Chapter III: Part 3

In the various positions it assumes, in the elevated carriage of its tail, and in its whole economy, it bears a close resemblance to the true _Maluri_: like them also it wanders about in small troops of four or six in number, always keeping within a short distance, and returning towards the close of the day to its accustomed haunts. On the Lower Namoi, where it is very abundant, it is found in all those parts of the plains that are studded with scrubs and clumps of a low shrub-like tree, resembling the Barilla of the coast, through and among which it creeps with astonishing rapidity; indeed, its mode of progression on the ground is such as no description can convey an accurate conception of, and must be seen to be understood: I cannot perhaps compare it with anything, unless with the motion of an India-rubber ball when thrown forcibly along the ground. While stealing from bush to bush, with this rapid movement, its head low and tail perfectly erect, it presents an exceedingly droll appearance. Like many others of its family, it seldom employs the power of flight.

Its food is insects of various kinds.

Of its nidification I have nothing to communicate: it doubtless builds a dome-shaped nest, and in all probability lays four spotted eggs; but to these points I would call the attention of those who are favourably situated for observing them, as also to confirm or refute the opinion of this and the following bird being distinct.

All the upper surface dark brown, each feather with a narrow stripe of white down the centre; under surface the same, but much paler; flanks and under surface of the shoulder rust-red; tail dark brown, indistinctly barred with a still darker hue and edged with pale brown; irides reddish hazel; base of lower mandible bluish horn-colour; remainder of the bill black; feet flesh-brown.

The male I dissected was destitute of the rusty red colouring on the flanks and under surface of the shoulder.

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

AMYTIS STRIATUS: _Gould_.

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

AMYTIS STRIATUS.
Striated Wren.

_Amytis textilis_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 454. pl. 67. fig. 2.

_Dasyornis striatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 143.

The only specimen I procured of this little bird in a recent state, was shot while I was traversing the Lower Namoi; it appeared to give preference to a loose sandy soil studded with high rank grass, which, growing in tufts, left the interspaces quite bare: through the natural labyrinth thus formed the Striated Wren ran with amazing rapidity, and it was only by forcing it to take wing that I succeeded in killing the one I obtained, which on dissection proved to be a male, and which served for the upper figure in my Plate: the other figure is supposed to represent the female; but as this can only be ascertained by the internal examination of a recent specimen, and no opportunity for so doing has yet occurred, this point must, for the present, remain undecided. All the specimens I have seen from New South Wales were in the red state of plumage, which goes far towards proving that this bird is really distinct from _Amytis textilis_.

Nothing has yet been ascertained respecting its nidification: its food, like that of the Textile Wren, consists of insects of various kinds.

Upper surface fine rusty red, each feather with a line of buffy white bounded on each side by black down the centre; line beneath the eye black; ear-coverts black, striated with white; wings and tail brown, margined with light reddish brown; base of the primaries rust-red, forming a conspicuous patch; chin and throat white; feathers of the chest buffy white, with two lines of brown, one down each side the stem; under surface rust-red, some of the feathers with a stripe of white down the centre; tail dark brown, indistinctly barred with a still darker tint, margined with lighter brown; irides hazel; bill dark horn-colour; feet brownish lead-colour.

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

AMYTIS MACROURUS: _Gould_.

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

AMYTIS MACROURUS, _Gould_.
Large-tailed Wren.

_Amytis macrourus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Jan. 27, 1847.

_Nyern-de_ and _Jee-ra_, Aborigines of the interior of Western
Australia.

The present is the first species of the genus that has been discovered in Western Australia; the two examples in my own collection are all that I have yet seen; these were shot in the interior by Mr. Gilbert, who states that “it inhabits the thickets, and is almost always on the ground in families of from four to seven in number: it carries its tail more erect than any other bird I have seen, and certainly no bird runs or rather hops over the surface of the ground with greater rapidity.”

It is evidently the representative of the _Amytis textilis_ of the eastern coast, to which it is very nearly allied, but from which, as well as from the _A. striatus_, it may at once be distinguished by its more robust form, and by the much greater length and size of its tail.

All the upper surface brown, each feather with a narrow stripe of white down the centre; under surface the same, but much paler; under surface of the shoulder pale rusty red; tail brown, margined with pale brown; irides hazel; base of the lower mandible horn-colour, remainder of the bill black; feet flesh-brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

STIPITURUS MALACHURUS: _Lefs_.

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

STIPITURUS MALACHURUS, _Less._
Emu Wren.

_Muscicapa malachura_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., pl. lii.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. x. p. 407.

_Soft-tailed Flycatcher_, Linn. Trans., vol. iv. p. 242. pl. 21.—Lath.
Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 224.

_Malurus malachurus_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 224.

_Stipiturus malachurus_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 415.

_Soft-tailed Warbler_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 123.

_Waw-gul-jelly_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

_Djur-jeel-ya_, Aborigines of the lowlands of Western Australia.

This curious little bird has a wide distribution; since it inhabits the whole of the southern portion of Australia, from Moreton Bay on the east to Swan River on the west, including Tasmania. Among the places where it is most numerous in the latter country, are the swampy grounds in the neighbourhood of Recherche Bay in D’Entrecasteaux Channel, the meadows at New Norfolk, Circular Head, and Flinder’s Island in Bass’s Straits; on the continent of Australia, Botany Bay, and indeed all portions of the country having a similar character are favoured with its presence.

In its actions it bears a close resemblance to the true _Maluri_, among which it has been associated, but, as the nature of its plumage would lead us to expect, it resorts to situations of a totally different character; for while the more open forest is the favourite resort of the _Maluri_, the Emu Wren is especially fond of low marshy districts, covered with rank high grasses and rushes. It is a recluse little bird, concealing itself from view by keeping near the ground in the midst of the more dense parts of the grass beds, and very seldom showing itself. Its extremely short round wings ill adapt it for flight, and this power is consequently seldom employed, the bird depending for progression upon its extraordinary capacity for running: in fact, when the grasses are wet from dew or rain, its wings are rendered perfectly unavailable. On the ground it is altogether as nimble and active, its creeping mouse-like motions, and the extreme facility with which it turns and bounds over the surface, enabling it easily to elude pursuit, and amply compensating for the paucity of its powers of flight. The tail is carried in an erect position, and is even occasionally retroverted over the back.

The nest, which is a small ball-shaped structure, with rather a large opening on one side, is composed of grasses lined with feathers, and artfully concealed in a tuft of grass or low shrub. One that I found in Recherche Bay contained three newly-hatched young: this being the only nest I ever met with, I am unable to give any description of its eggs, but I am informed they are always three in number.

The male is readily distinguished from the female by the blue colouring of the throat, and by a somewhat greater development of the tail-feathers. The decomposed or loose structure of these feathers, much resembling those of the Emu, has suggested the colonial name of Emu Wren for this species, an appellation singularly appropriate, inasmuch as it at once indicates the kind of plumage with which the bird is clothed, and the Wren-like nature of its habits.

The male has the crown of the head rust-red; upper surface brown, each feather having a black mark down the centre; wing-feathers dark brown, edged with rufous brown; chin and throat pale blue; sides of the neck and all the under surface bright rufous; tail dark brown; irides reddish brown; bill and feet brown.

The female differs from the male only in having the crown of the head striated with blackish brown, and the throat rufous instead of blue.

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

DASYORNIS AUSTRALIS: _Vig. & Horsf._

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

DASYORNIS AUSTRALIS, _Vig. & Horsf._
Bristle-bird.

_Dasyornis Australis_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
232.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 73.

This bird inhabits reed-beds and thickets, particularly such as are overgrown with creepers and rank vegetation; I believe it to be found throughout New South Wales in all places suitable to its habits, although, from the recluse nature of its disposition, it is a species familiar to few, even of those who have been long resident in the colony. I killed it at Illawarra, and other specimens were presented to me by Mr. Stephen Coxen, which had been shot by him in New England, an extensive district to the eastward of the Liverpool Plains. Its powers of flight are very limited, but it threads the thickets and runs over the ground with the greatest facility. It resembles the true _Maluri_ carrying the tail erect, as also in many other of its actions. I had no opportunity of ascertaining whether or not it be migratory; but my own impression is that it is stationary, since its powers of flight are inadequate to enable it to pass over much extent of country, and the thick brushes near the coast afford it ample shelter in winter.

I did not succeed in finding its nest, but in its nidification it doubtless closely assimilates to the Long-billed Bristle-bird of the western coast.

The sexes present no difference in plumage and but little in size; the female is, however, rather the least.

The food consists of insects of various orders.

All the upper surface brown; wings, tail-coverts and tail rufous brown, the latter indistinctly barred with a darker tint; under surface grey, gradually passing into the brown of the upper surface; over the eye an indistinct buffy stripe; irides brown; bill brown, becoming much lighter on the lower mandible; legs greyish brown.

The Plate represents a male of the natural size.

DASYORNIS TENUIROSTRIS: _Gould_.

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

DASYORNIS LONGIROSTRIS, _Gould_.
Long-billed Bristle-bird.

_Dasyornis longirostris_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
170.

_Djyr-dal-ya_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

The present species assimilates very closely in the character and colouring of its plumage to its eastern analogue, the _Dasyornis Australis_; but differs from that bird in being of a smaller size and in having a longer bill. It is a native of Western Australia, and is very generally distributed over the colony of Swan River, where it inhabits reed-beds and long grasses, and is occasionally seen in scrubby places. “It is so remarkably shy,” says Mr. Gilbert, “that it is extremely difficult to get even a glimpse of it: from the little I could observe of the bird in a state of nature, it appeared to me to feed on the ground, where its actions are extremely quick, running over the surface with its tail erect, very like the _Maluri_; but when perched the tail is either carried horizontally, or hanging down. The only time when it can be seen with a chance of procuring specimens, is when it ascends to a small branch or the top of a scrub to sing. Its notes are extremely varied, some being very loud and clear, and so much lengthened as to approach a song; but no two birds sing alike.

“Its flight is extremely heavy and very low; in fact the bird appears incapable of rising more than a few yards above the scrub or long grass it inhabits; it is consequently very rarely seen on a tree.

“The nest is formed of dry wiry grass without any lining, more globular than those of the _Maluri_, but, like them, with an opening in the side; it is of rather a large size, and the only one I met with was built in a clump of coarse grass, sheltered by an overhanging dead bush, at about seven inches from the ground. It contained two eggs, the ground-colour of which is dull brownish white, blotched and freckled with purplish brown, some of the blotches appearing as if beneath the surface, particularly at the larger end, where they are most numerous.

“The stomach is thick and muscular, and its food consists of seeds and insects.”

The sexes so closely resemble each other, that a representation and description of one will suffice for both.

All the upper surface brown; wings, tail-coverts and tail rufous brown, the latter indistinctly barred with a darker tint; under surface grey, gradually passing into the brown of the upper surface; irides bright reddish brown; upper mandible brown, lower mandible bluish green at the tip and greenish white at the base; legs bluish grey.

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

ATRICHIA CLAMOSA: _Gould_.

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

ATRICHIA CLAMOSA, _Gould_.
Noisy Brush-bird.

_Atrichia clamosa_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 9, 1844.

Few of the novelties received from Australia are more interesting than the species to which I have given the generic name of _Atrichia_. It is one of the discoveries made by Mr. Gilbert, who met with it among the dense scrubs of Western Australia, and who had his attention attracted to it by its peculiar and noisy note long before he had an opportunity of observing it; and it was only after many days of patient and motionless watching among the scrubs that he succeeded in obtaining specimens, and these unfortunately were shot at so short a distance from his gun that they were all much mutilated. Future research will doubtless furnish us with some highly interesting information respecting the economy and history of this curious form, which is evidently destined to tenant the most dense thickets and tangled beds of dwarf trees, and consequently, from its recluse habits, rarely to meet the gaze of civilized man.

The examples forwarded to me by Mr. Gilbert were killed between Perth and Augusta in Western Australia, and were all males. The females will doubtless, when discovered, prove to differ but little from their mates, except that the black mark on the breast will not be so large or conspicuous. I am led to offer this opinion from the circumstance of one of the specimens sent being a young male, which usually resembles the female during the first year, and in which this mark is less conspicuous than in the others.

All the upper surface, wings and tail brown, each feather crossed by several obscure crescent-shaped bars of brown; the inner webs of the primaries very dark brown, without markings, and the tail freckled instead of barred; throat and chest reddish white, with a large irregular patch of black on the lower part of the throat; flanks brown; abdomen and under tail-coverts rufous; bill horn-colour; irides dark brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

SPHENŒACUS GALACTOTES.

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

SPHENŒACUS GALACTOTES.
Tawny Sphenœacus.

_Malurus galactotes_, Temm. Pl. Col., 65.

_Megalurus galactotes_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
228.

This is a scarce species in New South Wales, the few individuals I have seen being-from the grassy districts of the Liverpool Plains; in all probability, however, it ranges along the eastern and over the whole of the northern portion of Australia. Mr. Gilbert’s notes inform me that he found it “tolerably abundant on the islands at the head of Van Diemen’s Gulf, where it inhabits the long grass or rushes growing in or adjacent to the swamps; it is so shy that it is very rarely seen; when closely hunted it takes wing, but flying appears to be a difficult action at all times; at least I have never seen it sustain a flight of more than a hundred yards at the utmost, and even in that short distance it seemed ready to sink into the grass with fatigue. The only note I have heard it emit is a harsh and rapidly repeated _chutch_. The stomachs of those I dissected were extremely muscular, and contained the remains of insects of various kinds and what appeared to be vegetable fibres.”

General plumage pale brown, deepening into rufous on the crown of the head and fading into dull white on the throat and centre of the abdomen; all the feathers of the upper surface with blackish brown centres; secondaries blackish brown, broadly margined with pale brown; tail pale brown, crossed with indistinct bars of a darker tint; irides light brown; upper mandible olive-brown, the cutting edges light yellowish white; lower mandible bluish white; tarsi and feet light reddish flesh-colour.

The figures are of the natural size.

SPHENŒACUS GRAMINEUS: _Gould_.

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

SPHENŒACUS GRAMINEUS, _Gould_.
Grass-loving Sphenœacus.

_Sphenœacus gramineus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p.
19.

Although the present species is very generally dispersed over the whole of the southern portions of Australia and Van Diemen’s Land in all situations suitable to its habits, it is as little known to the colonists as if it were not in existence, which is readily accounted for by its recluse nature and the localities it frequents, the thick beds of grasses, rushes and other kinds of herbage growing in low, damp and wet places on the mainland, and on such islands as those of Green and Actæeon in D’Entrecasteaux’ Channel, being its favourite places of resort. As may be supposed, it is a very shy species, and will almost allow itself to be trodden upon before it will quit the place of its concealment; in the open grassy beds of the flats it is more easily driven from its retreat, but even then it merely flies a few yards and then pitches again among the herbage. It would be very interesting to know whether the habits above described accord with those of the other members of the genus _Sphenœacus_, in which, with the concurrence of Mr. Strickland, who instituted it, I have placed the present bird.

Its song consists of four or five plaintively uttered notes, repeated five or six times in succession.

The nest is generally a very compact structure, and in Western Australia is formed of the soft tops of the flowering part of the reeds, and the thin skin-like coating of the reed-stalks, but occasionally of fine swamp-grasses, always lined with feathers; in some instances two large feathers are made to meet over the opening, which is near the top of the nest, and thus protects the inside from cold or rain: it is attached to two or three upright reeds about two feet from the surface of the water. The eggs, which are laid during the months of August and September, are four in number, nearly eight lines long and six lines broad; they are of a fleshy white, freckled and streaked all over, particularly at the larger end, with purplish red; in some instances large obscure blotches of reddish grey appear as beneath the surface of the shell.

The sexes present no difference in size or colour, and there is scarcely any variation in specimens from Van Diemen’s Land, Swan River and New South Wales.

Stripe over the eye white; all the upper surface brown, the centre of the feathers being dark brown; secondaries brownish black, margined with buff; tail pale reddish brown, with dark brown shafts; under surface grey, passing into black on the flanks and vent; each feather of the breast with a very minute line of dark brown down the centre; bill and tarsi fleshy brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACROCEPHALUS AUSTRALIS: _Gould_.

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

ACROCEPHALUS AUSTRALIS, _Gould_.
Reed Warbler.

_Reed Warbler_, Lewin, Birds of New Holland, pl. 18.

This bird does not inhabit Van Diemen’s Land, but is universally dispersed among the sedgy sides of rivers and lagoons, both in South Australia and New South Wales; I also observed it in great abundance on the banks of all the rivers to the northward of Liverpool Plains in all these localities; it is strictly migratory, arriving in September and departing again before the commencement of winter. In its general economy it closely resembles its European congeners, but possesses a still louder and more melodious song, which it is continually pouring forth and which tends much to enliven the monotony of the parts frequented by it. It is rather a late breeder, scarcely ever beginning this natural duty before the month of November. The nest, like that of the Reed Warbler of Europe, is suspended from two or three reeds at about two feet above the surface of the water, and is composed of the soft skins of reeds and dried rushes. The eggs, which are four in number, ten lines long by seven lines broad, are of a greyish white, thickly marked all over with irregular blotches and markings of yellowish brown, umber brown and bluish grey, intermingled together without any appearance of order or arrangement.

The food consists of insects of various kinds.

The sexes are so precisely alike that dissection must be resorted to to distinguish them.

All the upper surface olive-brown; wings and tail brown, margined with olive-brown; all the under surface tawny or deep buff, fading into white on the throat; under mandible fleshy white, remainder of the bill and the legs olive horn-colour; irides brown.

The figure is of the natural size.

ACROCEPHALUS LONGIROSTRIS: _Gould_.

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

ACROCEPHALUS LONGIROSTRIS, _Gould_.
Long-billed Sedge-Warbler.

_Calamoherpe longirostris_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII.
p. 20.

_Gooȑ-jee-gooȑ-jee_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

The present bird, which I have designated _longirostris_, is the largest of the two species of _Acrocephalus_ known to inhabit Australia.

It is a native of the western portion of the country, where I learn from Mr. Gilbert’s notes that “it is to be found in all the dense reed-beds bordering the river and lakes around Perth, but is so shy, particularly the female, that it scarcely ever shows itself above the reeds. I have remarked also that it never wanders many yards from the nest, which is placed on four or five upright reeds growing in the water at about two feet from the surface. It is of a deep cup-shaped form, and is composed of the soft skins of reeds and dried rushes. The breeding-season comprises the months of August and September. The eggs are four in number, of a dull greenish white, blotched all over, but particularly at the larger end, with large and small irregularly shaped patches of olive, some being darker than the others, the lighter-coloured ones appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell; they are three-quarters of an inch in length by five-eighths of an inch in breadth.

“It is almost always singing both night and day, and its song is more beautiful and melodious than that of any other Australian bird with which I am acquainted; being in many parts very like and certainly not inferior to that of the far-famed Nightingale of Europe.

“The stomach is tolerably muscular, and the food consists of coleopterous and other kinds of insects.”

Faint line over the eye fawn-colour; all the upper surface reddish brown, becoming more rufous on the upper tail-coverts; primaries and tail deep brown, fringed with rufous; chin whitish; all the under surface deep fawn-colour; irides yellowish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

HYLACOLA PYRRHOPYGIA:

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

HYLACOLA PYRRHOPYGIA.
Red-rumped Wren.

_Acanthiza pyrrhopygia_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
227.

In some parts of its economy this bird closely resembles the _Maluri_ particularly in the upright position in which it carries its tail, in the quick hopping motion with which it passes over the surface of the ground, and the agility with which it trips along the horizontal branches of the fallen trees. The situations most favourable to its habits are open sterile spots, here and there studded with clumps of brushes or dense herbage. The beds and sides of creeks, as well as the crowns of stony hills, wherever they are scrubby, are also situations favourable to its habits. I have always observed it either in pairs or in small companies, probably the brood of a single pair, whose young accompany them throughout the autumn like the _Maluri_.

Its song, which is by no means disagreeable, is poured forth while the bird is perched upon some conspicuous part of a bush, or some little spray among the branches of the large fallen trees, where it loves to dwell, as on the approach of an intruder it can readily and effectually secrete itself among the high grass and herbage which have grown up amidst the branches. The facility with which it creeps among or threads these little thickets is surprising. It rarely flies, but depends for progression more upon the rapidity with which it can pass over the ground, than upon the feeble powers of its small rounded wing.

This species may be regarded as a bird whose natural habitat is the interior rather than the country near the coast; for although it does occur in some districts of New South Wales on the sea side of the dividing range, it is much more abundant on the northern or interior side in all situations favourable to its existence. I found it on the low bills to the north of the Liverpool Plains, as well as in most parts of South Australia; I believe it is a stationary bird, as it appeared to be equally numerous in summer and winter.

Of its nidification I have nothing to communicate, its nest not having been discovered either by myself or by any of my party.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds, and like many insectivorous birds, I believe it seldom if ever drinks, not even during the greatest droughts.

The sexes present no visible difference in their plumage.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail brown; lower part of the rump and upper tail-coverts chestnut-red; all but the two centre tail-feathers crossed near the tip with a broad band of black, beyond which the tips are greyish white; line over the eye and all the under surface greyish white, each feather of the latter with a line of black down the centre, except on the middle of the abdomen bill dark brown; irides buffy white; legs flesh-brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

HYLACOLA CAUTA: _Gould_.

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

HYLACOLA CAUTA, _Gould_.
Cautious Wren.

_Hylacola cauta_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 135.

The only locality in which I have seen this species is the great scrub clothing the banks of the river Murray in South Australia, where it was not uncommon, but so excessively shy that I obtained a single specimen only during my stay in the district. Its timidity being so great, and its natural habitat the more dense parts of the scrub, it is a species which must for a long time be exceedingly scarce in our collections. The individual killed was fired at within a few yards of where I stood, it being impossible to sight it at a greater distance.

With the exception of its being even more shy, its whole habits and economy appeared to be very similar to those of the preceding species (_H. pyrrhopygia_). It carries its tail perfectly erect, and hops over the ground and threads the bushes with the greatest alacrity; generally keeping among the more dense parts of the low bushes, and only exposing itself on the outermost twigs when desirous of pouring forth its song, which is sweet and harmonious, and by which its presence is more frequently detected than by any other means.

I could neither find the nest and eggs myself nor obtain any information respecting them; but I have no doubt that when discovered the nest will be found to be of a domed form, with a small hole for an entrance, and the eggs very similar to those of the _Maluri_. In size the _H. cauta_ is rather less than the _H. pyrrhopygia_, has the markings of the under surface much bolder, and the chestnut-coloured mark on the rump of a much deeper tint.

Line from the base of the upper mandible along the side of the face and over the eye white; above this a narrow line of black; crown of the head and all the upper surface brown; upper and under tail-coverts bright chestnut; wing-coverts brown, edged with brownish white; primaries brown, with the outer web white at the base, forming a conspicuous spot in the centre of the wing; tail blackish brown, tipped with white; throat striated with black and white, produced by each feather being black down the centre and fringed with white; flanks mottled brown and white; abdomen white; hill dark brown; irides buffy white; feet flesh-brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA MAGNA: _Gould_.

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

CYSTICOLA MAGNA, _Gould_.
_Cysticola campestris_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p. 20.

I am indebted to the kindness of Hugh E. Strickland, Esq., for the loan of a fine example of this bird for the purpose of figuring in the present work. It is one of the largest species of the group, and hence I have assigned to it the distinctive appellation of _magna_. Nothing whatever is known of its habits and manners, but we may reasonably infer that they are very similar to those of its congeners. The precise locality it inhabits is also unknown; Mr. Strickland having obtained it from a general collection of Australian birds, without the situation in which it had been procured being attached to it.

Head rusty red; back and wing-coverts brownish grey; all the feathers of the upper surface with a broad stripe of dark brown down the centre; wings blackish brown, the primaries margined externally with rusty red and the secondaries edged all round with brownish grey; tail reddish brown, all but the two centre feathers with a large spot of black near the tip; all the under surface pale buff.

The Plate represents the bird of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA EXILIS.

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

CYSTICOLA EXILIS.
Exile Warbler.

_Exile Warbler_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 136.

_Malurus exilis_, Lath. MSS. Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 223.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 279.

This species appears to have been first noticed by Latham in the seventh volume of his “General History of Birds” under the title of Exile Warbler, and to have been subsequently placed in the genus _Cysticola_ by Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield while engaged in naming the collection of Australian birds in the possession of the Linnean Society. Its natural habitat is New South Wales and South Australia, in both of which colonies I observed it to be abundantly dispersed among the thick beds of grasses which clothe the valleys and open plains. I have never received it from either of the other colonies, all of which, however, are inhabited by nearly allied species. It is very retiring in its habits, generally creeping about among the grasses, and will almost admit of being trodden upon before it will rise and take wing; during the months of spring the male becomes somewhat bolder, and early in the morning will frequently perch on the highest of the grasses and pour forth a pretty but feeble song, resembling that of the _Maluri_. As some confusion existed respecting the sexes of the various species of this genus, I was particular in dissecting all the individuals I shot, and I can therefore state with certainty that the plumage of both sexes of this species is perfectly similar and that the only outward difference between them consists in the female being somewhat smaller than her mate.

I was not able to discover the nest and eggs of this little bird, which doubtless breeds among the grasses, and builds a dome-shaped nest similar to that of its European ally.

Crown of the head, back, wing-coverts, scapularies and tail-feathers brownish black, each feather narrowly margined with buff; sides and back of the neck and all the under surface sandy buff, fading into white on the throat and centre of the abdomen; bill and feet flesh-brown.

The figure represents the bird of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA LINEACAPILLA: _Gould_.

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

CYSTICOLA LINEOCAPILLA, _Gould_.
Lineated Warbler.

_Cysticola lineocapilla_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Jan. 27, 1847.

The _Cysticola lineocapilla_ is a much smaller and more delicately formed species than the _C. exilis_, and may, moreover, be distinguished from that and every other member of the genus with which I am acquainted by the lineated form of the markings of the head. It is a native of the north coast of Australia, and all the specimens I have seen were from the neighbourhood of Port Essington. Mr. Gilbert states that it “is very rarely seen in consequence of its generally inhabiting the long grass of the swamps, where it creeps about more like a mouse than a bird, and if once alarmed it is no easy task to get a sight of it again; its note is a short and feeble, but very pleasing song.

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

General plumage pale rufous, with broad and conspicuous striæ of blackish brown forming lines down the centre of the feathers of the head and back; the under surface fading into white on the throat and centre of the chest; tail-feathers with a conspicuous blackish spot on the under surface near the tip; irides light reddish brown; bill and feet flesh-brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA ISURA: _Gould_.

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

CYSTICOLA ISURA, _Gould_.
Square-tailed Warbler.

_Cysticola isura_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XV.

Little as is the information I have been able to give respecting the _C. ruficeps_, I have still less to communicate about the present species, circumstances not having admitted of my seeing them in a state of nature: at a first glance it might readily be mistaken for the _C. exilis_, but after a careful examination of many specimens I am satisfied of its being distinct; had it been identical with that species, I must have procured specimens at the same time that I killed the many examples I obtained. I am not so sure however that it may not prove to be the female, or some peculiar state of plumage of the _Cysticola ruficeps_; without a further knowledge of the subject, I can only view it as distinct from both, and I have therefore assigned to it the specific appellation of _isura_, as indicative of the shorter and more truncated form of its tail, the principal character by which it may be distinguished. Like the other species of the group, it appears to enjoy an extensive range over the grassy districts of the country, the specimens in my possession having been killed on the Liverpool Plains and at Port Phillip; the arid and sterile nature of the country seems to be peculiarly adapted to the members of this group, and hence there are many species.

Sides and back of the neck and rump pale rufous; crown of the head, back and secondaries deep brownish black, each feather margined with buff; tail dark brown margined with buff, and crossed on the under side near the tip with a broad conspicuous band of black; under surface deep buff, becoming paler on the chin and centre of the abdomen; bill brown; feet yellowish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA RUFICEPS: _Gould_.

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

CYSTICOLA RUFICEPS, _Gould_.
Rufous-headed Warbler.

_Cysticola ruficeps_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 150;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

It would give me great pleasure could I communicate any particulars respecting this pretty little bird, but this unfortunately I am unable to do, no information of any kind having as yet reached me; I can only say therefore that I possess three examples, one from the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales, another from the district of Port Philip, and a third from the north coast, which proves that it enjoys a widely extended range of habitat. The uniform rufous colouring of the head and occiput at once distinguishes it from all the other Australian members of the genus. In its habits, manners and general economy it doubtless closely assimilates to its congeners the _C. exilis_ and _lineocapilla_, and like them inhabits the open grassy glades between the forests, the grassy crowns of thinly-timbered hills, and all similar situations.

Crown of the head, and back of the neck, rump, chest, flanks and thighs delicate fawn-colour, becoming deeper and redder on the crown and the rump; upper part of the back, secondaries and tail deep brownish black, each feather margined all round with buff; throat and centre of the abdomen white; bill brown; feet yellowish brown.

The Plate represents the birds of the natural size on one of the plants of New South Wales.

SERICORNIS CITREOGULARIS: _Gould_.

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

SERICORNIS CITREOGULARIS, _Gould_.
Yellow-throated Sericornis.

_Sericornis citreogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p.
133; and in Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This is the largest and most attractive species of the genus yet discovered, and so far as I am aware, its habitat is restricted to the south-eastern portions of Australia, where it dwells exclusively in the districts known by the name of “brushes.” I personally observed it in those of Illawarra, and of the Hunter, and in the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range. It frequents the most retired parts of the forest, living in gullies and under the canopy of lofty trees, hopping about among the stems of the tree-fern, fallen trunks of patriarchal gums and moss-covered stones. It rarely flies, and when disturbed, seeks seclusion and safety by hopping away among the underwood. Its food, which consists of insects of various kinds, is obtained on the ground or among the trunks of the prostrate trees, over which and the large stones it passes with much ease and agility.

The sexes are very similar in colour, but the female may at all times be distinguished by her smaller size and the less strongly contrasted tints of her plumage, particularly in the hue of the streak running through the eye and extending over the ear-coverts, which is neither so dark nor so broad as in the male.

One of the most interesting points connected with the history of this species is the situations chosen for its nest. All those who have rambled in the Australian forests must have observed, that in their more dense and humid parts an atmosphere peculiarly adapted for the rapid and abundant growth of mosses of various kinds is generated, and that these mosses not only grow upon the trunks of decayed trees, but are often accumulated in large masses at the extremities of the drooping branches; these masses often become of sufficient size to admit of the bird constructing a nest in the centre of them with so much art that it is impossible to distinguish it from any of the other pendulous masses in the vicinity. These bunches are frequently a yard in length, and in some instances hang so near the ground as to strike the head of the explorer during his rambles; in others they are placed high up upon the trees, but only in such parts of the forest where there is an open space entirely shaded by overhanging foliage: as will be readily conceived, in whatever situations they are met with, they at all times form a remarkable and conspicuous feature in the landscape. Although the nest is constantly disturbed by the wind and liable to be shaken when the tree is disturbed, so secure does the inmate consider itself from danger or intrusion of any kind, that I have frequently captured the female while sitting on her eggs, a feat that may always be accomplished by carefully placing the hand over the entrance; that is, if it can be detected, to effect which no slight degree of close prying and examination is necessary.

The nest is formed of the inner bark of trees, intermingled with green moss, which soon vegetates; sometimes dried grasses and fibrous roots form part of the materials of which it is composed, and it is warmly lined with feathers. The eggs, which are three in number and much elongated in form, vary considerably in colour, the most constant tint being a clove-brown freckled over the larger end with dark umber brown, frequently assuming the form of a complete band or zone: their medium length is one inch, and their breadth eight lines.

Lores, circle around the eye, and the ear-coverts deep black; a conspicuous line of yellowish white above and for some distance beyond the eye; crown of the head, and all the upper surface, secondaries, wing-coverts and tail reddish brown, becoming more rufous on the upper tail-coverts and tail; outer edges of the primaries olive; spurious wing blackish brown; throat yellow; chest and flanks olive-brown; centre of the abdomen white; bill brownish black; irides reddish brown; legs purplish flesh-colour, in some specimens flesh-white.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

SERICORNIS HUMILIS: _Gould_.

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

SERICORNIS HUMILIS, _Gould_.
Sombre-coloured Sericornis.

_Sericornis humilis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 133;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This species is very generally dispersed over Van Diemen’s Land, and as I have found it on some of the islands in Bass’s Straits, it is not improbable that it may also extend its range to the southern coast of the continent of Australia. Ravines, deep glens, water-courses covered with dense herbage and thickly wooded copses are the situations congenial to the habits of this bird; those that are most humid or damp being apparently preferred to any other; consequently, although it is very abundant and its distribution very general, it is a bird that is less seen, and one whose habits are less known than almost any other of the indigenous birds of the island. In many of its actions it closely resembles the Wren (_Troglodytes Europæus_), particularly in its manner of hopping about on the ground, and from stone to stone, with its tail erect in search of insects, upon which it solely subsists; it also assimilates to the Wren in the form, construction and situation of its nest; but in the number and colour of its eggs there is much difference. It rarely flies more than a few yards at a time, but secretes itself in the midst of the little thicket in which it has taken up its abode. There is little difficulty in finding the nest; for although it is in general very artfully concealed among the herbage at the base of a tree, on the edge of a shelving bank, or among the thick tangle of the scrub, yet by attentively watching the old birds for a short time, they will soon indicate by their actions the immediate locality of the nest. The male constantly cheers his mate with a pretty lively song, which, although neither loud nor voluminous, serves to give life to its secluded abode, which in many instances is in the depths of the forests, where few sounds are heard except the monotonous note of the Honey-sucker, and the perpetual rippling of the rivulet as it steals over the stony bed of the gully. It is sometimes seen, particularly towards evening, to leave its lurking-place and seek any little open part or glade in the forest, doubtless attracted to such situations in search of food.

The sexes present no difference whatever in the colouring of the plumage, consequently dissection is necessary to distinguish them.

The nest is of rather a large size and of a domed form, outwardly composed of any coarse materials at hand, such as leaves, tufts of grass, roots, &c., the interior being formed of similar substances, but of a finer kind, and the whole carefully lined with feathers. The eggs, which are large for the size of the bird, are three in number, of a reddish white, curiously freckled and marked all over with reddish brown, particularly at the larger end, where the markings assume the form of a zone; they are ten and a half lines long by eight lines broad.

Lores blackish brown, above which an obscure stripe of white; crown of the head and all the upper surface, wings and tail dark olive-brown with a tinge of red, which becomes more conspicuous on the rump and tail-feathers; spurious wing blackish brown, each feather margined with white; throat greyish white, spotted with blackish brown; chest and centre of the abdomen brownish yellow, the former singularly but more obscurely spotted than the throat; flanks chestnut-brown; bill blackish brown; legs dark brown; irides straw-yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

SERICORNIS OSCULANS: _Gould_.

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

SERICORNIS OSCULANS, _Gould_.
Allied Sericornis.

_Sericornis osculans_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 27, 1847.

The _Sericornis osculans_ inhabits South Australia, where it frequents underwoods and scrubby places, the bottom of dry water-courses, gulleys, &c.; it is naturally shy and retiring in its habits, and evades pursuit by creeping beneath the herbage and making its exit on the other side. It is most nearly allied to the _S. frontalis_, and is intermediate in size between that species and the _S. humilis_; from the former it differs in having at all times numerous longitudinal blotches of black on the throat, and from the latter in these spots being much more distinct than in that species. I have seen specimens in which the yellow tint which pervades the centre of the abdomen has given place to grey or greyish white, as shown in the centre figure of the accompanying Plate; but I have never found the tail tipped with white, as in _S. maculata_ and _S. lævigaster_.

The sexes present the usual characteristic of the genus, in the absence of any black mark on the lores of the female, which are similar to the other parts of the body.

All the upper surface, wings and tail dark brown, all but the two centre feathers of the latter crossed by an obscure band of black near the extremity; spurious wing-feathers black, margined with white; lores black, above which on each side a patch of white, continued in a fine line over the eye; throat and centre of the abdomen greyish white in some and yellowish white in others, marked with a few oblong black spots on the throat.

The female is somewhat smaller in size, and has the lores brown instead of black.

The figures represent two males and a female of the natural size, the upper figure being that of the female.

SERICORNIS FRONTALIS.

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

SERICORNIS FRONTALIS.
White-fronted Sericornis.

_Acanthiza frontalis_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
226.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Sericornis parvulus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 134;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV. female.

This little bird inhabits the brushes, as well as all humid situations clothed with thick underwood, such as the sides of creeks, gullies, &c. The locality in which it is most abundant is the south-eastern part of Australia, where it is very numerous in all the dense forests which stretch along the coast between Sydney and Moreton Bay, and I believe I may safely state that its range does not extend westward of the 134th degree of East longitude, beyond which a nearly-allied species is found; the species, therefore, inosculate about Spencer’s and St. Vincent’s Gulfs in South Australia. Like the other members of the genus this bird generally bops about the bottoms of the brushes, selecting in preference the most damp and humid parts, where rotten wood and moss-covered stones afford some peculiar species of insect food, upon which it is destined to live. All the members of this genus are very Wren-like in their habits, actions, the kind of food they select, and in the structure of their nest. The present is one of the smallest yet discovered, and was always a favourite little bird with me, for in the inmost recesses of the forest, where all nature was hushed to quietude, and silence reigned supreme, the presence of the little bird figured in the accompanying Plate, hopping about from stone to stone in search of its insect food, now and then broke the monotony of the scene with its inward warbling strain, which however is so feeble, that it can only be heard when uttered close at hand.

The sexes present so little difference in colour that they cannot be distinguished with certainty; the female is somewhat the smaller. The young birds differ from the adult in having a few faint spots on the throat, but which are entirely lost as they advance in age.

The nest of this species, which, as I have before remarked, is very like that of the European Wren (_Troglodytes Europæus_), is made of leaves, moss and fibrous roots, and lined with feathers; its site is various, being sometimes under the shelving of a bank, and at others at the foot of a tuft of grass or herbage, beneath a stone, &c.; it is quite spherical in form, with a small neatly-made hole for an entrance. The breeding-season includes August, and the three or four following months, during which period two or three broods are usually reared. The eggs, which are generally three in number, are of a dull flesh-white, freckled and streaked with purplish brown, particularly at the larger end; their medium length is ten lines and breadth seven and a half lines.

Centre of the forehead, lores, and a line beneath the eye black; over the eye a line of greyish white; crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown; wing-coverts tipped with white; spurious wing blackish brown; throat white, striated with black; centre of the chest and abdomen citron-yellow; flanks olive-brown; bill blackish brown; feet yellowish white.

The Plate represents the male and female of the natural size. The very pretty plant was gathered in the brushes of Illawarra, where the birds are tolerably numerous.

SERICORNIS LÆVIGASTER: _Gould_.

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

SERICORNIS LÆVIGASTER, _Gould_.
Buff-breasted Sericornis.

_Sericornis lævigaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 27,
1847.

This species, although nearly allied to the _S. maculata_, is distinguished by the entire absence of spots on the throat and chest, and by having the tail-feathers largely tipped with white.

The male and female in my collection, and which are represented on the accompanying Plate, are part of the results of Dr. Leichardt’s overland expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, they having been killed by Mr. Gilbert on the 30th of November 1844; but no information whatever is to be found respecting them in his Journal.

All the upper surface brown; tail deepening into black near the extremity and tipped with white; spurious wing-feathers dark brown, margined with white on their inner webs; lores and mark under the eye brownish black; above the eye an indistinct line of white; all the under surface washed with yellowish buff; irides greenish white.