Chapter VII: Part 7

The portions of Australia inhabited by this bird are the eastern, northern, and north-western; it is very abundant in all the brushes of the east coast, from the river Hunter to Moreton Bay, and thence round to Torres Straits; it was also found in considerable abundance by His Excellency Governor Grey on the north-west coast. I did not meet with it myself, and I regret to say that no information has yet been obtained respecting its habits and manners. If it be parasitic or not, is a point I would gladly know; it is consequently one of those objects to which I would especially direct the attention of persons residing in the localities frequented by it.

The adult male has the entire plumage deep glossy greenish blue-black, the green tint predominating on the back and wings; irides red; bill yellowish olive; feet purplish black.

The adult female has the head and neck glossy greenish black; back, wings and tail bronzy brown, with numerous oblong spots of white on the back and wing-coverts, the remainder of the wing crossed by irregular bars of white stained with rufous; tail regularly barred with white stained with rufous, and slightly tipped with white; line from the angle of the mouth and all the under surface white stained with buff, spotted with black on the sides of the throat, and crossed on the abdomen and under tail-coverts with narrow irregular lines of blackish brown.

The young has the head and upper surface mingled bronze and buff, disposed in large patches; wing-coverts reddish buff, crossed by narrow bands of brown; remainder of wings and tail bronzy brown, crossed by bands of rufous; under surface rufous, crossed by narrow bars of blackish brown; tail-feathers longer and more pointed than in the adult.

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

CENTROPUS PHASIANUS.

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

CENTROPUS PHASIANUS.
Pheasant Cuckoo.

_Cuculus Phasianus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxx.

_Centropus Phasianus_, Temm. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. lxxiv.—Vig. and
Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 306.

_Polophilus Phasianus_, Leach, Zool. Misc., pl. 46.—Shaw, Gen. Zool.,
vol. ix. p. 48. pl. 11.

_Pheasant Cuckoo_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 137.—Ib. Gen.
Hist., vol. iii. p. 240.

_Polophilus leucogaster_, Leach, Zool. Misc., vol. i. p. 177. pl.
52.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. ix. p. 49. pl. 12.

_New Holland Coucal_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iii. p. 250.

_Polophilus variegatus_, Leach, Zool. Misc., vol. i. pp. 116, 117. pl.
51.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. ix. p. 47. pl. 10.

_Variegated Coucal_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iii. p. 250.

_Centropus variegatus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
306.

_Mun-j̏e-ree-woo_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

Perhaps there is no one group of the Australian Birds less understood than the members of the genus _Centropus_. The numerous examples in my collection I consider to be referable to two, if not to three distinct species, presenting, however, but slight differences from each other. The _Centropus_ inhabiting New South Wales differs from that found at Port Essington in having a much shorter and more arched bill, and in being somewhat smaller in size; specimens from the western coast again differ in being smaller than the bird of New South Wales, in having a more attenuated bill and a more uniform colouring of the tail: having thus pointed out the particulars in which the birds differ from each other, it will only be necessary to figure one of them. The old term of _Phasianus_ should be retained for the New South Wales bird, while that of _macrourus_ might be applied to the one from Port Essington, and _melanurus_ to that from North-Western Australia, should they ultimately prove to be distinct. The greater part then of the coast-line of New South Wales, the eastern, northern and north-western portions of Australia generally are tenanted by _Centropi_, but only in such situations as are favourable to their habits, namely swampy places among the brushes abounding with tall grasses and dense herbage, among which they run with facility, and when necessity prompts, fly to the lower branches of the trees, from which they ascend in a succession of leaps from branch to branch until they nearly reach the top, and then they fly off to a neighbouring tree. The most westerly part of New South Wales in which I have heard of their existence is Illawarra, where they are rather rare, and from whence to Moreton Bay they gradually increase in numbers.

The nest, which is placed in the midst of a tuft of grass, is of a large size, composed of dried grasses, and is of a domed form with two openings, through one of which the head of the female protrudes while sitting, and her tail through the other. At Port Essington the nest is sometimes placed among the lower leaves of the _Pandanus_, but this occurrence seems to be rare; a large tuft of long grass being most frequently selected, as affording a better shelter. The eggs are from three to five in number, nearly round, and of a dirty white, in some instances stained with brown, and with a rather rough surface, somewhat like that of the eggs of the Cormorant; they are about one inch and four lines long by one inch and two lines broad.

By dissection I learn that the males are always smaller than the females; it also appears that when fully adult both sexes are alike in plumage, and have the bill, head, neck and abdomen black, whereas the young has the bill horn-colour, and the same parts which are black in the adult, of a deep brown with a tawny stripe down the centre of each feather.

The adults have all the feathers of the upper and under surface dull black with glossy black shafts; wing-coverts mottled tawny brown and black, each feather with a conspicuous tawny shaft; remainder of the wing rich reddish chestnut crossed with irregular double bars of black, the interstices between which fade into tawny on the outer webs of the primaries; lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts deep green freckled with black; tail dark brown glossed with green, and minutely freckled with rufous and pale tawny, the latter hue assuming the form of irregular and interrupted bars, all but the two centre feathers tipped with white; bill black; feet leaden black, the scales lighter.

The young have all the upper surface reddish brown with glossy conspicuous tawny shafts; the throat and breast tawny with lighter-coloured shafts; in other respects the colouring is similar to the adult, except that the markings of the tail are more distinct.

The eyes of the birds in New South Wales are said to be black, while those of Port Essington are red.

The Plate represents an adult and an immature bird about two-thirds of the natural size.

CLIMACTERIS SCANDENS: _Temm._

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

CLIMACTERIS SCANDENS, _Temm._
Brown Tree-Creeper.

_Buff-winged Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 178.

_Climacteris scandens_, Temm. Pl. Col. 281. fig. 2.—Vig. and Horsf. in
Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 296.

The Brown Tree-Creeper inhabits the whole of the south-eastern portion of the Australian continent, from South Australia to New South Wales. It gives a decided preference to the open thinly-timbered forests of _Eucalypti_, as well as the flats studded with the apple-trees (_Angophoræ_), the bark of which, being rough and uneven, affords numerous retreats for various tribes of insects; its food, however, is not only sought for upon the boles and branches of the trees, but is obtained by penetrating the decayed and hollow parts; and it even dives into the small hollow spouts of the branches in search of spiders, ants, and other insects: although its form would lead to a contrary supposition, it spends much of its time on the ground, under the canopy and near the boles of the larger trees, in a similar pursuit, and also traverses the fallen trunks with a keen and scrutinizing eye. While on the ground it has a pert lively action, passing over the surface in a succession of quick shuffling hops, carrying its head erect with the feathers puffed out, almost in the form of a crest. Among the trees it assumes all the actions of the true Creeper, ascending the upright boles, and traversing with the greatest facility both the upper and under sides of the branches. It never descends with the head downwards, like the members of the genera _Sitta_ and _Sittella_; still I have seen it descend an upright hole for a short distance, by hopping or shuffling backwards, as it were, generally making a spiral course.

It flies with a skimming motion of the wings, during which the brown marking of the primaries is very conspicuous.

Like many other insectivorous birds in Australia, it seldom, if ever, resorts to the water for the purpose of drinking. It has a sharp piercing cry, which is frequently uttered, especially if the tree upon which it is climbing be approached.

The breeding-season commences in August and continues until January. The nest is generally placed deep down in a hollow branch, and those I found were entirely composed of the hair of the Opossum, and, judging from its brightness and freshness, had doubtless been plucked from the living animal while reposing in the hollow trees. The eggs in all the nests I took were two in number, of a reddish flesh-colour, thickly blotched all over with reddish brown; they are ten and a half lines long by eight lines broad.

The male has the crown of the head blackish brown; lores black; line over the eye and the throat dull buff; at the base of the throat a few indistinct blackish brown spots; all the upper surface rufous brown; primaries blackish brown at the base and light brown at the tip, all but the first crossed in the centre by a broad band of buff, to which succeeds another broad band of blackish brown; tail brown, all but the two centre feathers crossed by a broad band of blackish brown; all the under surface greyish brown, each feather of the chest and abdomen having a stripe of dull white, bounded on either side with black, running down the centre; under tail-coverts reddish buff, crossed by irregular bars of black; irides, bill and feet blackish brown.

Little difference is observable either in the colour or size of the sexes; the female may, nevertheless, be at once distinguished from her mate by the spots at the base of the throat being rufous instead of blackish brown as in the male.

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

CLIMACTERIS RUFA: _Gould_.

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

CLIMACTERIS RUFA, _Gould_.
Rufous Tree-Creeper.

_Climacteris rufa_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 149.

_Jin-nee_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

In its robust form and general contour this new species closely resembles the _Climacteris scandens_, but from which it is readily distinguished by the rufous colouring of its plumage.

It is an inhabitant of Western Australia, and is a beautiful analogue of the _C. scandens_ of the eastern coast. It is a common bird at Swan River, where Mr. Gilbert states it is generally most abundant in the white-gum forests abounding with the white ant: it ascends the smooth bark of the _Eucalypti_, and traverses round the larger branches with the greatest facility, feeding, like the other members of the genus, upon insects of various kinds. Mr. Gilbert also states that it is frequently to be seen on the ground, searching for ants and their larvæ, and in this situation presents a most grotesque appearance, from its waddling gait, which, to use his own words, is “between a hop and a shuffle, at the same time erecting and puffing out its head-feathers; when disturbed it ascends rather rapidly to the extremity of some lofty dead branch.

“Its note is a single piercing cry, uttered more rapidly and loudly when the bird is disturbed, and having a very singular and striking effect amidst the silence and solitude of the forest.

“At times it flies rather swiftly, but appears to be very soon tired, for after flying two or three hundred yards it begins to droop, as if from fatigue; it consequently never takes long flights, merely resorting to this mode of progression to move from tree to tree: during flight the motion of the wings is equal until the bird begins to descend.

“It makes a very warm nest of soft grasses, the down of flowers and feathers, in the hollow part of a dead branch, generally so far down that it is almost impossible to get at it, and it is, therefore, very difficult to find. I discovered one by seeing the old birds beating away a Wattle-bird that tried to perch near their hole; the nest, in this instance, was fortunately within arm’s length; it contained three eggs of a pale salmon colour, thickly blotched all over with reddish brown, eleven lines long by eight and a half lines broad: this occurred during the first week in October.

“The stomach is large and tolerably muscular.”

The male has the crown of the head, all the upper surface and wings dark brown; rump and upper tail-coverts tinged with rufous; primaries brown, all but the first crossed by a broad band of rufous, to which succeeds a second broad band of dark brown; two centre tail-feathers brown, indistinctly barred with a darker hue; the remainder pale rufous, crossed by a broad band of blackish brown, and tipped with pale brown; line over the eye, lores, ear-coverts, throat, and under surface of the shoulder rust-brown; chest crossed by an indistinct band of rufous brown, each feather with a stripe of buffy white, bounded on each side with a line of black down the centre; the remainder of the under surface deep rust-red, with a faint line of buffy white down the centre of each feather, the white line being lost on the flanks and vent; under tail-coverts light rufous, with a double spot of blackish brown at intervals along the stem; irides dark reddish brown; bill and feet blackish brown.

The female is rather less in size; is of the same colour as the male, but much lighter, without the bounding line of black on each side of the buff stripes on the breast, and having only an indication of the double spots on the under tail-coverts.

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

CLIMACTERIS ERYTHROPS: _Gould_.

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

CLIMACTERIS ERYTHROPS, _Gould_.
Red-eyebrowed Tree-Creeper.

_Climacteris erythrops_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
148.

I obtained this new and highly interesting species while encamped on the low grassy hills under the Liverpool range; from the manner of its ascending the trees and keeping almost entirely to the small upright stems of the _Casuarinæ_, I believed it to be the White-throated Tree-Creeper (_Climacteris picumnus_); but having made it a rule to shoot an example of every species I observed in each newly-visited locality, I was in this instance rewarded with the acquisition of a new bird, which I afterwards found was numerous in this part of the country. But whether it is generally distributed over the colony, or merely confined to such districts as have a similar character to those in which I found it, I had no opportunity of ascertaining. So far as I could observe, its habits and manners bore a striking resemblance to those of the _Climacteris picumnus_.

One singular feature connected with this species, is the circumstance of the female alone being adorned with the beautiful radiated rufous markings on the throat, the male having this part quite plain; this I ascertained beyond a doubt by the dissection of numerous specimens of both sexes; it is true that a faint trace of this character is observable both in _Climacteris scandens_ and _C. rufa_, but the present is the only species of the genus in which this reversion of a general law of nature is so strikingly apparent.

The male has the crown of the head blackish brown, each feather margined with greyish brown; lores and a circle surrounding the eye reddish chestnut; back brown; sides of the neck, lower part of the back, and upper tail-coverts grey; primaries blackish brown at the base and light brown at the tip, all but the first crossed in the centre by a broad band of buff, to which succeeds another broad band of blackish brown; two centre tail-feathers grey, the remainder blackish brown, largely tipped with light grey; chin dull white, passing into greyish brown on the chest; the remainder of the under surface greyish brown, each feather having a broad stripe of dull white, bounded on either side with black running down the centre, the lines becoming blended, indistinct, and tinged with buff on the centre of the abdomen; under tail-coverts buffy white, crossed by irregular bars of black; irides brown; bill and feet black.

The female differs in having the chestnut marking round the eye much richer, and in having, in place of the greyish brown on the breast, a series of feathers of a rusty red colour, with a broad stripe of dull white down their middles, the stripes appearing to radiate from a common centre: in all other particulars her plumage resembles that of the male.

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

CLIMACTERIS MELANOTUS: _Gould_.

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

CLIMACTERIS MELANOTUS, _Gould_.
Black-backed Tree-creeper.

_Climacteris melanotus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIV. p.
106.

For this additional species of the limited genus _Climacteris_, a form confined to Australia, we are indebted to Dr. Leichardt’s Expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. It was killed in latitude 15° 57′ south, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and is rendered particularly interesting to me as being one of the birds procured by poor Gilbert on the day of his lamented death, the 28th of June 1845, which untoward event prevented him from recording any particulars respecting it: all therefore that I can do, is to point out the differences by which it may be distinguished from the other members of the genus, and recommend to future observers the investigation of its habits.

In the dark colouring and thick velvety plumage of the upper surface it is most nearly allied to the _Climacteris melanura_, but differs from that species in being destitute of the lanceolate marks on the throat, and from all others in the dark colouring of the back.

The usual distinction of the sexes—the finer colouring of the female—exists in this as in the other species of the genus; they may be thus described:—

Superciliary line and throat buffy white; line before and behind the eye, all the upper surface, wings and tail dark brownish black; the base of the primaries, secondaries and tertiaries, and the under surface of the shoulder buff; under surface pale vinous brown; the feathers of the abdomen with two stripes of black running parallel to and near the stem, the space between dull white; at the base of the throat several irregular spots of black; under tail-coverts buffy white, crossed by broad bars of black; irides brown.

The female differs in having the markings of the abdomen larger and more conspicuous, and in having the spots at the base of the throat chestnut instead of black.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

CLIMACTERIS MELANURA: _Gould_.

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

CLIMACTERIS MELANURA, _Gould_.
Black-tailed Tree-Creeper.

_Climacteris melanura_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 138.

Hitherto I had believed that all the members of this genus were confined to the southern portions of Australia, but that such is not the case is proved by the circumstance of Mr. Bynoe having killed the bird here represented on the northern coast. It exceeds all the other species in size and also differs from them in its colouring, particularly in the lanceolate feathers on the throat and in the black colour of the tail. Nothing whatever is known of its habits or general economy, but judging from its structure, it doubtless closely assimilates to its congeners in all these particulars. The specimen I possess, and from which my figure is taken, is, I believe, the only one that has yet been sent to Europe.

Forehead, all the upper surface and the tail-feathers velvety brownish black; the occiput and back of the neck stained with ferruginous brown; primaries and secondaries dark brown at the base and at the tip, the intermediate space buff, forming a conspicuous band across the wing when expanded; feathers of the throat white, edged all round with black, giving the throat a striated appearance; abdomen and flanks ferruginous brown; under tail-coverts black, irregularly crossed with bars of buff; bill and feet blackish brown.

The figures represent the bird in different positions of the natural size.

CLIMACTERIS PICUMNUS: _Temm._

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

CLIMACTERIS PICUMNUS, _Temm._
White-throated Tree-Creeper.

_Certhia picumnus_, Ill.

_Climacteris picumnus_, Temm. Pl. Col. 281. fig. 1.—Vig. and Horsf. in
Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 295.

_New Holland Nuthatch_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 78.

_Barred-tailed Honey-eater_, Ib. p. 179.?

_Certhia leucoptera_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxxvi.?

_Le Dirigang_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., tom. ii. p. 127.?

_Dirigang Creeper_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 106.?—Shaw,
Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 260.?

_Dirigang Honey-eater_ and var. A., Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p.
182—183.?

_The Common Creeper_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 25.

The range of this species is as widely extended as that of the _Climacteris scandens_, being a common bird in New South Wales and the intervening country, as far as South Australia: the precise limits of its habitat northward have not been ascertained; but it does not form part of the Fauna of Western Australia.

The whole structure of this species is much more slender and _Certhia_-like than any other member of its genus, and I observed that this difference of form has a corresponding influence over its habits, which are more strictly arboreal than those of its congeners; indeed so much so, that it is questionable whether the bird ever descends to the ground. It also differs from the _C. scandens_ in the character of country and kind of trees it inhabits, being rarely seen on the large _Eucalypti_ in the open forest lands, but resorting to trees bordering creeks, as well as those on the mountains and the brushes. I have frequently seen it in the brushes of Illawarra and Maitland, in which localities the _C. scandens_ is seldom if ever found. While traversing the trunks of trees in search of insects, which it does with great facility, it utters a shrill piping cry: in this cry, and indeed in the whole of its actions, it strikingly reminded me of the Common Creeper of Europe (_Certhia familiaris_), particularly in its manner of ascending the upright trunks of the trees, commencing at the bottom and gradually creeping up the bole to the top, and generally in a spiral direction. It is so partial to the _Casuarinæ_, that I have seldom seen a group of these trees without at the same time observing the White-throated Tree-Creeper, the rough bark affording numerous receptacles for various kinds of insects, which constitute its sole diet. I have never seen this species near the water-holes, and I feel assured it has the power of subsisting without drinking.

The breeding-season is in September and the three following months. The nest is built of grasses, is warmly lined with feathers, and is placed in the hollow branch or hole of a tree. The eggs are three in number, of a dull white thinly speckled with fine spots of rich brown, and a few larger blotches of the same colour; they are ten lines long by eight lines broad.

Crown of the head and back of the neck sooty black; back olive-brown; wings dark brown, all the primaries and secondaries crossed in the centre by a dull buff-coloured band; throat and centre of the abdomen white, the latter tinged with buff; feathers of the flanks brownish black, with a broad stripe of dull white down the centre; rump and upper tail-coverts dark grey; under tail-coverts white, crossed by several bands of black, each of which being separated on the stem appear like a double spot; tail greyish brown, crossed by a broad band of black near the tip; bill black; the under mandible horn-colour at the base; feet blackish brown.

The female is precisely the same in colour, with the exception of having a small orange-coloured spot just below the ear-coverts, and by which she is at once distinguished from her mate.

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

ORTHONYX SPINICAUDUS: _Temm._

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

ORTHONYX SPINICAUDUS, _Temm._
Spine-tailed Orthonyx.

_Orthonyx spinicaudus_, Temm. Pl. Col., 428 male, 429 female.—Less.
Traité d’Orn., p. 315.—Swains. Class, of Birds, p. 321.

—— _Temminckii_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 294.

—— _maculatus_, Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 186.

The Spine-tailed Orthonyx is very local in its habitat, being entirely confined, so far as I have been enabled to ascertain, to the brushes which skirt the southern and eastern coasts of Australia, such as occur at Illawarra, and in the neighbourhood of the rivers Manning, Clarence and MacLeay. It is usually found in the most retired situations running over the prostrate logs of trees, large moss-covered stones, &c.; further than this, nothing is known of its habits and economy. I ascertained by an examination of the stomach that the food consists of insects, principally of the order Coleoptera, and that the white throat distinguishes the male and the rufous throat the female. A knowledge of the situation and form of its nest and the number and colour of its eggs would probably afford some clue to its real affinities; at present I do not know to which group it truly pertains, and I very much regret that circumstances did not admit of my settling this point by a further observation of the bird in a state of nature: as it is very solitary in its habits it is seldom seen, and it would consequently require many months’ residence to become tolerably acquainted with it, and to acquire a knowledge of these desirable facts.

The male has the crown of the head and upper part of the back reddish brown, with a large mark of black on each feather; lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts rich rufous brown; wings black; coverts largely tipped with grey; primaries crossed with grey at the base; apical half of the primaries and the tips of the secondaries dark brownish grey; tail dark brown; sides of the head and neck dark grey; throat and chest white, separated from the grey of the sides of the neck by a lunar-shaped mark of deep black; flanks and under tail-coverts grey, stained with reddish brown; bill and feet black; irides very dark hazel.

The female only differs in colour in having the throat rich rust-red.

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

PTILORUS PARADISEA: _Swains._

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

PTILORIS PARADISEUS, _Swains._
Rifle Bird.

_Ptiloris paradiseus_, Swains. Zool. Journ., vol. i. p. 481.—Ib.
Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 331.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn.,
vol. i. pls. 43 male, 44 female.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen.
Zool., vol. xiv. p. 267.

_Epimachus regius_, Less. Zool. de la Coq., pl. 28, male.—Ib. Cent. de
Zool., pl. 3, female.—Ib. Traité d’Orn., p. 320.

—— _Brisbanii_, Wils. Ill. of Zool., pl. xi.

_Ptiloris paradisea_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd edit., p.
15.

Hitherto this magnificent bird has only been discovered in the brushes of the south-eastern portion of Australia; so limited in fact does its range of habitat seem to be, that the river Hunter to the southward, and Moreton Bay to the eastward, may be considered its natural boundaries in either direction. I have been informed by several persons who have seen it in its native wilds that it possesses many habits in common with the _Climacteri_, and that it ascends the upright boles of trees precisely after the manner of those birds. It was a source of regret to me that I had no opportunity of verifying these assertions, but an examination of the structure of the bird induces me to believe that it is more nearly allied to the members of that genus than to any other: that its powers of flight are very limited, is certain from the shortness and peculiarly truncate form of the wing, and this mode of progression is doubtless seldom resorted to further than to transport the bird from tree to tree, or from one part of the forest to another. That it is stationary in the brushes of the Clarence, MacLeay, and all similar districts between the river Hunter and the settlement at Moreton Bay, is evident from the numerous specimens of all ages that have been sent from thence to Europe.

The _Ptiloris paradiseus_ is without exception the most gorgeously plumaged bird yet discovered in Australia: the sexes offer the greatest possible difference in the colouring of their plumage; for while the male is adorned with hues only equalled by some species of the _Trochilidæ_ or Humming-Birds, the dress of the female is as sombre as can well be imagined. The law which exists wherever there is a great difference in the colouring of the sexes causes many parti-coloured changes of plumage in the immature males during the period of moulting, which however during the first year, and probably for a longer period, cannot be distinguished from the females.

The adult male has the general plumage rich velvety black, glossed on the upper surface with brownish lilac; under surface similar to the upper, but all the feathers of the abdomen and flanks broadly margined with rich olive-green; feathers of the head and throat small, scale-like, and of a shining metallic blue-green; two centre tail-feathers rich shining metallic green, the remainder deep black; bill and feet black.

The female has the whole of the upper surface greyish brown; the wings and tail edged with ferruginous; the feathers of the head with a narrow line of white down the centre; line passing down the side of the head from behind the eye, chin and throat, huffy white; all the under surface deep buff, each feather with a black arrow-headed-shaped mark near the tip.

The Plate represents two males and a female of the size of life.

SITTELLA CHRYSOPTERA: _Swains._

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

SITTELLA CHRYSOPTERA, _Swains._
Orange-winged Sittella.

_Sitta chrysoptera_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., p. xxxii.—Vig. and Horsf.
in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 296.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p.
316.

_Orange-winged Nuthatch_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 146. pl.
227.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 120.—Lath. Gen. Hist.,
vol. iv. p. 77. pl. lxiii.

_Sitta? chrysoptera_, Steph. Cont. Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p.
189.

_Neops chrysoptera_, Vieill. 2nde édit, du Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom.
xxxi.—Ency. Méth. Orn., Part III. p. 915.

_Sittella chrysoptera_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 317.

_Mur-ri-gang_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

This species appears to be as much confined to the south-eastern part of Australia as the _Sittella pileata_ and _S. leucoptera_ are to their respective portions of the country; the former inhabiting the western, and the latter the northern parts of the continent. New South Wales then is the true habitat of this species, over nearly every part of which it is rather plentifully distributed; more abundantly so, I should say, than is the Nuthatch in Europe, to which it offers considerable similarity in its habits, actions, and economy. I have generally observed it in small companies of from four to eight in number, running over the branches of the trees with the greatest facility, and assuming every possible variety of position; often in that which distinguishes the actions of the Nuthatch from those of all other European birds, namely, that of traversing the boles of the trees downwards, not, like the _Climacteris_, with a backward shuffle, but with the head pointing to the ground. The whole tribe of _Sittellæ_ live exclusively oil insects and spiders, for the capture of which they possess an admirably constructed bill.

During its flight, which is quick and darting, the red mark on the wing shows very conspicuously; its powers of wing are, however, seldom brought into action, further than to enable it to pass from one tree to another.

Although I possess a nest and eggs, which I have reason to believe are those of the present species, I could not ascertain with certainty that this was the case, or the situation of its breeding-place.

The colouring of this species is more sombre, and has the markings of the head less decided than any other species of the genus. The darker colouring of the head of the female, however, which is spread over the ear-coverts, at once points out to the ornithologist the sex of any specimen he may possess of this genus.

The male has the head dark brown; all the upper surface grey, with a broad streak of dark brown down the centre of each feather; wings dark brown, with a broad patch of rich rufous crossing the primaries and secondaries; upper tail-coverts white; tail black, the outer feathers tipped with white; all the under surface grey, with a faint streak of brown down each feather; under tail-coverts white, crossed near the tip with a spot of brown; bill horn-colour at the base; irides cream-colour; eyelash light buff; feet yellow.

The female differs only in having the head of a darker tint of brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

SITTELLA LEUCOCEPHALA: _Gould_.

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

SITTELLA LEUCOCEPHALA, _Gould_.
White-headed Sittella.

_Sittella leucocephala_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 152;
and in Syn. of Birds of Australia, Part IV.

My collection contains three specimens of this new species of _Sittella_, two of which were received from the neighbourhood of Moreton Bay and the other was procured during Dr. Leichardt’s overland expedition to Port Essington, Mr. Gilbert having killed it near Peak-Range Camp on the 27th of January 1845; the latter, which is figured on the right-hand side of the plate, differs from the former in the greater purity of the white colouring of the head, and in the darker tint of the striæ which run down the centre of each of the feathers on the breast; and it is possible that it may hereafter prove to be distinct.

Head and neck pure white; upper surface greyish brown with darker centres; under surface greyish white, with a stripe of brownish black down the centre of each feather; wings dark brown, crossed by a band of pale rusty red; tail brownish black, the middle feathers slightly, and the outer ones largely tipped with white; upper tail-coverts white, the lateral feathers with a patch of dark brown in the centre; under tail-coverts brown, tipped with white; irides greenish yellow; base of the bill, nostrils and eyelash orange-yellow.

The figures are of the natural size; the one with the white head being a female, as ascertained by dissection.

SITTELLA LEUCOPTERA: _Gould_.

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

SITTELLA LEUCOPTERA, _Gould_.
White-winged Sittella.

_Sittella leucoptera_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 144.

The present bird, which is a native of the northern parts of Australia, is a perfect representative of the _Sittella chrysoptera_ of the south coast, to which species it is most nearly allied. The contrasted style of its plumage, together with the white spot in the wings, sufficiently distinguish it from every other species of the genus yet discovered. It is found in the Cobourg Peninsula, but is nowhere very abundant: it is mostly met with in small families of from four to twelve in number. Its note, actions and general habits are precisely similar to those of the other members of the genus.

The sexes differ from each other in the markings of the head; the male has the summit only black, while the female has the whole of the head and ear-coverts of that colour.

The male has the forehead, crown of the head and occiput deep black; wings black, with a broad band of white crossing the primaries near the base; tail black, the lateral feathers tipped with white; throat, under surface and upper tail-coverts white; under tail-coverts white, with a spot of black near the tip of each feather; back greyish brown, the centre of each feather streaked with blackish brown; irides ochre-yellow; eyelash straw-yellow; bill straw-yellow, tipped with black; legs and feet lemon-yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes and an immature bird of the natural size.

SITTELLA PILEATA: _Gould_.

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

SITTELLA PILEATA, _Gould_.
Black-capped Sittella.

_Sittella pileata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 151,
male.

—— _melanocephala_, Gould in Ibid., p. 152, female.

_Goo-mȁl-be-dite_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

This species of _Sittella_ inhabits the south-western portion of Australia, and enjoys a range extending over several degrees of longitude. It is, however, more strictly speaking, one of the species pertaining to the Fauna of Western Australia. I killed several examples during my excursion into the interior of South Australia, and I transcribe from my journal the following notes on the subject:—“I met with a flock of these birds on the hills near the source of the River Torrens, about forty miles northward of Adelaide: they were about thirty in number and were extremely shy, keeping on the topmost branches of the trees, and the whole company flying from tree to tree so quickly, that I and my companion were kept at a full run to get shots at them.”

The following is from Mr. Gilbert’s notes made in Western Australia:—

“An extremely active bird, running up and down the trunks and branches of the trees with the utmost rapidity, always in families of from ten to twenty in number. It utters a weak piping note while on the wing, and occasionally while running up and down the trees. Its flight, which is generally performed in rather rapid undulating starts, is of short duration.”

In a letter lately received from Mr. Gilbert he informs me, on the authority of Mr. Johnson Drummond, that this species “makes a nest of short strips of bark attached together and fastened to the branch with cobwebs, and so covered over with them as to be very nearly smooth; the cobweb is laid or felted on, not wound round the pieces; portions of lichen are frequently attached. The nest is generally placed in the highest and most slender fork of an Acacia, and is most difficult to detect, from its very diminutive size and from its resembling a slight excrescence of the wood; the eggs are three in number, of a whitish colour, with circular green spots regularly distributed over the whole surface. The bird breeds in September, and Mr. Johnson Drummond states that the margin of the nest is brought to a sharp edge like that of _Piezorhynchus nitidus_. Would you not have supposed that this bird breeds in the holes of trees like the Nuthatch of Europe?”

On reference to the synonyms given above, it will be seen, that prior to my visit to Australia, I regarded, described and named the two sexes of this bird as distinct species, an error which the opportunity I subsequently had of observing the bird in a state of nature and of dissecting recent specimens has enabled me to correct; the black-headed specimens proving to be females, and those with a black cap only males.

The male has the forehead, stripe over the eye, throat, breast, and centre of the abdomen white; crown of the head black; ear-coverts, back of the neck and back greyish brown, with a small stripe of dark brown down the centre of each feather of the latter; rump white; upper and under tail-coverts greyish brown, crossed with an arrow-shaped mark of dark brown, and tipped with white; tail black, the centre feathers slightly and the outer ones largely tipped with white; wings blackish brown, with a large patch of rufous in the centre, interrupted by the blackish brown margins of some of the secondaries; all the feathers slightly tipped with greyish brown; flanks and vent greyish brown; bill yellow at the base, black at the tip; feet beautiful king’s-yellow; irides buffy hazel; eyelash buff.

The female differs in being somewhat darker on the upper surface, and in having the whole of the upper part of the head including the orbits deep black.

The figures represent both sexes of the natural size.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Birds of Australia, Vol. 4 of 7, by John Gould