Chapter I: Part 1

THE
BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

BY

JOHN GOULD, F.R.S.,

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

IN SEVEN VOLUMES.

VOL. III.

LONDON:

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

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

1848.

LIST OF PLATES.
VOLUME III.

Erythrodryas rhodinogaster Pink-breasted Wood-robin 1

—— rosea, _Gould_ Rose-breasted Wood-robin 2

Petroica multicolor Scarlet-breasted Robin 3

—— erythrogastra Norfolk Island Robin 4

—— Goodenovii Red-capped Robin 5

—— phœnicea, _Gould_ Flame-breasted Robin 6

—— bicolor, _Swains_ Pied Robin 7

—— fusca, _Gould_ Dusky Robin 8

—— superciliosa, _Gould_ White-eyebrowed Robin 9

Drymodes brunneopygia, _Gould_ Scrub Robin 10

Eöpsaltria Australis Yellow-breasted Robin 11

—— griseogularis, _Gould_ Grey-breasted Robin 12

—— leucogaster, _Gould_ White-bellied Robin 13

Menura superba, _Dav._ Lyre-Bird 14

Psophodes crepitans Coach-whip Bird 15

—— nigrogularis, _Gould_ Black-throated Psophodes 16

Sphenostoma cristata, _Gould_ Crested Wedge-bill 17

Malurus cyaneus Blue Wren 18

—— longicaudus, _Gould_ Long-tailed Wren 19

—— melanotus, _Gould_ Black-backed Wren 20

—— splendens Banded Wren 21

—— elegans, _Gould_ Graceful Wren 22

—— pulcherrimus, _Gould_ Beautiful Wren 23

—— Lamberti, _Vig. & Horsf._ Lambert’s Wren 24

—— leucopterus, _Quoy & Gaim._ White-winged Wren 25

—— melanocephalus, _Vig. & Horsf._ Black-headed Wren 26

—— Brownii, _Vig. & Horsf._ Brown’s Wren 27

Amytis textilis Textile Wren 28

—— striatus, _Gould_ Striated Wren 29

—— macrourus, _Gould_ Large-tailed Wren 30

Stipiturus malachurus Emu Wren 31

Dasyornis Australis, _Vig. & Horsf._ Bristle-Bird 32

—— longirostris, _Gould_ Long-billed Bristle-Bird 33

Atrichia clamosa, _Gould_ Noisy Brush-bird 34

Sphenœacus galactotes Tawny Sphenœacus 35

—— gramineus, _Gould_ Grass-loving Sphenœacus 36

Acrocephalus Australis, _Gould_ Reed Warbler 37

—— longirostris, _Gould_ Long-billed Reed Warbler 38

Hylacola pyrrhopygia Red-rumped Wren 39

—— cauta, _Gould_ Cautious Wren 40

Cysticola magna, _Gould_ Great Warbler 41

—— exilis Exile Warbler 42

—— lineocapilla, _Gould_ Lineated Warbler 43

—— isura, _Gould_ Square-tailed Warbler 44

—— ruficeps, _Gould_ Rufous-headed Warbler 45

Sericornis citreogularis, _Gould_ Yellow-throated Sericornis 46

—— humilis, _Gould_ Sombre-coloured Sericornis 47

—— osculans, _Gould_ Allied Sericornis 48

—— frontalis White-fronted Sericornis 49

—— lævigaster, _Gould_ Buff-breasted Sericornis 50

—— maculatus, _Gould_ Spotted Sericornis 51

Sericornis magnirostris, _Gould_ Large-billed Sericornis 52

Acanthiza pusilla Little Brown Acanthiza 53

—— Diemenensis, _Gould_ Tasmanian Acanthiza 54

—— Ewingii, _Gould_ Ewing’s Acanthiza 55

—— uropygialis, _Gould_ Chestnut-rumped Acanthiza 56

—— apicalis, _Gould_ Western Acanthiza 57

—— pyrrhopygia, _Gould_ Red-rumped Acanthiza 58

—— inornata, _Gould_ Plain-coloured Acanthiza 59

—— nana, _Vig. & Horsf._ Little Acanthiza 60

—— lineata, _Gould_ Striated Acanthiza 61

—— Reguloïdes, _Vig. & Horsf._ Regulus-like Acanthiza 62

—— chrysorrhœa Yellow-rumped Acanthiza 63

Ephthianura albifrons White-fronted Ephthianura 64

—— aurifrons, _Gould_ Orange-fronted Ephthianura 65

—— tricolor, _Gould_ Tri-coloured Ephthianura 66

Xerophila leucopsis, _Gould_ White-faced Xerophila 67

Pyrrholæmus brunneus, _Gould_ Brown Red-throat 68

Origma rubricata Rock-Warbler 69

Calamanthus fuliginosus Striated Reed-Lark 70

—— campestris, _Gould_ Field Reed-Lark 71

Chthonicola minima Little Chthonicola 72

Anthus Australis, _Vig. & Horsf._ Australian Pipit 73

Cincloramphus cruralis Brown Cincloramphus 74

—— cantillans, _Gould_ Black-breasted Cincloramphus 75

—— rufescens Rufous-tinted Cincloramphus 76

Mirafra Horsfieldii, _Gould_ Horsfield’s Mirafra 77

Estrelda bella Fire-tailed Finch 78

—— oculea Red-eared Finch 79

—— Bichenovii Bicheno’s Finch 80

—— annulosa, _Gould_ Black-rumped Finch 81

—— temporalis Red-eyebrowed Finch 82

—— Phaëton Crimson Finch 83

—— ruficauda, _Gould_ Red-tailed Finch 84

Amadina modesta, _Gould_[1] Plain-coloured Finch 85

—— Lathamii Spotted-sided Finch 86

—— castanotis, _Gould_ Chestnut-eared Finch 87

—— Gouldiæ, _Gould_[2] Gouldian Finch 88

Poëphila mirabilis, _Homb. & Jacq._ Beautiful Grass Finch 89

—— acuticauda, _Gould_ Long-tailed Grass Finch 90

—— personata, _Gould_ Masked Grass Finch 91

—— leucotis, _Gould_ White-eared Grass Finch 92

—— cincta, _Gould_ Banded Grass Finch 93

Donacola castaneothorax, _Gould_ Chestnut-breasted Finch 94

—— pectoralis, _Gould_ White-breasted Finch 95

—— flaviprymna, _Gould_ Yellow-rumped Finch 96

Emblema picta, _Gould_ Painted Finch 97

Footnote 1:

For _Amadina modesta_ read _Estrelda modesta_.

Footnote 2:

For _Amadina Gouldiæ_ read _Poëphila Gouldiæ_.

ERYTHRODRYAS RHODINOGASTER.

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

ERYTHRODRYAS RHODINOGASTER.
Pink-breasted Wood-Robin.

_Saxicola rhodinogaster_, Drap. Ann. Gén. des Sci. Phys. de Bruxelles.

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

_Petroica rhodinogaster_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn. Add., vol. ii.

_Erythrodryas rhodinogaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., August 9,
1842.

_Pink-breasted Robin_, Colonists of New South Wales.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ERYTHRODRYAS ROSEA: _Gould_.

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

ERYTHRODRYAS ROSEA.
Rose-breasted Wood-Robin.

_Petroica rosea_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 142.

_Erythrodryas rosea_, Gould in Ibid., August 9, 1842.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PETROICA MULTICOLOR: _Swains._

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

PETROICA MULTICOLOR, _Swains._
Scarlet-breasted Robin.

_Muscicapa multicolor_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
243.

_Red-breasted Warbler_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 17.

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

_Goȍ-ba_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Robin_, Colonists.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PETROICA ERYTHROGASTER.

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

PETROICA ERYTHROGASTRA.
Norfolk Island Robin.

_Muscicapa erythrogastra_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 479.—Gmel.
Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 944.

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

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

_Petroica pulchella_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 142,
male.

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

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

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

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

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PETROICA GOODENOVII: _Jard. and Selb._

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

PETROICA GOODENOVII, _Jard. and Selb._
Red-capped Robin.

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

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

_Mȅ-ne-gȅ-dang_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

_Red-capped Robin_ of the Colonists.

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

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

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

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

Its food consists of insects of various kinds.

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

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

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PETROICA PHŒNICEA: _Gould_.

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

PETROICA PHŒNICEA, _Gould_.
Flame-breasted Robin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PETROICA BICOLOR: _Swains._

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

PETROICA BICOLOR, _Swains._
Pied Robin.

_Muscicapa cucullata_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 51?

_Hooded Flycatcher_, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp., vol. ii. p. 223? and Gen.
Hist., vol. vi. p. 216?

_Petroica bicolor_, Swains. III. Zool., 2nd Ser., pl. 43.

_Jil-but_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

_Goȍ-ba-mȍgin_, Aborigines around Perth, Western Australia.

_Black Robin_ of the Colonists.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Petroica Fusca: _Gould_.

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

PETROICA FUSCA, _Gould_.
Dusky Robin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PETROICA SUPERCILIOSA: _Gould_.

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

PETROICA SUPERCILIOSA, _Gould_.
White-eyebrowed Robin.

_Petroica superciliosa_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIV. p.
106.

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

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

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

DRYMODES BRUNNEOPYGIA: _Gould_

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

DRYMODES BRUNNEOPYGIA, _Gould_.
Scrub Robin.

_Drymodes brunneopygia_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
170.

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

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

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

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

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

EÖPSALTRIA AUSTRALIS: _Swains._

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

EÖPSALTRIA AUSTRALIS.
Yellow-breasted Robin.

_Muscicapa Australis_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. li.

_Southern Motacilla_, _Motacilla Australis_, White’s Journ., pl. in p.
239.

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

_Pachycephala Australis_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
242.

_Muscipeta_, sp. 15, _Muscicapa Australis_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p.
385.

_Eöpsaltria flavicollis_, Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 250.

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

_Yellow-breasted Thrush_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 23.

_Eöpsaltria parvula_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 144.
female?

_Yellow Robin_, Colonists of New South Wales.

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

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

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

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

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

The figures are of the natural size.

EÖPSALTRIA GRISEOGULARIS, _Gould_.

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

EÖPSALTRIA GRISEOGULARIS, _Gould_.
Grey-breasted Robin.

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

_Bȁm-boore_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

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

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

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

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

The sexes are precisely similar in outward appearance.

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

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

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

EÖPSALTRIA LEUCOGASTER: _Gould_.

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

EÖPSALTRIA LEUCOGASTER, _Gould_.
White-bellied Robin.

_Eöpsaltria leucogaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 24,
1846.

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

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

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

MENURA SUPERBA: _Shaw_.

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

MENURA SUPERBA, _Davies_.
Lyre-Bird.

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

_Le Parkinson_, Vieill. (Ois. Dor.) Ois. de Parad., pls. 14, 15, 16.

_Megapodius menura_, Wagl. Sys. Av., sp. 1.

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

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

_Parkinsonius mirabilis_, Bechst.

_Menura vulgaris_, Flem.

_Menura paradisea_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 351.

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

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

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

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

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

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