Chapter IV: Part 4

The female presents the usual differences, being somewhat smaller in size and wanting the black mark on the lores.

The figures are of the natural size.

SERICORNIS MACULATA: _Gould_.

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

SERICORNIS MACULATUS, _Gould_.
Spotted Sericornis.

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

_Goor-gal_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

The present bird, to which I have assigned the specific term of _maculatus_ has always been a source of perplexity to me, from the circumstance of its varying considerably in its markings; after mature consideration, however, I am induced to regard the specimens from South Australia, Western Australia and the north coast as referable to one and the same species, each however possessing trivial differences by which it may be known from whence it was received. Specimens from the Houtman’s Abrolhos are of a rather smaller size, of a much greyer tint on the back, and have much darker-coloured legs. I believe that the bright yellow wash on the under surface of some individuals is characteristic of newly moulted or young birds: in this species, not only is the throat spotted with black, but the spotting extends over the chest and some distance down the flanks; it has at all times the tail tipped with white, a character which serves at once to distinguish it from _S. osculans_ and _S. frontalis_. Scrubby places, and ravines covered with dense herbage, whether in sterile or humid situations, are its favourite resort. It has the same shy disposition and retiring habits as the other members of the genus, depending for safety rather upon its creeping, mouse-like habits than upon its powers of flight, which are indeed seldom resorted to.

Its note is a harsh, grating kind of twitter, often repeated.

The nest is a warm, dome-shaped structure, formed of leaves and grasses, and lined with feathers; the eggs are reddish white, minutely freckled and streaked with reddish brown, particularly at the larger end; they are three in number, nine lines long by seven lines broad.

All the upper surface, wings and tail brown; the latter crossed near the tip with a broad band of blackish brown, and the outer feathers slightly tipped with white; forehead and lores deep black; stripe above and a small patch below the eye white; spurious wing-feathers black, margined on their inner web with white; under surface in some specimens greyish white, in others washed with yellow; the feathers of the throat and chest spotted with black on a light ground; irides greenish white.

The female is somewhat smaller than her mate, and has the lores brown instead of black; in other respects her plumage is very similar to that of the male.

The upper figure in the accompanying Plate represents a female, and the lower probably a young male; the figures are of the natural size, from specimens killed in Southern and Western Australia.

ACANTHIZA MAGNIROSTRIS: _Gould_.

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

SERICORNIS MAGNIROSTRIS, _Gould_.
Large-billed Sericornis.

_Acanthiza magnirostra_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 146;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

The _Sericornis magnirostris_ an inhabitant of the brushes of New South Wales, both those which clothe the gullies and sides of the mountain ranges of the interior, as well as those near the coast; such as occur at Illawarra and on the banks of the Hunter, the Clarence, the Macleay and other rivers; it is never seen in the open country, and so far as I am aware, is entirely confined to New South Wales. Although it has nothing either in its form or colouring to recommend it to notice, it must always be an object of interest, from the very singular nest it constructs, and which, like that of _Sericornis citreogularis_, forms a remarkable object in the scenery of the portion of the country it inhabits. It is formed of a large loose mass of moss, and being attached to the extreme tips of the pendent branches, waves about with every wind that blows; it is very frequently constructed within reach of the hand, but is more often suspended at about ten, and sometimes as high as thirty feet from the ground; occasionally two or three are constructed together under a dense canopy of foliage, overhanging water or a deep and gloomy gully, and then present a very singular appearance. I procured several examples by shooting the branch asunder just above the nest. The nest so perfectly resembles the tufts of living moss which are attached to many of the extremities of the branches of the trees of the brushes, that it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other; and it is a question whether the bird purposely builds its nest in imitation of these hanging masses in order to elude pursuit, or whether it avails itself of the mass already formed, and by a little architectural skill converts it into a receptacle for its eggs. It would seem that the same nest is resorted to for several seasons in succession, and probably for a series of years; the entire mass consists of living moss, and the small hole left for an entrance is so skilfully concealed as scarcely to admit of detection. The breeding-season commences in August and continues until February, during which period many broods are reared. I procured a nest in September out of which flew three young birds, and others during the same month which contained eggs so recently laid that they could scarcely have been sat upon. The eggs are generally two or three in number; their ground-colour varies from bluish white to dull reddish white, with the larger end sparingly washed, freckled and streaked with dark brown; they are large for the size of the bird, being nine and a half lines long by seven lines broad.

It is a very active but shy bird, keeping much among the branches of the high trees, where it gains a plentiful supply of insect food; it may, however, be easily enticed into view by imitating the squeak of its young.

Its powers of song are very feeble.

The sexes do not differ in external appearance, nor do the young when fully fledged offer any variation in colour from the adult.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown, the forehead and tail becoming rufous brown; throat and chest brownish white; abdomen greyish white, passing into bright olive-green on the lower part of the flanks; bill black; feet light brown; irides brown.

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

ACANTHIZA PUSILLA.

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

ACANTHIZA PUSILLA.
Little Brown Acanthiza.

_Sylvia pusilla_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lvi.

_Motacilla pusilla_, White’s Journ., pl. in p. 257.

_Bec-fin_, Temm. Man. d’Orn. 2nd edit., tom. i. p. lxviii.

_Dwarf Warbler_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 251.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. x. p. 647.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 134.

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

The present bird is very generally dispersed over New South Wales, where it inhabits the brushes, thickets and gardens. It is most nearly allied to the _A. Diemenensis_, but may be distinguished from that species by its more diminutive size, by its much shorter bill and smaller tail. It is an active prying little bird, and spends much of its time amid the smaller leafy branches of the trees, from among which it collects its insect food: the tail is generally carried above the line of the body. The nest is of a dome-shaped form and is constructed of fine dried grasses and hairy fibres of bark, intermingled and bound together with the hairy cocoons of a species of Lepidopterous insect, and lined with feathers. The eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful pearly white, sprinkled and spotted with fine specks of reddish brown, forming in some instances a zone near the larger end; their medium length is eight lines and a half by six lines in breadth.

The sexes are so precisely similar in outward appearance, that dissection must be resorted to to distinguish the one from the other.

Forehead buff, each feather edged with brown; all the upper surface and wings brown, tinged with olive; tail reddish olive, crossed near the tip by a narrow band of black; throat and chest greyish white, each feather margined with black, giving that part a mottled appearance; flanks, abdomen and under tail-coverts buff; irides brownish red; bill dark brown; feet brown.

The Plate represents two individuals of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA DIEMENENSIS: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHIZA DIEMENENSIS, _Gould_.
Tasmanian Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza Diemenensis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 146;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Brown-tail_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

I believe this species, like the _Acanthiza Ewingii_, to be peculiar to Van Diemen’s Land, over the whole of which country it is rather numerously dispersed, and where it inhabits forests and open woodlands, but evinces a preference to low and shrub-like trees rather than to those of a higher growth. It also frequents the gardens and shrubberies of the colonists; it is consequently one of the commonest and one of the best known birds of the island. Active and sprightly in its actions, it prys about the foliage with the most scrutinizing care in search of insects and their larvæ, which constitute its sole food. It frequently utters a rather loud harsh note, which is sometimes changed for a more full and clear strain; still its vocal powers are by no means conspicuous. It has a much more lengthened bill, and is altogether a larger bird than the _Acanthiza pusilla_, whose habitat seems restricted to the south-eastern portion of the Australian continent. The plumage of the sexes is alike, and their size and general appearance so similar, that without the aid of dissection it is impossible to distinguish them. The nest of this little bird, which is usually built in a low shrub, is rather a dense structure, being formed of grasses, fibrous roots and the inner bark of trees, warmly lined with feathers; it is of a globular form, with a small hole in the side near the top for an entrance, and is very similar in appearance to that of the Common Wren, _Troglodytes Europæus_. The eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful pearly bluish white, sprinkled and spotted with reddish brown. In some instances the spots form a zone round the larger end. The medium length of the eggs is eight lines and a half, and breadth six lines.

Independently of the task of incubating its own offspring, this species very frequently has to perform the additional labour of hatching and rearing the young of the Bronze Cuckoo (_Chalcites lucidus_), whose single egg or young is often found in the nest. It is a very early breeder, commencing in August and continuing until January, during which period two or three broods are generally reared by each pair.

Forehead rufous brown, each feather with a crescent-shaped mark of bright buff near its extremity and tipped with blackish brown; all the upper surface and wings deep olive-brown; upper tail-coverts reddish brown; tail olive-brown, crossed by a band of blackish brown; cheeks, throat and chest greyish white, each feather margined with a broken line of deep brown; abdomen and under tail-coverts greyish white, tinged with rufous, which is deepest on the flanks and under tail-coverts; bill dark brown; irides lake-red; feet brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA EWINGII: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHIZA EWINGII, _Gould_.
Ewing’s Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza Ewingii_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., August 13, 1844.

This species of _Acanthiza_ is a native of Van Diemen’s Land, and has been named after the Reverend Thomas James Ewing, a gentleman ardently attached to the study of Natural History, and a sincere friend to all who have the advantage of his acquaintance. That there were two nearly allied species of this genus inhabiting Van Diemen’s Land was an opinion I had entertained before my visit to that country, and I have since ascertained that this opinion was a correct one, although I did not reside there long enough to ascertain what difference may exist in the habits and economy of the two birds.

The _Acanthiza Ewingii_ is more elegant in all its proportions than its near ally, the _Acanthiza Diemenensis_, for although it is a smaller bird, its tarsi are longer and more slender. There is also a rich brown mark at the base of the primaries of _A. Ewingii_, which does not occur in any other known species; the markings of the breast also are more indistinct and clouded with blue-grey, while in _A. Diemenensis_ this part of the plumage is lighter and more inclined to brown. I have never seen this little bird on the continent of Australia, and I believe that it never occurs there.

Crown of the head light brown; all the upper surface brownish olive; wings dark brown; primaries margined at the base with sandy buff; tail rich brown, crossed by a broad band of black near the tip; the lateral feathers tipped with white; throat speckled black and white; under surface pale olive; irides dark brown; bill and feet brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA UROPYGIALIS: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHIZA UROPYGIALIS, _Gould_.
Chestnut-rumped Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza uropygialis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 146;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

I received this new and well-marked species from New South Wales, with the belief that it had been collected either on the Liverpool Plains or the country immediately to the northward of them; but as there is some degree of uncertainty as to the locality in which it was procured, a knowledge of its true habitat would be very desirable, and I should have been happy to have cleared up this point had it been in my power so to do.

The chestnut colour pervading the basal half of the tail and the tail-coverts forms a very conspicuous mark, and presents a strong contrast to the remainder of the plumage. That its habits, actions and economy are very similar to those of the other members of the genus there can be no doubt, but on these points also I am compelled to silence, no notes of any kind having been sent with the specimens.

Head, upper surface and wings brown, slightly tinged with olive; the feather on the forehead tipped with a lighter colour; rump and upper tail-coverts rich reddish chestnut; tail-feathers brownish black, largely tipped with white, which on the two centre feathers is tinged with brown; throat, chest, and centre of the abdomen greyish white; flanks and under tail-coverts buffy white; bill and feet black.

The Plate represents the bird, which I believe to be a male, in two different positions.

ACANTHIZA APICALIS: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHIZA APICALIS, _Gould_.
Western Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza apicalis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., March, 1847.

_Djool-be-djoȍl-bung_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

_Wren_, Colonists of Swan River.

This species, which is a native of Western Australia, is distinguished from those immediately allied to it—_A. Diemenensis_, _pusilla_ and _Ewingii_—by its large size, by its larger and rounder tail, by the broad and distinct band of black which crosses the tail-feathers near their extremities, and by their being largely tipped with white.

It occurs in great abundance in the colony of Western Australia, both at Swan River and King George’s Sound, and is to be met with in all wooded situations. Like the other members of the genus, it is active and sprightly in its actions, leaping about from branch to branch with its tail erect, and often repeating a note which very much resembles the syllables _Gee-wo-wut_. Its stomach is somewhat muscular, and the food consists of small insects of various kinds.

It breeds in September and October. The nest, which is usually placed in a thickly-foliaged bush, or in a clump of the Tea-tree, is of a domed form, with the entrance in the side, and is composed of dried grasses and strips of Tea-tree bark, and lined with feathers. The eggs are from three to five in number, of a flesh-white, thickly freckled with reddish chestnut, the freckles becoming so numerous at the larger end as to form a complete zone; their medium length is eight lines, and breadth six lines.

The sexes are alike in plumage, but the female is somewhat smaller than her mate.

Feathers of the forehead deep buff, edged with dark brown; all the upper surface, wings and tail light olive-brown; tail crossed with a broad and distinct band of brownish black near the extremity, and largely tipped with white; upper tail-coverts tinged with rufous; throat and chest greyish tail-coverts pale buff; white, each feather margined with black, giving that part a mottled appearance; flanks, abdomen and under irides light red; bill, legs and feet dark brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA PYRRHOPYGIA: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHIZA PYRRHOPYGIA, _Gould_.
Red-rumped Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza pyrrhopygia_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., 1847.

This species differs from the _Acanthizæ Diemenensis_, _pusilla_, _Ewingii_, and _apicalis_, in having a shorter and more robust bill, and in the greater depth of the red colouring on the rump and upper tail-coverts; it also differs from the three former in having the tail tipped with white, in which respect it assimilates to the _A. apicalis_ and _A. uropygialis_, to the former of which it is most nearly allied.

I discovered this species in the Belts of the Murray, where it inhabits the small shrubby trees; upon first seeing it, I at once perceived that it was a distinct species by the red colouring of the rump, which showed very conspicuously at the distance of several yards, and also by the peculiarity of its note. In its actions it very closely assimilates to the other members of the genus, being an alert and quick little bird, carrying its tail above the level of the back, and showing the red colouring of the coverts to the greatest advantage. I succeeded in killing both sexes, and found that they exhibit no outward difference, and are only to be distinguished with certainty by dissection.

All the upper surface and wings olive-brown, the feathers of the forehead margined with buff; wings brown with pale edges; throat white, each feather margined with black; abdomen whitish; flanks pale buff; upper tail-coverts rufous; tail olive, crossed by a broad band of black, and tipped on the outer webs with pale olive, on the inner webs with white; bill blackish brown, under mandible somewhat lighter; feet brown; irides reddish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA INORNATA: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHIZA INORNATA, _Gould_.
Plain-coloured Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza inornata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 171.

_Djo-b̏ul-djo-b̏ul_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

Although neither elegant in form nor characterized by any beauty of plumage, the present little bird demands as much of our attention as any other species of the group. Its true habitat seems to be the south-western parts of Australia, for it is numerously dispersed over the colony of Swan River; it is equally abundant at King George’s Sound; and as I killed specimens on the small low islands at the mouths of Spencer’s and St. Vincent’s Gulfs, it is most probable that its range extends all along the coast between those localities. Independently of its plainer colouring, the truncated form of its tail serves at once to distinguish it from the _Acanthiza apicalis_, with which it is often seen in company; unlike the latter bird however it does not erect its tail, but carries it in a line with the body.

Its note is a little feeble song somewhat resembling that of the _Maluri_. It feeds solely on minute insects of various kinds, in searching for which it assumes the usual clinging and prying positions of other insectivorous birds which seek their food among the leaves and branches of shrubs and trees.

It breeds in November; the nest, which is of a domed form, being placed in some low shrub, often in that of the jam-wood, and composed of grasses lined with a few feathers.

The eggs are five in number, and of a white colour, slightly tinged with greenish grey; they measure seven and a half lines long by five and a half lines broad.

No visible difference is observable in the outward appearance of the sexes.

All the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown; primaries dark brown; tail crossed by a broad band of brownish black; all the under surface light buff; irides greenish white; bill and feet black.

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

ACANTHIZA NANA: _Vig. & Horsf._

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

ACANTHIZA NANA, _Vig. & Horsf._
Little Acanthiza.

_Dwarf Warbler_, var. A.? Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 134. No. 161.

_Acanthiza nana_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
226.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 283.

This little bird, which is very generally distributed over the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia, inhabits the extremities of the branches of the various trees, without, so far as I could observe, evincing a partiality for any particular kind; the _Casuarinæ_ on the banks of creeks, the _Eucalypti_ of the plains, and the belts of _Banksiæ_ being equally resorted to by it. Insects of various orders constitute its sole food, and in the capture of these it exhibited many lively and varied actions, which strongly reminded me of those of the _Regulus cristatus_ of our own island: that, like its near allies, it may occasionally resort to the ground for food, I think very likely, yet I do not recollect having seen it in such situations.

The nest is a neat domed structure with a small entrance near the top, and is composed of fine grasses; its site varies according to circumstances, but is generally among the smaller branches of the trees. The number and colour of its eggs are at present unknown.

As its name implies, and as will be seen on reference to the Plate, the _Acanthiza nana_ is one of the more diminutive, although not the least of the Australian birds.

There is no outward difference by which the sexes can be distinguished, neither do they undergo any seasonal change, nor is there any great variation in the colouring of the young and the adult.

All the upper surface bright olive; tail greyish brown tinged with olive, and crossed by a broad band of blackish brown; throat and under surface yellow; irides brown with a very narrow rim of yellowish white; bill and feet blackish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA LINEATA: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHIZA LINEATA, _Gould_.
Striated Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza lineata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 146; and
in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This pretty little species inhabits most of the wooded districts of South Australia, particularly the gullies among the mountain ranges; it is also tolerably abundant among the brushes and trees near the brooks and rivulets of the Liverpool range in New South Wales. It is very active and animated in its actions, clinging and prying about among the branches in search of insects in every possible variety of position. It is a permanent resident in the countries above mentioned, but is not found in Van Diemen’s Land or Western Australia. Unfortunately I did not succeed in procuring its nest, but judging from those of the other members of the genus, it is doubtless of a domed form, with a small hole near the top for an entrance; and though I have never seen the eggs, it may be presumed from analogy that they are either purely white, or white speckled with reddish brown.

Its food consists entirely of insects, which are procured from the leaves and flowers of the various trees.

The sexes can only be distinguished by dissection, for no perceptible difference whatever is observable either in their size or the colouring of their plumage.

This species, the least of the genus to which it belongs, and one of the most diminutive of the Australian birds, may be thus described:—

Crown of the head brownish olive, with a fine line of white down the centre of each feather; back and wings greenish olive; tail the same, crossed by a broad band of brownish black near the tip, beyond which the extremities are brownish grey; throat and chest grey, tinged with olive, the margins of the feathers spotted with dark brown, giving these parts an irregular spotted appearance; bill and feet black; irides brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA REGULOÏDES: _Vig. & Horsf._

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

ACANTHIZA REGULOIDES, _Vig. & Horsf._
Regulus-like Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza Reguloides_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
226.

_Dwarf Warbler_, var. β? Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 135. No.
161.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 283.

Many of the actions of this little bird offer a close resemblance to those of the Yellow-tailed Acanthiza (_A. chrysorrhœa_); like that species, it resorts to the ground for its food; moves about in small flocks of from eight to fifteen in number; when flushed shows the yellow or buff of the rump very conspicuously; always spreads its tail while flying; flits along with a jerking motion, and is very tame. It is extremely common in South Australia, where I observed it in every part of the country I visited, and in New South Wales I even found it in the interior beyond the ranges, and also on the bare ridges between Patrick’s Plains and the Liverpool range. I did not meet with it in Van Diemen’s Land. It evinces a decided preference for the open country or hills slightly covered with brush, where it can feed on the ground and fly to the low shrub-like trees when disturbed; I have also seen it busily engaged among the branches, apparently in search of insects, in the pursuit of which, like the other members of the genus, it displays unusual alertness and address.

Its domed nest is placed among the foliage of the gum, swamp oak and other trees, and is composed of fine grasses interwoven with cobwebs and slightly lined with feathers. The breeding-season comprises the months of September, October and November, and the eggs are four in number.

Crown, back of the neck, upper surface and wings olive-brown, the feathers of the forehead tipped with a lighter colour; rump, upper and under tail-coverts pale ochre; throat and chest white, each feather with a very slight, broken margin of brown; base of all the tail-feathers pale buff, the external margin of the outer feathers and the tips of all brownish buff, the central portion blackish brown; bill brown, the under mandible paler than the upper; feet olive-brown; irides beautiful straw-yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA CHRYSORRHŒA.

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

ACANTHIZA CHRYSORRHŒA.
Yellow-tailed Acanthiza.

_Saxicola chrysorrhœa_, Quoy and Gaim., Voy. de l’Astrolabe, p. 198.
pl. 10. fig. 2.

_Acanthiza chrysorrhœa_, Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Jeȅ-da_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

This well-known species of _Acanthiza_ inhabits Van Diemen’s Land, Western and Southern Australia and New South Wales, in all of which countries it is a permanent resident. It is generally met with in small companies of from six to ten in number, and is so tame that it may be very closely approached before it will rise, and it then merely flies off to a short distance and alights again; during these short flights the yellow of the rump shows very conspicuously.

It commences breeding very early, and rears at least three broods a year. The nest is somewhat carelessly constructed of leaves, grasses, wool, &c., and is of a domed form, with a small hole for an entrance. It would seem that the same nest is resorted to for several succeeding years; but the most curious feature connected with it is, that a small cup-shaped depression or second nest, as it were, is frequently formed on the top or side of the other, and which is said to be either the roosting-place of the male, or where he may sit in order to be in company with the female during the task of nidification. I have myself found many of these double nests, but have not had opportunities for satisfactorily ascertaining the use of the upper one. The bird very readily resorts to the gardens of the settler, and constructs its curious nest in any low shrub. In Van Diemen’s Land one of the trees most frequently selected for the purpose is the prickly _Mimosa_: in Western Australia it is frequently suspended from the overhanging branches of the _Xanthorrhœa_, and in the district of the Upper Hunter upon the apple-trees (_Angophoræ_). The nest varies very much in size, being in some instances considerably larger than the one figured. The eggs are generally of a beautiful uniform flesh-colour, but occasionally they are found sprinkled over with very minute specks of reddish yellow, which in some instances form a zone at the larger end; they are four or five in number, their medium length being nine lines and breadth six lines.

This is one of the species to which the Bronze Cuckoo (_Chalcites lucidus_) delegates the task of rearing its young. I have several times taken the egg of the cuckoo from the nest of this bird and also the young, in which latter case the parasitical bird was the sole occupant.

The song of the _Acanthiza chrysorrhœa_ is extremely pretty, many of its notes closely resembling those of the Goldfinch of Europe (_Carduelis elegans_). Its food consists of small coleopterous and other kinds of insects.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and may be thus described:—

Forehead black, with a spot of white at the tip of each feather; cheeks, throat, and a line from the nostrils over each eye greyish white; chest and under surface yellowish white, passing into light olive-brown on the flanks; upper surface and wings olive-brown; rump and upper tail-coverts bright citron-yellow; base of the tail-feathers white, tinged with yellow; the external margin of the outer feathers and the tips of all brownish grey, the central portion blackish brown; bill and feet blackish brown; irides very light grey.

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

EPTHIANURA ALBIFRONS: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

EPTHIANURA ALBIFRONS.
White-fronted Epthianura.

_Acanthiza albifrons_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 56.
figs. 1 and 2.

I first met with this species in a state of nature on the small islands in Bass’s Straits, where it had evidently been breeding, as I observed several old nests in the Barilla and other stunted bushes which clothe those isolated spots, particularly Chalky and Green Islands, immediately contiguous to Flinders. I did not observe it in Van Diemen’s Land or to the southward of the localities above mentioned. It would appear that it extends over the whole of the southern portion of the Australian continent, as I have specimens in my collection which were killed at Swan River, in South Australia, and in New South Wales: the extent of its range northwards is not known; I have never yet seen examples from the north coast.

It is a most sprightly and active little bird, particularly the male, whose white throat and banded chest render him much more conspicuous than the sombre-coloured female. As the structure of its toes and lengthened tertiaries would lead us to expect, its natural province is the ground, to which it habitually resorts, and decidedly evinces a preference to spots of a sterile and barren character. The male, like many of the Saxicoline birds, frequently perches either on the summit of a stone, or on the extremity of a dead and leafless branch. It is rather shy in its disposition, and when disturbed flies off with considerable rapidity to the distance of two or three hundred yards before it alights again. I observed it in small companies on the plains near Adelaide, over the hard clayey surface of which it tripped with amazing quickness, with a motion that can neither be described as a hop or a run, but something between the two, accompanied by a bobbing action of the tail.

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

The male has the forehead, face, throat and all the under surface pure white; occiput black; chest crossed by a broad crescent of deep black, the points of which run up the sides of the neck and join the black of the occiput; upper surface dark grey, with a patch of dark brown in the centre of each feather; wings dark brown; upper tail-coverts black; two centre tail-feathers dark brown; the remainder dark brown, with a large oblong patch of white on the inner web at the tip; irides, in some, beautiful reddish buff, in others yellow with a slight tinge of red on the outer edge of the pupil; bill and feet black.

The female has the crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail greyish brown, with a slight indication of the oblong white spot on the inner webs of the latter; throat and under surface buffy white; and a slight crescent of black on the chest.

The figures are of the natural size.

EPTHIANURA AURIFRONS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter lithog._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

EPTHIANURA AURIFRONS, _Gould_.
Orange-fronted Epthianura.

_Epthianura aurifrons_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 148;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

As long since as the year 1837 I had the pleasure of characterizing this species at one of the scientific meetings of the Zoological Society of London, from a specimen which had been presented to the Society’s collection by Lieut. Breton, R.N., a gentleman much attached to zoological science, as exemplified by his numerous donations to that Society, and in his “Excursions in New South Wales, Western Australia and Van Diemen’s Land.”

The Orange-fronted Epthianura must be regarded as a bird of the greatest rarity, for the specimen above mentioned is the only one that has ever come under my notice, and in all probability it is quite unique; hence this is another of the birds to which I would wish to direct the attention of residents in New South Wales, particularly those who have an opportunity of visiting the locality in which it was seen by Lieut. Breton, who, when speaking of Gammon Plains, New South Wales, in the work above mentioned, says “we shot also some _Platypi_, and a small bird like a Mule Canary (a species of _Saxicola_); this last is exceedingly rare in the colony, and I am not aware that any other person possesses a specimen; there were only three together, and the natives said they had never seen any before.”

In the lengthened wing, largely developed tertiaries, and in the square form of the tail, it offers a greater alliance to _Epthianura_ than to any other genus, and there I have provisionally placed it; future research, however, and a knowledge of its habits and nidification, will determine the justice of this opinion, or the propriety of separating it into a distinct genus.

Head, upper tail-coverts, sides of the neck, breast and all the under surface fine golden orange, which is richest on the forehead and centre of the abdomen; back olive; wings brown, margined with olive; tail brownish black, each feather except the two middle ones having an oval spot of white on the inner web at the tip; chin and centre of the throat black; bill black; feet brown.

The figure is of the natural size.

EPTHIANURA TRICOLOR: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

EPTHIANURA TRICOLOR, _Gould_.
Tri-coloured Epthianura.

_Epthianura tricolor_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
159.

While traversing, soon after sunrise on the 11th of December 1839, the forest lands near Peel’s River to the eastward of Liverpool Plains, a fine male specimen of this bird attracted my notice by the beauty of its colouring and the sprightliness and activity of its actions, while busily engaged in capturing the small insects that were hovering in the air near the ground. As maybe supposed, the sight of a bird of such beauty, and which, moreover, was entirely new to me, excited so strong a desire to possess it that scarcely a moment elapsed before it was dead and in my hand; I regret to add, however, that neither my travelling companion Natty nor any other person could give me any account of it, since, like myself, they had never seen it before; nor could I during my residence in the colony either see another example or obtain any information on the subject. In a small collection procured for me in South Australia by an intelligent and enthusiastic collector, Mr. Strange, two other specimens occurred which I supposed to be male and female; unfortunately in this instance also they were unaccompanied by any notes of their habits or economy; which are yet to be ascertained, the species being doubtless migratory, and the specimens sent rare visitors from the interior to the part of the country where they were killed; any information respecting this _rara avis_ would therefore be very acceptable.

The male has the crown of the head, upper tail-coverts, breast and abdomen bright scarlet; lores, line above and beneath the eye, ear-coverts, occiput and back dark brown; wings brown, each feather margined with brownish white; tail dark brown, each feather having a large spot of white on the inner web at the tip; chin, throat and under tail-coverts white; irides straw white; bill and feet blackish brown.

The female is similar in colour, but has only a slight wash of the scarlet colouring, except on the upper tail-coverts, where it is as brilliant as in the male.

The figures are of the natural size.

XEROPHILA LEUCOPSIS: _Gould_.

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

XEROPHILA LEUCOPSIS, _Gould_.
White-faced Xerophila.

_Xerophila leucopsis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
175.

As an instance how objects which are rare or from remote localities receive a greater share of attention than those with which we are familiar, I may state that while collections of birds have been transmitted to Europe from the most distant parts of the new colony of South Australia, the present little bird, which inhabits the very streets and gardens of Adelaide, like the sparrow in the towns of Europe, had been up to the period of my visit utterly disregarded; it was too common to be considered worthy of notice. Immediately on my arrival, however, in fact on my way to pay my respects to the Governor, Colonel Gawler, I observed it hopping about the street in numbers, and almost on the very door-step of his Excellency’s residence. Upon my calling his attention to the subject and informing him that it was a bird entirely new to science, he at once gave orders that some specimens should be captured alive, so that when I paid my second visit in the evening this undescribed species was a captive in a cage, by which means I was enabled to examine it more closely than I had before been able to do. I afterwards found it to be tolerably abundant in all parts of the colony I visited, both in the interior and in the neighbourhood of the coast. It was generally met with in small flocks of from six to sixteen in number, and more frequently on the ground than among the trees. It hops over the ground very quickly and appears a busy little bird, prying among the herbage for its food, which principally consists of the seeds of the grasses and small annuals which abound on the plains and low hills of South Australia. In disposition it is so remarkably tame that it will allow of a very near approach before it will rise, and then it merely flies to the nearest bush or low tree.

The male offers no external difference by which it can be distinguished from the female, neither do the young exhibit any contrast to the adults in their plumage; it has in fact little to recommend it to the notice of the general observer either in its colouring or in the quality of its song.

The nest which was kindly forwarded to me by Mr. Strange is of rather a large size, of a domed form, with a hole for an entrance very near the top, and is composed of dried grasses, moss, spiders’ webs, wool, the soft blossoms of plants and dead leaves matted together and warmly lined with feathers; it is about seven inches in height and four inches in diameter. The eggs received with the nest were three in number, of a fleshy white, eight and a half lines long and six lines broad.

Forehead and lores white; upper surface olive-brown; wings and tail brown, the latter passing into black near the extremity, and tipped with white; all the under surface pale buff; bill and feet black; irides light straw-colour.

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

PYRRHOLÆMUS BRUNNEUS: _Gould_.

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

PYRRHOLÆMUS BRUNNEUS, _Gould_.
Brown Red-Throat.

_Pyrrholæmus brunneus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
173.

_Beȑ-rit-beȑ-rit_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

I found this new bird tolerably abundant in the Belts of the Murray, about forty miles to the northward of Lake Alexandrina, where it gave a decided preference to low stunted bushes and fallen trunks of trees overgrown with herbage, under which it secreted itself; it sometimes rose to the top of a bush to sing, pouring forth a melody equal to any of the smaller birds of Australia, which must render it a general favourite when that portion of the country becomes colonized. It passes much of its time on the ground, hopping about with great celerity, and with its tail elevated considerably above the level of its back.

Since I killed my specimens it has been obtained by Mr. Gilbert in Western Australia, from whose notes I learn that it is there an inhabitant of the underwood and the thickest scrub; and that “it possesses a very sweet and melodious song, which it generally utters while perched on the extreme topmost branch of a small scrubby tree, and having repeated it two or three times, dives down into the impenetrable bush. While feeding it utters a weak, piping, call-like note. I never saw it fairly on the wing, for it seems averse to flying, but generally prefers creeping from bush to bush, and even if closely hunted merely flits a few yards. It makes its nest on the ground, precisely like the members of the genus _Calamanthus_. I found a pair building in the month of September; upon visiting the spot again after an interval of a week, the nest appeared finished, being lined with feathers, but there were no eggs; unfortunately from this time the birds deserted the nest; but Mr. Drummond tells me that he once saw the eggs, that they were three in number and of a green colour.”

Lores greyish white; all the upper surface and wings brown; tail brownish black, the three lateral feathers on each side largely tipped with white; centre of the throat rufous; the remainder of the under surface brownish grey, passing into sandy buff on the flanks and under tail-coverts; irides reddish brown, with an outer ring of yellowish white; upper mandible reddish brown; lower mandible greenish white; legs and feet dark greenish grey.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

ORIGMA RUBRICATA.

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

ORIGMA RUBRICATA.
Rock-Warbler.

_Sylvia rubricata_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. li.—Bonn. et Vieill.
Ency. Méth. Orn., part ii. p. 461.

_Ruddy Warbler_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 249.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. x. p. 697.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 138.

_Motacilla solitaria_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 16.

_Solitary Flycatcher_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vi. p. 220.

_Saxicola solitaria_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 236.

_Origma solitaria_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p.
30.

Perhaps no one of the smaller birds of New South Wales has attracted a greater share of the attention of ornithologists than the present; a desire indeed of gaining a more complete knowledge of its habits and manners has been generally expressed. Aware of this fact, I made myself as much acquainted therewith as circumstances would admit; and found that they are very peculiar, and different from those of most other birds. Its usual places of resort are the neighbourhood of water-courses and stony, rocky gullies; so exclusively in fact is it confined to such situations, that it never visits the forests, nor have I ever seen it perching on the branches of the trees; indeed it would seem to have an aversion to so doing, as it does not even resort to them as a resting-place for its nest, but suspends it to the ceilings of caverns and the under surface of overhanging rocks in a manner that is most surprising; the nest, which is of an oblong, globular form, and composed of moss and other similar substances, is suspended by a narrow neck, and presents one of the most singular instances of bird architecture that has yet come under my notice. The breeding-season extends over the months of September, October and November, when it is not unusual to find three or four nests suspended to the ceiling of a small dark cavern. I did not succeed in procuring its eggs.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds.

Its note is a low, squeaking sound, which it utters while hopping about the rocks with its tail raised above the level of the body, after the manner of some of the _Acanthizæ_.

The true habitat of this species is New South Wales, which, so far as I am aware, is its exclusive place of abode; I have never seen it from any of the other colonies: over that part of the country it is very generally distributed wherever situations occur suitable to its habits; the rocky beds of the gullies, both near the coast and among the mountains of the interior, being equally frequented by it, but never in any great numbers. It will be seen that it was one of the birds which excited the notice and interest of Mr. Caley, who, in his “Notes,” says, “_Cataract Bird_; an inhabitant of rocky ground. While at the waterfall of Carrung-gurring, about thirty miles to the southward of Prospect Hill, I saw several of them. I have also seen them in the North Rocks, about a couple of miles from Paramatta, and always upon the rocks. I never observed them in trees or bushes.”

The sexes are precisely similar in their plumage, which may be thus described:—

All the upper surface and wings dull brown; tail brownish black; throat grey; under surface dark rusty red; forehead slightly washed with ferruginous red; irides dark reddish brown; bill and feet brownish black, the former rather lighter than the latter.

The figures are of the natural size.

CALAMANTHUS FULIGINOSUS.

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

CALAMANTHUS FULIGINOSUS.
Striated Reed-Lark.

_Anthus fuliginosus_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 230.

_Praticola fuliginosa_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit.,
p. 27.

This species is very generally dispersed over Van Diemen’s Land, where it frequents open forests and sandy land covered with scrub and dwarf shrub-like trees. It carries its tail erect, like the _Maluri_, but differs from the members of that group in moving that organ in a lateral direction whenever it perches, and at the termination of a succession of hops on the ground, over which it passes with great celerity, depending at all times for safety more on this power than on that of flight. It eludes pursuit by running through a bush to the opposite side, and hopping off to another beyond, which it does quite unseen unless closely watched. It builds a dome-shaped nest, which is placed on the ground, and frequently so hidden by the surrounding grass as to be with great difficulty discovered; a small narrow avenue of a yard in length, like the run of a mouse, being frequently resorted to by the bird, expressly, as one would suppose, to avoid detection. The eggs are three or four in number, rather large and somewhat round in form, of a reddish wood-brown, obscurely clouded with markings of reddish brown, the larger end of the eggs being the darkest; their medium length is ten lines and a half, and breadth eight lines and a half.

The nest is formed of dried grasses and leaves, and is warmly lined with feathers. The breeding-season commences in September and lasts until January.

This species emits so strong an odour, that pointers and other game-dogs stand to it as they do to a quail, and that too at a considerable distance. It possesses a clear and pretty song, which it frequently pours forth while sitting on a bare twig, or the summit of a low bush or shrub among the thickets, to a part of which it dives on the least alarm.

The sexes are precisely similar in colour, and nearly so in size.

All the upper surface olive, with a broad mark of sooty black down the centre of each feather; wings sooty black, narrowly margined with olive; tail olive, all but the two centre feathers crossed near the tip by a broad band of sooty black; line over the eye white; throat greyish white; breast, abdomen and flanks deep buff, each feather of the throat, breast and flanks with a narrow line of sooty black down the centre; irides light sandy buff; bill and feet brownish flesh-colour.

The Plate represents two birds of the natural size; the beautiful rush on which they are figured is very abundant in the immediate vicinity of Hobart Town.

CALAMANTHUS CAMPESTRIS: _Gould_.

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

CALAMANTHUS CAMPESTRIS.
Field Reed-Lark.

_Praticola campestris_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
171.

The _Calamanthus campestris_ is a native of Southern and Western Australia, where it inhabits open plains and scrubby lands, particularly such as are interspersed with tufts of coarse grasses. It has never yet been discovered within the colony of New South Wales. Like its near ally of Van Diemen’s Land it is a rather shy and recluse species, running mouse-like over the ground among the herbage with its tail perfectly erect, and is not easily forced to fly, or even to quit the bush in which it has secreted itself.

Its song is an agreeable and pretty warble, which is poured forth while the bird is perched upon the topmost twig of a small bush.

This species also emits so very powerful an odour, that my dog frequently pointed at it from a very considerable distance.

The food, as ascertained by dissection, was small coleopterous insects, with which its minute stomach was crammed.

The nest, which is placed on the ground, is a globular structure, composed of grasses and feathers. The eggs are three or four in number, of a light chestnut colour, thickly blotched with deep chestnut-brown, particularly at the larger end.

Forehead rufous, passing into the reddish brown of the crown and upper surface, with a stripe of blackish brown down the centre of each feather; wings sandy brown; internal webs of the primaries dark brown; two centre tail-feathers reddish brown, the remainder reddish brown at the base, crossed towards the extremity with a broad band of brownish black and broadly tipped with white; over the eye a line of white; ear-coverts mingled rufous and white; throat white, gradually passing into the buff of the under surface; all the feathers of the under surface with a stripe of brownish black down their centre; bill blackish brown, lighter at the base of the under mandible; irides rufous brown; feet blackish brown.

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

CHTHONICOLA MINIMA.

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

CHTHONICOLA MINIMA.
Little Chthonicola.