Chapter V: Part 5

The sexes assimilate very closely in colouring, and only differ in the females and young males having the lores of a dull brown instead of black.

Lores black; crown of the head and all the upper surface dark grey; wings and tail black; chin, under surface of the wings, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; breast pale greyish white; irides brownish black; bill blackish brown; legs and feet black; insides of the feet and spaces between the scales of the tarsi mealy grey.

The figures are of the natural size.

GRAUCALUS SWAINSONII: _Gould_.

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

GRAUCALUS SWAINSONII.
Swainson’s Graucalus.

_Ceblepyris lineatus_, Swains. in Zool. Journ., vol. i. p. 466.

_Graucalus Swainsonii_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This species of _Graucalus_, which is distinguished from all the other Australian members of the genus by the beautiful barring of the breast, was originally described by Mr. Swainson under the appellation of _lineatus_; but that term having been previously applied to another species of the group, it became necessary to change it; and in substituting that of _Swainsonii_, I was desirous of paying a just tribute to the talents of a gentleman who has laboured most zealously in the cause of natural science, and whose researches and writings are so well known to all ornithologists.

Examples of this species occur in almost every collection sent from Moreton Bay; I regret to add that it is one of the few birds I had no opportunities of observing in a state of nature, and that nothing is at present known of its habits and economy. Judging from the specimens I have examined, I believe that the sexes are alike in plumage.

Lores black; head, all the upper surface, wing-coverts, throat and breast grey; primaries and secondaries black; the former narrowly, and the latter broadly margined on their external edges with grey; tail grey at the base, black for the remainder of its length; abdomen, under surface of the shoulder, and under tail-coverts white, crossed by numerous decided narrow bars of black; bill and feet black.

The figures are of the natural size.

PTEROPODOCYS PHASIANELLUS: _Gould_.

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

PTEROPODOCYS PHASIANELLA.
Ground Graucalus.

_Graucalus Phasianellus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
142.

_Ceblepyris maxima_, Rupp. Mon. in Mus. Senckenbergianum, 1839, p. 28.
taf. iii.

_Goo-rä-ling_, Aborigines of York, Western Australia.

The rarity of this species in our collections is sufficient evidence that it is a bird inhabiting the interior of the country, and that its native localities have been seldom visited by the explorer; hence it was a source of no ordinary gratification to me when I first encountered it on the plains bordering the River Namoi in New South Wales, and perceived that no very lengthened study of its habits and mode of life was requisite to ascertain that its structure is as beautifully adapted for terrestrial progression and for a residence on the ground, as the structure of the other _Graucali_ fits them to inhabit the branches of the trees; more beautiful modifications of form in fact can scarcely be seen than occur among the members of this group, which now comprehends a considerable number of species; the present bird, however, is the only terrestrial one that has yet come under my notice, either from Australia or the great nursery of these birds—India and the Indian islands. The lengthened form of the tarsi and tail and the narrow form of the bill are the most striking of the structural differences between _Pteropodocys_ and _Graucalus_, and are so apparent that they must be perceptible at a single glance to all who will examine them. Plains and open glades skirted by belts of high trees are the localities in which I generally met with this bird either in pairs or small parties of four or five; in the latter case they were probably the brood of the year, as they usually consisted of both immature and adult birds.

Its powers of progression on the ground are considerable, and are only equalled by those of flight; when disturbed it flies across the plain to the belts of lofty trees, among the branches of which it appears to be quite as much at ease as upon the ground. During flight the white mark on the rump is very conspicuous, and may be seen at a considerable distance.

The food consists of insects and seeds of various kinds.

That its range extends over the whole of the interior of Australia is more than probable, as I have lately received a specimen from Swan River, in which part of the country it doubtless inhabits localities similar to those it frequents on the east coast.

Of its nidification I regret to say nothing is at present known.

The sexes, which exhibit no external differences, may be thus described:—

Head, neck, chest and back delicate grey, becoming darker on the ear-coverts; rump and abdomen white, crossed by narrow irregular bars of black; under tail-coverts white; wings and tail black, the latter having the tips of the outer and the basal portion of all the feathers white; bill and feet black, tinged with olive; irides butty white.

The figures are of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA JARDINII.

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

CAMPEPHAGA JARDINII.
Jardine’s Campephaga.

_Graucalus tenuirostris_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 114.

_Ceblepyris Jardinii_, Rüpp. Mon. in Orn. Misc. 1839, p. 30.

The only parts of Australia wherein this species has been observed are Moreton Bay and the Liverpool Range in New South Wales, and the neighbourhood of Port Essington in the Cobourg Peninsula on the north coast: it is likely that it ranges over the whole of the intermediate country, but this can only be determined by future research. The great difference in the colouring of the sexes, its smaller size and more attenuated bill, point out most clearly that it is a member of the genus _Campephaga_, and not of _Graucalus_, to which it was first assigned. It is far less common in New South Wales than it is at Port Essington, where Mr. Gilbert collected the following notes respecting it:—

“This bird is extremely shy and retiring in its habits. I have never seen it flying about the low shrubs like the other species of the genus, nor at any time near the ground; on the contrary, it always inhabits the topmost branches of the loftiest and most thickly-foliaged trees growing in the immediate vicinity of swamps, or the mangroves. Its note too is altogether different from that of any other species of the genus, being a harsh, grating, buzzing tone, repeated rather rapidly about a dozen times in succession, followed by a lengthened interval. It appears to be a solitary species, as I never saw more than one at a time.”

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

The adult male has the lores black; all the upper and under surface, wing-coverts, edges of the primaries and secondaries, basal three-fourths of the two central and the tips of the outer tail-feathers deep blue-grey; primaries, secondaries and the other parts of the tail black; irides dark brown; bill blackish brown; legs and feet very dark greenish grey.

The female has the whole of the upper surface, wings and tail brown, the two latter edged with buff; line over the eye and all the under surface buff, the feathers of the side of the neck, the breast and the flanks with an arrow-head-shaped mark of brown in the centre.

The young male is bluish brown above; wings and tail as in the female; under surface buff, crossed with numerous transverse narrow irregular bars of black.

The figures represent an adult and a young male of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA KARU.

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

CAMPEPHAGA KARU.
Northern Campephaga.

_Lanius Karu_, Less. Zool. de la Coq., pl. 12.

_Notodela Karu_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 374.

Mr. Gilbert, who met with this species at Port Essington on the northern coast of Australia, states that it is a very shy and timid bird, that it is generally seen creeping about in pairs among the thickets and clumps of mangroves, that its note is a somewhat shrill piping call, that its stomach is tolerably muscular, and that it feeds upon insects of various kinds: this, I regret to say, is all that is known respecting it.

In referring this species to the _Lanius Karu_ of Lesson, I am rather influenced by a desire not to add to the number of useless synonyms, than from any positive conviction of their being identical; for although, having only M. Lesson’s figure to refer to, I am unable to detect any difference of sufficient importance to be considered specific, little doubt exists in my mind that the two birds are really distinct, and that future research will verify the propriety of this opinion.

The male has the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail black; the wing-coverts largely tipped, primaries narrowly edged and tipped, secondaries broadly margined on their external webs, rump and upper tail-coverts slightly, the external tail-feather largely, and the next on each side slightly tipped with white; line from the nostrils over each eye to the occiput buffy white; under surface pale grey, crossed on the breast and flanks with narrow irregular bars of slaty black, and washed with fulvous, gradually increasing in intensity until on the vent and under tail-coverts it becomes of a deep tawny buff; irides dark brown; bill black; feet blackish grey externally, bluish grey internally; light mealy ashy grey between the scales and inside the feet.

The female differs in being somewhat smaller than the male; in having the upper surface and tail brown, instead of black; the upper tail-coverts tipped with buff instead of white, and the barrings of the under surface broader, darker and more distinct.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA LEUCOMELA: _Vig. & Horsf._

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

CAMPEPHAGA LEUCOMELA, _Vig. and Horsf._
Black and White Campephaga.

_Campephaga leucomela_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
215.

This species, which frequents the brushes of the eastern parts of New South Wales between the river Hunter and Moreton Bay, differs from the _Campephaga Karu_ in its much greater size, in the rufous colouring of the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts, in the more uniform grey colouring of the breast, and in the barring of this part being much less conspicuous. I have had examples of this species in my collection for many years, but was not fortunate enough to see it alive during my visit to Australia. Mr. Strange has also sent me a pair which he had shot in the scrubs on the banks of the Clarence. Its nest and eggs, and any information of its habits, are desiderata to me.

The sexes, as in the other species, differ considerably from each other; they may be thus described:—

The male has the head, back, wings and tail deep glossy black; wing-coverts largely tipped and the secondaries broadly margined with white; the two outer tail-feathers tipped with white, the external one also narrowly margined on the outer web with the same hue; rump and upper tail-coverts very dark grey; line over the eye snow-white; under surface greyish white, gradually passing into rufous on the abdomen and under tail-coverts, and indistinctly rayed with dark grey; bill, feet and irides black.

The young male is brown where the male is black; has the wings not so conspicuously marked with white; the under surface washed with rufous and conspicuously rayed with brown; and the under tail-coverts deep rufous.

The figures represent an adult male and young male of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA HUMERALIS: _Gould_.

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

CAMPEPHAGA HUMERALIS, _Gould_.
White-shouldered Campephaga.

_Ceblepyris humeralis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 143;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Goö-mul-cül-long_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

This bird occurs in considerable numbers throughout the whole of the southern portion of Australia during the months of summer; it is strictly migratory, arriving in the month of September, when insects are most plentiful, and having performed the task of reproduction departs again northwards in the months of January and February. It is a most animated, lively and spirited bird, constantly singing a loud and pretty song while actively engaged in pursuit of insects, which it either captures on the wing, among the branches or on the ground. It commences breeding soon after its arrival, constructing a shallow round nest of small pieces of bark, short dead twigs and grasses interwoven with fine vegetable fibres, cobwebs, white moss, &c., and sometimes a few grasses and fine fibrous roots by way of lining; it is usually placed in the fork of a horizontal dead branch of the apple- and gum-trees, and is not easily seen from below. During the early part of the breeding-season the male frequently chases the female from tree to tree, pouring forth his song all the while. The eggs, which are generally two, but sometimes three in number, differ very considerably in colour, some being of a light green blotched all over with wood-brown, while others have a lighter ground so largely blotched with chestnut-brown as nearly to cover the entire surface of the shell, and I have seen some of an almost uniform greyish green; their medium length is nine and a half lines and breadth seven and a half lines.

The above is a detail of what I myself observed of the bird in New South Wales. In his Notes from Western Australia, Mr. Gilbert says, “This bird is a migratory summer visitant to this part of the country, where it arrives about the beginning of September, after which it is to be met with in considerable numbers among the mountains of the interior, but is very rarely seen in the lowland districts.

“Its powers of flight are considerable, and when excited during the breeding-season the males become very pugnacious, and not only attack each other in the most desperate manner, but also assault much larger birds that may approach the nest. Its usual flight is even, steady and graceful, and while flying from tree to tree it gives utterance to its sweet and agreeable song, which at times is so like the full, swelling, shaking note of the Canary, that it might easily be mistaken for the song of that bird. It is a remarkably shy bird, especially the females, which are so seldom seen that I was at first inclined to think they were much less numerous than the other sex, but this I afterwards found was not the case; their favourite haunts are thickly wooded places and the most secluded spots. The nest is so diminutive that it is very difficult to detect it, and so shallow in form that it is quite surprising the eggs do not roll out when the branch is shaken by the wind. I am told that they generally build in the Raspberry-Jam-tree, but the nests I discovered were placed on a horizontal dead branch of a Eucalyptus; they were formed of grasses and contained two eggs. It breeds in the latter part of September and the beginning of October.” Mr. Gilbert subsequently met with the bird at Port Essington, where also it appears to be migratory, for not a single individual was to be seen from the early part of November to the month of March; females and young birds were very abundant on his arrival in July, but he only met with one old male during his residence in the colony, a period of eight months.

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

The sexes differ considerably in colour, as will be seen in the accompanying Plate and the following description:—

The male has the forehead, crown of the head, back of the neck and upper part of the back glossy greenish black; shoulders and upper wing-coverts pure white, forming an oblique line along the wing; the remainder of the wing dull black, with the secondaries slightly margined and tipped with white; lower part of the back and rump grey; tail dull black, the two outer feathers on each side largely tipped with white; throat, chest and all the under surface white; bill and feet black; irides nearly black.

The female has all the upper surface, wings and tail brown; wing-coverts and secondaries margined with buff; throat and all the under surface buffy white, with the sides and front of the breast speckled with brown; irides very dark brown; upper mandible and tip of the lower dark reddish brown; basal portion of the latter saffron-yellow; legs and feet dark greyish black, slightly tinged with lead-colour.

The figures represent the two sexes of the size of life.

PACHYCEPHALA GUTTURALIS.

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

PACHYCEPHALA GUTTURALIS.
Guttural Pachycephala.

_Turdus gutturalis_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xlii.

_Black-crowned Thrush_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 10.

_Guttural Thrush_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 182.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. x. p. 256.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 136.

_Pachycephala gutturalis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 239.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd edit., p. 45.

_Turdus lunularis_, Shaw.

_Laniarius albicollis_, Vieill.

_Pachycephala fusca_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
240.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

—— _fuliginosa_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 241,
female or young.

_Pe-dil̈-me-dung_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Thunder Bird_, Colonists of New South Wales.

It would seem that the whole extent of the southern coast of Australia is inhabited by the present species, for on comparing adult males from New South Wales, South Australia and Swan River, I find that they do not differ in any respect; the apical half of the tail is blackish brown in all, and the colouring of the under surface of the richest yellow. It is rather abundantly dispersed over the forests of _Eucalypti_ and the belts of _Acaciæ_, among the flowering branches of which latter tribe of trees the male displays himself to the greatest advantage, and shows off his rich yellow breast as if desirous of outvieing the beautiful blossoms with which he is surrounded.

The stomach is very muscular, and its principal food consists of insects of various genera, which are sought for and captured both among the flowers and leaves as well as on the ground.

It is generally met with in pairs, but the males are more shy than the females. It flies in short and sudden starts, and seldom mounts far above the tops of the trees.

The voice of the male is a single note seven or eight times repeated, and terminating with a sharp higher note much resembling the smack of a whip; that of the female is very different, being a series of running half-notes, forming a rather plaintive tune.

Mr. Gilbert mentions that it is sparingly dispersed throughout the Swan River colony, but is more abundant in the best-watered districts, such as Perth and Fremantle.

I did not succeed in finding the nest of this species, but was informed that it breeds in September and October, and lays three or four eggs, ten and a half lines long by eight lines broad, with a ground-colour of brownish buff, sparingly streaked and spotted with reddish brown and bluish grey, the latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell.

The male has the crown of the head, lores, line beneath the eye, ear-coverts, and a crescent-shaped mark from the latter across the breast deep black; throat, within the black, white; back of the neck, a narrow line down each side of the chest behind the black crescent, and all the under surface gamboge-yellow; back and upper tail-coverts yellowish olive; wing-coverts blackish brown, margined with yellowish olive; primaries and secondaries blackish brown, margined with greyish olive; basal half of the tail grey, apical half blackish brown tipped with grey; irides dark brown; bill black; legs and feet blackish grey.

The female has the whole of the upper surface and tail greyish brown; primaries and secondaries brown, margined with grey; throat pale brown freckled with white; remainder of the under surface pale brown, passing into deep buff on the abdomen.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA GLAUCURA: _Gould_.

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

PACHYCEPHALA GLAUCURA, _Gould_.
Grey-tailed Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala glaucura_, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., March 25,
1845.

_Pe-dil̈-me-dung_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

Although the present bird is very nearly allied to the _P. gutturalis_, it may be readily distinguished from that species by its larger size, by its shorter and more robust bill, by the uniform grey colouring of its tail, and by the lighter and more washy tint of the yellow of the under surface. Van Diemen’s Land and the islands in Bass’s Straits are the only countries in which it has yet been discovered, and where it takes the place of the _P. gutturalis_, which latter species appears to be exclusively confined to the Australian continent.

The _P. glaucura_ frequents the vast forests of _Eucalypti_ that cover the greater part of Van Diemen’s Land, and although it is rather thinly dispersed, is to be met with in every variety of situation, the crowns of the hills and the deep and most secluded gulleys being alike visited by it. It frequently descends to the ground in search of insects, but the leafy branches of the trees, particularly those of a low growth, are the situations to which it gives the preference.

The adult male, like most other birds of attractive plumage, is of a shy disposition; hence there is much more difficulty in obtaining a glimpse of it in the woods, than of the sombre-coloured and comparatively tame female, or even of the young males of the year, which during this period wear a similar kind of livery to that of the latter.

The actions of this species are somewhat peculiar, and unlike those of most other insectivorous birds: it pries about the leafy branches of the trees, and leaps from twig to twig in the most agile manner possible, making all the while a most scrutinizing search for insects, particularly coleoptera. When the male exposes himself, as he occasionally does, on some bare twig, the rich yellow of his plumage, offering a strong contrast to the green of the surrounding foliage, renders him a conspicuous and doubtless highly attractive object to his sombre-coloured mate, who generally accompanies him. Males in colour like those represented on the accompanying Plate seldom associate together, their recluse disposition leading them not only to avoid each other’s society, but also that of all other birds. It sometimes resorts to the gardens and shrubberies of the settlers, but much less frequently than might be supposed, when we consider that the neighbouring forests are its natural place of abode.

The voice of the Grey-tailed Pachycephala is a loud whistling call of a single note several times repeated, and by which the presence of the male is often detected when it would otherwise be passed by unnoticed. I was unsuccessful in my search for its nest, and the eggs are still a desideratum to my cabinet. I shot the young in various stages of plumage, and found them to differ so much that a more, than ordinarily minute description is necessary, in order that those who may not have an opportunity of seeing the bird in its native country may not be misled respecting it. Soon after leaving the nest the ground-colour of the entire plumage is grey, washed or stained as it were, both on the upper and under surface, with rusty or chestnut-red; this gradually gives place to a uniform olive-brown above and pale brown beneath, which being precisely the colouring of the adult females, the young birds in this stage and the old females are not to be distinguished from each other.

The adult male has the crown of the head, lores, space beneath the eye and a broad crescent-shaped mark from the latter across the breast deep black; throat, within the black, white; back of the neck, a narrow line down each side of the chest behind the black crescent and the under surface yellow; back and wing-coverts yellowish olive; wings dark slate-colour margined with grey; tail entirely grey; under tail-coverts white, or very slightly washed with yellow; irides reddish brown; bill black; feet dark brown.

The Plate represents two males and a female of the natural size, on one of the common Acacias of Van Diemen’s Land.

PACHYCEPHALA MELANURA: _Gould_.

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

PACHYCEPHALA MELANURA, _Gould_.
Black-tailed Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala melanura_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 134.

The _Pachycephala melanura_ is a native of the northern coasts of Australia, where it was procured by B. Bynoe, Esq., during the surveying voyage of H.M.S. the Beagle. It may be readily distinguished from the _P. gutturalis_ and _P. glaucura_ by the jet-black colouring of the tail, which organ is also shorter and more square than that of any other species, by its much longer bill, and by the colouring of the back of the neck and the under surface being richer than that of either of those above-named. I have not yet seen a female of this fine species, wanting which I have figured two males in different positions.

It may be thus described:—

Head, crescent commencing behind the eye and crossing the chest and the tail black; throat pure white; collar round the back and sides of the neck, and all the under surface very rich gamboge-yellow; upper surface rich yellowish olive; wings black, the coverts margined with yellowish olive; the primaries narrowly and the secondaries broadly margined with yellowish grey; bill and feet black; irides brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA PECTORALIS: (_Vig. & Horsf._)

_Drawn from Nature & on Stone by J. & E. Gould._ _Printed by C.
Hullmandel._
]

PACHYCEPHALA PECTORALIS, _Vig. and Horsf._
Banded Thick-head.

_Muscicapa pectoralis_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl., p. li.—Vieill. 2nde
Edit, du Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxi. p. 455, and
Ency. Méth., 2nde Part., p. 830.

_Orange-breasted Thrush_, Lewin, Birds of New Holland, pl. 8.

_Pachycephala pectoralis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 239.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

—— _striata_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 240, female
or young male?

_Lanius macularius_, Quoy et Gaim., Voy. de l’Astrolabe, p. 257. pl.
31. f. 1, young male?

_Rufous-vented Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 183.

This very common species ranges over the whole of the southern portion of the Australian continent, from Swan River on the west to Moreton Bay on the east; but the extent of its range northwards has not yet been strictly determined. During the spring and the earlier months of summer there are few birds that possess a more animated and lively song, which, moreover, is very different from any bird I recollect having heard, either in Australia or Europe, being a loud continuous ringing whistle, frequently terminating in a sharp smack, this latter note being peculiar to most members of the group. In New South Wales and South Australia it is abundantly dispersed over all the thinly-timbered forests, keeping among the leafy branches of the highest trees. I do not myself recollect having met with it in the brushes, while in Western Australia the thick scrubs are said to be its favourite places of resort.

Although it does not migrate it makes a slight change in the situations it frequents, according to the state of the seasons, or the more or less abundant supply of food, which consists of insects of various kinds, caterpillars and berries: like the other members of the group, it creeps and hops about the branches in a gentle and quiet manner.

The sexes, as will be seen in the accompanying illustration, differ very considerably both in the arrangement of their markings and in the general colouring of their plumage, and it is not until the second year that the young males assume the band on the chest and the pure white throat of the adult. The breeding-season commences in August or September, and continues during the three following months. The nest is cup-shaped, and rather a frail structure, being often so slight that the eggs may be descried through the interstices of the fine twigs and fibrous roots of which it is composed. In New South Wales I found the nest is built upon the small horizontal branches of large trees, but at Swan River it is more frequently constructed in shrubs, particularly the _Melaleuca_: the eggs are generally three in number, of an olive tint, with a zone of indistinct spots and blotches at the larger end; they are eleven lines long by eight lines broad.

The male has the throat white, encircled by a broad band of black, which commences at the base of the bill, surrounds the eye, passes down the sides of the neck, and crosses the breast; forehead and crown dark grey, with a small stripe of black down the centre of each feather; the remainder of the upper surface dark grey; wings and tail blackish brown, each feather margined on the outer web with dark grey; sides of the breast and flanks grey; centre of the breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts orange-brown; irides reddish hazel; bill black; legs and feet olive-black.

The female has the head and all the upper surface brownish grey; wings and tail dark brown, margined on the exterior webs with brownish grey; throat dull white, gradually passing into the tawny buff which covers the whole of the under surface, each feather of the throat and under surface having a narrow stripe of dark brown down the centre; irides blackish brown; bill flesh-brown; corner of the mouth yellow; feet lead-colour.

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

PACHYCEPHALA FALCATA: _Gould_.

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

PACHYCEPHALA FALCATA, _Gould_.
Lunated Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala falcata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 134.

We find in this species of _Pachycephala_, which inhabits the northern parts of Australia, a beautiful representative of the _P. pectoralis_ of the southern parts of the continent; from which it differs in its much smaller size, and in the black crescent which bounds the white throat of the male not extending upwards to the ear-coverts, which with the lores are grey. All the specimens I possess were killed on the Cobourg Peninsula, near the settlement at Port Essington, where, as well as on the adjacent islands, it is a stationary species, and very abundant. It breeds in September and the two following months, and lays two eggs. Its habits and manners are precisely similar to those of the other members of the family.

The adult male has the crown of the head, lores, ear-coverts, back and upper tail-coverts grey; wings dark brown, all the feathers margined with grey; throat white, bounded below by a distinct crescent of black; abdomen, flanks and under tail-coverts orange-brown; tail dark brown, the basal portion of the webs edged with grey; irides reddish brown; bill black; feet blackish brown.

The adult female has the crown of the head and all the upper surface grey; ear-coverts brownish grey; throat buffy white, passing into light buff or fawn-colour on the chest, flanks, abdomen and under tail-coverts; the feathers of the throat and chest with a narrow dark line down the centre; wings and tail as in the male.

The young male is similar in colour to the female, but has the throat whiter and the markings on the chest much more distinct, and extending over the abdomen also.

In very young individuals a rich rufous or tawny tint pervades the greater part of the upper surface.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA LANOÏDES: _Gould_.

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

PACHYCEPHALA LANOÏDES, _Gould_.
Shrike-like Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala Lanoïdes_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p.
142.

A single specimen only of this bird has come under my notice, and from the locality in which it was procured, the north-west coast of Australia, it is probable that it is the only one in Europe. On reference to the figure on the Plate, it will be seen that it is a most robust and powerful species, and that it so closely approximates to the form of the genus _Lanius_, that had it been a native of any other country than Australia, where the true Shrikes are not found, it might have been referred to that genus.

That it feeds on insects of a large size there can be but little doubt, its whole structure indicating that it exists upon this kind of food.

No information whatever has been obtained with respect to its habits and economy; this blank therefore remains to be filled up by those naturalists who may hereafter visit the part of the country of which it is a denizen.

Crown of the head, ear-coverts and chest black, bounded posteriorly by a narrow band of chestnut; throat, centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; flanks, back, shoulders and external webs of the primaries, secondaries and wing-coverts grey; tail, bill and feet black.

The Plate represents the bird in two different positions, of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA RUFOGULARIS: _Gould_.

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

PACHYCEPHALA RUFOGULARIS, _Gould_.
Red-throated Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala rufogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII.
p. 164.

I have never seen this species of _Pachycephala_ in any other collection than my own; all the specimens therein contained fell to my own gun during my explorations in South Australia: I found it anything but abundant; in fact, although I was constantly seeking it, many days frequently elapsed without my procuring a specimen. Its stronghold, probably a part of the vast country of the interior, has yet to be discovered. From the little I saw of it, I am induced to believe that it is a very solitary bird, for I always encountered it singly, and mostly hopping about on the ground in the thinly-timbered forest which surrounds the city of Adelaide. Its actions were so particularly quiet, and its plumage so unattractive, that had not my attention been directed to birds of a sombre hue as well as to those of gay attire, I might have easily overlooked it. I never heard it utter any note, nor did I observe anything in its habits and economy worthy of remark. It doubtless resorted to the ground for coleopterous and other insects, the remains of which formed the contents of the stomachs of those I procured.

The adult males and females differ considerably in the colouring of their plumage; the young males resemble the females. The rusty colouring of the throat and face distinguishes this species from every other member of the genus.

As South Australia is the only country in which this rare species has yet been discovered, and as nothing whatever is known of its history, I would call the attention of future collectors to the subject, with a view of procuring information respecting it; and when I state that my specimens were procured within two miles of the city of Adelaide, it will be admitted that I am not imposing too great a task on my talented friend Governor Grey, and the other residents at Adelaide.

The male has the crown of the head and all the upper surface deep brownish grey; wings and tail dark brown, the feathers margined with greyish brown; lores, chin, throat, under surface of the shoulder and all the under surface reddish sandy brown, crossed on the breast by a broad irregular band of greyish brown; irides reddish brown; bill black; feet blackish brown.

The female differs from the male in having the throat and under surface greyish white, the chest being crossed by an obscure mark of greyish brown, and with a line down the centre of each feather.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA GILBERTII: _Gould_.

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

PACHYCEPHALA GILBERTII, _Gould_.
Gilbert’s Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala Gilbertii_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XII. p.
107.

Although the practice of naming species after individuals is a means by which the names of men eminent for their scientific attainments may be perpetuated to after-ages, I have ever questioned its propriety, and have rarely resorted to it; but in assigning the name of _Gilbertii_ to this new and interesting species, I feel that I am only paying a just compliment to one who has most assiduously assisted me in the laborious investigations required for the production of the present work, and who was the discoverer of the birds forming the subject of this paper. The specimens transmitted to me by Mr. Gilbert are I believe all that have yet been procured.

Although the _P. Gilbertii_ is nearly allied to the _P. rufogularis_, it may be readily distinguished by the rufous colouring being confined to the throat, and not ascending upon the forehead and occupying the space between the bill and the eyes as in that species; it is also a smaller bird in all its admeasurements.

Gilbert’s Pachycephala is an inhabitant of the interior of Western Australia. The following notes, which are all that is known of its history, accompanied the specimens sent to me:—“This species inhabits the thick brushes of the interior. It is an early breeder, as is proved by my finding a nest with three newly-hatched young birds in the middle of August. The nest was built in the upright fork of a small shrub about four feet from the ground. It was deep, cup-shaped in form, and constructed of dried grasses, and except that it was rather more compactly built, it was very similar to those of the other members of the genus.”

I trust that the publication of this species will induce Mr. Burgess, Mr. Drummond and other residents in Western Australia to seek for and investigate its history. To Mr. Drummond, and his son Mr. Johnson Drummond, botanical science is indebted for many valuable discoveries, and that this slight tribute to their labours in that department may induce them to turn their attention to other branches of natural history is my earnest wish.

The sexes of the present bird, as will be seen on reference to the accompanying Plate, exhibit a similar difference in colour as in the _P. rufogularis_; the females of both species being very sombre and devoid of any rufous colouring on the throat and breast.

The male has the upper surface dark greyish olive-brown; head dark slate-grey; breast of a lighter grey; lores black; throat rust-red; under surface of the shoulder, centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts sandy buff; irides light brown; bill and feet black.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA SIMPLEX: _Gould_.

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

PACHYCEPHALA SIMPLEX, _Gould_.
Plain-coloured Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala simplex_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 135.

The _Pachycephala simplex_ is a native of the north-western parts of Australia, but does not appear to be very numerous in any locality yet explored; Mr. Gilbert, who discovered it in the neighbourhood of Port Essington, states that it is of a very shy and retiring disposition, and that it is usually met with in pairs hopping and creeping about among the underwood or very thickly-foliaged trees, but may be more frequently seen in thickets situated in the midst of swamps or among the mangroves. In its mode of feeding and in many of its actions it greatly resembles the Flycatchers, but does not like them shake or move the tail. Its voice, which is peculiarly soft and mournful, consists of a single note four times repeated with rather lengthened intervals; this however appears to be its call-note only, for at other times it utters a somewhat pleasing and lengthened song; “but,” says Mr. Gilbert, “I never heard it emit that sharp terminating note, resembling the smack of a whip, which concludes the song of all the other species of the genus.”

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

It appears to breed during the months of December, January and February, for the ovarium of a female killed on the third of the last-mentioned month contained eggs very fully developed, and from the bare state of the breast appeared to have been already engaged in the task of incubation.

All the upper surface brown; under surface brownish white, with a very faint stripe of brown down the centre of each feather; irides light brown; bill and feet black.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA OLIVACEA: _Vig. & Horsf._

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

PACHYCEPHALA OLIVACEA, _Vig. and Horsf._
Olivaceous Pachycephala.

_Pachycephala olivacea_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
241.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

This species, the largest of the genus yet discovered, is a native of Van Diemen’s Land, where it inhabits forests and thick scrubby situations, and is very generally dispersed over the island from north to south; I observed it also on Flinders’ Island in Bass’s Straits, but no instance has come under my notice of its occurrence on the continent of Australia. It is rather recluse in its habits, and were it not for its oft-repeated, loud, sharp, liquid, whistling note, its presence would not often be detected. I usually met with it in the thickest parts of the forests, where it appeared to resort to the ground rather than to the branches, and to frequent gulleys and low swampy situations beneath the branches of the dwarf _Eucalypti_ and other trees, with which its olive colouring so closely assimilated, that it was very difficult to perceive it.

Although I felt assured that the bird was breeding in many parts of the country, and made repeated attempts to discover its nest, I could never succeed in so doing; the eggs are therefore among the desiderata of my cabinet.

But little outward difference is observable in the sexes; the male is rather the largest and has the head of a sooty greyish brown, while the head of the female is olive-brown. The young resemble the female, and assume the adult colouring at an early age.

The stomachs of several specimens dissected were very muscular, and contained the remains of coleoptera and hemiptera mingled in some instances with small stones and seeds.

Crown of the head and ear-coverts dark brown; back, wings and tail chestnut-olive, the chestnut predominating on the back; throat greyish white, each feather tipped with brown; chest, abdomen and under tail-coverts reddish brown; bill black; irides reddish brown; feet mealy reddish brown.

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

COLLURICINCLA HARMONICA.

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

COLLURICINCLA HARMONICA.
Harmonious Colluricincla.

_Turdus harmonicus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp. p. xli.

_Harmonic Thrush_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 182.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. x. p. 217.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 120.

_Grey-headed Thrush_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 118.

_Collurincla cinerea_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
214.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pi. 71.—Less.
Traité d’Orn., p. 374.—Ib. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p.
131.—Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 221.—G. R. Gray,
List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 49.

_Lanius Saturninus_, Nordm.

_Turdus dilutus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xl?—Bonn, et Vieill. Ency.
Méth. Orn., part ii. p. 660?

_Dilute Thrush_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 182?—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. x. p. 208?—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 120?

_Turdus badius_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xli?—Bonn, et Vieill. Ency.
Méth. Orn., part ii. p. 670?

_Port Jackson Thrush_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. ii. p. 183.—White’s Voy.,
pl. in p. 157.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 198.—Lath. Gen.
Hist., vol. v. p. 121.

_Austral Thrush_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 124?

As the members of this genus, originally formed on a single species, are now found to be numerous, but all very nearly allied, it becomes necessary to describe this, the typical bird, with particular accuracy. Nearly every colony appears to be inhabited by its own peculiar species; and accordingly we find that the present bird is an inhabitant of New South Wales, but extends its range westward as far as South Australia and eastward to Moreton Bay, and perhaps farther.

The _Colluricincla harmonica_ is one of the oldest known of the Australian birds, having been described in Latham’s “Index Ornithologicus,” figured in White’s “Voyage,” and included in the works of all subsequent writers.

So generally is it dispersed over the countries of which it is a native, that there are few localities in which it is not to be found; the brushes near the coast as well as the plains of the interior being equally frequented by it; it is a very active bird, living much among the branches, and feeding upon insects of various kinds, caterpillars and their larvæ.

The term _harmonica_ applied to this species is very appropriate; for although it does not give utterance to any continued song, it frequently pours forth a number of powerful swelling notes, louder but less varied than those of the Song Thrush of Europe; and it is somewhat singular that these notes are emitted while in the act of feeding, and while engaged in the search of its insect food.

The site of the nest is very varied; sometimes a hollow in the upright bole of a small tree is chosen; at others the ledge of a decayed branch, or a rock, or any similar situation. The nest is a cup-shaped, and somewhat slight structure, externally composed of the outer and inner bark of trees and leaves, and lined with fibrous roots; I have occasionally seen wool intermingled with the outer materials. The eggs, which are three in number, and one inch and two lines long by ten lines broad, are of a beautiful pearly white, thinly sprinkled with large blotches of light chestnut-brown and dull bluish grey, the latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell. In one instance I found a nest of eggs which were brownish white instead of pearly white.

The sexes are very nearly alike, the only difference being that the female has the bill browner and an indication of a white stripe over the eye.

Head brownish grey, with an indistinct line of brown down the centre of each feather; back of the neck, back and shoulders olive-brown; wings slaty black margined with grey; rump and tail grey, the latter with dark brown shafts; under surface light brownish grey, fading into pure white on the vent and under tail-coverts and greyish white on the throat, each of the throat and breast feathers with a fine line of brown down the centre; irides dark brown; bill blackish brown; feet dark greenish grey.

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

COLLURICINCLA RUFIVENTRIS: _Gould_.

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

COLLURICINCLA RUFIVENTRIS, _Gould_.
Buff-bellied Colluricincla.

_Colluricincla rufiventris_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII.
p. 164.

_Goö-dee-lung_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Thrush_, of the Colonists.

This species is about the size of the _Colluricincla harmonica_, for which at a first glance it might be mistaken, but from which on comparison it will be found to differ in the following particulars:—the whole of the upper surface is pure grey instead of brown; the abdomen and under tail-coverts are deep buff instead of greyish white; and the lores are much more distinctly marked with white. It is a native of Western Australia, where it is to be found in all thickly wooded places, feeding as much on the ground as among the trees and scrubs. In its actions, the positions it assumes, and in its general manners, it very closely resembles the Common Thrush of Europe. Its voice is a very loud, full and rich swelling note with a few connecting sounds, the whole much resembling, but not equalling in melody, the call-note of the European Thrush.

It breeds in the latter part of September and the beginning of October, and the nest, which is generally placed in the hollow part of a high tree, is formed of dried strips of gum-tree bark very closely packed and deep, and is sometimes lined with soft grasses. The eggs, which are two or three in number, are of a beautiful bluish or pearly white, with large blotches of reddish olive-brown and dark grey, the latter appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell; the medium length of the eggs is one inch and one line by ten lines in breadth.

Mr. Gilbert mentions that upon two occasions he found the eggs of this bird in old nests of _Pomatorhinus superciliosus_.

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects, principally of the coleopterous order, and seeds.

Lores greyish white; crown of the head and all the upper surface deep grey, slightly tinged with olive; primaries and tail dark brown, margined with brownish grey; throat and under surface darkish grey, passing into buff on the vent and under tail-coverts; all the feathers of the under surface have a narrow dark line down the centre; thighs grey; irides dark reddish brown; bill blackish brown; feet dark greenish leaden grey.

The figures represent a male and a female of the natural size.

COLLURICINCLA BRUNNEA: _Gould_.

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

COLLURICINCLA BRUNNEA, _Gould_.
Brown Colluricincla.

_Colluricincla brunnea_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
164.

_Men-e-loö-roo_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

This bird is abundantly dispersed over the Cobourg Peninsula, and is to be met with in all the forests in the immediate neighbourhood of Port Essington, in which distant locality it represents the _Colluricincla harmonica_ of New South Wales, the _Colluricincla Selbii_ of Van Diemen’s Land, and the _Colluricincla rufiventris_ of Western Australia. As might be expected, its habits and manners are very similar to those of the other species of the genus, consequently the description of those of _Colluricincla harmonica_ is equally descriptive of those of _Colluricincla brunnea_.

A nest of this bird found on the 2nd of February was built in the upper part of a hollow stump, and was outwardly formed of narrow strips of the bark of the _Melaleuca_ and lined with fine twigs. The eggs are of a pearly bluish white, spotted and blotched with markings of olive-brown and grey, the latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell; their medium length is one inch and two lines by ten lines in breadth.

It is a larger and more robust species than either _C. harmonica_ or _C. rufiventris_, the bill is shorter and much stouter, and the colouring is of a uniform light brown; even the primaries and tail-feathers are of the same hue.

All the upper surface pale brown; primaries and tail the same, but somewhat lighter; all the under surface brownish white, becoming almost pure white on the vent and under tail-coverts; thighs greyish brown; bill black; feet blackish brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

COLLURICINCLA SELBII: _Jard._

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

COLLURICINCLA SELBII, _Jard._
Selby’s Colluricincla.

_Colluricincla Selbii_, Jard. in Jard. and Selby’s Ill. Orn., vol. i.
note to text of pl. 71.

—— _rectirostris_, Jard. and Selby’s Ill. Orn., vol. iv. pl. xxxi.

—— _strigata_, Swains. Anim. in Menag. &c., p. 283, female or young
male.

_Whistling Dick_, of the Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

The _Colluricincla Selbii_ is a native of, and a permanent resident in, Van Diemen’s Land and Flinders’ Island, over all parts of which it is very generally, but nowhere very abundantly, distributed; it appears to give a decided preference to the thick woods, wherein its presence may always be detected by its loud, clear, liquid and melodious whistle. It is distinguished from all the other members of the genus by the greater length of the bill, and by the female having a broad stripe of rust-red over the eye. It does not appear to confine itself to any particular part of the forest, for it may sometimes be observed on the low scrub near the ground, and at others on the topmost branches of the highest trees.