one of the largest of the genus yet discovered, and distinguished from its near allies by the greater depth of the blue-grey colouring of the upper surface.

The _Graucalus melanops_, then, is a very common bird in New South Wales, but is far less numerous in winter than in summer, when it is so generally dispersed over the colony, that to particularize situations in which it may be found is quite unnecessary; hills of moderate elevation, flats and plains thinly covered with large trees being alike resorted to; but I do not recollect encountering it in the midst of the thick brushes,—situations which, probably, are uncongenial to its habits and mode of life. On the plains of the interior, such as the Liverpool and those which stretch away to the northward and eastward of New South Wales, it is more abundant than within the colony.

Its flight is undulating and powerful, but is seldom exerted for any other purpose than that of conveying it from one part of the forest to another, or to sally forth in pursuit of an insect which may pass within range of its vision while perched upon some dead branch of a high tree, a habit common to this bird and the other members of the genus. On this elevated perch it sometimes remains for hours together; but during the heat of the day seeks shelter from the rays of the sun by shrouding itself amidst the dense foliage of the trees. Its food consists of insects and their larvæ, and berries, but the former appear to be preferred, all kinds being acceptable, from the large Mantis figured in the accompanying Plate, to others of a minute size. One of the specimens I procured was shot while in the act of flying off with the insect figured.

As much diversity occurs in the colouring of the face and throat of this species before it arrives at maturity, I made a point of minutely investigating the subject during my stay in New South Wales, and the following is the result of my observations. When the young, which are generally two in number, leave the nest, the feathers of the body are brown, margined with light grey; this colouring is soon exchanged for one of a uniform grey, except on the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts, which are white, and a mark of black which surrounds the eye and spreads over the ears: the throat and forehead in this stage are lighter than the remainder of the plumage, which is somewhat singular, as in the next change that takes place those parts become of a jet-black; and this colour, I believe, is never afterwards thrown off, but remains a characteristic of the adult state of both sexes, which are at all times so similar in size and colour as not to be distinguished from each other.

It breeds in October and the three following months. The nest is often of a triangular form, in consequence of its being made to fit the angle of the fork of the horizontal branch in which it is placed; it is entirely composed of small dead twigs, firmly matted together with a very fine, white, downy substance like cobwebs and a species of _Lichen_, giving the nest the same appearance as the branch upon which it is placed, and rendering it most difficult of detection. In some instances I have found the nest ornamented with the broad, white, mouse-eared Lichen; it is extremely shallow in form, its depth and breadth depending entirely upon that of the fork in which it is built; the largest I have seen did not exceed six inches in diameter.

The ground-colour of the eggs, which are almost invariably two in number, varies from wood-brown to asparagus-green, the blotches and spots, which are very generally dispersed over their surface, varying from dull chestnut-brown to light yellowish brown; in some instances they are also sparingly dotted with deep umber-brown; their medium length is thirteen lines, and breadth ten lines.

Its note, which is seldom uttered, is a peculiar single purring or jarring sound, repeated several times in succession.

The adults have the forehead, sides of the face, ear-coverts and throat jet-black; crown of the head, all the upper surface and wing-coverts delicate grey; primaries black, their outer edges and tips margined with grey; secondaries grey, with their inner webs black; tail grey at the base, gradually passing into black near the extremity, and broadly tipped with white; chest blackish grey, into which the black of the throat gradually passes; lower part of the abdomen pale grey; under tail-coverts white; irides, bill and feet black.

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

GRAUCALUS MENTALIS: _Vig. & Horsf._

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

GRAUCALUS MENTALIS, _Vig. and Horsf._
Varied Graucalus.

_Graucalus mentalis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
217.

_Lanius robustus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xviii.?—Shaw, Gen. Zool.,
vol. viii. p. 311?

_Robust Shrike_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 74?—Ib. Gen.
Hist., vol. ii. p. 67?

New South Wales, or the south-eastern division of Australia, is the native habitat of the present species; it is by no means a rare bird in the Upper Hunter and all similar districts, yet I did not succeed in finding its nest and eggs; they are therefore desiderata with me.

There is no one member of the family to which it belongs which undergoes so many changes of plumage as the present species, and it is consequently very puzzling to the ornithologist. In extreme youth, or during the first few months after it has left the nest, the throat, chest and back of the neck is jet-black, while the breast and abdomen are rayed with obscure arrow-shaped markings of the same colour on a greyish white ground; from this state individuals in every variety of change, to the uniform grey throat and head, with black lores and mark under the eye, are to be met with. Independently of a difference in its markings, its much smaller size will at all times serve to distinguish it from _Graucalus melanops_, which inhabits the same districts. Insects of various orders and caterpillars, which are either captured on the wing or taken from the branches, form its diet.

In the adult the upper surface and wings are dark slate-grey, passing into paler grey on the forehead and on the rump and upper tail-coverts; primaries and secondaries slaty black, narrowly edged with greyish white; outer webs of the three secondaries nearest the body grey; tail black, the lateral feathers largely tipped with white; lores deep velvety black, which colour is continued above and below the eye; throat and breast grey; insertion of the wing, under surface of the wing, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; bill black; irides and feet dark brown.

In the accompanying Plate I have figured the extremes of colouring assumed by the bird; the darkest-coloured being the young of the year.

GRAUCALUS HYPOLEUCUS: _Gould_.

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

GRAUCALUS HYPOLEUCUS, _Gould_.
White-bellied Graucalus.

_Graucalus hypoleucus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8,
1848.

This species inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Essington, where it is a very familiar bird, constantly flitting about the branches overhanging the houses of the settlement. In its general habits, manners and note it closely assimilates to the _Graucalus melanops_. It is abundant in every part of the Cobourg Peninsula, and is generally seen in small families of from four to ten or twelve in number.

The whiteness of the under surface serves to distinguish this from all the other species of the genus yet discovered in Australia.

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of various genera, which are generally taken from off the leafy branches of the highest trees.