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BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

INTRODUCTION

TO THE

BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

JOHN GOULD, F.^R.S.,

F.L.S., F.Z.S., M.E.S., F.ETHN.S., F.R.GE06.S., M.RAY S.,

HON. MEMB. OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF TURIN, OF THE ROY. ZOOL.
80C. OF IRELAND, OF THE PENZANCE NAT. HTST. SOC, OF THE WORCESTER
NAT. HIST. SOC, OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM AND NEW-
CASTLE NAT. HIST. SOC, OF THE NAT. HIST. SOC. OF
DARMSTADT, OF THE TASMANTAN SOC. OF VAN
DIEMBn'S land, OF THE NAT. HIST. SOC.
OF STRASBOURG, AND OF THE NAT.
HIST. SOC. OF IPSWICH.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR,

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

1848.

HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY

VICTORIA,

QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND,

THIS WORK,

ON THE

BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA,

IS, WITH HER ROYAL PERMISSION,

DEDICATED

BY HER MAJESTY'S

MOST OBEDIENT AND FAITHFUL

SUBJECT AND SERVANT,

JOHN GOULD.

NOTICE,

The Preface and Introduction to my " Birds of Australia '^
having been set up in small type for facility of correction, I
have had a limited number of copies printed in an octavo
form, for distribution among my scientific friends and others,
to whom I trust it will be at once usefbr and acceptable.
They must however still regard it more as a proof-sheet than
otherwise, inasmuch as it contains many imperfections, most
of which have been corrected in the folio edition ; for instance,
the family terms and genera are here given without the
authorities, which have been added in the larger work.

With respect to the arrangement, it will be seen that while
I have not proposed one of my own, I have not implicitly
adopted that of any previous writer, but have chiefly followed
that of the late Mr. Vigors ; the time in fact has not yet arrived,
when a philosophic view of the ornithology of the world can be
achieved, hundreds of species and many forms yet remaining
to be discovered, without a knowledge of which any general
arrangement must necessarily be most imperfect. I am not
speaking in disparagement of the attempts at classification that
have hitherto been made, all and each of which has its own
individual merits, and tends to promote the object we wish to
arrive at — a natural arrangement : we are in truth merely the
piqneers preceding the great master mind, whiph will doubt-

VIU NOTICE.

lessly arise at some future period^ endowed with the capacity
requisite for the classification of the immense mass of mate-
rials we at present possess, and with which future researches
will make us acquainted ; it is our province to discover and
distinguish species, and to define, as nearly as may be, the
niinor groups in which they appear to be naturally arranged ;
it will be his to classify these groups into one comprehensive
system ; but this cannot be done until more of the recent
species, and as many of the fossil as possible, have been
discovered.

It will be observed, that I have employed subfamily terms
in some cases and omitted them in others ; they are in fact
chiefly employed where it appeared to me that they were
necessary to facilitate a knowledge of the subject ; I do not
object to the use of such terms generally, but consider it to
be almost an impossibility to apply them with correctness^
when merely writing upon the birds of any one country ; thus
some persons might object to the use of the term Tinamida
when treating of the ornithology of a country wherein a
Tinamou is not to be found; and other similar instances
might be cited.

PREFACE.

Having in the summer of 1837 brought my work on the *' Birds of
Europe" to a successful termination, I was naturally desirous of turning
my attention to the Ornithology of some other region ; and a variety
of opportune and concurring circumstances induced me to select that
of Australia, the birds of which, although invested with the highest
degree of interest, had been almost entirely neglected. Dr. Shaw, in
his << Zoology of New Holland," had devoted a few plates to the subject,
from specimens collected by Sir Joseph Banks during the first voyage
of Captain Cook ; the " Birds of New Holland " by Lewin comprised
not more than twenty-six plates; and figures and descriptions of a few
species were given in the earlier voyages of Phillip, White axMl Collins,
and the more recent one of King. At a subsequent period the late Mr.
Vigors and Dr. Horsfield commenced an elaborate memoir on the Col-
lection of Australian Birds in the possession of the Linnean Society ;
but unfortunately, they did not proceed farther than the MdipJuigidce^
and the non-completion of their labours is the more to be regretted,
inasmuch as the Linnean Society's collection of Australian birds, at that
time the finest extant, comprised many species collected by Mr. Brown
during his voyage with the celebrated navigator Flinders, and was more-
over enriched with some interesting notes by the late Mr. George Caley,
by whom the collection was chiefly formed. Descriptions of many Au«
stralian birds were also included in the works of Latham, Shaw, Cuvier and
Vieillot, as well as in several of the recent French voyages of discovery ;
still no general work on the subject had been undertaken, and nearly
all that had been recorded by the various writers above enumerated,
had reference almost exclusively to the productions of New South
Wales and Van Diemen's Land, these being almost the only explored
portions of that great country. In the absence, then, of any general
work on the Birds of Australia, the field was comparatively a new
one, and of no ordinary degree of interest, from the circumstance of
its being one of the finest possessions of the British Crown, and from
its natural productions being as remarkable for the anomalous nature
of their forms, as for their beauty, and the singularity of their habits.
In the attempt to supply this desideratum I commenced publishing
from the materials then accessible, but soon found, from the paucity
of information extant upon the subject, that it could not be executed
in a manner that would be satisfactory to my own mind, or commen-
surate with the exigencies of science; I therefore determined to
proceed to Australia and personally investigate (so far as a stay of
two years would allow) the habits and manners of its birds in a
state of nature. I accordingly left England in May 18S8, provided,
by the liberality of Government, with letters from Lord Glenelg,
at that time Secretary of State for the Colonies ; Sir George Grey,
Bart., and Gordon Gairdner, Esq., of the Colonial Office, recom-
mending me to the countenance and protection of the various Governors,
and requesting them to afibrd me such aid and assistance in furtherance
of my objects as they might have it in their power to render ; similar
favours were also granted me by the authorities of the Admiralty,
who, through their Secretary, Sir John Barrow, directed the captains
and commanders of Her Majesty's ships and vessels employed on the '

coasts of Australia to further my views, by giving myself and my
assistant a passage to such part of the coasts as either of us might be
desirous of visiting, only stipulating that the ships under their com-
mand should not be detained on any parts of the coasts they were not
ordered to visit* His late Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, in his
capacity of President of the Royal Society, was pleased to favour
me with a letter addressed to the authorities, civil and military, of Her
Majesty's Colonies, recommending me to their kind offices and protec-
tion, as he felt assured that my exertions would materially promote the
interests of Natural History. I was also under considerable obligations
to the kindness of Captain Washington, R.N., at that time Secretary of
the Royal Geographical Society, who furnished me with introductions
to Captains Sir John Franklin and Sir Gordon Bremer, R.N., and other
influential persons. Having thus acknowledged the facilities afforded
me by the home authorities, it becomes my pleasing duty to state that
their recommendations and wishes were responded to in the warmest
manner by Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N., Governor of Van Die-
men's Land; Sir George Gipps, Governor-General of New South
Wales ; Lieut-Colonel Gawler, Governor of South Australia ; John
Hutt, Esq., Governor of Western Australia; and Captain M^ Arthur,
Commandant at Port Essington ; all of whom rendered me every assist-
ance compatible with the instructions under which they were acting. I
should be wanting, however, both in courtesy and gratitude, did I not
especially acknowledge the warm friendship, and the many acts of
genuine kindness which I received at the hands of my valued friends
Sir John and Lady Franklin, who, besides facilitating my views in
every way, both publicly and privately, with the most generous hospi-
tality received myself and family into their house, where Mrs. Gould
and my eldest son, who had accompanied us, remained for nearly ten
months, while I pursued my researches in various parts of Van Diemen's
Land and the continent of Australia ; and it is only by those who, like
myself, have had the advantage of residing with that amiable family,
that the kindness of their nature and the goodness of their hearts
can be duly appreciated, and which can never be erased from my
memory. I must acknowledge not less gratefully the many acts of kind-
ness rendered to me by Sir George and Lady Gipps during my stay in
Sydney. Af ter exploring Van Diemen's Land, the islands in Bass's Straits,
South Australia, and New South Wales, into the interior of which
countiy I penetrated to the distance of nearly four hundred miles from
the coast-line, I despatched my able assistant, Mr. Gilbert, to explore
the westetn and northern portions of the country, and returned to
England in August 1840; I immediately commenced the work de navo^
and the result of my labours is now before the public. It fortunately
happened that at the commencement and during the progress of the
work, Her Majesty's ships the Beagle, under the command of Captains
Wickham and Stokes ; the Britomart, under Captain Stanley ; the Fly,
under Captain Blackwood, and the Pelorus, under Captain Chambers, were
employed in surveying the northern and north-western coasts of Austra-
lia ; and the Erebus and Terror under Captain Sir James C. Ross, in a
voyage of discovery towards the south pole. While engaged in the per-
formance of their arduous duties the officers of those vessels succeeded
in procuring many interesting novelties, which were with the greatest

liberality commuDicated to me for the present work, whereby its value
has been much enhanced. This liberality will be found duly acknow-
ledged in the histories of the species for the use of which I am indebted
to the kindness of B. Bynoe, Esq., Surgeon R.N., Lieut. Emery, R.N.,
Commander J. M. R. Ince, R.N., Edward Dring, Esq., Purser R.N.,
Dr. Robertson and Robert M'Cormick, Esq., Surgeons R.N., and John
M*Gillivray, Esq.

After spending two years in Western and Northern Australia,
Mr. Gilbert returned to England in September 1841, bringing with
him the result of his labours, which proved of sufficient value and
importance to induce me to believe that much yet remained to be dis-
covered in those countries, and to direct him to return thither, which
he accordingly did in the ensuing spring ; and after again visiting Swan
River, and sedulously exploring the interior so far as practicable, he
proceeded to Sydney, and, unfortunately for himself, allowed his love
of science, in the advancement of which no one was more ardent, to
induce him to join Dr. Leichardt in his overland journey from Moreton
Bay to Port Essington. On this expedition he, as usual, displayed his
wonted zeal and activity until the 28th of June, when, the party being
treacherously attacked by the natives, his valuable life was sacrificed,
I lost a most able coadjutor, and science has to deplore one of her most
devoted servants ; fortunately, however, in despite of the many diffi-
culties and dangers which beset the party during the remainder of
their journey, his journals and notes, together with the specimens he
had been able to procure, were preserved and transmitted to m^ by Dr.
Leichardt, and proved of valuable assistance in determining the range
of many of the species. %

My own researches commenced immediately after passing the Equator,
from whence, throughout the entire route to Australia, I omitted no
opportunity of studying the habits, and collecting the different species
of the oceanic birds that came under my notice : these observations were
again resumed on my return from thence to England ; and as the out-
ward passage was by the Cape of Good Hope, and the homeward one
by Cape Horn, they extended round the globe, and, as will be seen
in the course of the work, have led to some important results. And
here I must acknowledge my obligations to the various captains with
whom I sailed, namely Captain M'Kellar of the *• Parsee," which
vessel conveyed me to Van Diemen*s Land ; Captain Harding of the
" Black Joke," in which I proceeded from Lauucesion in Van Die-
men's Land to Adelaide ; Captain Fell of the " Catherine Stewart
Forbes," in which I returned from Adelaide to Hobart Town ; Captain
Gilchrist of the " Potentate," in which I sailed from Hobart Town
to Sydney ; and Lieutenant Mallard, R.N., of the ** Kinnear," which
brought me to England ; all of whom rendered me every assistance
in their power, and the use of a boat and crew whenever the weather
"Would admit of one being lowered, by which means I was enabled to
obtain nearly forty species of Petrel, being the finest collection of the
ProceUaridcB ever brought together.

At the commencement of the work it was not expected that it would
prove so extensive as it has become, since not more than about SOO
species were then known, w^hich number has now been increased, by the

united efforts of myself and those who have so kindly aided my riewd^
to upwards of 600 species, among which are comprised many forms re-
markable for their novelty, the anomalous character of their structure,
and the singularity of their habits, such as the Bower Birds (Ptilano-
rhynchi and ChUimydertB) and the Mound-raising Birds {Talegallay
Ldpoa and Megapodius). The singular runs or bowers of«the Chta-
mydercB were considered by some explorers to be the cradles of the
infants of the aborigines, and the mounds of the Megapodius to be
tumuli, errors which have been rectified in the present work.

It is not to be supposed that an undertaking of such magnitude as the
present could have been brought to a successful termination by the un-
aided efforts of a single individual, and I have, therefore, very great plea-
sure in stating that my views were most ably seconded by every one with
whom the nature of my investigations brought me in contact ; but by
none more than by the Rev. Thomas James Ewing, who, besides mani-
festing the warmest friendship, has ever taken especial interest in pro-
moting the success of the present work ; nor must I omit to mention
R. C. Gunn, Esq., Lieut. Breton, R.N., the Hon. Henry Elliot, Aide-de-
camp to the Governor, Lieut. Friend, R.N., and Captain Booth, all
of Van Diemen*s l^and. In New South Wales mv best thanks are due
to George Bennett, Esq., who, like Mr. Ewing, favoured me with his
warmest friendship, and evinced an equal anxiety for the success of my
undertaking ; the Messrs. James and William M' Arthur, of Camden ;
the Messrs. Stephen and Charles Coxen, of Yarrundi ; Charles Throsby,
Esq., of Bong-bong ; Alexander and William S. MacLeay, Esqs. ; Cap-
tain P. P. King, and many others. Much valuable information has
been communicated to me by George Grey, Esq. (now Governor of
New Zealand), whose exertions during his expedition along the north-
western coasts of Australia were characterized by a degree of energy
of character and perseverance but rarely equalled; whose ornithological
collection made during this arduous enterprise, although small, was
by no means destitute of interest ; and who, upon succeeding Colonel
Gawler in the Governorship of South Australia, found time amidst
his multifarious occupations to devote considerable attention to Natural
History, and to send me some interesting drawings and other details
respecting the mounds raised by the Leipoa, &c. In South Australia
I received many acts of kind attention and assistance from my friend
Captain Sturt, whom I accompanied on one of his expeditions into the
interior ; and I have much pleasure in acknowledging my obligations
to Mr. Eyre, now Lieut- Governor of New Zealand, and the late J. B.
Harvey, Esq.

Nor must I conclude my acknowledgements of the kindness of those
who have rendered me their aid, without especially recording the libe-
rality of the Right Hon. The Earl of Derby, who has at all times most
readily submitted to my inspection every collection of which he has
become the possessor, and allowed me the free use of any objects
desirable for the enhancement of the " Birds of Australia;" neither is
the kindness of His Highness the Prince of Canino, Sir Wm. Jardine,
Bart., Professor Owen, Robert Brown, H. E. Strickland, W. Yarrell, T. C.
Eyton, J. J. Bennett, D. W. Mitchell, and E. Blyth, Esqs., forgotten by
one whom they have ever been sedulous to oblige. My thanks are also

due to the Trustees, to J. E. Gray, and 6. R. Gray, Esqs., of the British
Museum ; and to the authorities of the Linnean and Zoological Societies
of London, the Royal Museums of Berlin, Leyden and Paris, and the
Museum at Sydney. I am also considerably indebted to my friend
W. C. L. Martin, Esq., author of many valuable works and papers on
natural history, for the readiness with which his varied literary attain-
ments and critical acumen have at all times been rendered, whenever
solicited, to enhance the accuracy of my labours.

At the conclusion of my ^* Birds of Europe," I had the pleasing duty
of stating that nearly the whole of the plates had been lithographed by
my amiable wife. Would that I had the happiness of recording a
similar statement with regard to the present work ; but such, alas I is
not the case, it having pleased the All-wise Disposer of Events to re-
move her from this sublunary world within one short year after our
return from Australia, during her sojouni in which country an immense
mass of drawings, both ornithological and botanical, were made by her
inimitable hand and pencil, and which has enabled Mr. H. C. Richter,
to whom, after her lamented death, the execution of the plates was en*
trusted, to perform his task in a manner highly satisfactory to myself,
and I trust equally so to the Subscribers. The colouring, as in the
case of the *' Birds of Europe," and my other works, has been entirely
executed by Mr. Bayfield, to whose unwearied exertions and punctu-
ality I must not fail to bear testimony, as well as to the minute accuracy
with which his labours have been performed. The printing of the
plates, by Messrs. Hullmandel and Walton, and the letter-press, by
Messrs. R. and J. E. Taylor, has also been equally satisfactory.

And I cannot refrain from speaking in the highest terms of my
assistant, Mr. Edwin C. Prince, who has been with me from the com-
mencement of my various works. I left him in charge of the whole of
my affairs during my absence from England, with a perfect conviction
that he would zealously exert himself for my interest, and the confidence
I reposed in him has been fully realized, not only during my absence,
but during the long period of eighteen years.

It was my most anxious wish that the unique and perfect collection
of Australian Birds, forming the originals of the present work, should
have found a resting-place in the National Museum of this country,
inasmuch as it comprised examples of both sexes of nearly every known
species in various stages of plumage, each carefully labelled with its
correct scientific appellation, the date when and the place where killed^
the sex ascertained by dissection, and the colouring of the soft
parts; besides which, it comprised the finest specimens I had been able
to procure during the long period of ten years, collected together at the
expense of more than two thousand pounds, and at the cost of three
valuable lives, namely, that of Mr. Gilbert above referred to ; that of
Mr. Johnson Drummond, who was killed by a native while seeking for
specimens in Western Australia ; and that of a fine young man, one of
the attendants assigned to me by Sir John Franklin, who was acciden-
tally killed by the explosion of a gun he was removing from a boat
when landing on one of the islands in Bass's Straits. Regretting that
I could not afibrd to make a donation of it, I addressed a letter to
J. E. Gray, Esq., the chief Zoological officer of the British Museum,

in which, after statiDg that the entire collection amounted to nearly
600 species, and upwards of 1800 specimens, with the full comple-
ments of eggs of more than 300 species, I made the following offer :
'* I believe that in some instances the Government has lent its aid and
support to works of such magnitude as the Birds of Australia by taking
a certain number of copies ; were this done in my own case and not
less than 25 copies were taken, [ should be most happy to present to
the Museum both the Collections above mentioned ; but should such
an arrangement be declined, then I beg to offer them to the Trustees
for the sum of £1000." To my own, as well as to the regret of nearly
every scientific man in Europe, my offer was declined by the Trustees.
Upon this circumstance becoming known to Edward Wilson, Esq.,
of Lydstip House, near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, that gentleman
immediately purchased the entire collection for his brother. Dr. T. B.
Wilson, of Philadelphia in North America, whither it will be shortly re-
moved, and where it will be at all times available for the purposes of
science, and form a portion of perhaps the most extensive ornitholo-
gical collection in the world.

In conclusion I would beg to say, that having brought the ^ Birds of
Australia " to a close, after devoting nearly ten years to its produc-
tion, I trust it will be admitted that it has been terminated in the same
spirit with which it was commenced, and that any errors which may be
found will be viewed with leniency, when the extent of the work, and
the difficulty of procuring and arranging so large a mass of materials, is
taken into consideration ; should my labours, such as they are, merit
the approbation of those who have so liberally supported it, my own
efforts will be amply repaid. Although the work comprises every
species known to inhabit Australia up to the present time, it is not to
be supposed that it contains the whole of the birds of that vast country,
of which so large a portion is yet a terra incognita. Every new district
towards the north-west that may be explored will doubtless afford addi-
tional species, and which may hereafter form the materials for a supple-
ment

I originally intended to include the Birds of New Zealand in the
present work, but upon farther investigation of the subject I found that
they belong to a distinct Fauna, which fact, coupled with the vast ac-
cession of new species from the continent of Australia, induced me to
omit all but those that had been published in the first instance, and
one or two others remarkable for their great interest.

Enjoying, by the blessing of Providence, constant good health, and
energies as yet unimpaired, I propose still to devote my humble efforts
to the advancement of Ornithology, that science which treats of one of
the most pleasing portions of the Almighty's many wonderful works ;
and with ample materials at my command for illustrating the Birds of
another magnificent portion of the domains of the British Crown —
India — my next work will probably be on " the Birds of Asia," which
will, irrespective of all other considerations, be of no little interest as
forming the connecting link between the Birds of Europe and Birds of
Australia.

JOHN GOULD.

June 12, 1848.

INTRODUCTION.

Geological investigations into the structure of the globe show that
a succession of physical changes have modified its surface from the
earliest period up to the present time, and that these changes have
been accompanied with variations not only in the phases of animal
and vegetable life, but often in the development abo of organization ;
and as these changes cannot be supposed to have been operating
uniformly over the entire surface of the globe in the same periods
of time, we should naturally be prepared for finding the now existing
fauna of some regions exhibiting a higher state of development than
that of others ; accordingly, if we contrast the fauna of the old con-
tinents of geographers with the zoology of Australia and New Zea-
land, we find a wide difference in the degree of organization which
creation has reached in these respective regions. In New Zealand,
with the exception of a Vespertilio and a Mus, which latter is said
to exist there, but which has not yet been sent to this country, the
most highly organized animal yet discovered, either fossil or recent,
is a bird ; in Australia, if compared with New Zealand, creation
appears to have considerably advanced, but even here the order
HoderUia is the highest in the scale of its indigenous animal pro-
ductions ; the great majority of its quadrupeds being the Marsu'
piata (Kangaroos, &c.) and the ManotrenuOa {Echidna and Omi-
thorhynchtis), which are the very lowest of the Mammalia. The
ornithology of Australia is characterized by the presence of certain
peculiar genera, the TalegaUa^ Leipoa and megapodius ; birds which
do not incubate their own eggs, and which are perhaps the lowest
representatives of their class, while the low organization of its botany
is indicated by the remarkable absence of fruit-bearing trees, the
Cerealia, &c.

My investigation of the natural productions of Australia induces
me to believe, that at some remote period it was divided into at least
two portions, since, with a few exceptions, I find the species inhabiting
the same latitudes of its eastern and western divisions differing from,
but representing each other. Some writers. Captain Sturt and Mr.
Jukes, e, g. are of opinion that its subdivision was even greater, and
that the sandy deserts now met with in the interior were formerly
the beds of the seas that flowed between the archipelago of islands
of which they suppose it to have been composed. In a valuable
paper by Mr. Jukes, entitled < Notes on the Geology of the Coasts
of Australia,' read at the meeting of the Geological Society on the
17th of November 1847, that gentleman stated, that ** The eastern
coast is occupied by a great range of high land, appearing like a
continuous chain of mountains when seen from the sea, and rising
in several places to 5000 feet or more above the sea-leve4. This
chain has an axis of granite, with occasional large masses of green-.

stone, basalt and other igneous rocks. It is flanked on both sides
by thick beds of palaeozoic formations, chiefly sandstone, but also
containing limestone and coal. In the northern portion of the chain
Dr. Leichardt found similar formations — and especially trap and
granite near the Biirdekin river. In the Port Philip district there
are similar igneous rocks, and on the coast tertiary formations rest-
ing on the edges of upturned palaeozoic beds. In West Australia,'
the Darling range consists of granite below, covered by metamorphic
rocks ; and between it and the sea is a plain composed of tertiary
beds. In the colony of North Australia there is a great sandstone
plateau, rising about 1800 feet above the sea, and probably of pa«
laeozoic age ; whilst on the immediate shore and round the Gulf of
Carpentaria are beds supposed to belong to the tertiary period.
Similar formations constitute the substratum of the central. desert;
in which Captain Sturt was compelled to turn, when half-way to
the Gulf of Carpentaria, from the southern coast. Hence these
tertiary rocks are probably continuous through the whole centre of
the island, and during the tertiary period all this portion of the
country was submerged, whilst the high lands on the coast rose like
four groups of islands from the shallow sea." — AthemBumy Nov. 24,

1847.

Whichever of these opinions be the correct one, we certainly find
the natural productions of all these portions of the country composed
of precisely the same types, the generality of which differ entirely
from those of the islands of the Indian Archipelago on the one hand^
and of New Zealand and Polynesia on the other.

With respect to the position of A ustralia, it will only be necessary
to state that it is situated between the 10th and 45th degrees of
south latitude, and the 112th and 154th degrees of longitude east
from Greenwich ; its extent, in round numbers, may therefore be
said to be 3000 miles in length, or from west to east, and inclusive
of Van Diemen*s Land nearly the same in breadth, or from north to
south. In its present uplifted position its form is nearly square,
with a depressed centre bounded by an almost continuous range
of hills and plateaux, which, varying in altitude from one to six
thousand feet above the level of the sea, in some places approach the
coast and present lofty and inaccessible elifls to the ocean, while
in others they trend towards the interior of the country at a distance
of from twenty to eighty miles from the coast- line; but inasmuch as
these elevations are all of an undulating and not of a precipitous
character, no part of the country can be considered as strictly silpine.
Nothing can be more diflerent than the features of the country on
the exterior and interior of this great barrier, particularly on the
eastern coast, where, between the mountains and the sea, the vege-
tation partakes to a great extent of a tropical character ; it is there,
on the rich alluvial soil, formed by the debris washed down from the
hills, that we And various species of Eticcdypti, Ficiy and other trees,
many of which attain an immense altitude, and forests of towering
palms ; the surface of the ground beneath clothed with a dense and
impervious underwood, composed of dwarf trees, shrubs and tree- -

ferns festooned with creepers and parasitic plants in the richest pro-
fusion, the continuity of which is here and there broken by rich open
meadow-like districts admirably adapted for the pasturing of cattle,
and to which, from the frequent occurrence of the AngophorcCy a
tribe of trees in which the settlers see a fancied resemblance to the
apple-trees of Europe, the name of Apple-tree Flats has been given.
Within the ranges, on the other hand, we find immense open downs
and grassy plains, studded here and there with detached belts and
forests of J^ucalyptiy AcadcBy &c., presenting a park-like appearance,
to which, as we advance farther towards the interior, succeed either
extensive marshes or land of a most sterile description. The face of
this vast country consequently presents much variety of aspect ; the
infrequency of rain tends much to give a sombre brown hue to the
surface of the interior, which however is relieved by the constant ver-
dure of its trees, the peculiar lanceolate form and the pendent position
of which render them almost shadowless. It is in the neighbour-
hood of the few rivers which intersect the country, and in the
lower flats flooded by the waters, when floods occur, that we
find the vegetation more luxuriant and the trees attaining a far
greater size ; the sides of the rivers are moreover fringed with Ca-
suarifUB and other trees, which, although of large size, never arrive
at the altitude of the stately JSticalypti, which attain, under favourable
circumstances, a size and height which appear perfectly incre-
dible. Mr. Backhouse states that one measured by him on the Lop-
ham Road, near Emu Bay in Van Diemen's Land, which << was rather
hollow at the bottom and broken at the top, was 49 feet round at
about 5 feet from the ground; another that was solid, and sup-
posed to be 200 feet high, was 4*1 feet round ; and a third, supposed
to be 250 feet high, was 55\^ feet round. As this tree spread much
at the base, it would be nearly 70 feet in circumference at the sur-
face of the ground. My companions spoke to each other when at
the opposite side of this tree from myself, and their voices sounded so
distant that I concluded they had inadvertently left me, to see some
other object, and immediately called to them. They in answer re-
marked the distant sound of my voice, and inquired if I were behind
the tree I When the road through this forest was forming, a man
who had only about two hundred yards to go, from one company of
work-people to another, lost himself : he called, and was repeatedly
answered ; but getting further astray, his voice became more indi-
stinct, till it ceased to be heard, and he perished. The largest trees
do not always carry up their width in proportion to their height, but
many that are mere spars are 200 feet high.*'

A prostrate tree noticed by Mr. Backhouse in the forest near the
junction of the Emu River with the Loudwater *^ was 35 feet in cir-
cumference at the base, 22 feet at 66 feet up, 19 feet at 1 10 feet up ;
there were two large branches at 120 feet ; the general head branched
off at 150 feet ; the elevation of the tree, traceable by the branches
on the ground, was 213 feet. We ascended this tree on an inclined
plane, formed by one of its limbs, and walked four abreast with ease

upon its trunk I In its fail it had oveiiurned another 168 feet
high, which had brought up with its roots a bail of earth 20 feet
across." There are other remarkable features, which, as they ap-
pertain to districts frequently alluded to in the course of the work,,
it becomes necessary to notice, namely the immense deltas formed
by the descent of the waters of the interior, such as the valley of the
Murray near its embouchure into the sea, spoken of as the great
Murray scrub of South Australia ; this enormous flat of nearly one
hundred miles in length by more than twenty in breadth is clothed
with a vegetation peculiarly its own, the prevailing trees which form
a belt down the centre consisting of dwarf JEuaifyptif while the mar-
gins are fringed with shrub-like trees of various kinds. Nor must
the immense belts of BankstiSi which grow on the sand-hills border-
ing the sea-coast and in some parts of the interior, or the districts
clothed with grass-trees {XanUunrlukB)^ be passed over unnoticed ;
in the intertropical regions of Austrsdia, of which at present so
little is known, we find, besides the EuecdypHy BankguB and other
trees of the southern coast, dense forests of canes, mangroves,
&C. Each of these districts has a zoology peculiarly its own :
for instance, the BanksuB are everywhere tenanted by the true Me-
liphagous birds ; the Eucalypti by the Trichoglossi and PtiloH ; the
towering fig-trees by the Regent and Satin birds ; the palms by the
CarpophagcR or fruit-eating Pigeons, and the grassy plains by the
ground Pigeons and grass Parrakieets. The circumstance of the boles
of the trees being destitute of a thick corrugated rind or bark will
doubtless account for the total absence of any member of the genus
Picus or Woodpeckers, a group of birds found in all parts of the
world with the exception of Australia and Polynesia.

Such then is a transient view of a few of the great physical fea-
tures of Australia to which I have thought it requisite to allude in
the Introduction of the present work, and I cannot conclude this
portion of the subject without mentioning the. very remarkable
manner in which many of the Australian birds represent other
nearly allied species belonging to the Old World, as if some particular
law existed in reference to the subject, the species so represented
being evidently destined to fulfil the same offices in either hemi-
sphere. As instances in point, I may mention among the Falecnidm
the F. hypoleucus and F, melanogenys, which represent the F. Is-'
iandunis and F. Peregrintis ; our Merlin and Kestril are equally well
represented by the Falco frontcUus and Tinnunculus Cenchroides of
Australia ; the Osprey of Europe also is represented by the P. Uuco-
cephala ; among the wading birds, the Curlew and the Whimbrel of
Europe are beautifully represented by the Numenius AuMrcdis and
N. uropygialisy and the bar- tailed and black- tailed God wits by the
Limosa uropygialis and L. Melanurouies, Both Europe and Au-
stralia have each one Stilted Plover, one Dottrell (Ftidromias), and
one Avocet. Among the water birds the Cormorants and Grebes
of Europe are similarly represented by the Phalaeroeorax CarbijfideSi
&c., and Podiceps Australisy P, Nestor and P. yularis; and other in-

stances might be noticed, but as they will all be found in the body
of the work, it will not be necessary to recapitulate them here.
Although so many curious instances of representation and of
nearly allied species are found to occur, no country possesses so
many genera peculiar to itself as Australia, such as ^gotheks^
Palcuncultis, CoUuricinclay Grallina, Gymnorfdna, Strepera, Citi'
closoTna, Menura^ Psophodes, Malurus, Sericornis, Ephthianura^
PardcdotuSy Chlamydera^ Ptilonorhynchus^ Strvihideay LicmetiSf
CcdyptorhynchtiSi Platycercus^ Euphema^ NympJdcuSy Clvmacteris^
Scydvropsy Myzanthay Talegalla^ Leipoa, PedionomuSy CUxdorhyn*
chusy Tribonyxy Cereopsis^ Anseranas, and Eiziura,

In a country of such vast extent as Australia, spreading over so
many degrees of latitude, we might naturally expect to find much
diversity in the climate, and such is really the case. Van Diemen's
Land, from its isolated and more southern position, is cooler and
characterized by greater humidity than Australia ; its vegetation is
therefore abundant, and its forests dense and difficult of access. The
climate of the continent, on the other hand, between the 25th and
35th degrees of latitude, is much drier, and has a temperature which is
probably higher than that of any other part of the world ; the thermo-
meter frequently rising to 110 , 120°, and even 130° in the shade ;
and this high temperature is not unfrequently increased by the hot
winds which sweep over the country from the northward, and which
indicate most strongly the parched and sterile nature of the interior.
Unlike other hot countries, this great heat and dryness is unaccompa-
nied by night dews, and the falls of rain being uncertain and irregular,
droughts of many months' duration sometimes occur, during which
the rivers and lagoons are dried up, the land becomes a parched
waste, vegetation is burnt up, and famine spreads destruction on
every side. It is easier for the imagination to conceive than the pen
to depict the horrors of so dreadful a visitation. The indigenous
animals and birds retire to the mountains, or to more distant regions
exempt from its influence. Thousands of sheep and oxen perish,
bullocks are seen dead by the road-side or in the dried-up waters-
holes, to which, in the hope of relief, they had dragged themselves^
there to fall and die ; trees are cut down for the sake of the twigs
as fodder ; the flocks are driven to the mountains in the hope that
water may there be found, and every efibrt is made to avert the im-
pending ruin ; but in spite of all that can be done the loss is extreme.
At length a change takes place, rain falls abundantly, and the plains,
on which but lately not a blade of herbage was to be seen, and over
which the stillness of desolation reigned, become green with luxu-
riant vegetation. Orchideis and thousands of flowers of the loveliest
hues are profusely spread around, as if nature rejoiced in her reno-
vation, and the grain springing up vigorously gives promise of an
abundant harvest. This change from sterility to abundance in the
vegetable world is accompanied by a correspondent increase of animal
life, the waters become stocked with fish, the marshy districts with
frogs and other reptiles ; hosts of caterpillars and other insects make
their appearance, and spreading over the surface of the country com-

mence the work of devastation, which however is speedily checked by
the birds of various kinds that follow in their train. Attracted by the
abundance of food, hawks of three or four species, in flocks of hun-
dreds, depart from their usual solitary habits, become gregarious and
busy at the feast, and thousands of Straw-necked Ibises (Ibis spi-
fdcolHs)i and other species of the feathered race, revel in the pro-
fusion of a welcome banquet. It must not however be imagined
that this change is effected without its attendant horrors ; the heavy
rains often filling the river beds so suddenly, that the onward pouring
flood carries wiUi it everything that may impede its course ; and woe
to the unhappy settler whose house or grounds may lie within the
influence of the overwhelming floods I A painful instance of the
desolating effects of this sudden irruption of the waters came under
my own observation while travelling in the plains bordering the
Lower Namoi in New South Wales. On pulling up my horse at
one of the huts erected by the stock-keepers charged with the flocks
and herds depastured in this vast grazing-ground, I found it occu-
pied by Lieut. Lowe and his nephew, who had gone thither for the
purpose of being present at the shearing of the flocks belonging to
the former gentleman. Although strangers, their reception of me
was warm and hospitable, and I left them with a promise of making
their abode a resting-place on my return. My second welcome was
such as friends receive from friends, and rejoicing that I bad made
the acquaintance of persons so worthy and estimable, I left them
busy in their .operations, happy and prosperous. Seven days after
my departure from their dwelling heavy rains suddenly set in ; the
mountain-streams swelled into foaming torrents, filling the deep
gullies ; the rivers rose, some to the height of forty feet, bearing all
before them. The Namoi having widely overflowed its banks, rolled
along with impetuous fury, sweeping away the huts of the stock-
keepers in its course, tearing up trees, and hurrying affrighted men
and flocks to destruction. Before there was time to escape, the hut
in which Lieut. Lowe and his nephew were sojourning was torn up
and washed away, and the nephew and two men, overwhelmed by
the torrent, sank and perished. Lieut. Lowe stripped to swim, and
getting on the trunk of an uprooted tree, hoped to be carried down
the eddying flood to some part where he could obtain assistance.
But he was floated into the midst of a sea of water stretching as
far as he could discern on every side around him. Here he
slowly drifted ; the rains had ceased, the thermometer was at 100^,
a glaring sun and a coppery sky were above him ; he looked in vain
for help, but no prospect of escape animated him, and the hot sun
began its dreadful work. His skin blistered, dried, became parched
and hard, like the bark of a tree, and life began to ebb. At length
assistance arrived — it came too late; he was indeed just alive, but
died almost immediately. He was scorched to death.

Sir Thomas Mitchell, in his recently published ^* Journal of an Ex-
pedition into the interior of Tropical Australia," has given a most vivid
picture of the manner in which floods occasioned by distant rains fill
the river-beds, and which I beg leave to transcribe. Sir Thomas being

somewhat unwell while encamped on the banks of the Maequarie, .
the channel of which was deep and dry, sent Mr. Stephenson, one of
his party, to Mount Foster, to make inquiries about the river and the
stations on it lower down. Mr. Stephenson returned early with two
of the mounted police. To his most important question, '* what water
was to be found lower down in the river, the reply was, * plenty, and
9l flood coming down from the Turdn mountains.' The two policemen
said that they had travelled twenty miles with it on the day pre-
vious, and that it would still take some time to arrive near our camp.
.... In the afternoon, two of the men taking a walk up the river,
reported on their return, that the flood poured in upon them when
in the river bed so suddenly, that they narrowly escaped it. Still
the bed of the Maequarie before our camp continued so dry and
silent, that I could scarcely believe the flood coming to be real, and
so near to us, who had been put to so many shifts for the want of
water. Towards evening I stationed a man with a gun a little way
up the river, with orders to fire on the flood's appearance, that I
might have time to run and witness what I so much wished to see,
as well from curiosity as from urgent need. The shades of evening
came, however, but no flood, and the man on the look-out returned
to the camp. Some hours later, and after the moon had risen, a
murmuring sound, like that of a distant waterfall, mingled with
occasional cracks, as of breaking timber, drew our attention, and
I hastened to the river-bank. By very slow degrees the sound
grew louder, and at length so audible as to draw various persons
besides from the camp to the river-side. Still no flood appeared,
although its approach was indicated by the occasional rending of
trees with a loud noise. Such a phsenomenon in a most serene
moonlight night was new to us all. At length the rushing sound of
waters, and loud cracking of timber, announced that the flood was
in the next bend. It rushed into our sight, glittering in the moon-
beams, a moving cataract, tossing before it ancient trees, and snap>
ping them against its banks. It was preceded by a point of mean-
dering water, picking its way, like a thing of life, through the
deepest parts of the dark, dry and shady bed, of what thus again
became a flowing river. By my party, situated as we were at that
time, beating about the country, and impeded in our journey solely
by the almost total absence of water, — suflering excessively from
thirst and extreme heat, — I am convinced the scene never can be
forgotten. Here came at once abundance, the produce of storms

in the far-ofl* mountains that overlooked our homes The

river gradually filled up the channel nearly bank- high, while the
living cataract travelled onward much slower than I had expected
to see it ; so slowly, indeed, that more than an hour after its first
arrival the sweet music of the head of the flood was distinctly
audible, as the murmur of waters and diapason crash of logs tra*
yelled slowly through the tortuous windings The next morn-
ing the river had risen to within six feet of the top of its banks,
and poured its turbid waters along in fulness and strength, but no
longer with noise. All night that body of water had been in motion
downwards, and seemed to me enough to deluge the whole country."

So little has as yet been ascertained respecting the climatology
of western, north-western and northern Australia, that it is not
known whether they also are subject to these tremendous visita-
tions ; but as we have reason to believe that the intertropical parts
of the country are favoured with a more constant supply of rain as
well as a lower degree of temperature, it is most probable that they
do not there occur.

Independently of the vast accession of birds attracted by the
great supply of food, as mentioned above, there are many species
which make regular migrations, visiting the southern parts of the
continent and Van Diemen's Land during the months of summer,
for the purpose of breeding and rearing their progeny, and which
retire again northwards on the approach of winter, following in
fact the same law which governs the migrations of the species in-
habiting similar latitudes of the Old World. There are also
periods when softie species of birds appear to entirely forsake the
part of the country in which they have been accustomed to dwell,
and to betake themselves to some distant locality, where they re-
main for five or ten years, or even for a longer period, and whence
they as suddenly disappear as they had arrived. Some remarkable
instances of this kind came under my own observation ; for in-
stance, the beautiful little warbling Grass Parrakeet (Melopsittacus
undtdatus)y which, prior to 1838, was so rare in the southern parts
of Australia that only a single example had been sent to Europe,
arrived in that year in such countless multitudes on the Liverpool
plains, that I could have procured any number of specimens, and .
more than once their delicate bodies formed an excellent article of
food for myself and party. The Nymphicus Novcb HollanduB forms
another case in point, and the beautiful Harlequin Bronze- winged
Pigeon (Peristera histrionica) a third ; this latter bird occurred in
such numbers on the plains near the Namoi in 1839, that eight fell
to a single discharge of my gun ; both the settlers and natives assured
me that they had suddenly arrived, and that they had never before
been seen in that part of the country. The aborigines who were
with me, and of whom I must speak in the highest praise, from the
readiness with which they rendered me their assistance, affirmed,
upon learning the nature of my pursuits, that they had come to
meet me. The Tribonyx ventralis may be cited as another species
whose movements are influenced by the same law. This bird
visited the colony of Swan River in 1 833, and that of South Australia
in 1840, in such countless myriads, that whole fields of corn were
trodden down and destroyed in a single night ; and even the streets
and gardens of Adelaide were, according to Captain Sturt, alive
with them.

If we compare the ornithology of Australia with that of any other
country in similar latitudes and of the same extent, we shall find
that it fully equals, if it does not exceed them all, in the number of
species it comprises ; and the parts of the country still unexplored
doubtless contain many yet to be added to the list of its Fauna.

In the course of the present work it will be found that I have
frequently given a wide range of habitat to some of the species, and

that I have at the same time pointed out slight variations, not
amounting to a specific difference, in individuals from different
localities. This difference I am unable to account for. I do not be-
lieve the birds to be distinct species, but am inclined to regard them
as varieties or races of the same species, modified by the character
of the situations they frequent. I may mention some curious in.
stances in point, such as the Artamus sordidus, which is a migratory
bird in Van Diemen s Land, and partially stationary in New South
Wales, yet all the examples procured in the former country are the
largest and most vigorous, which we should naturally attribute to
the excess of food afforded by the more humid climate of Van Die*
men's Land ; but an instance precisely the reverse of this occurs
with regard to the Graucalus, which is also a migratory bird in Van
Diemen's Land, and examples of which, killed in that island, are
much more feeble and diminutive than those obtained in New South
Wales. The Halcyon sandusy again, whose distribution is universal
in Australia, varies somewhat in size in every colony, still not suffi-
ciently so to afford any tangible specific characters.

Upon taking a general view of the Australian ornithology we find
no species of Vulture, only one typical Eagle, and indeed a remark-
able deficiency in the number of the species of its birds of prey, with
the exception of the nocturnal Owls, among which the species be-
longing to the restricted genus Strix are more numerous than in any
other part of the world ; a circumstance which is probably attri-
butable to the great abundance of small quadrupeds, most of which
are nocturnal in their habits.

Among the perching birds there is a great excess of the Insecti-
vorm — Podargiy MeliphctgidcB^ MaluridtB, GymnorhincRy &c., of the
Granivorw, such as various species of the F'ringilUdiBy and of the
PsiUacidcB, The latter tribe of birds is more numerous in Australia
than in any other part of the world, and forms four great groups,
viz. the Ccdyptorhynchiy wliich mainly procure their food from the
JBanksuSy OamarincB and Eucalypti ; the CacaimSj which feed upon
the terrestrial OrchidecBy &c.; the Trichoglossiy which subsist upon
the nectar they extract from the flower-cups and blossoms of the
Eucalypti ; and the ground and grass Parrakeets, which feed almost
exclusively on the seeds of the various grasses that abound on the
plains ; the united groups amounting to nearly sixty species.

Of the Rasorial forms, — ^while the Pigeons and Hemipodes are
numerous, the larger and typical Gallinacea are entirely wanting ;
their only representatives being a few species of Cotumix and Sy^
nounis. The Grallatorial birds are about equal in number to those of
other countries ; and among the water birds the true Ducks are but
few, while the ProcellaridtB which visit the coast are in much greater
abundance than in any other part of the world. On a retrospect
of the whole we find a greater number of nocturnal birds than is com-
prised in the ornithology of any other section of the globe. I must
not omit to mention too the extraordinary fecundity which prevails in
Australia, many of its smaller birds breeding three or four times
in a season ; but laying fewer eggs in the early spring when insect

life is less developed, and a greater number later in the season when
the supply of insect food has become more abundant. I have also
some reason to believe that the young of many species breed during
the first season, for among others I frequently found one section of
the Honey-eaters (the MelithrepH) sitting upon eggs while still
clothed in the brown dress of immaturity ; and we know that such is
the case with the introduced GallinaceiE, three or four generations
of which have been often produced in the course of a year.

Another peculiar feature connected with the Australian ornitho-
logy is that of its comprising several forms endowed with the power
of sustaining and enjoying life without a supply of water, that ele*
ment without which most others languish and die ; for instance, the
Halcyons, which I found sustaining life and breeding on the parched
plains of the interior during the severe drought of 1838-9, far re-
moved from any water ; the food of these birds being insects and
lizards.

A considerable number of the older-known of the Australian birds
have been described in the general works of Vieillot, Latham, Shaw
and others ; but their descriptions are so vague, and the species them-
selves referred so frequently to genera widely different from those to
which they really belong, that it has been impossible to identify the
whole or them with certainty ; wherever this could be done their
names have been adopted, or quoted in the synonyms.

The " Birds of Europe" were arranged according to the views of the
late Mr. Vigors; and in the *< Birds of Australia'* the arrangement
is mainly the same, with some modifications of my own which ap-
peared to me to be necessary.

I have been constrained, for the sake of uniformity in size, to
divide the present work into seven volumes; the first of which
comprises the Raptores, the small number of which will account for
its being somewhat thinner than the others; the second, third,
fourth, fiflh and sixth volumes comprise the Insessores, Rasores and
Grallatores in one continuous series, and the seventh the Natatores.

The following synoptical table will give a general view of the
whole ; it contains all the additional information I have received, or
been able to procure, during the progress of the work ; the charac-
ters of the new genera I have found it necessary to institute, &c. ;
and the references to the volumes in which the respective plates are
arranged will render it easy to consult and to quote them.

Order RAPTORES.

Family FALCONIDiE.
Subfamily AQUILINiE.

Genus Aquila.

Numerous species of this genus exist in Asia and Europe ; the
form also occurs in Africa, and in North America ; so far as I am

aware it is not found in South America, and two species are all
that are known in Australia.

1. Aquila fucosa, Cuv Vol. I. PI. 1.

VuUar avdax^ Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp.» p. ii.

Aquila cuneicatuiata^ Brehm. Isis, 1 84*5, p. 356.

( Uroaetus) atidaxy Kaup. Classif. der Saug. und Vog., p. 12.

This fine Eagle ranges over the whole of the southern portion of
Australia and Van Diemen's Land, but I have no positive evidence
of its having been seen in the intertropical regions of the country.

2. Aquila Morphno'ides, Gould . Vol. I. PI. 2.

A beautiful representative of the Aquila pennata of Europe and
India. Since the discovery of this bird at Yarrundi in New South
Wales, when I obtained only a single specimen, T. C. Eyton, Esq.,
has received a second example in a collection obtained at Port
Phillip, and a third was procured by Captain Sturt at the depdt in
South Australia.

Genus Ichthyiaetus.

The members of this genus inhabit India and the whole of the Indian
Islands, and enjoy an equally extensive range over the continent
of Africa. Their natural abode is the margins of large rivers and
inlets of the sea ; and their chief food consists of fish, dead cetacea
and carrion.

3. Ichthyiaetus leucogaster Vol. I. Pi. 3.

Hdlictetus (Pontoaetus) leucogaster, Kaup, Classif. der Saug. und
Vog. p. 122.

Cuncuma leucogaster^ List of Birds in Brit. M us. Coll., Part I.
2nd edit. p. 24;

Found all round the coast of Australia, and said to extend its
range to India and even to A frica ; but this wants confirmation.

An opinion has been lately expressed that the enormous nest^
observed by Captains Cook and Flinders had been constructed by
some species of Dinornis ; but it is quite evident from the account
given by Flinders that they must have been formed by a bird of the
Kaptorial order, and I have no doubt that they were the nests of
the present bird.

" Near Point Possession," says Flinders, "were found two nests of
extraordinary magnitude. They were built upon the ground, from
which they rose above two feet ; and were of vast circumference and
great interior capacity, the branches of trees and other matter, of
which each nest "was composed, being enough to fill a small cart.
Captain Cook found one of these enormous nests upon Eagle Island,
on the east coast." Subsequently Flinders found another of these
nests in which were " several masses resembling those which contain
the hair and bones of mice, and are disgorged by the Owls in Eng-
land after the flesh is digested. These masses were larger, and
consisted of the hair of seals and of land animals, of the scaly feathers
of penguins, and the bones of birds and small quadrupeds. Possibly

the eonatmetor of the nest might be an enormous Owl ; and if so,
the caose of the bird being never seen, whilst the nests were not
scaroe, would be from its not going out until dark ; but from the
very open and exposed situations in which the nests were found, I
should rather judge it to be of the Eagle kind ; and that its powers
are such as to render it heedless of any attempts of the natives upon
its young." — Flinders' Voyage, vol. i. pp. 64 and 81 .

The accumulation of so large a mass of materials is readily ac-
counted for when we remember that the bird is in the habit of re-
sorting to the same eyry for a long succession of years, and of
annually carrying additional materials to reconstruct the nest.

I myself found and took voung birds of this species from similar
nests placed on the points of rocks and promontories of the islands
in Bass's Straits.

Genus Haliastur.

The range of the members of this genus eastends over Australia
and all the islands to India.

4. Haliastur leucostemus, Gould Vol. I. PI. 4.

FaJco paniicerianuSt Shaw, Nat Misc., pi. 389.
Hialiaeius (Ictinoaehu) leucogtemon^ Kaup, Isis, 18479 p* 276.
Confined, so far as I am aware, to Australia, and forming a beau-
tiful representative of the HaUasiur paniiceriantu of India.

5. Haliastur sphenurus Vol. I. PI. 5.

Mihm$ sphenurus^ Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 211.
Haliaeius {IcHnoaetus) ccmorusy Kaup, Isis, 1847) p* 277.
Inhabits all parts of Australia yet visited by travellers, even the
Depdt in the interior.

Genus Pandion.

Of the genus Pandion four species are now known ; one inhabit-
ing America, another Europe and Asia, a third the Indian Islands,
and the fourth Australia.

6. Pandion leucocephalus, Gould VoL I. PI. 6.

Pandion Gouidii^ Kaup, Isis, 18479 P- 270* — List of Birds in
Brit. Mus. Coll., Part I. 2nd edit. p. 22.

This species of Pandion performs precisely the same office in
Australia that the jP. haliaeHts does in Europe and the P. Caroli*
nemis in America ; to both of which species it is very nearly allied.

Genus Falgo.

As they are the most typical of all the Hawks, so are the members
of the genus Faho the most universally dispersed over the face of
the globe ; and I question whether the law of representation is in
any ease more beiaiitifully and clearly shown than by the members
of the present group.

7. Falco hypoleucus, Gould Vol. I. PI. 7.

Up to the present time only four examples of this fine Falcon have

been procured ; it is a species admirably adapted for the sport of
Falconry, and is a beautiful representative of the Falco Gyrfako of
Europe. Its native habitat is the interior of the southern and
western portions of Australia.

8. Fako melanogenys, Gotdd Vol. I. PI. 8.

Faleo macropus^ Swains^ Anim. in Menag. p* 34*1.

mekmoffenys, Kaup, Isis, 1847^ p- 75.

India, Europe, and North America on the one hand, and Cape
Horn, the Cape of Good Hope and. Australia on the other, are all
inhabited by Falcons s6 nearly allied to each other as to favour the
opinion that they are merely varieties of each other ; but I agree
with the Prince of Canino and Professor Kaup in considering them
to be distinct and representatives of each other in the respective
countries they inhabit. It will doubtless be found that the habits
and economy of the whole are as similar as they are in outward ap-
pearance ; and that the Falco melanogenys is as destructive to the
ducks of the interior of Australia as the Falco Anatum is in North
America.

9« Falco subniger, Gray . • Vol. I. PI. 9.

A powerful Falcon differing somewhat in structure from the F,
hypoleuctM and F. melanogenys. Nothing is known of its habits,
and as yet I have only seen four examples, all of which were pro->
cured in the interior of South Australia.

10. Falco frontatus, Gould Vol. I. PI. 10.

Falco lunuhUusj Lath. Ind. Om. Suppl., p. xiii.?

Spartnus lumUatus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet d^Hist. Nat^, torn. x.
p. 324.

Falco longipetmisy Swains. Anim, in Menag., p. 341.

attblnUeo, Brehm, Isis, 1845, p. 347 ?

(^HypotrioTchis) froTdatuSy Kaup, Isis, 1847> p. S5.

A little Falcon with the habits of the Hobby and Merlin com-
bined ; found in all parts of Australia to the southward of the 25th
degree of S. lat. ; among other birds it preys upon the Quails and
the little Partridges belonging to the genus Synoieus,

Genus Ibracidsa, Gould,

Generic characters.

JBill and general form of Falco, but the wtngs less powerful, and
the third quill-feather the longest ; tarsi more elongated, slender,
and covered anteriorly with hexagonal scales ; toes more feeble, the
hind-toe shorter, and the claws less robust.

So far as our present knowledge extends, the members of this
genus are only three in number, all of which are confined to Austra-
lia and New Zealand.

11. leracidea Berigora Vol. I. PI. 11.

leracidea Berigora^ Kaup, Class, der Saug. und Vog., p. 112.
Professor Kaup considers this species and the succe^ing one,

/. oecidentaliSy to be identical, but having had numerous oppor-
tunities of observing them, 1 am satisfied that they are distinct ;
and in confirmation of this opinion I may state that the /. Berigoray
which is from the eastern coast, is always the largest, has the cere
blue-grey, and the plumage of the adult light brown, sparingly
blotched with white on the breast ; while the /. occidentalis,' from
the western coast, is a more delicately formed bird, has the cere
yellow and the breast white, with faint lines of brown down the
centre of each feather.

12. leracidea occidentals, Gould Vol. I. PL 12.

Genus Tinnunculus.

IS. Tinnuuculus Cenchroides Vol. I. PL 1^.

Cerchneis immaculcUus, Brehm, Isis.

A beautiful representative of the Kestrils of Europe and India,
where, as well as in Africa and in most parts of America, members
of this group are to be found.

The range of the Tinnunctdus Cenchroides extends over the
whole of the southern parts of Australia, and that it extends far
towards the northern portion of the country is proved by Mr. Gilbert
having found it, as well as its nest, during the expedition of Dr.
Leichardt from Moreton Bay to Port Essington.

The following is an extract from his Journal : — ^* October 2.
Found, for the first time, the eggs of Tinnuncuius CenchroideSf four
in number, deposited in a hollow spout of a gum-tree overhanging a
creek ; there was no nest, the eggs being merely deposited on a bed
of, decayed wood." They are freckled all over with blotches and
minute dots of rich reddish chestnut on a paler ground, and are one
inch and five-eighths in length by one inch and a quarter in breadth.

Genus Astur.

14. Astur Novae-Hollandiae Vol. I. PL 14.

15* Astur Novae- HoUandise, albino Vol. I. PL 15.

Astur NovcB'HollanduBy Cuv. R^g. An. 1817, p. 320.

Sparvius niveus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., tom. x. p. 338.

Dcedcdion candidum. Less. Traits d'Orn., p. 66.

Falco leucaetos, Forst Descr. Anim. and Drawings, No. 35.,

Astur {Leucospizd) Nova-HoUanduB, Kaup, Class, der Saug.
und Vog. p. 119.

I think Professor Kaup is right in proposing a new generic title
for this species, difiering as it does both in structure and habits from
the true Asturs ; he also, like myself, considers the white birds to be
merely albino varieties of the other ; but my friends, the Rev. T.
J. Ewing and Ronald C. Gunn, Esq. of Van Diemen's Land, are
both most decidedly opposed to this view of the subject, and found
their dissent upon the circumstance of there being none other than
white individuals found in Van Diemen's Land,

So far as it is at present known, the southern and eastern portions

of Australia and the island of Van Diemen's Land constitute the
habitat of the species.

16. Astur radiatus ; Vol. I. PI. 16.

Astur testaceics (Ernest.), Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 367.
A curious form not quite agreeing with Astur ; it is very rare, and
nothing whatever is known of its habits.

17. Astur approximans, Vig. Sf Harsf. .... Vol. I. PL 17.

Astur radiatusy Cuv. R^g. An., 1829, p. 332.

Nisus (Urospiza) radicUuSy Kaup, Mus. Senckenb., 184'5, p. 259.

( ) approximansy Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 182.

Accipitur approximans. List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part I.
2nd edit p. 74.

The Astur approximans has been with propriety removed to the
genus Accipiter by Mr. G. R. Gray, and to this genus my A, cru"
entus is also referable ; for although of a larger size than the other
members of that form, their structure, except in the shorter middle
toe, is very similar.

18. Astur cruentus, Gould Vol. L PI. 18*

Astur cruentus f Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part X. p. 113.
This species and the preceding are representatives of each other
in the eastern and western portions of the continent
I have lately seen specimens from Port Essington.

Genus Accipiter.

19. Accipiter torquatus Vol. L Pi. 19.

Sparvius cirrhoctphalus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d'Hist Nat., torn. x.

p. 328.

tricoloTy Vieill., ibid. p. 329.

Falco nielanapSf Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 12?

Sparvius melanops, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., tom. x. p. 239 ?

Astur (Micronisus) torqtuztus, Kaup, Mus. Senckenb., 1845,

p. 259.
Nisus (Urospiza) iorqucUus, Kaup, Isis, 1847, p* 181.
Accipiter cirrhocephaluSy List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part L

2nd edit. p. 73.
Precisely similar in all its actions and in its economy to the
Sparrow Hawk, Accipiter nisus of Europe.

Genus -Buteo.

Several species of the genus Buteo are dispersed over the great
continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and America, but only one ha&
yet been discovered in Australia.

20. Buteo melanostemon, Gould. Vol. I. PI. 20.

This bird departs somewhat in form from the typical species of
the genus Buteo ; but so little is known respecting it that we are
ignorant how far this departure may influence its habits and eco-
nomy. One most singular story has been transmitted to me and i»

here given as I received it ; without vouching for its truth, I may
remark that the testimony of the natives may generally be relied
upon.

" The natives, Mr. Drummond, and his son Mr. Johnson Drum-
mond tell me»*' says Mr. Gilbert, " that this bird is so bold, that
upon discovering an Emu sitting on her eggs it will attack her with
great ferocity until it succeeds driving her from the nest ; when the
eggs being the attraction, it takes up a stone with its feet, and while
hovering over the nest lets the stone fall upon and crush them, and
then descends and devours their contents. I have had numerous
opportunities of observing the bird myself, and can bear testimony
to its great powers of scent or vision ; for upon several occasions,
when the natives had placed a small kangaroo or kangaroo rat in
the fork of a tree or on the top of a XanthorrJuBa with the intention
of taking it again on our return, we have found that the bird had
discovered, and during our short absence had devoured every part of
it except the skin, which was left so perfect, that at first I could not
believe that it had not been done by the hand of man."

Genus Milvus.

Asia is the great stronghold of the Kites or restricted genus
Milvus; a few species occur in Europe, Africa, and the Indian
Islands, and two are natives of Australia.

21. Milvus affinis, G^ot<^ Vol. I. PI. 21.

Milvus {Hydroictinia) affinis^ Kaup, Isis, 184-7, p. 118.

This representative of the Milvus ater of Europe is found all over
Australia, even at Port flssington : wi^ Captain Sturt observed it
flying over the far interior of South Australia in great numbers.

22. Milvus isurus, GovM Vol. I. R. 22.

This species, which is sparingly dispersed over the whole of the
southern part of Australia, is an equally beautiful representative of
the common Kite, Milvus regaUs of Europe.

Genus Elanus.

Species of this beautiful and well-defined genus iahabit nearly
every part of the world : two are natives of AustraiidI

23. Elanus axillaris Vol. I. V\. 2S.

Elanus fnelancpterus, Vig, & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.

p. 185.
The Elanus axUlaris' is a representative of the Elanus melano-
pterus of Europe.

24. Elanus scriptus, Gould Vol. I. PI. 24.

A fine new species rendered conspicuously different from all the
other members of the genus by the bUck-lettered form of the mark-
ings under the wings.

Captain Sturt found this bird abundant at th^ dep6t towards the
interior of Australia.

Genus Baza.

Of this fine genus at least four species are known, one of whioh^
inhabits Africa, and the remainder the Indian islands and Australia.

25. Baza subcristata.

Lepidogenys snbcristatus, Gould .... Vol. I. PI. 25.

Baza subcrisUUay G. R. Gray, List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll.,
Part I. p. 19., 2nd edit. p. 41.

Pemii (Hiffftkpus) subcrtstaittt, Kaup, Isis, 184<7> p* 34S.

I have no additional information respecting this noble species ; all
the examples of which, that have come under my notice, have been
obtained in the brushes of the east coast of Australia.

Genus Circus.

Two if not three species of Harriers inhabit Australia, consequently
the number of species is nearly equal in £urope, Asia, Africa, Ame-
rica, and Australia ; those inhabiting the latter country are per-
cisely of the same form, and perform the same offices as their near
aUies do in the other parts of the world.

26. Circus assimilis, Jard, and Selb Vol. I. PI. 26«

27* Circus Jardinii, Gould Vol. I. PL 27*

Circus (SpUocircus) Jardinii, Kaup, Isis, IS^?* p. 102.

Famfly STRIGIDiE.

Genus Strix.

While as a general rule other great countries are only inhabited by
single species of the restricted genus Strix, the Fauna of Australia

comprises no less than four, all of which appear to be necessary in
order to prevent an inordinate increase of the smaller quadrupeds
which there abound.

28. Strix castanops, Goidd Vol. I. PL 28.

29. Strix personata, Vig Vol. I. PL 29.

SO. Strix tenebricosus, Gould Vol. I. Tl, SO.

SI • Strix delicatulus, 6ott^ VoLI. PLSl.

Strix Jlammea? Vig. & Horef. in Linn. Trans., vol. xr. p. 190.

Genus Athene.

A genus of diurnal Owls, of which five species are natives of
Australia; the smaller kinds are represented in Europe and Asia
by the Athene noctua, A. Cucuh^kks and A, Brama; tiie lai^er
kinds have no representatives in the tiorthem hemisphere.

32. Athene Boobook • Vol. I. PI. 32.

SS. Athene maculata Vol. I. PI. 33.

34. Athene marnioratay Gould.

' Athene marmoraiOj Gould in Proc* of Zool. Soc, Part XIV. p. 18.

All the upper surface, wings and tail dark brown, obscurely spotted
with white round the back of the neck, on the wing-coverts and
scapularies ; inner webs of the primaries at their base, and the inner
webs of the lateral tail-feathers crossed by bands, which are buff
next the shaft and white towards the extremity of the webs; fac^
and chin whitish ; under surface dark brown, blotched with white
and sandy brown ; legs and thighs fawn-colour ; bill horn-colour ;
feet yellow.

Inhabits South Australia, is much larger than A. maeulaic^ but so
nearly allied to, and so much like that species, that I have not
thought it necessary to give a separate figure of it.

35. Athene connivens Vol. I. PI. 34.

Buteo connivens, Vieill, Nouv. Diet. d'Hbt. Nat., torn. iv. p. 481.

36. Athene strenua, Gould Vol. I. PI. 35.

37. Athene rufa, Gould Vol. I. PI. 36.

Order INSESSORES.

Family CAPRIMULGIDiE.

Genus ^gotheles.

The known species of this genus are two in number, both of
which, so far as has yet been ascertained, are confined to Australia.
In many of their actions, and in their nidification, they are very
owl-like, depositing, like those birds, their four or five round white
eggs in the hollows of trees, without any nest.

38. ^gotheles Novae-Holiandiae Vol. II. PI. I.

Inhabits the whole of the southern parts of Australia and Van
Diemen's Land.

39. iligotheles leucogaster^ Gatdd Vol. II. PI. 2.

Inhabits the northern or intertropical parts of Australia, where it
represents the j3S, Novce-HoUandicB.

Genus Podargus.

With no one group of the Australian birds have I had so much
difficulty in discriminating the species as the genus Podargus. It
is almost impossible to determine with certainty the older species
described by Latham ; could this have been done satisfactorily, even
in a single instance, it would have greatly facilitated the investiga-
tion of the remainder. Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield regarded the

specimens in the Linnean Collection as referable to three species,
and have described them under the named of Stanleyanus^ humera-
lis, and Cuvieri; Latham's description of the species named by him
megacephalus accords so well with the P. Stanlei/anus, that I sus-
pect both those terms have been applied to one and the same species,
an opinion strengthened by Latham's remarks as to the great size of
the head and mandibles of his bird, the total length of which he
states to be thirty inches, which is evidently an error.

After examining a large number of specimens comprising indi-
viduals of all ages, I have come to the conclusion that the Australian
members of this genus constitute six species ; four of which, namely,
P, megcLcephalus, JP. humeralis, P. Cuvieri and P. brtwhypterusy
are most closely allied to each other ; and two, namely, P, plumi-
ferus and P. PJudcBnotdes, which present specific characters that
cannot be mistaken. We have then in Australia a large group of
nocturnal birds of this form, destined, as it would seem, to keep in
check the great families of Cicadce and PkasmicUB, upon which they
mainly subsist ; but they do not refuse other insects, and even ber-
ries have been found in their stomachs. They are an inanimate and
sluggish group of birds, depending less upon their powers of flight
than upon the power they possess of traversing the branches of the
various trees upon which their favourite insects reside ; at intervals
during the night they sit about in open places, on rails, stumps of
trees, on the roofs of houses and on the tombstones in the church-
yards, omens of death, their hoarse disagreeable voice adding not a
little to the terrors induced by their presence.

In their nidification the Podargi differ in a most remarkable
manner from all the other CaprimtilgidcB, inasmuch as while
the eggs of the u^gothelcB are deposited in the holes of trees, and
those of the members of the other genera of this family on the
ground, these birds construct a fiat nest of small sticks on the hori-
zontal branches of trees for the reception of theirs, which are more-
over of the purest white.

Although I have no satisfactory evidence that these birds resort
to a kind of hybernation for short periods during some portions of
the year, I must not omit to mention that I have been assured that
they do occasionally retire to and remain secluded in the hollow
parts of the trees ; and if such should prove to be the case, it may
account for the extreme obesity of many of the individuals I pro-
cured, which was often so great as to prevent me from preserving
their skins. I trust that these remarks will cause the subject to be
investigated by those who are favourably situated for so doing ; for
my own part I see no reason why a bird should not pass a portion
of its existence in a state of hybernation as well as some species of
quadrupeds, animals much higher in the scale of creation.

So great a similarity in plumage reigns throughout the first four
of the species enumerated below that I have thought it unnecessary
to figure more than two, viz. P. humeraUs and P. Cuvieri ; the
other two may be readily distinguished by the descriptions I have
given of them, particularly if the localities be attended to.

40. Podargus megacephalas.

Capri$nulgu$ megaeephahuy Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. Iviii.
Great-headed Goatsw^er^ Lath. Gen. Sjn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 9G5 ;
Shaw, Gen. ZooL, voL x. p. 141 ; Lath. Gen. Hbt., vol. vii.
p. S64.
Wed^-taUed Goatsucker^ Lath. Gen. Hist, vol. vii. p. 868 ?
Podargus StafUeyanus, Lath. MSS., Vig. & Horsf. in Linn.
Trans., vol. xv. p. 197 ?
In the general colouring, form and arrangement of its markings,
this species so closely resembles the P. humeralisy that one descrip-
tion applies equally to both ; but it may be distinguished by its
being somewhat larger in the body and much larger in the head, and
by the very great development of the mandibles.

It inhabits the brushes of the east coast, and in its habits and
economy resembles the other species of the group.

41. Podargus hurneralis, Vig. ^ Horsf, .... Vol. II. PL 8.

42. Podargus Cuvieri, Vtg. ^ Horsf, Vol. II. Fl. 4.

43. Podargus brachypterus, Gould.

Podargus brachfpterus^ Gould in Proe. of ZooL Soc^ Purt
VUL p. 163.
In its genenU appearance this bird dosely resemUes the P. ibime-
raUsy but is even smaller in sise than P. Cumeriy while at the same
time the bill is larger than that of the former species, and projects
much farther from the face than in any other of its congeners ; it
also differs in the shortness of its wings, which drcumstaace sug-
gested the specific appellation I have assigned to it.
It is a native of western Australia.

44. Podargus Phahenoides, Gould Vol. II. PI. 5.

45. Podargus plumiferus, Gould VoL II. PL 6.

Genus Eurostopodus.

Generic characters.

JBiU somewhat more produced and stouter than in Caprimulgtu ;
nostrils lateral and linear ; rictus entirely devoid of bri&tles, but fur*
nished with short, weak, divided and branching hairs; toings longer
and more powerful than in Caprimulgus; first and second quills
equal and longest; tail moderately long and nearly square; tarsi
stout, and clothed anteriorly for their whole length ; toes short, thick
and fleshy ; outer ones equal, and united to the middle one by a
membrane for more than half their length ; nail of the middle toe
strongly pectinated on the inner side.

This genus, so far as is yet known, comprises but two species,
both of which are natives of and confined to Australia. They differ
considerably in their habits from the true CaprimtUgu Their wing-
powers being enormous, they pass through the air with great rapi*
dity, and while hawking for insects during the twilight of the early
dawn and evening, they make the most abrupt and sudden turns in

order to secure their prey. Like the typical Ccg^rimulgi, they rest
on the ground during the day. In every instance in which the site
employed for incubation has been discovered, a single egg only has
been found ; it is deposited on the bare ground, and differs from
those of the other CcKprimtUffi in being much more round in form,
and of a dull olive«green spotted with jet black.

The members of this genus are very nearly allied to the Jjyn-
corfii, a group of birds inhabiting the Indian Islands.

46. Eurostopodus albogularis Vol. II. PI. 7.

47. Eurostopodus guttatus Vol. II. PI. 8.

FichteTs Goatsuckery Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 345.

Genus Caprimulgus.

Europe, Asia and Africa are the great stroogholds of the members
of this genus as at present restricted. A singte species only has yet
been discovered in Australia, where it frequents the northern or
intertropical parts of the country.

48. Caprimulgus macruiHis, fforsf, Vol. II. PI. 9.

This bird is found in Java, and I believe in southern India.

Family HIRUNDINIDiE.

Genus Acanthtlis.

A group of birds possessing enormous powers of flight, and the
members of which are distributed over the Indian Islands and Asia ;
the form is also found in Africa and in America, but in those coun-
tries the species are fewer in number: one species only has yet
been discovered in Australia.

49. Acanthylis caudacuta Vol. II. PI. 10.

A migratory bird in most parts of Australia, but whence it comes
or whither it goes has not yet been ascertained ; of its nidification
also nothing is known.

I have alluded to the great wing-powers of the birds of the genus
Acanthtlis, and in illustration I may mention that an individual of
this species was killed in England during the past year : it would be
interesting to know the route pursued by the bird in travelling from
so great a distance as it must have done.

Genus Ctpselub*

Of this genus, as of AcanihyliSy there is but one species peculiar
to Australia : other members of the group inhabit the continents of
Europe, Asia and Africa, but not America.

50. Cypselus Australia, GatM Vol. II. PI. 11.

Hirundo pacificay Lath.?

Genua Atticora*
The members of this genus are principally American.

I am not fully satisfied of the propriety of placing the bird I de-
scribed in the * Proceedings of the Zoolc^ical Society ' as Hirundo
leucostemon in the present genus : if on a further knowledge of the
Australian birds it should prove that I have been correct in so doing,
it would be somewhat singular that the genus should have repre-
sentatives in Africa and Australia, but not in India.

51. Atticora leucostemon, Gould Vol. II. PL 12.

Since I described apd figured this species I have received nume-
rous examples from Swan River, where Mr. Gilbert observed it on
the 19th of August flying about the holes of the Boodee (Beiiongia
Grayii) in pairs ; but it was not until the latter end of September
that he succeeded in finding their nests placed at the extremities
of holes bored in the side of a bank. All the holes that he saw
were perfectly round, not more than two inches in diameter, run-
ning horizontally, and of the same dimensions, for three feet from
the entrance, and then expanding to the extent of four inches and
forming the receptacle of the nest, which is constructed of the broad
portions of dried grasses and the dry dead leaves of the Acacia. Mr.
Johnson Drummond informed him that he had frequently found
seven, eight or nine eggs in a single nest, from which he inferred
that more than one female lays in the same nest : the eggs are white,
somewhat lengthened, and pointed in form. It would seem that the
holes are not constructed exclusively for the purpose of nidification,
for upon Mr. Gilbert's inserting a long grass stalk into one of them
five birds made their way out, all of which he succeeded in catch-
ing ; upon his digging to the extremity in the hope of procuring
their eggs, no nest was found, and hence he concludes that their
holes are also used as places of resort for the night.

Subfamily HIRUNDININiE.

Genus Hirundo.

The members of the genus Hirundo, or true Swallows, inhabit
Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, the Indian Islands and
Australia, where the European and American chimney Swallows,
Hirundo rttstica and H. rufa, are beautifully represented by the H.
neoxena.

52. Hirundo neoxena, Gould Vol. II. H. 13,

Hirundo neoxena, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 113.

Genus Chelidon.

I find that by some unaccountable mistake I have placed the
Australian members of this genus in that of Collocalia, — an error
which I take this opportunity of correcting.

The two species inhabiting Australia are both represented by
others in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. They differ somewhat
from each other in habits, one always resorting to the holes of trees

for the purpose of nidification, and the other building a clay nest
similar to those constructed pj the martins of Europe and America.

53. Chelidon arborea.

Collocalia arborea, Gould Vol. II. PL 14.

54. Chelidon Ariel.

Collocalia Ariel, Gould Vol. 11. PI. 15.

Family MEROPIDiE.
Genus Merops.

India and Africa may be said to be the great nursery of this
lovely group of birds ; one species of which, common in the southern
parts of Europe, is beautifully represented in Australia by the
Merops omatus, the only species inhabiting that country.

55> Merops omatus, Z^^ Vol. II. PL 16.

Family ?

Genus Eurystomus.

One species of this genus is found in Australia, and others inhabit
India and Africa. They are closely allied to the Rollers, and not
very distantly related to the Halcyons. »

56» Eurystomus Australis, Swains, Vol. II. PL 17.

Family HALCYONIDiE.

Genus Dacelo.

The members of the genus Dacelo comprise the largest species
of the great family of the HalcyonidcBy and form a conspicuous
portion of the ornithology of Australia; but remarkably enough are
confined to the south-eastern and northern portions of the country,
the south-western parts being uninhabited by any species of this
group. I believe that water is not essential to their existence, and
that they seldom or never drink. They feed almost exclusively upon
animal substances, small quadrupeds, birds, snakes, lizards, and
insects of every kind being equally acceptable.

Three species inhabit Australia.

57. Dacelo gigantea Vol. II. PL 18.

Inhabits the south-eastern portion of Australia, from South

Australia to Moreton Bay.

58. Dacelo Leachii, Vig. and Horsf, .... Vol. II. PL 19.
Inhabits the north-eastern portion of Australia, and is common

at Port Essington.

59. Dacelo cervina, Gould Vol. II. PL 20.

Inhabits the north-western parts of Australia, particularly the

Cobourg Peninsula.

In his 'Journal of an Overland Expedition from Moreton Bay to
Port Essington,' Dr. Leichardt states that when near the Gulf of

CarpeDtaria, ''The Itttg^ung jaokast (Dacdo cervina, Gauid) of
thif part of the country u of a different 8pecte« from that of the
eastern coast, is of a smaller size and speaks a different language ;
but the noise is by no means so ridiculous as that of Dacelo gigantea ;
he is heard before sunrise, and immediately after sunset, like his
representative of the eastern coast ; the latter was observed as far as
the upper Lynd, where the new one made his appearance." — P. 326.

Genus Halctok.

The members of this genus, as now restricted, are found in all the
islands of the Indian Archipelago, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Australian species, which are two in number, have many habits
in common with the Dacelos, and dwell among other places on the
open plains, far away from water, and consequently must live for
considerable periods without a supply of that element.

60. Halcyon sanctus, Vig. and Horsf. . ^ . . . Vol. II. PI. 21.
Universally dispersed over Australia.

61. Halcyon pyrrhopygia, GotUd Vol. II. PL 22.

Mr. Gilbert procured examples of this new species during Dr.
Leichardt's overland expedition above-mentioned; Captain Sturt
found it at^the depdt in South Australia, and I have received speci-
mens from' the interior of Swan River ; consequently it has a very
wide range, but is more an inhabitant of the interior of the countiy
than of the districts near the coast.

62. Halcyon sordidus, Gould Vol. II. PL 23.

From the north coast.

63. Halcyon MacLeayii, Jard, and Selb. . . . Vol. II. PI. 24>.

Independently of the Cobourg Peninsula, which I have given as
the true habitat of this bird, I have received specimens from Moreton
Bay and other parts of the east coast ; it doubtless therefore ranges
over the whole of the northern and eastern parts of the country.

Genus Alcyone.

The members of this genus are so intimately allied to each other
that I have only deemed it necessary to figure two species, viz. Al-
cyone azurea and A, pusilla ; the two species not figured are both
nearly allied to A, azurea, and may be considered its northern and
southern prototypes, since the one to which I have given the name
of ptdchra inhabits the north coast, and the other, which I have
called Diemenensis, inhabits Van Diemen's Land. The A, azurea in-
habits the intermediate or rather the south-eastern portions of the
country, but no species of the genus has yet been found in Western
Australia. They all frequent the margins of rivers, and live on
small fish and insects, and have many habits in common with the
members of the genus Alcedo, of which the Kingfisher of Europe,
A, Ispidoy is the type. Although some species are found in New
Guinea and the Indian Islands, Australia is the country in which
birds of this form are most abundant.

64. Alcyone azurea Vol. II. PI. 25.

65. Alcyone Diemenensis, Gould.

Alcyone Diemenensis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, P^art XIV.
p. 19.
All the upper surface deep blue, becoming more vivid on the
rump and upper tail-coverts ; wings black washed with blue ; throat
buff; under surface of the body and wings ferruginous orange ; on
each side of the chest a patch of bluish black ; lores and a small
patch behind the ears buff; crown of the head indistinctly barred
with black ; irides and bill black ; feet orange.
Inhabits Van Diemen's Land.

66. Alcyone pulchra, Gould,

Alcyone pulchra, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part XIV. p. 19.

All the upper surface shining purplish blue ; wings brownish
black ; lores, tufl behind the ear, and throat buff ; under surface
deep ferruginous orange ; sides of the chest fine purplish blue,
passing into a rich vinous tint on the flanks ; irides and bill black ;
feet orange.

Inhabits the north coast of Australia.

67* Alcyone (Aisilla Vol. II. PL 26.

Family

Genus Artamus.

The members of this singular genus are distributed over New-
Guinea, Ceram, the Indian Islands and the continent of India, but
are more numerous in Australia than ebewhere, its fauna comprising
no less than seven well-defined species.

68. Artamus sordidus Vol. II. PL 27*

69. Artamus minor, VteiM. Vol. II. PL 28.

Mr. Gilbert found this species breeding in the interior of the
country during Dr. Leichardt's overland journey to Port Essington.

70. Artamus cinereus, Vieill. Vol. II. PL 29.

71* Artamus albiventris, Gould

72* Artamus personatus, Gould

73. Artamus superciliosus, Gould

74?. Artamus leucopygialis, Gould

Family -

Vol. II. PL 30.
VoL IL PL 31.
Vol. II. PL 32.
Vol. II. PL 83.

Genus DiciEUM.

The continent of India, the Indian Islands and New Guinea are
the countries in which the members of this genus abound ; as yet
only a single species has been found in Australia.

75. Dicaeum hiraadinaceum VoL L PI. S4«

Family PIPRIDiE.

Genus Pardalotus.

This form is peculiar to Australia, in every portion of which great
country, including Van Diemen's Land, one or other of the species
I have figured are to be found ; some of them associated in the same
district, and even inhabiting the same trees, while in other parts
only a single species exists ; for instance, the P. punctatus^ P,
quadragintus and P. affinis inhabit Van Diemen's Land ; on the
whole of the southern coast of the continent from east to west P.
purwtatus and JP. stnattis are associated; the north coast is the
cradle of the species I have called uropygialis, and the east coast
that of melanocephaltis, from both of which countries the others are
excluded ; the true habitat of the beautiful species I have figured
and described as P. rubricatus is not yet known.

The seven species of this little group are each individually very
numerous, which, together with their general distribution, may en-
able them to effect some important operation in the economy of
nature ; their chief food consisting of the larvae of insects.

76. Pardalotus punctatus Vol. II. PI. 35.

77. Pardalotus rubricatus, Gould

78. Pardalotus quadragintus, Gould

79. Pardalotus striatus ....

80. Pardalotus affinis, Gould • .

81. Pardalotus melanocephalus, Gould

Vol. 11. PI. 36.
Vol. II. PI. 37.
Vol. II. PI. 38.
Vol. II. PI. 39.
Vol. II. PI. 40.

82. Pardalotus uropygialis, Gould Vol. II. PI. 4<1.

Family LANIADiE.

Genus Strepera.

Prior to the commencement of the present work only two species
of this form (^S,graculina and S* Anaphonensis) had been described,
and these had been referred to a different genus by almost every
author who had occasion to mention them ; the older writers assign-
ing them to CorvuSy Coradas and GraculUy and the more modem
Qnes to CracUcus and Barita : finding that its structure did not
agree with the character of either of those genera, I (in 1837) pro-
posed to make the first-mentioned species type of a new genus
{Coronicd)y not being aware at the time that this had been done
some years before by M. Lesson, whose name, from its priority, is
necessarily the one adopted.

My researches in Australia have enabled me to add four other
species to the group, three possessing well-defined specific characters,
and one, the distinctive markings of which are not so apparent, but
which, in my opinion, is equally distinct ; the specific characters of
some groups of birds are, in fact, so difficult to be determined, both
from the similarity of the species and the want of a knowledge of

their natural habits, as to cause the naturalist no little trouble and
research in properly distinguishing them ; and to no group does this
remark more strongly apply than to the one under consideration ;
the ample materials, however, at my command, and the possession
of a large number of specimens, the sexes of which have all been
ascertained by dissection, and the habits of which have been ob«
served in their native localities, enables me to give as perfect an
A account of this curious group as any I have yet attempted.

On a careful examination of the members of this genus, it will
be perceived that their relationship to the CorvicUej to which they
have been usually assigned, b very remote, their size and colour
being, in fact, the only features of resemblance ; their whole structure
and economy is indeed very different from those of every other
bird known, except those of Gymnorhina and Cmctictis, with which
genera they form a very natural group most nearly allied to the
great family of Laniad(B or Shrikes.

All the species yet discovered are not only peculiar to Australia,
but are strictly confined to the southern portion of that continent ;
their range being limited to the country comprised within the 25th
and 4<0th degrees of south latitude ; future research may, however,
add both to the number of species and to the extent of their range ;
still their great stronghold is undoubtedly the most southern por-
tion of the Australian continent, the islands of Bass's Straits and
Van Diemen's Land.

Most of these birds seek their food on or near the ground, some-
times in swampy situations, and even on the sea-shore, at others on
the most sterile plains far distant from water; grasshoppers and insects
of every order are eaten by them with avidity, and to these graia
seeds and fruits are frequently added ; they hop with remarkable
agility over the broken surface of the ground, and leap from branch
to branch with great alacrity : their flight is feeble and protracted,
and they seldom mount high in the air, except for the purpose of
crossing a gully, or for passing from one part of the forest to another,
and then merely over the tops of the trees ; during flight they
usually utter a peculiar shrill cry, which is frequently repeated and
answered by other birds of the same troop, for they mostly flit about
in small companies of from four to six in number, apparently the
parents and their offspring of the year. All the species occasionally
descend to the cultivated grounds, orchards and gardens of the set-
tlers, and commit considerable havoc among their fruits and grain ;
in many parts of Austrfilia, particularly in Van Diemen s Land, they
form an article of food, and are considered good and even delicate
eating. They usually build open cup-shaped nests as large as that
of the Crow, composed of sticks and other coarse materials, lined
with grasses or any other suitable substance that may be at hand ;
the eggs are generally three, but are sometimes four, in number.
The sexes are similar in plumage, and the young assume the livery
of the adult from the time they leave the nest

83. Strepera graculina . Vol. II. PI. 42S»

84*. Strepera fuliginosa, Gould Vol. II. PL 43.

85. Strepera Arguta, Gould Vol. II. PI. 44.

86. Strepera Anaphonensis Vol. II. PI. 45.

Cormu versicolor f Lath. ?

87. Strepera melanoptera, Gould.

Strepera melanopteray Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part XIV.

p. 20.

All the upper surface, wings, and tail black ; under surface
brownish black, tinged with grey on the abdomen ; under tail-coverts
and tips of all but the two centre tail-feathers white ; irides yellow ;
bill and feet black.

Total length, 19 inches ; hiUy 2 ; toingSy II ; tot'/, 9 ; tor«t, 2|-.

This species inhabits South Australia, and is distinguished from
all its congeners by the total absence of any white mark on the
wings ; in other respects it is so similar to o. Arguta^ that I have
not considered it necessary to give a figure of it.

Genus Gtmnorhina.

Like Strepera this is strictly an Australian form, all the species
of which frequent exclusively the southern parts of the country.
Their structure is a mere modification of that of the members of the
last genus adapted to a somewhat different mode of life and habits.
They are more pastoral than the Strepera^ frequenting as they do
the open plains and grassy downs, over which they run or rather hop
with great facility. Their chief food consists of grasshoppers and
other insects, to which berries and fruits are added, when such kinds
of food are procurable. If unmolested in their natural haunts they
may be considered a more familiar race than the Strepera^ but if
persecuted they become extremely shy and distrustful. Few birds
are more ornamental, or give a more animated appearance to the
country than the members of this genus, either when running over
the surface of the lawn -like ground, or when pouring forth their sin-
gular choral-like notes while perched together on the bare branches
of a fallen Ewxdyj^us. The form and situation of the nest is the
same as those of the Streperce, larger, but not unlike that of the
European Crow.

Specimens of this form from Western Australia exhibit some tri-
fling differences, but I have not as yet been able to satisfy myself
whether they are or are not distinct.

88. Gymnorhina Tibicen Vol. 11. PI. 46.

89. Gymnorhina leuconota, Gould Vol. II. PL 47.

90. Gymnorhina organicum, GotUd Vol. U. PL 48.

Genus Cracticus.

The members of this genus, which are universally dispersed over
Australia, prey upon small quadrupeds, birds, lizards and insects^
which they frequently impale after the manner of the ordinary

Shrikes. Their nidification resembles that of the species belonging
to the genera Strepera and Gymnorhina, the nest being a large
round structure placed among the branches of the trees, and the eggs
four in number. So great a similarity exists between the species
inhabiting New South Wales, Van Diemen s Land, and Swan River,
that I have thought it unnecessary to figure the whole, but the an-
nexed descriptions, with a due attention to the localities, will obviate
all difficulty in determining the species.

91. Cracticus nigrogularis, Gould Vol. II. PI. ^Q.

Lanius robustus. Lath ?

92. Cracticus picatus, Gould Vol. II. PI. 50.

93. Cracticus argenteus, Gould Vol. 11. PL 51.

94«. Cracticus destructor, Gould Vol. II. PL 52.

Lanius curvirostrisy Lath.
Lanius torquatuSy Lath.

95. Cracticus cinereus, Gould.

Vanga cinerea, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part IV. p. 143.

Inhabits Van Diemen*s Land, and may be distinguished from
C, destructor by its much longer bill, and, when fully adult, by its
grey back.

96. Cracticus leucopterus, Gould,

Inhabits Western Australia ; is of the same size as C. destrtictor,
but has the white mark on the wings much larger and more clearly
defined.

97. Cracticus Quoyii Vol. II. PL 53.

Genus Grallina.

Only one species of this genus is at present known. It is peculiar
to Australia, over every portion of which country it is dispersed;
and it may be considered one of the anomalies of the Australian
ornithology, since its alliance to any group of birds with which we
are acquainted is very remote.

98. Grallina Australis Vol. II. PL 54-.

Genus Graucalus.

The woods of every part of the Old World from India to Austra-
lia are tenanted by species of this genus, which, from their great size,
their being strictly insectivorous, and individually very numerous,
must tend to keep insect life in check, and consequently perform a
most important part in the economy of nature.

In my description of Graucalus melancpSf I have stated that New
South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, Swan River and Port Essington,
are each inhabited by GraucaU so nearly allied to each other that
it was questionable whether they were not one and the same species,
and that the slight differences they present were attributable to some
peculiarity in the districts they inhabit ; after much attention to the

tsubject, I liave been induced to r^ard the Van Diemen's Land bird
as distinct, and I have therefore assigned it a name, parvirostris ;
those of the other countries appear to be local varieties or races
peculiar to their respective habitats.

All the members of the group build a flat slight nest of fine short
dead twigs, curiously joined together with cobwebs, on which they
lay two eggs.

99. Graucalus melanops Vol. II. PI. 55.

Grauealys mekmoHs, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part V.

p. 143, and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV. Young.

100. Graucalus parvirostris, Gould.

ChraucaltLs parvirostris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part V.
p. l^S, and Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

Forehead, sides of the face and the throat jet black ; crown of the
head, all the upper surface and centre of the wings delicate grey ;
primaries and the inner webs of the secondaries deep brownish black,
the former narrowly and the latter broadly margined with greyish
white ; tail grey at the base, passing into deep brownish black and
largely tipped with white, the grey colouring predominating on the
two centre feathers, which are destitute of the white tips ; chest
grey, into which the black of the throat gradually passes ; lower
part of the abdomen, under surface of the wing and under tail-
coverts white ; flanks and thighs grey ; bill and feet brownish black.

Total length, 12 inches ; hiU, 1^ ; wingfy 7i ; taily 6 ; tarsi, ].

Inhabits Van Diemen*s Land.

101. Graucalus mentalis, Vigf. Sf Horsf. .... Vol. II. PI. 56,

102. Graucalus hypoleucus, Gotdd Vol. II. PL 67.

103. Graucalus Swainsonii, Gotdd Vol. II. PI. 58.

Genus Pteropodocts.

Generic characters.

Bill small, shorter than the head, nearly cylindrical ; tomia curved
and pointing downwards ; a well-defined notch at the extremity of
the upper mandible ; nostrils basal, round, and covered with the
short feathers of the forehead ; tvings long and pointed, the fourth
feather the longest ; tail lengthened, the four middle and the lateral
feather on each side shorter than the rest ; tarsi long, stout ; toes
rather short, the inner toe longer than the outer one, hind-toe large
and lengthened, the toe and nail nearly equalling in length the
middle toe and nail.

The general structure of the only known species of this form re-
sembles that ofGrauccdiis and of Campephagay but the bill is so small
as to be quite out of proportion with the body ; its lengthened wings
and tarsi adapt it both for flight and for moving rapidly over the
surface of the ground.

104«. Pteropodocys Phasianellus Vol. II. PL 59.

Inhabits the whole of the interior of Southern Australia from east
to west; the extent of its range northward has not been ascertained.

It has many habits in common with the Graucali ; but white they
are destined for the trees the present bird is adapted for the ground,
where it procures and feeds upon insects of various genera, par-
ticularly locusts and grasshoppers. It frequents the open plains in
small companies of from three to six or eight in number, and is
very animated in its actions, but at the same time most cautious and
shy.

Genus Campephaga.

The members of this genus are spread over India and the Indian
Islands, and the fauna of Australia comprises four species ;

They are allied to the Graucali ; but are much smaller in size, and
more active among the branches.

The sexes are generally very dissimilar in colour and markings,
while in Graucaltis they are alike. The nidification and the form
of the nests of the two genera are very similar.

105. Campephaga Jardinii> Gould Vol. II. PI. 60.

106. Campephaga Karu Vol. II. PI. 61.

107. Campephaga leucomela, Vig, ^ Horsf, . . Vol. II. PL 62.

108. Campephaga humeralis, Gould Vol. II. PI. 63.

Genus Pachycephala.

The Pachycephala gutluralis may be regarded as the type of this
group of birds, which is peculiaily Australian, and comprises many
species, universally distributed over the country. Their habits
differ from those of most other insectivorous birds, particularly in
their quiet mode of hopping about and traversing the branches of
the trees in search of insects and their larvae : caterpillars constitute
a great portion of their food ; but coleoptera and other insects are
not rejected. The more gaily-attired species, such as P.gutturcdisy
P. glaucuray JP. mdanura and P. pectoralis, resort to the flowering
AcacicBy Eticalypti and other stately trees, while the more dull-
coloured ones frequent the ground : they all build a neat, round,
cup-shaped nest, and the eggs are generally four in number. Their
powers of flight are not great : some of the species enjoy a wide
range of habitat, while others are extremely local. The sone of
some is loud and rather pleasing, while others merely emit a whistling
note, slowly but frequently repeated.

109. Pachycephala gutturalis Vol. II. PL 64.

110. Pachycephala glaucura, Gould VoL II. PL 65.

111. Pachycephala melanura, Cro?/^ Vol. II. PL 66.

112. Pachycephala pectoralis Vol. II. PL 67.

Sylvia rufiverUriSy Lath. Ind. Om. Supp., p^ liv.

Rufous-vented Warbler, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 248. —

Shaw, Gen. ZooL, vol. x. p. 696.
Turdus prasinus, Lath. ?

113. Pachycephala falcata, G^ot«/!i VoL II. PL 68.

114. Pachycephala LanoYdes, Gould ..... VoL II. PL 69*

115. Pachycephala rufogularis, 6rOtt/c? .... Vol. II. PL 70.

116. Pachycephala Gilbertii, Gould Vol. II. PI. 71.

Pachycephala inomatay Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part VIII.

p. 164. Young?

117. Pachycephala simplex, Gould Vol. II. PI. 72.

118. Pachycephala olivacea, Vig, Sf Horrf, . . . Vol. II. PI. 73.

The two birds described by me in the Proceedings of the Zoolo-
gical Society, Part V. p. 164<, as P. xanthoproda and P. longirostris
are both immature birds, and are, I believe, from Norfolk Island.

Genus Colluricincla.

Like the last group, the present is strictly confined to Australia,
every one of the colonies of which country, from north to south and
from east to west, is inhabited by a species peculiarly and restrict-
edly its own. They have many characters in common with the
PachycephodcBy which they also resemble in their actions, food, eco-
nomy and nidification. They are neither Shrikes nor Thrushes, but
are most nearly allied to the former ; they are insect-feeders to a very
great extent, but occasionally partake of mollusks and berries. Some
of them defend themselves vigorously with both bill and claws when
attacked. Their voice is a loud whistle, some parts of which are not
devoid of melody, particularly the loud swelling notes.

The nest is rather slightly built, round and cup-shaped in form,
and is mostly placed in the hollow spout of a tree : the eggs are four
in number.

119. Colluricincla harmonica Vol. II. PL 74.

Certhia canescens. Lath. ?

Inhabits New South Wales.

120. Colluricincla rufiventris, Gould Vol. II. PI. 75.

Inhabits Western Australia,

121. Colluricincla brunnea, Gould VoL II. PI. 76.

Inhabits Port Essington.

122. Colluricincla Selbii, Jard Vol. II. PL 77.

Inhabits Van Diemen's Land.

123. Colluricincla parvula, Gould VoL II. PL 78.

Inhabits the northern parts of the country.

124. Colluricincla rufogaster, Gould.

Colluricincla rufogaster^ Gould in Pfoc. of Zool. Soc, Part XIII.
p. 80.

I have assigned this name to a bird lately sent to me by Mr.
Strange from the brushes of the Clarence in New South Wales ; it
may hereafter prove to be identical with the last-mentioned species,
C. parvtUa, the form and admeasurements being precisely the same ;
but the bird from New South Wales has a lighter coloured bill, and
the whole of the under surface washed with deep rufous.

The locality of the bird described by me in the Proceedings of
the Zoological Society, Part IV. p. 6, as Colluricinclafusca, being still
unknown, that species has not been included.

Genus Falcunculus.

The two species of this genus are not only strictly Australian, but
are confined to the southern parts of the country ; the F.frontatus
inhabiting New South Wales and South Australia, and the F* Uuco-
gaster Western Australia. When attacked by their natural enemies
or by man, both species defend themselves with their powerful bill
and claws with the utmost fury ; they also by the same means readily
tear off pieces of rotten wood and the thin scaly bark of the Euca-
lypti in search of insects. The branches of trees are their usual
place of resort, and in many of their actions and habits they closely
resemble the Tits of Europe and India (genus Partes), while they
also assimilate to the Pachycephake. They build a round, cup-
shaped nest.

125. Falcunculus frontatus Vol. II. PL 79.

126. Falcunculus leucogaster, Gould Vol. II. PI. 80.

Mr, Gilbert states that while staying in the Toodyay district of
Western Australia in the month of October, he found the nest of
this species among the topmost ^and weakest perpendicular branches
of a Eucalyptus, at a height of at least fifty feet : it was of a deep
cup-shaped form, composed of the stringy bark of the gum-tree,
and lined with fine grasses, the whole matted together externally
with cobwebs ; the eggs, which are three or four in number, are of
a glossy white with numerous minute speckles of dark olive most
thickly disposed at the larger end ; they are seven-eighths of an
inch long by five-eighths of an inch in breadth. He adds, that
under ordinary circumstances it is a somewhat shy bird, but when
breeding becomes bold and familiar ; as an evidence of which he
adduces the fact that a flock of sheep were driven every night
beneath the tree upon which the nest was being conntructed without
giving the least alarm to the birds.

Genus Oreoica.

Generic characters.

i9{7/ shorter than the head, stout, compressed laterally, and notched
at the tip ; ctUmen bent gradually downwards from the base ; lower
mandible nearly as stout as the upper; nostrils basal, round, and
nearly covered with very fine short hair-like feathers directed for-
wards, among which are intermingled a few long fine hairs ; wings
rather long, the first quill short, the third the longest; tertiaries
very long, and nearly equalling the primaries ; tail short and very
slightly rounded ; tarsi moderately long and stout, entire posteriorly,
and defended anteriorly with hard scuta; feet adapted for the
ground ; toes very short, particularly the hind one, inner toe rather
shorter than the outer ; claws short, and nearly straight.

The only species known of this form is strictly Australian, and is

a sprightly animated bird frequenting the sterile districts studded
with large trees, scrubs, and open glades, where it hops about on
the ground in search of insects. Notwithstanding the singularly
lengthened form of its scapularies and its terrestrial habits, it
appears to me to belong to the same type of form as the Pachy-
cephala ; its loud piping note and mode of nidification also favours
this opinion. It lays three or four eggs in a round, cup-shaped nest,
placed either in a grass tree {XanthorrhcBa) or in a hole or stump.

127. Oreoica gutturalis Vol. II. PI. 8].

Genus Dicrurus.

A genus of which many species inhabit India and Africa, but of
which only one has yet been found in Australia.

128. Dicrurus bracteatus, Gould Vol. IL PL 82»

Family MUSCICAPIDiE.

Genus Rhipidura.

Many species of this genus occur in India, the Indian Islands,
New Guinea, and Polynesia ; and five or six are comprised in the
fauna of Australia, over every part of which country, including Van
Diemen*s Land, one or other member of the group is found to
exist.

129. Rhipidura albiscapa, Gould Vol. II. PL 83.

130. Rhipidura rufifrons Vol. II. PI. 84.>

131. Rhipidura Dryas, Gould,

Inhabits the north coast. I have not figured this species because
it only differs from M, ru^rons in being of a smaller size, and in
the red colouring at the base of the tail-feathers being more ex-
tensive.

132. Rhipidura bura, Gould Vol. II. PL 85.

133. Rhipidura Motacilloides, Vig. ^ Horsf. . . Vol. II. PL S6.

134. Rhipidura picata, Gould,

Not figured, being similar in colour but much smaller tiian R,
MotacilkHdes ; it inhabits Port Essington.

Genus Seisura.

The present genus and Rhipidura are mere modifications of each
other; a difference of structure, however, exists of sufficient im-
portance to justify their separation, and, as is always the case, a
corresponding difference is found in the habits of the species.

The present form is restricted to Australia.

135. Seisura inquieta Vol. II. PL 87--

Turdus musdcokty Lath.

dubiuSf Lath.

Genus Piezorhynchus.

Generic characters.

JRill longer than the head ; deeper than broad, almost cylindrical ;
compressed on the sides, notched at the tip ; nostrils basal, small
and round ; ttnngs short ; first primary moderate, the fourth the
longest; tail rather short and round; tarsi moderately long and
somewhat feeble , the inner and middle toes connected as far as the
first joint, the outer one the longest

The only species of this genus yet discovered is a native of the
northern parts of Australia, from Cape York to Port Essington,
where it frequents the dense beds of Mangroves.

136. Piezorhynchus nitidus, Goidd Vol. II. PL 88.

Genus Myiagra.

A group of insectivorous birds, the greater number of which
inhabit the Indian Islands and Polynesia, and of tvhich four species
are found in Australia.

137. Myiagra plumbea, Viff. Sf Horsf. .... Vol. II. PL 89.

138. Myiagra concinna, Gould VoL II. PI. 90.

139. Myiagra nitida, Gotdd VoL II. PL 91.

140. Myiagra latirostris, Gould Vol. II. PL 92.

Genus Micrceca.

Generic characters.

JSill shorter than the head, depressed, broad at the base ; goni/s
straight ; curving downwards and slightly notched at the tip ;
nostrils round, placed at the base of the bill, which is beset with
strong bristles ; mngs lengthened and powerful, first primary short,
the third the longest ; tail rather short and nearly square ; tarsi
moderate and feeble ; toes feeble, the external toe much longer than
the internal one.

Three species of this genus inhabit Australia, to which country
they are confined.

141. Microeca macroptera Vol. II. PL 93.

Sylvia leucophceay Lath.

142. Microeca assimilis^ Gould.

MicroBca assimilisy Gould in Proc. of ZooL Soc, Part VIII. p. 172.

All the upper surface brown ; primaries dark brown ; tail brownish
black ; the tips and the terminal half of the external margins of the
two outer feathers white ; the three next on each side also tipped
with white, the extent of the white becoming less upon each feather
as they approach the centre of the tail ; the ibur middle feathers
without the white tip ; throat, centre of the abdomen and under tail-
coverts white, passing into pale brown on the sides of the chest and
flanks ; irides reddish brown ; bill and feet blackish brown.

Total length, 4|- inches ; bill, -^ ; wings, 3|- ; tail, 2|- ; tarsi, ^.

Inhabits Western Australia ; and is so nearly allied to the Microeca

macroptera, from which it only differs in being much less in size
and in having the base of the outer tail-feather brown, that I have
not considered it necessary to figure it.

143. Microeca flavigaster Vol. 11. PI. 94.

Genus Monarcha.

Several species of this genus occur in the Indian Islands and two
in Australia. They are insectivorous birds, and procure their food
by quietly hopping about among the branches of the trees.

144. Monarcha carinata Vol. II. PI. 95.

145. Monarcha trivirgata Vol. II. PI. 96.

Genus Gerygone.

Generic characters.

Bill shorter than the head, swollen, notched at the tip ; commis-
sure straight ; nostrils basal, lateral, oval ; rictus beset with two or
three extremely fine and weak bristles ; wings moderately long, first
quill almost spurious, second long, third, fourth and fifth equal and
longest ; tail rather short and square ; tarsi entire, slender, mode-
rately long ; toes extremely short and small, the lateral toes even,
and united to the middle one nearly to the first joint ; claws much
curved.

The term Psilopus was originally proposed by me for this genus,
but that name having been previously employed, Gerygone was
substituted for it.

A group inhabiting every part of Australia, and probably New
Guinea and Polynesia. Their chief food consists of insects of the
most diminutive size, such as aphides, gnats and mosquitos. The more
thickly-billed species may probably feed upon larger insects, and their
larvae. They mostly frequent the thick umbrageous woods, where
they dart about for insects under the canopy of the dense foliage, or
sally forth into the open glade like true Flycatchers. Their hests
are of a domed form, with the entrance near the top, some species
protecting the opening by constructing a projection above it like the
eaves of a house ; the eggs are generally four in number, and spotted
with red like those of the Maluri and JPari,

146. Gerygone albogularis, Gould Vol. II. PI. 97.

Psilopus olivaceusy Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part V. p. 147,
Young.

147. Gerygone fusca, Gould Vol. II. PI. 98.

148. Gerygone culicivorus, Gould Vol. II. PI. 99.

149. Gerygone magnirostris, Gould .... Vol. II. PI. 100.

150. Gerygone laevigaster, Gould Vol. II. PI. 101 .

151. Gerygone chloronotus, Gould Vol. II. PI. 102,

Genus Smicrornis.

Generic characters.

Sill very small and short, swollen at the sides ; nostrils basal, ob-
long, and protected by an operculum ; at the base of the bill a few
fine hairs ; wings* moderately long, first quill very short ; the first,
third, fourth and fifth equal and the longest ; (ail short and square ;
tarsi moderate ; toes rather short, adapted for clinging ; the hinder
and the middle toes equal in length.

The members of this genus are the smallest birds of the Austra-
lian fauna. I have described two species, one inhabiting New South
Wales and the other Port Essington ; and had I characterized the
bird of this form inhabiting Western Australia as distinct, I should
probably not have been in error, as it is more than probable that
when the subject has been more fully investigated it will prove to
be so.

152. Smicrornis brevirostris, Gotdd .... Vol. IL PI. 103.

153. Smicrornis flavescens, Gotdd Vol. II. PI. 104.

Family SYLVIADiE.
Subfamily SAXICOLIN^E.

Genus Erythrodryas.

Generic characters.

As in Petrcnca^ but with the bill shorter and more flattened at
the base, where it is beset with a number of fine hairs which curve
forward and overhang the nostrils ; wings shorter and more rounded ;
first and second primaries much shoiter than the rest ; the fifth the
longest; tarsi shorter; toes more lengthened; lateral toes nearly
even ; claws much sharper and more curved.

The members of the genus Erythrodryas are much more delicate
in structure than the PetraiciB^ have their feeble bill strongly beset
with bristles, and are more arboreal in their habits; their usual
places of resort being the innermost recesses of the forest, where, in
a state of quiet seclusion, they flit about in search of insects ; the
true P^roiciB, on the other hand, frequent open plains, are more
bold and vigorous, and possess a structure which adapts them for
the ground over which they pass like the Saxicoke,

The two species of this genus, all that are at present known, are
confined to the south-eastern portions of Australia and Van Die-
men's Land.

154. Erythrodryas rhodinogaster Vol. III. PI. 1.

155. Erythrodryas rosea, Gould Vol. III. PI. 2.

Genus Petroica.
The birds I have retained in this genus might with propriety be

divided by separating the pied Robins from the red-breasted species.
The dusky Robin of Van Diemen's Land and the white eye-browed
Robin of the north-east coast of Australia would also constitute
another group of equal value with Etytkrodiyas, Dtymodes and
JScpsakruu

The red-breasted PetrcHaB are confined to the 'south-eastern por-
tions of Australia, Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island ; but I
believe that the range of the pied birds extends to New Guinea.

Each of the sections I have indicated presents some difference in
their nidification and in the colouring of their eggs, which tends to
confirm the propriety of the Tiew I have taken of the subject

156. Petroica multicolor Vol. lU. PL 3.

.... Vol. in. PI. 4.

.... Vol. in. PI. 5.

.... Vol. in. H. 6.

157. Petroica erythrogastra • .

158. Petroica Goodenovii . . .

159. Petroica phoenicea, Gould
Muscicapa erythrogcuter^ var^ Lath

160. Petroica bicolor, Swains.

161. Petroica fusca, Gould . . .
Muscicapa vittataj Qaoy et Gaim. Voy. de l' Astrolabe, pL 3, fig. 2 ?

162. Petroica superciliosa, Gotdd Vol. HI. PI. 9.

Vol. III. PI. 7.
Vol. III. PL 8.

Genus Drtmodes.

Greneric characters.

BiU straight, rather compressed on the sides near the tip, nearly
as long as the head ; a slight notch at the tip ; beset at the base with
a few fine bristles ; wings moderately long, rounded, the first quill
very short, the fifth the longest; tail rather long, slightly rounded ;
tarsi long slender; entire before; toes moderately long, the outer
toe rather longer than the inner ; the hind-toe and nail shorter than
the middle toe and nail.

The only species of this genus yet discovered ranges over the
whole of the country from Southern to Western Australia. Its fomi
is adapted for the ground, but it occasionally resorts to low shrubby
trees.

163. Drymodes brunneoj^gia, Gould .... Vol. III. PL 10.

Genus Eopsaltria.

Three species of this genns are all that 'are yet known ; two of
these are natives of Western Australia, and the third of New South
Wales.

164. Edpsaltria Anstralis VoL IIL PL II.

SyMaflamgasiray Lath. ?

165. Eopsaltria griseogularis, Gould .... VoL IIL PL 12.

MusciaqM Geargiana, Quoy et Gum. Voy. de TAstrolabe, pL S»
fig. 4.

166. Eopsaltria leucogaster, Gould .... Vol. III. PL 13.
Musdcapa gularis^ Quoy et Gaiin. Voy. de T Astrolabe, pi. 4, fig. 1.

Subfamily MENURINiE.

Genus Menura.

It might have been expected that the various explorations which
have of late years been made into the previously unknown regions
of Australia would have led to the discovery of some additional
species of this genus, or of some new form more nearly allied to it
than those with which it is associated, but nothing of the kind has
occurred.

167. Menura superba, Dat; Vol. III. PI. 14>. '

This remarkable bird is not only confined to Australia, but ex-
clusively to the south-eastern part of the country. I regret to say
that I have not been able to gain any further information respecting
its nidification, although I have urged many persons in Australia to
pay particular attention to the subject.

Genus Psopuodes.

Among the many novelties comprised in the present work is a
second species of this form, of which only one was previously
known.

168. Psophodes crepitans Vol. III. PI. 15.

Corvus auritus. Lath.

Inhabits the south-eastern parts of Australia.

169. Psophodes nigrogularis, Gould .... Vol. III. PI. 16.
This new species is a native of the western coast.

Genus Sphenostoma.

Generic characters.

Bill very short, compressed laterally, wedge-shaped, upper man-
dible without a notch at the tip, two or three fine hairs at the base ;
tomia straight ; nostrils basal, round, open ; wings very short and
round, the fourth, fifth and sixth primaries nearly equal and the
longest ; tail long and graduated ; tarsi moderately long and strong,
shielded before with several plates, entire behind ; toes short, hind-
toe strong, lateral toes unequal, the inner one the shortest.

The only known species of this genus frequents the sterile parts
of the interior of Australia generally, particularly those portions of
the country clothed with low shrubs and bushes.

170. Sphenostoma cristata, Gotdd Vol. III. PI. 17.

Genus M alurus.

The members of this genus are among the most beautiful of the
Australian birds, in no group, in fact, with the exception of the

Trochilida or Humming-birds, is the splendour of their plumage
excelled. Their gay attire is, however, only assumed during the
pairing season, and is retained for a very short period, after which
the sexes are alike in colouring.

The genus is strictly an Australian one, and with one or two ex-
ceptions, all the species are confined to the southern parts of the
continent and Van Diemen's Land.

171 • Malurus cyaneus

172. Malurus longicaudus, Gould . .

173. Malurus melanotus, Gould . .
174*. Malurus splendens

175. Malurus elegans, Gould . • .

176. Malurus pulcherrimus, Gould ' .

177. Malurus Lamberti, Vig. ^r Horsf.

178. Malurus leucopterus. Quay Sf Gaim,

179. Malurus melanocephalus, Vig. ^ Horsf,

180. Malurus Brownii, Vig, Sf Horsf. . ,

Vol. III. PI. 18.
VoL III. PL 19.
Vol. III. PI. 20.
Vol. III. PI. 21.
VoL III. PL 22.
VoL III. PI. 23.
VoL III. PL 24.
VoL III. PL 25.
VoL III. PL 26.
VoL III. PL 27.

Genus Amttis.

A form nearly allied to Malurus, strictly Australian, and of
which three species are known, inhabitiug the southern half of the
country, and not occurring in Van Diemen's Land.

181. Amytis textilis VoL III. PL 28.

182. Amytis striatus Vol. III. PI. 29.

183. Amytis macrourus, Gould Vol. III. PL 30.

Genus Stipiturus.

A form confined to Australia. Although some slight variation
occurs in the specimens from Van Diemen's Land, Southern and
Western Australia, I believe that they are all referable to one and
the same species, viz —

184. Stipiturus malachurus Vol. III. PL 31.

Genus Dasyornis.

A group of birds adapted for situations covered with an impene-
trable vegetation, reed-beds, &c. The two species figured are all
that are at present known ; of these one is from the eastern and the
other from the western parts of Australia.

185. Dasyornis Australis, Vig. 8f Horsf, . . Vol. III. PL 32.

186. Dasyornis longirostriS) Gould .... Vol. III. PL 33.

Prior to my visit to Australia I described a bird in the ' Proceed-
ings of the Zoological Society,* Part V. p. 150, as 2>.f brunneus, but
as I have not since met with the bird in any collection from Austra-
lia I presume it is not a native of that country.

Genus Atrichia.

Rictus totally devoid of bristles ; bill as long as the head, com-
pressed laterally ; the upper mandible distinctly notched at the tip ;
gonys ascending from the rictus and then following the line of the
bill ; cuimen ascending high in front ; nostrils moderately large,
covered with an operculum, and placed in a groove near the base of
the bill ; toir^s short, round, concave, the first three primaries gra-
duated, the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh equal ; tail lengthened,
rounded, the stems rigid, the webs loose and decomposed ; tarsi and
feet robust, the hind-toe armed with a strong nail ; outer and inner
toes equal in length.

The only species of this genus yet discovered is as singular in its
structure as it is shy and retiring in its habits ; the total absence of
vibrissae in a bird apparently closely allied to Dasyomisy in which
they are so much developed, renders it one of the anomalies of the
Australian fauna.

187. Atrichia clamosa, Gould Vol. III. PI. 34.

Subfamily ?

Genus Sphenobacus.

A group of reed- and grass- frequenting birds, which are found not
only in every part of Australia, but also in the Indian Islands and
India.

188. Sphenoeacus galactotes Vol. III. PL 35.

189. Sphenoeacus gramineus, Go^dd .... Vol. III. PI. 36.

Genus Acroc£phalus.

Of this European and Indian form two species inhabit Australia,
where they frequ^t the reed-beds and the dense herbage of marshy
situations.

190. Acrocephalus Australis, Gould .... Vol. III. PI. 37.

191. Acrocephalus longirostris, Gould .... Vol. III. PI. 38.

Subfamily ?

Genus Hylacgla.

Bill shorter than the head, compressed ; equally broad and high
at the base ; cuimen gradually declining from the base to the tip ;
slightly notched at the apex ; rictus beset with a few fine hairs ;
nostrih basal, oblong, rather large and defended by an operculum ;
wings short, round and concave ; first, second and third primaries
graduated ; the fourth, fifth and sixth equal, and the longest ; tail
rather long and round ; tarsi moderate in size ; toes rather length-
ened, the lateral toes equal.

A genus comprising two species peculiar to the southern parts of
the country, one of which enjoys an extensive range from South
Australia to Moreton Bay ; the other has, as yet, only been found
in the Great Murray Scrub.

192. Hylacola pyrrhopygia Vol. III. PL 39.

1 93. Hylacola cauta, (zot^ Vol. III. PI. 40.

When I characterized this species in the 'Proceedings of the
Zoological Society of London/ I had only seen a single example ; I
have since received a second, proving the correctness of my view of
its being quite distinct from the H. pyrrhopygia, a fact disputed by
Mr. Strickland, who had stated it to be his opinion that my figures
were referable to one and the same species, but who upon an exa-
mination of the specimens themselves acknowledged he was in error.

Subfamily

Genus Cysticola.

However numerous birds of this form may be in Europe, Africa,
Asia and the Indian Islands, Australia outvies them all in the number
of species that frequent its grassy plains. With the exception of
Van Diemen*s Land, every colony is inhabited by one or more spe-
cies performing there precisely similar offices to those executed by
the remaining species in the other parts of the world.

194. Cysticola magna, Gould Vol. III. PI. 41.

195. Cysticola exilis ....

196. Cysticola lineocapilla, Gould

197. Cysticola isura, Gould . .

198. Cysticola ruficeps, Gould .

Subfamily

Vol. III. PL 42.
Vol. IIL PI. 4S.
Vol. IIL PI. 44.
Vol. III. PI. 45.

Genus Sericornis.

Generic characters.

Bill strong, straight, nearly as long as the head, compressed late-
rally towards and notched at the tip ; nostrils b^sal, lateral, oval^
and covered by an operculum ; toings moderate, rounded, the first
quill very short, the fourth, fifth and sixth nearly equal and the
longest; tot7 moderate and square; tarsi long; hind-toe and claw
strong, and nearly equal to the middle toe and claw in Length ; outer
and inner toes equal ; plumage soft and silky to the touch.

A group of small birds peculiar to Australia, and confined almost
exclusively to the southern portion of the country. Their habits
lead them to frequent the most retired parts of the forests, damp
and secluded places and scrubby gullies where the herbage is thick
and dense ; but some species are found on the fiat islands near the
coast, covered with Salsola and other shrub-like trees ; they usually
frequent the ground, over which they pass with celerity, and when
their haunts are intruded upon conceal themselves under the fallen
or dried herbage. Their flight is peculiar and never protracted, and
they all build domed nests like that of the common Wren (Troglo-
dytes Europaus),

199. Sericornis citreogularis, Gould .... Vol. IIL PI. 46.
Muscicapa barbata, Lath. ?

200. Sericornis humilis, Gould Vol. IIL PL 47.

201 . Sericornis osculans, Gould Vol. III. PL 48.

202. Sericornis frontalis . « Vol. III. PI. 4*9*

203. Sericornis leevigaster> Gould Vol. III. PI. 50.

204. Sericornis maculatus, Gould Vol. III. PI. 51.

205. Sericornis magnirostris^- Gould .... Vol. III. PI. 52.

Subfamily ?

Genus Acanthiza.

With the exception of the north coast, the Acanthiza: are dispersed
over all the wooded districts of Australia and Van Diemen's Land ;
some species frequenting the brushes, while others tenant the shrubs
and belts of trees on the plains ; others again are only found in such
districts as the belts of the Murray.

Like some other large groups at present included under one
generic title, the Acanthizce might be divided with propriety ;
thus the A,pusillay A. Diemenensis, &c., which are feeble in struc-
ture and strictly arboreal, might form one section ; while the A,
chtysorrhoea, A, Regulotdes, &c., which resort to the ground, might
form another. The nests of all the species that I have seen are of
a domed form like that of the European Wren.

The members of. this genus and the Maluri are frequently the
foster-parents of the shining Cuckoo {Chrysococcyx lucidus).

206. Acanthiza pusilla Vol. III. PI. 53.

207* Acanthiza Diemenensis, Gould .

208. Acanthiza Ewingii, Gould . .

209. Acanthiza uropygialis, Gould

210. Acanthiza apicalis, Gould . . .

211. Acanthiza pyrrhopygia, Gould .

212. Acanthiza inornata^ Gould . .

213. Acanthiza nana, Viff. and Horsf,

214. Acanthiza lineata, 6rotf A/ .

215. Acanthiza Reguloides, Vig, and Horsf , . Vol. III. PI. 62.

216. Acanthiza chrysorrhoea ....... Vol. III. PI. 63»

Genus Ephthianura.

Bill shorter than the head, nearly straight, compressed laterally,
notched at the tip, gonys incurved ; nostrils basal, linear, and co-
vered by a membrane ; wings long, first quill spurious, second very
long, third and fourth equal and longest ; terUals very long ; tail
short and truncate; tarsi entire, moderately long, slight; toes slender^
the hinder toe and claw shorter than the middle one, the inner toe
rather shorter than the outer.

Three species of this form are all that are at present known, and
of these two are figured for the first time in the present work. They
all inhabit the southern part of Australia, where they frequent the

Vol. III. PL 54.
Vol. III. PI. 55.
Vol. III. PI. 56.
Vol. III. PI. 57.
Vol. III. PI. 58.
Vol. III. PI. 59.
Vol. III. PI. 60.
Vol. in. PI. 61.

open districts studded with bushes and low trees ; the E, aUnfron*
is occasionally found on the open plains.

217. Ephthianura albifrons Vol. III. PI. 64.

218. Ephthianura aurifrons, Gould .... Vol. III. PI. 65.

219. Ephthianura tricolor, Gould Vol. III. PI. 66.

Genus Xerophila.

Generic characters.

Sill short, semiconicaly robust at the base, without any notch at
the tip ; and provided with a few hairs at the base of the upper
mandible ; nostrils round and covered by minute feathers ; wings
moderate in size; first primary short, the third and fourth the
longest ; tertiaries broad and somewhat elongated ; tail moderate,
square and slightly concave ; tarsi robust ; hind-toe strong, anterior
toes feeble, the exterior longer than the inner one.

A curious form, of which only one species is known, and the
situation of which in the natural system is quite undetermined. It
has many of the actions and manners of the AcanthizcBf but its robust
and gibbose bill precludes its being placed with that group. It is
mainly terrestrial in its habits and builds a domed nest.

220. Xerophila leucopsis, Gould ..*... Vol. III. PL 67.

Genus Pyrrhol^mus.

Generic characters.

JBiU shorter than the head, slightly compressed at the sides, with
a very minute notch at the tip, and beset with a few hairs at the
base ; nostrils linear and covered with an operculum ; wings short,
round, first primary rather short, the third the longest ; tail short,
round and concave, tarsi moderate ; external toe longer than the
inner one.

. Another anomalous form, the structure of which does not ap*
proximate very nearly to that of any other genus, but is perhaps
hiost nearly allied to Acanthiza. The only species known frequent4S
scrubby places and thick underwood ; is much on the ground, but
occasionally mounts on a twig to sing.

221. PyrrholsBmus brunneus, G^oti/!i .... Vol. III. PI. 68.

Genus Orioma.

. Bill nearly as long as the head, incurved, carinated, indented near
the tip ; nostrils oval, lateral, basal, and covered by an operculum ;
wings moderate, rounded, first quill short, fourth, fifth, sixth and
seventh nearly equal and longest ; tail moderate and slightly rounded ;
tarsi moderate ; toes rather short, the outer toe much longer than
the inner ; plumage dense.

We are here again presented with another form, the structure,
habits, and manners of which are all equally singular. The only
species yet discovered inhabits New South Wales, where it frequents
stony gullies and rocky situations in the neighbourhood of caverns,

to the roofs of which it attaches its pendent nest as shown in the
Plate.

222. Origma rubricata Vol. III. PI, 69.

Genus Calamanthus.
Generi<i characters.

BiS shorter than the head, dilated at the base, compressed late-
rally towards the tip; culmen sharp and advancing upon the fore*
head ; nostrils lateral, lai^e, oval, and covered by an operculum ;
rictus destitute of bristles ; unngs short, round, the fourth quill the
longest, the third, fifth, sixth and seventh equal ; tail rather short
and round ; tarsi moderately long, defended anteriorly with indU
stinct scales ; hind-toe rather long, with a long claw ; lateral toes
uneven, the outer one the shortest.

This group comprises two species, one inhabiting Van Diemen's
Land, the other Southern and Western Australia ; they are terres-^
trial in their habits^ but occasionally perch on the smaller branches
of the tr^es.

223. Calamanthus fuliginosus YoT. III. PI. 70.

224. Calamanthus cai;npestris, Chuld .... Vol. III. PI. 7K

Genus Chthonicola.
Generic characters.

BiU short, gradually descending from the base ; the upper man-
dible slightly notched at the tip, compressed laterally ; tomia curving
inwards; wings concave; the first primary very short, the third,
fourth, fifth and sixth nearly equal and the longest ; tail slightly
concave, and all the feathers of an equal length ; tarsi moderately
long ; toes short, the hinder toe somewhat longer than the middle
one ; front claws more curved than in the genus AnUtus.

The single species known of this genus combines in a remark-
able manner the outward appearance, habits and msumers of the
AcanthizcB and Anthi, but is, I believe, more nearly allied to the
former than to the latter.

225. Chthonicola minima Vol. III. PI. 72.

Sylvia sagittata, Lath. ?

Rather widely dispersed over the grassy flats of New South
Wales ; constructs a domed nest in a depression of the ground like
the true SylvuB,

Subfamily MOTACILLINiE.

Genus Akthus.

Whether this Old World form is represented in Australia by more
than a single species, is a point I have not satisfactorily determined ;
every part of its extra- tropical regions, including Van Diemen's
Land, is inhabited by Pipits which differ somewhat in size in almost
every colony ; still their difference is so slight that I have hitherto
regarded them as mere varieties or local races.

226. Anthus Australia, Vig. and H&rsf. . • . Vol. IIL PI. 7S.

Subfamily ?

Genus Cincloramphus.

BiO rather shorter than the head ; culmen slightly arched ; the
tip distinctly notched; the commissure slightly angulated at the
base* and somewhat incurved for the remainder of its length;
nostriltf lateral, oval ; wings moderate, rigid, first quiU very long and
nearly equal to the second and third, which are the longest ; tertials
nearly as long as the primaries ; tail rather small and cuneiform ;
tarsi very strong and scutellated anteriorly ; toes long and powerful,
particularly the hinder one and claw, which is articulated on the
same plane with the inner toe ; lateral toes nearly equaL

The members of this genus, which are three in number, are closely
allied to the Indian genus Megalurus^ and present even a greater
disparity* in the size of the sexes ; they are all confined to Australia,
where they frequent the grassy plains and open districts. The song
of the males is more animated than that of any other bird inhabiting
the country.

227t Cincloramphus cruralb VoL III. PI. 74*.

228. Cincloramphus canlillans, Gotdd .... VoL III. PI. 75.

229* Cincloramphus rufescens, Gould . • • • Vol. III. PI. 76.

Subfamily ALAUDIN^.
Genus Mirafra.

One, if not two, species of this well-defined genus inhabit Australia.
At present one only has been characterized ; but the bird of this
form, frequenting the intertropical portions of the country, may prove
to be a distinct species.

2S0. Mirafra Horsfleldii, Gould Vol. III. Pi. 77.

Family FRINGILLIDiE.

The Finches of Australia comprise twenty well-marked species,
referable to several genera or subgenera, each of which exhibit a
slight difference in structure, accompanied, as is alwiiys the case, by
a difference in habit, and in the districts inhabited; thus the true
Estrslda frequent grassy patches in the glades of the forests, the
open parts of gullies, &o. ; the AmadintB, the stony hills and fiats ; the
JroephitcBi the grass beds of the open plains ; and the DonacohBy the
grasses of the marshy districts and reed-beds : of the habits of £Wt-
bUma nothing is known ; its pointed bill indicates some peculiarity
in its economy differing fW)m those of the other genera.

All the species build, I believe, large grassy nests with a spout-
like openinff.

The whole of those figured are peculiar to Australia.

Genus Estrelda.

231. Estrelda bella . • . .
Loxia nitiday Lath. ?

232. Estrelda oculea . . .

233. Estrelda Bichenovii . .

234. Estrelda annulosa, Gould

235. Estrelda temporalis . .

236. Estrelda Phaeton, Gould
237* Estrelda ruficauda, Gould

238. Estrelda modesta, Gould.
Amadina modesta, Gould ....

Genus Amadina.

239. Amadina Lathami

240. Amadina castanotis, Gould . . .

. Vol. III. PI. 78.

. Vol. III. PI. 79.

. Vol. III. PI. 80.

. Vol. III. PI. 81-

. Vol. III. PI. 82.

. Vol. III. PI. 83.

. Vol. III. PL 84.

. Vol. III. PI. 85.

Vol. III. PI. 86.
Vol. III. PI. 87.

Genus Poephila.

Generic characters.

Sill considerably swollen at the base, rendering it nearly as deep
and broad as it is long ; wings moderately long, the first quill rudi-
mentary, the four next equal in length ; feet plantigrade, toes slender;
the middle toe much longer than the lateral ones, which are equal
in length ; hind-toe much shorter than the middle one ; tail strictly
cuneiform, the two middle feathers much produced.

241. Poephila Gouldiee.

Amadina Gouldise, Gould Vol. III. PL 88.

242. Poephila mirabilis, Homb, et Jacq,

243. Poephila acuticauda, Gould . .

244. Poephila personata, Gould . .

245. Poephila leucotis, Gould . . .

246. Poephila cincta, Gotdd . . .

VoL III. PL 89.
VoL III. PL 90.
Vol. III. PL 91.
Vol. III. PL 92.
VoL III. PL 93.

Genus Donacola.

Generic characters.

As in the genus Amadina but with the biU much more developed
and gibbose at the base, with the cUlmen elevated and the lower
mandible retiring backward on the face ; wings shorter and rounder ;
feet more adapted for clinging, and remarkable for the greater de-
velopment of the hind-toe and nail ; tot7-feathers rigid.

247. Donacola castaneothoraz, Gould . . . Vol. III. PL 94.

248. Donacola pectoralis, Gould VoL III. PL 95-

249. Donacola flaviprymna, Gould .... Vol. III. PL 96*

Genus Emblema.

Generic characters.

Sill nearly as long as the head, conical, and much resembling that
of the genus Ploceus ; wings moderately long as compared with the
body ; first quill rudimentary, the four next equal in length ; ler-
tiaries much lengthened ; tail moderately long and nearly square, or
slightly rouQded; feet plantigrade; toes extremely slender, the
middle toe much longer than the lateral ones, which are equal in
length.

250. Emblema picta, Gould VoL III. PL 97.

The single example of this beautiful bird, which was procured
and presented to me by B. Bynoe, Esq., is I believe all that has ever
been seen ; I regret to say it no longer graces my collection, having
been stolen therefrom, together with some other valuable birds, in
the year 1846.

Family MERULIDiE.

Genus Pitta.

The members of this genus extend from tropical India through-
out the islands of the Indian Archipelago to Australia; one or two
species also occur in Africa. Of the three inhabiting Australia the
Pitta Iris is figured for the first time in the present work, and is one
of the very finest species of this lovely group of birds.

i251 . Pitta strepitans, Tlsmm Vol. IV. PI. 1.

Since my account of this species was printed I have received its
nest and eggs, accompanied by the following notes from Mr. Strange
of Sydney : —

'*! never saw any bird whose actions are more graceful than
those of the Pitta strepitansy when seen in its native brushes, where
its presence is indicated by its singular call, resembling the words
' uxwt a waJtehy by imitating which you can call it dose to the
muzzle of your gun ; no sooner, however, does it commence breeding
than it becomes shy and retiring, keeping out of sight in the most
artful manner, moving about from place to place, and occasionally
uttering its cry until it has .drawn you away from the nest. The
nests I have seen were placed in the spur of a fig-tree near the
ground, and were of a domed form, outwardly constructed of sticks
and lined with moss, leaves and fine pieces of bark ; the eggs are
four in number," of a pale creamy-white marked all over with ir-
regularly-shaped blotches of brown and deep vinous grey, the latter
appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell ; they are one inch
and a quarter in length by seven-eighths of an inch in breadth.

252. Pitta Vigorsii, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 2.

I regret to say that up to the present time I have not been able
to obtain any information respecting this species, the specimen of
which, in the Linnean Society's Collection, is the only evidence we

have of its occurring in Australia ; I believe New Guinea to be its
true habitat.

553. Pitta Iris, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 3.

Genus Cikclosoma.

Among the novelties comprised in the present work, there are none
more important than the additiop^l members of this genus ; three
well-defined species Being described and figured, of which only one
was previously known. The form is peculiar to Australia, and is, I
believe, closely allied to my genus lanthocinclay a group of birds con-
fined to India.

554?. Cinclosoma punctatum, Vtff. & Horsf, . . Vol. IV. PI. 4.

^5. Cinclosoma castanotus, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 5.

256^ Cinclosoma cinnamomeus, Gould .... Vol. IV. PL 6.

When my drawing of this species was made, I had only seen the
male; since then Captain Sturt has presented me with a female,
which differs from the opposite sex in the absence of the black
markings of the throat, breast and wings, which parts are brownish
grey.

Genus Oreocincla.

Bill as long, or longer than the head, slightly incurved, com-
pressed laterally ; the tip of the upper mandible overhanging the
under ; notch considerably removed from the tip ; tomia, or cutting
edges sharp ; nostrils basal, oval ; rictvis beset with a few short hairs;
wings moderately long and rigid, first quill very short, the fourth
and fifth nearly equal, and the longest ; tail rather short and square,
the feathers rigid, and running to a point exteriorly ; tarsi moderate,
scales entire; toes slender, particularly the hinder one; later toes
nearly equal, but the inner one rather the shortest ; general plumage
silky to the touch ; the rump-feathers spinous, as in Ceblepyris and
Graumlus,

Species of this genus inhabit India, the Indian Islands and Au«
stralia, in which latter country, although much difference in size
is observable in specimens from different localities, I believe only
one exists. It is decidedly a brush bird, and has many habits in
common with the typical Thrushes, but is more shy and retiring.

257. Oreocincla lunulata Vol. IV. PL 7.

Family PARADISEID^.

I certainly consider the accounts I have given of the extraor-
dinary habits of the Cfdamyderce and PtiUmorhym^hi as some of
the most valuable and interesting portions of my work, and however
incredible they may appear I am happy to say they have been fully
confirmed by other observers.

Genus Chlamydera.

Generic characters.

Bill moderate, culmen eleFated, and arched to the tip which U
emarginated, compressed on the sides ; gonys slightly advancing up-
wards ; nostrils basal, lateral, exposed, rounded, and pierced in a
membrane ; wings long and pointed, first primary short, second pri-
mary shorter than the third and fourth, which are equal, and the
longest ; tail long and slightly roonded ; tarsi robust, defended an-
terioriy with broad scuta; toes long and strong; outer toe longer
than the inner, hind- toe long and robust; claws long, curved, and
acute.

258. Chlamydera maculata, 6ro«^/i Vol. IV. PL 8.

Inhabits South Australia, New South Wales, and according to
Mr. Gilbert's Journal oip his Overland journey to Port Essington, the
intertropical regions of the east coast.

In one of Mr. Gilbert's many interesting letters received since the
account above referred to was printed, he says, " the question as to
the nidification of Chlamydera is now settled by Mr. C. Coxen
having found a nest in December with three young birds ; in form
it was very similar to that of the common Thrush of Europe, being of
a cup shape, constructed of dried sticks with a slight lining of
feathers, and fine grass, and was placed among the smaller branches
of an Acacia overhanging a pool of water.**

259. Chlamydera nuchalis Vol. IV. PI. 9*

" I found matter for conjecture,** says Captain Stokes, " in noticing
a number of twigs with their ends stuck in the ground, which was
strewed over with shells, and their tops brought together so as to
form a small bower; this was 2^ feet long, li foot wide at either
end. It was not until my next visit to Port Essington that I thought
this anything but some Australian mother's toy to amuse her child ;
there I was asked, one day, to go and see the * birds* playhouse,'
when I immediately recognised the same kind of construction I had
seen at the Victoria River; the bird (Chlamydera nuchalis of Mr.
Gould's work) was amusing itself by flying backwards and forwards,
taking a shell alternately from each side, and carrying it through the
archway in its mouth.** — Discoveries in Australia^ vol. ii. p. 97.

Genus Ptilonorhynchus.

260. Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus, Kuhl . . . Vol. IV. PI. 10.

That this bird continues its singular habits under the disadvan-
tages of captivity, I learn from the following passage in a letter
lately received from Mr. Strange of Sydney.

** My aviary is now tenanted by a pair of Satin Birds, which I had
hoped would have bred, as for the last two months they have been
constantly engaged in constructing bowers, which I find are built for
the express purpose of courting the female in. Both sexes assist in
their erection, but the male is the principal workman. At times the
male will chase the female all over the aviary, then go to the bower.

pick up a gay feather or a large leaf, utter a curious kind of nois^,
set all his feathers erect, and run round the bower, into which at
length the female proceeds, when he becomes so excited that his
eyes appear ready to start from his head, and he continues opening
first one wing and then the other, uttering a low whistling note, and
like the common Cock, seems to be picking up something from the
ground, until at last the female goes gently towards him, when, after
two turns round her, he suddenly makes a dash and the scene
ends.*" This pair of birds was sent to England by Mr. Strange for
the Earl of Derby, and had they not unfortunately died from cold
when rounding Cape Horn, they would doubtless have continued
their singular habits in his lordship*s magnificent aviary at Knows-
ley.

The habitat of this species appears. to be confined to the south-
eastern part of New South Wales, for it has not as yet been found
in any other portion of the country.

261. Ptilonorhynchus Smithii, Vig, ^ H&rsf. . . Vol. IV. PL 11.

Genus Sericulus.
A single species only of this form has yet been discovered.

262. Sericulus chrysocephalus Vol. IV. PI. 12.

Sericulus magnirostrisy Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part V.

p. 145; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV. Young.
The brushes of the south-eastern part of Australia is the only
locality in which this bird has yet been found.

Family ?

Subfamily ORIOLlNiE.

Genus Origlus.

The typical Orioles are widely distributed over Europe, Africa,
Asia, the Indian Islands, and Australia, but no species has yet been
discovered in Polynesia or America.

Three species inhabit Australia, two of which are figured, the
third from the northern part of the country is so nearly allied to the
O. viridis, that a description alone will be sufiicient.

263. Oriolus viridis Vol. IV. PI. IS.

264. Oriolus afiinis, Gould,

Inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Essington, and only differs
from the preceding species in having a smaller body, a shorter wing,
a much larger bill, and in the white spots at the tip of the lateral
tail-feathers being much smaller in extent.

265. Oriolus flavocinctus Vol. IV. PI. 14.

Genus Sphecothbres.
Australia presents us with a single species only of this genus;

others inhabit New Guinea and the neighbouring islands ; but as yet
we have no evidence of the form occurring on the continent of India.

266. Sphecotheres Australis, Swains. .... Vol. IV. PI. 15.

Turdua maxillaris, Lath. ?

Nothing whatever is known of the nidification of this bird ; in all
probability it will prove to be very similar to that of the Orioles.

Family ?

Genus Corcorax.

A genus containing only one species which possesses many singu-
lar habitSy both as regards its progression over the ground and its
nidification. So far as is yet known, it is confined to Australia.

^67. Corcorax leucopterus Vol. IV. PI. 16.

Family ?

Genus Struthidea.

Generic characters.

Bill shorter than the head, robust, swollen, arched above, deeper
than broad ; gonys angular ; nostrils basal, lateral, round and open ;
wings moderate, round, first primary short, the fourth and fifth the
longest; secondaries long and broad; tarsi scutellated in front,
plain behind ; toes long and strong, the outer one longer than the
inner one ; claws strong, compressed and much curved.

The only known species of this form is confined to the interior of
the southern and eastern parts of Australia, where it inhabits stony
ridges, and is mostly observed on the CalUtris.

268. Struthidea cinerea, Gould Vol. IV. PL 17.

In my account of this species, I have stated that its actions are
very similar to those of the Corcorax leucopterus^ and the following
extract from Mr. Gilbert's Journal of his overland journey to Port
Essington, shows that the two birds assimilate still more closely in
their nidification.

'* Oct. 19. — Strolled about in search of novelties, and was amply
repaid by finding the eggs of Struthidea cinerea. I disturbed the
bird several times from a rosewood-tree growing in a small patch of
scrub, and felt assured it had a nest, but could only find one, which
I considered to be that of a GraUina\ determined, if possible, to
solve the difficulty, I lay down at a short distance within full view of
the tree, and was not a little surprised at seeing the bird take posses-
sion of, as I believed, the GraUina*s nest ; I immediately climbed the
tree and found four eggs, the medium length of which was one inch
and a quarter by seven-eighths of an inch in breadth ; their colour
was white, with blotches, principally at the larger end of reddish
brown, purplish gray and greenish gray ; some of the blotches ap*
pearing as if they had been laid on with a soft brush. From the
appearance of the nest I should say it was an old one of Grallina^
particularly as it contained a much greater quantity of grass for a

liuiug than I ever observed in the nest of a Grallina while that
bird had possession of it ; if this be not the case, then the nest of
Struthidea is precisely similar, being like a great basin of mud, and
placed in the same kind of situation, on a horizontal branch.

" Oct. 21. — In the evening I again met with the Struthidea^ which
I disturbed from a nest like the one above described, and from the
new appearance of the structure I am inclined to believe it to be
constructed by the bird itself, although it does so closely resemble that
of Grallinay especially as in this case the nest was placed in a situa-
tion far from water, and there were no GraUiwB in the neighbour-
hood. This nest, like the last, had a very thick lining of fine grass,
and appeared as if just finished for the reception of the eggs."

There is no doubt that the nests above described by Mr. Gilbert
were those of Struthidea \ those of Corcorax and Grallina are
precisely similar ; and we now know that all three birds build the
same kind of mud nests.

Family CORVIDiE.

Genus Corvus.

It is exceedingly interesting to trace the range of the members
of this genus or the true Crows ; not so much on account of their
wide distribution, as from the circumstance of the form being non-
existent in some countries which appear admirably adapted for their
well-being; thus while the species are widely distributed over the
whole of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, the Indian Islands
and Australia, none are to be found in South America, Polynesia
or New Zealand.

269. Corvus Coronoides, Fig, ^ Hbrsf. . . . Vol. IV. PL 18.
This is the only species that has yet been discovered in Australia.

Family ?

Genus Neomorpha.

This form is strictly Polynesian, and the species confined to New
Zealand.

270. Neomorpha Gouldii, G. R. Gray .... Vol. IV. PL 19.

Genus Pomatorhinus.

The members of this genus range from India throughout all the
islands to Austi'alia, but are not found in Africa or Polynesia;
three species are comprised in the fauna of Australia.

Much diversity of opinion exists among ornithologists as to the
place this group should occupy in the natural system; by most
writers they have been placed with the MeliphagidiBy but having
had ample opportunities of observing the Australian species in a
state of nature, I am enabled to affirm that they do not assimilate

in any degree with those birds either in their habits, actions, eeo^
nomy or nidification, in all which particulars they differ from every
group of birds that has come under my notice.

271- Pomatorhinus temporalis VoL IV. PL 20.

Turdibs frivolusy Lath.?

272. Pomatorhinus rubeculus, Gould .... Vol. IV. PI. 21.

273. Pomatorhinus superciliosus, Vig. Sf ffarsf, VoL IV. PL 22.

Family MELIPHAGIDiE.

By far the greater and most prominent portion of the botany of
Australia consisting of only two or three genera of trees — the
Euccdyptij BanksuE, Sec, — we should naturally expect its ornitho-
lo^. ^^ comprise some great groups of birds destined to dwell
thereon, and such we find to be the case, the true Honey-eaters and
the Honey-feeding Parrakeets being remarkably numerous; the
former tribe of birds comprise many species which appear to be
arranged by nature into minor groups, each characterized by some
modification of structure ; although the whole are truly insectivo-
rous, the pollen and the honey in the flower-cups of the EuealypH
are largely partaken of, and for procuring which their lengthened
tongue terminating in filaments assuming the form of a brush is
most admirably adapted, combined with which is a remarkably
narrow gape and an incapacious stomach.

Australia is the great nursery of this tribe of birds, its fauna com-
prising no less than fifty-eight species; a few others are found in
New Guinea and some of the Polynesian islands.

Genus Meliphaga.

No example of this genus has yet been discovered in the northern
or intertropical regions of Australia, all the species known being
confined to the southern parts of the continent, the islands in Bass's
Straits and Van Diemen's Land. The members of this group feed
principally upon the pollen and honey of the flowers, but occasion-
ally upon insects ; in disposition they are tame and familiar ; and
they frequent the BanksicB in preference to other trees.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and the young assume the adult
plumage at an early period of their existence.

. VoL IV. H. 23.

. VoL IV. PL 24.

. VoL IV. PL 25.

. VoL IV. PL 26.

. VoL IV. PL 27.

274*. Meliphaga Novae- Hollandias

275. Meliphaga longirostris, Gould

276. Meliphaga sericea, Gould .

277. Meliphaga mystacalis, Gould

278. Meliphaga Australasiana
Certkia pyrrhopiera, Lath. ?

Genus Glyciphila.
The members of this genus resort to higher trees than the Melu

phagiB, are more shy sn disposition, possess considerable power of
flight, and partake more exclusively of insect food. Of the four Aa<*
stralian species, two, G* fulvifrons and G. aUnfranSj inhabit the
sonthem parts of the country, the G.fcuciata the northern portion,
and the little G, ocularis is universally distributed over the country,
and if I mistake not, is also found in New Guinea and Timor.

The young of G./ulvifrons and G. dUnfrans differ considerably
from the adult in their markings.

279. Glyciphna fulvifrons VoL IV. PI. 28.

Certhia melanopsy Lath. ?

280. Glyciphila albifrons, GaM VoL IV. PL 29.

281. Glyciphila fasciata, GauJd VoL IV. PI. 30.

282. Glyciphila ocularis, Gmdd VoL IV. PL 31.

Genus Ptilotis.

The species of this group are not only more numerous than those
of any other division of the MdiphagtdiBy but they also comprise
some of the most beautiful and gaily-coloured members of the
family* Nearly all the species are either prettily marked about
the face, or have the ear-coverts largely developed and characterized
by a colouring different from that of the other parts of the plumage.
The Eucalypti and Acocub are the trees upon which they are usuadly
found ; the species with olive-green backs, such as P.flavigula and
JP. leueatisj frequent the dwarf or thickly-leaved kinds, the general
colour of which assimilates to that of their plumage ; the more gaily-
attired species with bright yellow cheeks and ear-coverts, such as P.
amatus and P, plumulus, are most frequently found among the
flowering AcacitB ; some species, particularly P. peniciUatay descend
from the trees and seek Coleoptera and other insects on the ground ;
the CasuariruE are the favourite trees of P. sonorus and P, versicolor ;
while the P. chrygoHs, P. ckrysops and P.fiuca are almost entirely
confined to the brushes and seek their food among the Eucalypti^
the hanging festoons of Tecoma and other beautiful brush creepers
and shrubs. The members of this group are principally Australian,
but I believe that some species inhabit New Guinea ; they mainly
subsist upon insects, to which hemes are sometimes added.

The sexes are alike in plumage, but the females are smaller than
the males, and the young assume the adult livery from the nest

283. Ptilotis chrysotis Vol. IV. PI. 32.

Ptilotis Lewiniiy Swains. ?

. Vol. IV. PL 33.

. VoL IV. PL 34.

. VoL IV. PL 35.

. VoL IV. PL 36.

. VoL IV. PL 37.

. VoL IV. PL 38.

284. Ptilotis sonorus, Gould

285. Ptilotis versicolor, Gould

286. Ptilotis flavigula, Gould

287. Ptilotis leucotis . . .

288. Ptilotis anricomis . .

289. Ptilotis cratitius, Gould

290. Ptilotis ornatuB, Gould , •

291 . Ptilotis plumulus, Gould .

292. Ptilotis flavesceDs, Gould .

293. Ptilotis flava, Gould . .

294. Ptilotis penicillatus, Gould,

295. Ptilotis fusca, Gould . .

296. Ptilotis chrysops . . .

297. Ptilotis unicolor, Gould

Vol. IV. Pi. 39.
Vol. IV. PI. 40.
Vol. IV. m. 41.
Vol. IV. PL 42.
Vol. IV. PI. 43.
Vol. IV. PI. 44.
Vol. IV. PI. 45.
Vol. IV. PL 46.

Genus Plectorhykcha.
Generic characters.

JSill shorter than the head, slightly arched, very pointed, almost
conical and acute ; nostrils basal and partly covered by an opercu-
lum ; an obsolete notch near the tip of the upper mandible ; unngs
moderate, the first feather short, the third and fourth the longest ;
tail moderate and square ; tarsi strong ; hind-toe and claw long,
powerful and longer than the middle toe and claw ; lateral toes un-
equal; the outer one the longest, and united to the middle one
nearly to the first joint.

Of this singular form only one species has yet been discovered.
It inhabits the plains of the eastern portion of Australia, where it
dwells among the Eucalypti and Acocue ; and is a very noisy gar-
rulous bird.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and the young assume the adult
plumage at a very early age.

298. Plectorhyncha lanceolata, Gould . . . Vol. IV. PL 47.

Genus Xanthomyza.
One species only of this genus is known.

299. Xanthomyza Phrygia . Vol. IV. PL 48*

The habitat of this bird appears to be confined to the south-
eastern portion of Australia. In its disposition it is bold and ex-
tremely pugnacious, and it generally frequents the highest branches
of the lofty Bucalyptif both of the brushes and of the plains, but i»
most abundant in the districts near the coast.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and but little difference is ob-
servable between nestling and adult birds.

The nests I saw were round and cup-shaped, and were mostly
placed in the fork of a tree.

Genus Melicophila.
Generic characters.

Bill as long as the head, curving downwards from the base, nearly
cylindrical and very pointed; nostrils basal and covered with an
operculum ; wings rather lengthened, the first primary short, the third
the longest ; tail moderately long, and nearly square ; tarsi long and
stout.

A genus containing only a single species^ which so far as we yet
know is confined to Southern and Western Australia. It possesses
many singular habits, and differs from most other species of the
MdipJiagidcR in the totally different colouring of the sexes ; as well
as in assembling in vast flocks, which continue soaring about during
the greater portion of the day.

300. Melicophila picata, Gould . . • . . Vol. IV. PI. 49.

I was not aware until after my drawing was made that this bird
has a small fleshy appendage beneath the eye of an ashy-grey colour.
The nest and eggs are said to be very similar to those of Petroica
multicolor^ and to be placed in similar situations.

Genus Entomophila.
Generic characters.

Sill nearly as long as the head, somewhat broad at the base, be-
coming compressed and pointed at the tip ; tomia of the upper man-
dible arched and slightly notched at the tip; nostrils basal, oval,
pierced in a membrane and protected by an operculum ; wings rather
long, first quill spurious, the second nearly as long as the third, which
is the longest ; tail short and nearly square ; tarsi short and rather
feeble; hind-toe short and stout; lateral toes unequal, the inner
one being rather the shortest.

301. Entomophila picta, Gould ...... Vol. IV. PL 50.

The long pointed wings and short square tail of the specimens of
this form I had seen prior to my visit to Australia, had led me to infer
that its habits were more aerial than those of the other members of
the family, and such proved to be the case ; for while they are con-
tinually clinging to and creeping about the branches, the present
bird is constantly flying about the trees, capturing insects and dis-
playing the beautiful yellow of its wings and the white markings of
its outspread tail.

Its frail cup* shaped nest is sometimes suspended among the droop-
ing leaves of the Acacia pendula,

302. Entomophila albogularis, Cr(m/(i .... Vol. IV. PI. 51.

303. Entomophila rufogularis, Gould .... Vol. IV. PI. 52.

I fear I have committed an error in referring the birds from the
north coast (E. aJbogularis and E, rt^ogularis) to the present genus,
for upon further consideration I believe they will prove to be suffi-
ciently different from every other form yet characterized to justify
their being separated into a distinct genus.

Genus Acanthogenys.
Generhs characters.

Bill equalling the head, compressed, slightly arched, acute at the
tip ; nostrils sub-basal, the edges of the upper mandible notched near
the tip, and delicately serrated ; from the base of the mandible a
naked stripe runs below the eyes, and below this the cheeks are
covered with stiff spines ; wingn moderate, the first quill-feather very

shorty third, fourth and fifth longest and equal ; tail moderate, nearly
equal ; fe^ robust, hind-toe strong and longer than the middle one»
outer toe united at its base to the middle toe ; claws hooked.

The genus AcanthogenySf of which only one species is known,
presents us with a form intermediate in size and in structure between
the smaller Honey-eaters {Meliphag(B^ Ptiloti, &c.) on the one hand,
and the larger kinds (^Anthochcsrce) on the other.

304. Acanthogenys rufogularis, Goidd .... Vol. IV. PI. 53.

This species is widely distributed over the interior of the southern
portion of Australia, from east to west ; the sexes are alike in plumage,
and the young are very similar, but are destitute of the spines on the
cheek, which are scarcely assumed during the first year. TheBanksicB
are the trees mostly frequented by this bird, the presence of which
is indicative of sterile sandy districts. «

Genus Anthoch^ra.

A genus peculiarly Australian, three species of which are exclu-
sively confined to the southern or extra-tropical parts of the country,
and one to Van Diemen's Land.

These four birds might with propriety be separated into two
genera, those with auricular appendages. A, inauris and A, caruU'
culata, having many characters difiering from those of the A. melli"
vara and A. luniUcUa.

305. Anthochaera inauris, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 54.

306. Anthochaera carunculata Vol. IV. PI. 55*

307. Anthochaera mellivora ....'... Vol. IV. PI. 56>

308. Anthochaera lunulata, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 57*

Genus Tropidorhynchus.

The law of representation in Australia appears to be chiefly con-
fined to the species inhabiting the eastern and western coasts, but
in this case it takes the opposite direction, or north and south, for
a more singular and perfect representation cannot be found than the
T. comiculatus and T. citreogularis of the south-eastern parts of
the country, are of the T. argenticeps and T, sordidus of the north-
western. Extra Australian species inhabit New Guinea and the
neighbouring countries.

309. Tropidorhynchus comiculatus .... Vol. IV. PI. 58.

310. Tropidorhynchus argenticeps, Gotild ^ . Vol. IV, PI. 59.

311. Tropidorhynchus citreogularis, Gould . . Vol. IV. PI. 60.

312. Tropidorhynchus sordidus.

Inhabits the Cobourg Peninsula, and is precisely similar to T. citreO'
gtUariSf but is smaller in all its admeasurements except in the bill,
which is more developed.

Genus Acanthoriiynchus.

Sill elongated, slender and acute, compressed on the sides ; tomia
incurved, culmen acute and elevated ; nostrils basal, elongated, and
covered with an operculum ; wings moderate in size, semi-rotund ;
first and fifth primaries equal ; the third and fourth nearly equal in
length, and the longest ; tail moderate in size and slightly forked ;
tarsi lengthened and strong ; middle toe long and robust, external
toe exceeding the inner one in length.

This genus, like many others of the family, may be regarded as
strictly Australian : it comprises two, if not three, well-marked spe-
cies, each of which is confined to a particular part of the country ; the
A. tenuirostris dwelling in the eastern coast, and t\ie A, superdliosus
in the western ; both inhabit countries precisely in the same degree
of latitude, and form beautiful representatives of each other. Van
Diemen's Land is the native habitat of the species I have named
A. dubius, which, as will be seen, I had made synonymous with
A. tenuirostrist but which I am now inclined to consider distinct, an
opinion in which Mr. Blyth coincides.

313. Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris .... Vol. IV, PI. 61.

31 4. Acanthorhynchus dubius, Gould,

315. Acanthorhynchus superciliosus, Gould . . Vol. IV. PI. 62.

Genus Mtzomela.

Five well-marked species of this genus are distributed over Au-
stralia; numerous others are found in New Guinea and the neigh-
bouring islands; the form also occurs in the Polynesian Islands, but
is not found in Van Diemen's Land.

316. Myzomela sanguineolenta ....
SI 7. Myzomela erythrocephala, Gould .

318. Myzomela pectoralis, Gould . . .

319. Myzomela nigra, Gould ....

320. Myzomela obscura, GouM . . .

Genus Entomyza.

Vol. IV. PI. 63.
Vol. IV. PI. 64.
Vol. IV. PI. 65.
Vol. IV. PI. 66.
Vol. IV. PI. 67.

Two species of this well-defined genus are comprised in the
Australian fauna, one of which inhabits the south-eastern parts of
the country, or New South Wales ; the other, which so far as we yet
know is strictly confined to the north-eastern coast, is very plentiful
at Port Essington and in the neighbouring districts.

The form appears to be confined to Australia, for I have never
seen it from any other country.

321. Entomyza cyanotis Vol. IV. PI. 68.

This bird has the habit — a somewhat remarkable circumstance

among the Honey-eaters — of selecting the nest of Pomaiorkinus
tempmdis for the reception of its eggs.

S22. Entomyza albipennis, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 69.

Genus Melithrxptus.

No one group of birds is more universally distributed over Au-
stralia than the MeUthrqjii, for, like the EucalypU^ a genus of trees
upon which they are almost exclusively found, their range extends
from Van Diemen's Land on the extreme south to the most northern
part of the continent, and in an equal degree from east to west, each
part of country being inhabited by a species peculiarly its own. I
believe the form is unknown out of Australia.

. . Vol. IV. PI. 70.

. . Vol. IV. PI. 71.

. . Vol. IV. Fl. 72.

. . Vol. IV. PI. 7S.

. . Vol. IV. PI. 74.

. . Vol. IV. PI. 75.

323. Melithreptus validirostris, Gaidd

324. Melithreptus gularis, Gould . . .

325. Melithreptus lunulatus

326. Melithreptus chloropsis, Gould . .

327. Melithreptus albogularis, Gould . .

328. Melithreptus melanocephalus, Gould
Cerihia agtUSi I^th.

Genus Myzantha.

During the progress of this work three have been added to the
two previously known species of this genus, one from the districts of
the interior of New South Wales, one from Swan River, and one
from the north-west coast ; it is consequently a genus the members
of which are widely dbtributed over nearly every part of Australia.

329. Myzantha garrula Vol. IV. PL 76.

330. Myzantha obscura, Gould

331. Myzantha lutea, Gould .

332. Myzantha flavigula, Gould

333. Myzantha melanophrys .

Vol. IV. PI. 77.
Vol. IV. PL 78.
Vol. IV. PL 79.
Vol. IV. PL 80.

Family

Genus Zosterops.

The members of this genus are very widely dispersed ; three well-
defined species inhabit the continent of Australia and Van Diemen's
Land ; two are found on Norfolk Island, and numerous others
inhabit the Indian Islands and the continent of India even to the
Himalaya Mountains.

In placing this group next to the Honey-eaters, I have been
influenced by their approximation to those birds both in form and
habits, and to which Uiey exhibit a further degree of affinity in the

form and structure of their nest, but not in the colouring of their
eggs, which are always blue in colour.

3S4. Zosterops dorsalis, Vtg. ^ Hwsf. .... Vol. IV. PI. 81.

S35. Zosterops chloronotus, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 82.

336. Zosterops luteus, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 83.

Family CUCULlDiE.

The family Cuctdidce is very fairly represented in Australia, since
we there find species belonging to the greater number of the Old
World genera, and one, Scythrops, which has not hitherto, I believe,
been found elsewhere ; each of which, with the exception of Cen-
tropus and EudynamySy like their prototypes, are parasitic in their
nidification, and depend upon other birds for the hatching of their
eggs and the feeding of their offspring.

Genus Cuculus.

337. Cuculus optatus, Gould « Vol. IV. PI. 84*.

Since my description of this species was printed I have seen
specimens from India, with the name of Cuculus micrqpterus at-
tached to them; should this name have been published prior to
the one I have assigned to it, my name must sink into a synonym.

338. Cuculus inornatus, Vig. Sf Horsf. . . . Vol. IV. PL 85.
Columba paUiday Lath.

339. Cuculus cineraceus, Vig. Sf fforsf. . . . Vol. IV. PI. 86.

340. Cuculus insperatus, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 87.

341. Cueulus dumetorum, Gould.

This species, which inhabits the north-western coast, differs from
C insperatus in being of a much snuiller size and in the whole of
the plumage being browner.

Genus Chrtsococcyx.

The members of this genus are distributed over most parts of the
Old World ; two species occur in Australia.

342. Chrysococcyx osculans.

Chalcites osculans, GouM Vol. IV. PI. 88.

343. Chrysococcyx lucidus . Vol. IV. PL 89.

Sylvia versicolor. Lath.

Genus Sctthrops.

The only known species of this remarkable form inhabits the
eastern parts of Australia, and according to the information gained
from the notes made by Mr. Gilbert during Dr. Leichardt*s Expedi-
tion, extends its range northward from thence to within the tropics.

I have recently had a young specimen presented to me by Lady
Dowling, one of two taken from a branch of a tree while being fed by
birds not of its own species, an important fact as showing the para-
sitic habits of the bird.

::J44'. Scythrops NovsB-Hollandise, Lath. . . . VoL IV. PL 90.

Genus Eudynamys.

One species only of this form inhabits Australia ; other species
are found in the Indian Islands and on the continent of India.

S4>5. Eudynamys Flindersii Vol. IV. PI. 91.

Genus Centrofus.

On reference to my account of the Centropus PhasiantiSy it will
be seen I have stated that some difference occurs in specimens from
different localities, intimated a belief of there being more than one
species, and remarked that should such prove to be the case, the
term macrourus might be applied to the Port Essington birds, and
melanurus to those from the north-west coast; and these names are
provisionally retained until future research has proved whether they
be or be not distinct.

S46* Centropus Phasianus
S47- Centropus macrourus.
S^S. Centropus melanurus.

. . . . Vol. IV. PL 92.

Family CERTHIADiE.

Genus Climacteris.

Great additions have been made to the species of this well-defined
and singular group of Australian birds, two out of the six now
known being all that had been described prior to the publication of
the present work. With the exception of Van Diemen's Laud and
the Cobourg Peninsula, every colony is inhabited by one or olher of
the following species : —

S$49. Climacteris scandens, Temm Vol. IV. PL 93.

S40« Climacteris rufa, Gotild . .

351. Climacteris erythrops, Gould

352. Climacteris melanotus, Gould

353. Climacteris melanura, Gould

354. Climacteris picumnus, Temm.
Certhia leucophaaf Lath.

VoL IV. PL 94.
VoL IV. PL 95.
Vol. IV. PL 96.
Vol. IV. PL 97.
VoL IV. PL 98.

Genus Orthonyx.

Much difference of opinion has arisen among ornithologists re-
specting the situation of this bird in the natural system, and as to

what genus it is most nearly allied ; I regret to say that not having
seen much of the bird in its native wilds, I am unable to clear up
these disputed points. The form is strictly Australian, and the
single species known is confined to the south-eastern part of the
country.

355. Orthonyx spinicaudus, Temm Vol. IV. PI. 99.

M. Jules Verreaux, who has written a highly interesting account
of this bird, states that it is strictly terrestrial, and scratches among
the detritus and fallen leaves for its food, throwing back the earth
like the GallinacecB, It never climbs, ad was formerly supposed,
but runs over fallen trunks of trees ; — is rather a solitary bird, sel-
dom more than two being seen together. Its often -repeated cry of
eri'Cri-cri'Crite betrays its presence, when its native haunts, the
most retired parts of the forest, are visited. Its chief food consists
of insects, their larva?, and wood-bugs. It builds a large domed
nest, of slender mosses; the entrance being by a lateral hole near
the bottom. The eggs are white and disproportionately large. The
situation of the nest is the side of a slanting rock or large stone,
the entrance- hole being level with the surface. — Revue Zoolo-
gique^ July 1 847.

Genus Ptiloris.

In placing this beautiful bird near the Climacteric I am influenced
in the first place by the great similarity of its structure, and in the
next by the account I have received of its actions in a state of na-
ture ; I allude more particularly to its mode of ascending the trees,
which precisely resembles that of the tree Creepers* One species
only of this form is found in Australia, many representatives of
which, in nearly allied genera, Promeropsy &c., inhabit New Guinea
and the neighbouring islands.

356. Ptiloris paradiseus. Swains. Vol. IV. PI. 100.

That the range of this species extends from the eastern parts of
Australia to within the tropics, is proved by Mr. Gilbert's having
once seen it during his last Expedition.

Genus Sittella.

Numerous additions have also been made to this strictly Austra-
lian form. The Sittella chrysoptera was the only one known to
previous writers ; to this has been added one from Southern and
Western Australia, another from Moreton Bay, and a third from the
north coast.

The form does not exist in Van Diemen*s Land.

357. Sittella chrysoptera Vol. IV. PI. 101.

358. Sittella leucocephala, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 102.

359. Sittella leucoptera, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 103.

360. Sittella pileata, Gotdd Vol. IV. PI. 104.

FaoiUy PSITTACID.«.

No one group of birds gives to Australia so tropical and foreign
an air as the numerous species of this great family, bj which it is
tenanted, each and all of which are individually very abundant. Im-
mense flocks of white Cockatoos are sometimes seen perched among
the green foliage of the EueafypH ; the brilliant scarlet breasts of
the Rose-hills Maze forth from the yellow flowering Acocub ; the
Trichoglosn or Honey-eating Parrakeets enliyen the flowering
branches of the larger EuadypU with their beauty and their lively
actions ; the little grass Parrakeets rise from the plains of the inte-
rior and render these solitary spots a world of animation ; nay the
▼ery towns, particularly Hobart Town and Adelaide, are constantly
visited by flights of this beautiful tribe of bird^ which traverse the
streets with arrow-like swiftness, and chase each other precisely after
the manner the Swifts are seen to do in our own islands. In the
public roads of Van Diemen*s Land the beautiful Platycerei may be
constantly seen in small companies, performing precisely the same
offices as the Sparrow in England. I have also seen flocks of from
fifty to a hundred, like tame pigeons at the barn-doors in the farm-
yards of the settlers, to which they descend for the refuse grain
thrown out with the straw by the threshers. As might naturally be
expected, the agriculturist is often sadly annoyed by the destruction
certain species effect among his newly-sown and ripening com, parti-
cularly where the land has been recently cleared and is adjacent to
the brushes. Fifty-five well-defined species of thb great family are
figured and described in the present work. They appear to con-
stitute four great groups, each comprising several genera, nearly the
whole of which are strictly and peculiarly Australian ; for instance,
neither Ccdyj^orhynchuSi Platycercus^ Euphema^ Pstpkotus, Me-
hpstUacuSf or Ni/mphicus have been found in any other country ;
and whether we consider the elegance of their forms or the beauty
of their plumage, they may vie with the members of this extensive
family from any part of the world.

Genus Cacatua.

Australia, the Molucca and Philippine Islands and New Guinea
are the great nurseries of the members of this genus. They incu-
bate in holes of trees or in rocks, and lay two eggs.

561. Cacatua galerita Vol. V. PI. I.

There are evidently several varieties or races of this species in
Australia, each possessing a modification in the form of the bill
doubtless given for some specific purpose ; the Van Diemen's Land
bird is the largest, and has the upper mandible attenuated, while
the Port Essington bird is altogether smaller, and has a much more
arched bill.

362. Cacatua Leadbeaterii Vol. V. PL 2.

This species ranges over all the southern portions of Australia
between the 20th and 30th degrees of S. latitude. I have never seen

a specimen from the north coast, and I believe it does not inhabit
that part of the country ; its true habitat appears to be the interior,
for it is never found near the coast.

363. Cacatua sanguinea, Gould . . . . , . Vol. V. PI. 3.

This species has been found on the north coast, and was observed
by Captain Sturt at the Depdt in Central Australia ; we may hence
infer that its range extends over all the intermediate country.

364?. Cacatua Eos Vol. V. PI. 4.

This fine bird, which is strictly Australian, is distributed over all
parts of the interior of the country, and is as abundant on the north
as it is on the south coast ; it was also observed by Captain Sturt
at the Depot.

The specimens from the north are of a larger size and have the
orbits more denuded than those from the south.

Genus Licmetis.

The two species forming the genus Licmetis are not only con-
fined to Australia, but, so far as we yet know, to the southern por-
tions of that continent, one inhabiting the western and the other
the eastern part of the country. Their singularly formed bill being
admirably adapted for procuring their food on the ground, they are
more terrestrial in their habits than the other members of the
family.

365. Licmetis nasicus Vol. V. PI. 5.

366. Licmetis pastinator, Gould.

Licmetis pasHnatoTy Gould in Proc. of ZooL Soc, Part VI £1*
p. 175.

Lores scarlet ; general plumage white ; the base of the feathers
of the head and front of the neck scarlet, showing through and giving
those parts a stained appearance ; the basal half of the inner webs
of the primaries, the inner webs of all the other feathers of the wing,
and the inner webs of the tail-feathers beautiful brimstone-yellow ;
naked space round the eye greenish blue ; irides light brown ; bill
white ; feet dull olive-grey.

Inhabits Western Australia.

Differs from Z. nasicus in being of a much larger size ; but the
colouring being similar, I have not thought it necessary to figure it.

Genus Nestor.

Of this genus two species are known, one of which is exclusively
confined to Phillip Island, and the other to New Zealand ; they are
evidently the remains of a race, all the other members of which are
probably extinct.

367. Nestor productus, Gould Vol. V. PI. 6.

The few examples of this species that may exist in captivity are
all that survive, none remaining on Phillip Island, their native
habitat.

Genus Caltptorhynchus. *

The members of this genus are strictly arboreal, and are evidently
formed to live upon the seeds of the Sanksus, Eucalypti^ and other
trees peculiar to the country they inhabit ; they diversify their food
by occasionally devouring large caterpillars ; they can scarcely be
considered gregarious, but move about in small companies. Their
flight is rather powerful, but at the same time laboured and heavy ;
and their voice is a low crying call, totally different from the harsh
screaming notes of the CacattuB, Each division of the country,
from the north coast of the continent to Van Diemeu's Land, is in-
habited by its own peculiar species.

I have never seen a member of this genus from any other country
than Australia, but I have heard that an extraordinary Parrot, said
to be larger than any at present in our collections, inhabits New
Guinea, and which, from the description given of it, will probably
be of this form. The Ccdyptorhynchi lay from two to four eggs in
the holes of trees.

368. Calyptorhynchus Banksii Vol. V. PI. 7-

369. Calyptorhynchus macrorhynchus, Crtmld . . Vol. V. PI. 8.

Inhabits the north coast, where it represents the C. Banksii of
the eastern and the C. naso of the western coasts.

370. Calyptorhynchus naso, Gauid Vol. V. PI. 9.

This species, which is confined to Western Australia, is rendered
conspicuous by the small size of its crest, and by its bill being nearly
as large as that of C. nmcrorhynchuSy while its wings are much
shorter than those of that species.

371. Calyptorhynchus Leachii Vol. V. PI. 10.

Banksiahus Australis, Less. Trait6 d'Om. p. 180, Atlas, pi. 18,
fig. 2, fem.

Inhabits the south-eastern parts of the continent, i^nd difiers from
all the others in its smaller size, the gibbose form of its bill, and in
the paucity of its crest.

372. Calyptorhynchus funereus Vol. V. PI. 11.

Confined, I believe, to New South Wales, and South Australia ?

373. Calyptorhynchus xanthonotus, Gould . . Vol. V. PI. 12.

The true habitat of this species is Van Diemcn's Land, but I have

lately received a specimen from Port Lincoln, which proves that its

range extends to South Australia. It is distinguished from C

funereus by its much smaller size, and by the uniformity of the

yellow colouring of the tail.

374. Calyptorhynchus Baudinii, Vig Vol. V. PI. 13.

Inhabits Western Australia, and is distinguished by its small size
and by the white marks on the tail.

Genus Callocephalon.
Of this form only a single species is known.

375. Callocepbaloii galeatum Vol. V. PL 14.

Inhabits the southern coast of Australia and Van Diemen's Land.

Genus Polttblis.

This genus comprises two species, both of which are peculiar to
the southeru portions of Australia. They have many characters
common to^ and resemble in appearance the PaUsomi of India.

376. Polytelis Barrabandi Vol. V. PI. 15.

377. Polytelis melanura Vol. V. PL 16.

Genus Aprosmictus.
Generic characters.

As in Platycercus^ but the hill more feeble; cere and nostrils co-
vered with iine hair-like feathers ; wings longer and less concave ;
tail more square ; tarsi shorter and toes longer than in that genus.

Two, if not three species of this form inhabit Australia, and others
are found in New Guinea and the neighbouring islands. They are
distinguished from the Plaiycerci by the possession of a well-deve-
loped OS furcatoriumy a bone which is entirely wanting in the mem-
bers of that genus ; in their habits they are mainly arboreal^ and in
their disposition are morose and sullen.

378. Aprosmictus scapulatus Vol. V. PI. 17.

This species appears to be confined to New South Wales.

879. Aprosmictus erythropterus Vol. V. PL 18,

The red-winged Parrakeets from the north coast are nearly a
third smaller than those inhabiting the Liverpool plains and similar
districts of the south coast ; are they varieties of each other or di-
stinct species ?

Genus Platycercus.

In my opinion the New Zealand birds that have been placed in
this genus are not true Platycerd^ all the known species of which
are confined to Australia; they comprise fourteen species which
appear to be naturally divisible into minor groups, to which generic
appellations may hereafter be given ; for instance the P. semUor^
qrmtuSy P. Baueriy and P. Bamardi form one ; the P. AdehMidicB,
P. PennanUiy P.JlaiveoluSj and P. Jlaviventris form another, and
are the types of the genus Platycercus ; P, eximitis, P. splendiduSy
and P. icterotis form a third ; and P.pUeatus a fourth.

The members of this and the two next genera lay from seven to
ten eggs in the holes of trees.

380. Platycercus semitorquatus Vol. V. PL 19.

381. Platycercus Baueri Vol. V. PL 20.

38^. Platycercus Barnardii, Viff. Sf Horrf.

383. Platycercus AdelaidiaB, GotUd

384. Platycercus Peunantii . .

385. Platycercus flaviventris . .

386. Platycercus flaveolus, Gould
387* Platycercus palliceps, Vi$f. '.

388. Platycercus eyimius . . .

389. Platycercus splendidus, Gould

390. Platycercus icterotis . . .

391. Platycercus ignitus, Leadb. .

392. Platycercus Brownii . . .

393. Platycercus pileatus, Viff, .

Vol. V. Pi. 21.
VoL V. PL 22.
. Vol. V. PI. 23.
Vol. V. PI. 24,
Vol. V. PL 25.
VoL V. PL 26.
VoL V. PL 27.
VoL V. H. 28.
VoL V. PL 29.
Vol. V. PI. 30.
VoL V. PL 31.
VoL V. PL 32.

Genus Psephotus.
Generic characters.

As in JSuphemoy but the cere, in which the nostrils are placed,
more swollen or developed ; ivings rather short and the tail much
lengthened; the lateral feathers short and not so regularly graduated;
Jbet more adapted for terrestrial progression.

All the members of this genus are confined to Australia, and hold
an intermediate station between the Platycerci on the one hand and
the EuphemcB on the other. They pass much of their time on the
ground, where the principal part of their food is procured ; inhabit
the interior rather than the country near the coast, and are adapted
for the open plains, where they often assemble in vast flocks.

I have figured four species, and I have seen a drawing in the pos-
session of Mr. Brown, made by Ferdinand Bauer from a bird said
to have been found near the Gulf of Carpentaria, which will pro-
bably form a fifth.

394. Psephotus hsematogaster, Gould .... Vol. V. PI. 33.

This species difiers from all the other members of the genus, as
well as from those of the allied genera, in the pointed form of the
tips of its primaries.

I think there are two birds confounded under this name, one
with yellow and the other with scarlet under tail-coverts ; but it will
be necessary to see other examples before deciding that they are
distinct. Captain Sturt brought specimens with yellow under tail-
coverts from the Dep6t in the interior of South Australia.

395. Psephotus pulcherrimus, Gould .... Vol. V. PL 34.

396. Psephotus multicolor VoL V. PL 35.

397. Psephotus hasmatonotus, Gould .... VoL V. PL 36.

Genus Euphema.

The members of this genus are exclusively Australian and appear
to be confined to the extra- tropical parts of the country, no species

Vol. V. PI. 38.
Vol. V. H. S9.
Vol. V. PL 40.
Vol. V. PI. 41 .
Vol. V. PL 42.

having yet been seen from the north coast, while the seven species
known are abundantly distributed over the southern portions of the
continent, and two of them over Van Diemen*s Land. Our know-
ledge of this group has been extended from three to seven species.

398. Euphema chrysostoma Vol. V. PL 37.

399. Euphema elegans, Gould . . .

400. Euphema aurantia, Gould . . .

401 . Euphema petrophila, Gould . .

402. Euphema pulehella .....

403. Euphema splendida, Gould . .

Captain Sturt procured a single male example of this beautiful
bird during his journey into the interior of South Australia.

404. Euphema Bourkii Vol. V. PL 43.

Captain Sturt found this species in abundance at the Depot in
Central Australia.

Genus Melopsittacus.
Generic characters.

£iU moderate; culmen arched; tomia descending at the base,
then ascending and curving downwards to the tip ; nostrils basal,
lateral, open, and seated in a broad swollen cere ; wifigs rather long,
pointed, first primary very long, the second the longest ; tail long
and much graduated ; tarsi moderate and covered with minute
scales ; toes slender, the outer toe much longer than the inner one.

The only known species of this form is strictly gregarious, as-
sembles in vast flocks, and is admirably adapted for plains and
downs covered with grasses, upon the seeds of which it entirely
subsists. In all probability the species will be found to be univer*
sally dispersed over all the interior parts of the country, since inde-
pendently of its previously known range from Swan River on the
west, to New South Wales on the east, Mr. Gilbert, during his
overland journey with Dr. Leichardt, observed it in every part of
the country between Moreton Bay and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

405« Melopsittacus undulatus Vol. V. PL 44.

Genus Ntmphicus.

As of MelopsittacuSy there is only one species known of this genus.
It is strictly Australian, and will doubtless hereafter be found to
be universsdly distributed over that vast country; it is equally
adapted for the plains, and the two birds are frequently found
associated.

406. Nymphicus Novse-HoUandiae Vol. V. PL 45,

There are two distinct varieties of this species, one having a much
darker colouring than the other.

Genus Pezoporus.

Of this terrestrial form but one species is known, which is very
generally distributed over the temperate portions of Australia, the
islands in Bass's Straits and Van Diemen*s Land. The eggs are
laid on the bare ground.

407. Pezoporus formosus Vol. V. PL 46.

Genus Latham us.

Of this form only a single species is known to exist in Australia,
and that species had been assigned to a different genus by almost
every recent writer on ornithology, Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield
placing it in their genus NanodeSy Wagler in his genus EuphemOf
&c., until M. Lesson, perceiving that it did not belong to either of
those forms, made it the type of his genus Lathamus, giving it at
the same time the specific appellation of rubrifrons, which must of
course give place to that of discolor, long before applied to it by
Latham.

Having had ample opportunities of observing this bird in a state
of nature, I concur in the propriety of M. Lesson's views in sepa-
rating it into a distinct genus, at the same time I must remark that
In its habits, nidification, food and whole economy, it is most closely
allied to the Trichoglossi or honey-eating Parrakeets, and in no de-
gree related to the JSupheniae,

408. Lathamus discolor Vol. V. PL 47.

Genus Trichoglossus.

The arboreal group of Trichoglossi or honey-eating JParrakeets,
if not so numerous in species as the grass-feeding Parrakeets, whose
habits lead them to fretiuent the ground, are individually much
more abundant and are more universally dispersed, being found in
every part of the country yet visited, but from circumstances not
easily to be accounted for, not more than one species is found in
Western Australia. Other members of the genus are found in
New Guinea and the Moluccas, but Australia ii the great nursery
for the birds of this form.

In their structure, habits and mode of nidification, and in their
economy, no two groups of the same family can be more widely
different than the Trichoglossi and the PlcUt/cerci; the pencilled
tongue, diminutive stomach, thick skin, tough flesh, and foetid odour
of the former presenting a decided contrast to the simple tongue,
capacious crop and stomach, thin skin, delicate flesh and freedom
from odour of the latter ; besides which the Trichoglossi possess a
strong OS furcatorium, which organ is wanting in the Platycerci ;
hence while the Trichoglossi are powerful, swift and arrow-like in
their flight, the Platycerci are feeble, pass through the air in a suc-
cession of undulations near the ground, and never fly to any great
distance. The mode in which the two groups approach and alight
upon and quit the trees is also remarkably different ; the TrichO'

glossi (lashing among and alighting upon the branches simulta-
neously, and with the utmost rapidity, and quitting them in like
manner, leaving the deafening sound of their thousand voices
echoing through the woods ; while the Platycerd rise to the branch
after their undulating flight and leave them again in the like quiet
manner, no sound being heard but their inward piping note.
The eggs of the Trichoglossi are from two to four in number.

409- Trichoglossus Swainsonii, Jard. ^ Selh, . , Vol. V. PL 48.

410. Trichoglossus rubritorquis, Vig, Sf Horf, . Vol. V. PL 49.

" Procured at Port MoUe on the north-east coast, previously only
found at Port Essington.'* — ^J. M*Gillivray.

411. Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus VoL V. PL 50.

412. Trichoglossus versicolor, Vig Vol. V. PL 51 .

413. Trichoglossus concinnus VoL V. PL 52.

414. Trichoglossus porphyrocephalus, I>iet, . . VoL V. PL 53.

415. Trichoglossus pusillus Vol. V. PL 54.

Order RASORES.

Family COLUMBIDJE.

The members of this important family are distributed over every
portion of the globe, in no part of which are they more numerous
than -in Australia, since that country is inhabited by no less than
twenty-one species, which, like the Parrakeets, comprise several
well-marked and distinct genera, and appear to be naturally divided
into two great groups, the one arboreal, the other terrestrial ; the
Pdlionopif CarpophagcB and Lopholaimtis, with their expansive
gullets and broad hand-like feet forming part of the former, and the
Phaps, Geophaps and GeopelicB the latter. The Ptilinopi and other
allied forms are, in consequence of the peculiar character of the
vegetation, confined, without a single exception, to the eastern and
northern coasts.

The species of the genus Phaps, a form which I believe to be con-
fined to Australia, are more widely dispersed than those of any other
section of the family, being universally distributed over the entire
country from north to south and from east to west ; even the parched
deserts of the interior are visited by them if a supply of water suffi-
cient for their existence be within reach of their evening flight, which
is performed with the most extraordinary rapidity and power.

Genus Ptilinopus.

The species of this genus, the most brilliant and highly- coloured
of the ColumbidcB, range over Australia, New Guinea, Malacca,
the Celebes, and Polynesia ; two of the three Australian species are
I believe confined to that country.

416. Ptilinopus Swainsonii, Gould .... VoL V. PL 55^

417* Ptilinopus Ewingii, Gould Vol. V. PI. 56.

418. PtiliDopus superbns Vol. V. PI. 57.

PHlinqptis superbus, Steph. cont. of Shaw's Gen. ZooU vol. xiv.

p. 279.

Genus Carfophaga.

The species of this genus are widely dispersed over Australia,
New Guinea* Malacca, Sie Celebes and Polynesia. Strictly arboreal
in their habits and feeding entirely upon fruits, berries and seeds,
they frequent the towering fig-trees when their fruit is ripe, and the
lofty palms for the sake of their large round seeds. I have frequently
observed large €ocks moving about from one part of the forest to
another, consequently they may be considered a gregarious race ;
their short tarSi and dilated feet are ill-adapted for the ground, and
I have never seen them descend from the trees, not even for water.

'419. Carpophaga magnifica Vol. V. PL 58.

420. Carpophaga leucomela Vol. V. PI. 59.

421. Carpophaga luctuosa ........ Vol. V. PI. 60.

Genus Lopholaimvs.

The single species of this genus is strictly a fruit-eating Pigeon,
and is confined, so far as we yet know, to the brushes of New South
Wales, where it moves about in large flocks and feeds upon the wild
figs and other fruits and berries which the trees of the brushes
afford.

422. Lopholaimus Antarcticus Vol. V. PI. 61.

A noble bird ornamented with a large occipital crest.

Genus Chalcophaps.
Generic characters.

**Bill slender, moderate and straight, the tip vaulted and rather
arched ; nostrils lateral, membranous and swollen, with the opening
in the middle of the bill; toings long, second and third primaries
nearly equal and the longest ; tail moderate and much rounded ;
tarsi rather shorter than the middle toe, robust and covered with
transverse scales ; toes long, the lateral and the hind-toes nearly as
long as the outer ; claws moderate and curved.'* — Gray and Mitchell's
Genera, Art. Gourina.

A genus of Brush Pigeons, which seek their food on the gtound
and live on the fallen seeds and berries they find there. Two species
inhabit Australia, one of which is confined to the eastern and the
other to the northern coast ; other species are found in Java, Suma-
tra, and on the continent of India, the whole forming a group well-
worthy of investigation by the scientific ornithologist.

423. Chalcophaps chrysochlora Vol. V. PL 62.

The bird of this form inhabiting the country in the neighbour-
hood of Port Essington differs from those inhabiting New South

Wales in the much greater length of the mandibles, and is altogether
a much finer bird ; consequently I am induced to believe that it is
distinct from its southern prototj^pe, I would therefore provisionally
name it, —

4'24'. Chalcophaps longirostris*

I have not figured it, inasmuch as the colouring is similar, but more
brilliant, and has the bands across the rump more distinct, than in
C. chrysochlora. ^

Genus Leucosarcia.
Generic characters.

BiU lengthened, almost cylindrical, fleshy for two-thirds of its
length from the base ; nostrik lateral and covered by an oval swollen
operculum ; wings very short and concave ; tail short ; tarsi length-
ened and defended in front by large distinct scuta ; toes rather short,
hind-toe situated high upon the tarsus.

A genus proposed by me for the reception of the Wonga-Wonga
Pigeon of the Australian Brushes, a bird having many peculiar
habits, but which, beihg mainly terrestrial, lead it to frequent the
ground in the midst of the dense forests, where it moves about in
pairs, feeding upon seeds and berries. Its flesh being remarkably
white and extremely delicate, it is one of the best birds for the table
inhabiting Australia, or indeed any other country.

The colour of the flesh suggested the generic term I have as-
signed to it.

425. Leucosarcia picata Vol. Y. PI. 63.

Genus Phafs.

The members of this genus, generally known by the name of
Bronze-wings, not only form an excellent viand for the settlers, but
one of the greatest boons bestowed upon the explorer, since they not
only furnish him with a supply of nutritious food, but direct him by
their straight and arrow-like evening flight to the situations where
he may find water, that element without which man cannot exist.

4<26. Phaps chalcoptera.

Peristera chalcoptera Vol. V. PI. 64.

427« Phaps elegans.

Peristera elegans Vol. V. PI. 65>

428. Phaps histrionica.

Peristera histrionica, Gould Vol. V. PL ^,

" This beautiful pigeon,'* says Captain Start, << is an inhabitant of
the interior. It lays its eggs in February, depositing them under
any low bush in the middle of the open plains. In the end of March
and the beginning of April they collect in large flocks and live on
the seed of the rice-grass, which the natives also collect for food.
During the short period this harvest lasts the flavour of this pigeon
is most delicious, but at other times it is indiflerent. It flies to
water at sunset, but like the Bronze-wing only wets the bill. * It is

astonishing indeed that so small a quantity as a bare mouthful
should be sufficient to quench its thirst in the burning deserts it
inhabits. It left us in the beginning of May, and I think migrated
to the N.E., for the further we went to the westward the fewer did
we see of it"

Mr. Gilbert observed this species in vast flocks on the plains in
latitude 19° S.

•" Genus Geophaps.

Generic characters.

JBiU very short and robust ; ei/es surrounded with a bare skin ;
wings very short and rounded ; terfiaries long, and broad at their
ends ; tarsi moderately long ; toes shorter than the tarsus, the inner
toe rather the longest.

The members of this genus are peculiar to Australia ; are more
terrestrial in their habits than any other form of pigeons inhabiting
that country; incubate on the ground; squat like the partridges
when their haunts are intruded upon ; inhabit the plains and open
downs ; have white pectoral muscles ; are excellent food for man ;
run with great rapidity ; fly swiftly for short distances ; and when
disturbed either perch on the larger branches, on which they squat
lengthwise, or descend to the ground and run ofi* after the manner
of the true Gallinacea,

4>29. Geophaps scripta Vol. V. Ph 67.

♦SO. Geophaps Smithii Vol. V. PL 68.

431. Geophaps plumifera, 6rOM/(rf Vol. V. PI. 69.

" Lat. 17° 30', March 6. I was fortunate enough to kill for the
first time Geophaps plumifera^ a species hitherto only known from
a single specimen sent home by Mr. Bynoe of H.M.S. Beagle. The
irides are bright orange, the naked skin before and surrounding the
eyes bright crimson ; the bill dark greenish grey ; the scales of the
kegs and toes greenish grey ; skin between scales light ashy grey.
Its flight and actions on the ground are precisely similar to those of
the other species of the genus. I only saw the specimen I killed^
but afterwards learnt that one of my companions had seen a flock
rise precisely like Geophaps scripta'* — Gilbert's Journal,

^* It was on the return of my party from the eastern extremity of
Cooper's Creek," says ('aptain Sturt, ** that we first saw and pro-
cured specimens of this beautiful little bird. Its locality was en-
tirely confined to about thirty miles along the banks of the creek in
question ; it was generally perched on some rock fully exposed to
the sun's rays, and evidently taking a pleasure in basking in the
tremendous h^at. It was very wild and took wing on hearing the
least noise, but its flight was short and rapid. In the afternoon this
little pigeon was seen running in the grass on the creek side, and
could hardly be distinguished from a quail. It never perched
on the trees; when it dropped after rising from the ground, it
could seldom be flushed again, but ran with such speed through the
grass as to elude our search."

Z-~ 81

Genus Ocyfhaps.

Generic eharacters.

Head furnished with a lengthened occipital crest ; wings rather
short, the third primary gradually narrowed to a point ; tail rather
long and much rounded ; iarsi as long as the middle toe ; the inner
toe shorter than the outer.

A genus consisting of a single species whose natural habitat is
the basin of the interior of Australia, over the vast expanse of
which its long pointed wings enables it to pass at pleasure from
one district to another whenever a scarcity of food prompts it so
to do : although mainly terrestrial in its habits, it is more frequently
seen on the trees than the members of the genus Pheq^s ; its food
consists of small seeds and berries.

432. Ocyphaps Lophotes Vol. V. PL 70.

Genus Pstrophassa.

Generic characters.

As in Ocyphaps^ but with the wings shorter, more rounded and
destitute of the bronzy lustre; and with a more rounded tail.

So little is known respecting the single species of this Australian
genus that I am unable to say more than that it inhabits rocky
situations near the sea-coast.

433. Petrophassa albipennis, GomW . .... Vol. V. PL 71.

Genus Geopelia.

A form of Ground Doves very generally distributed over the
Indian Islands and Australia, and of which three or four species are
peculiar to the latter country ; grassy hills, flats and extensive plains
are the situations these birds aflfect, consequently in Australia they
are almost exclusively confined to the interior; they pass over the
ground in a quiet and peaceful manner; and when disturbed fly to
some neighbouring tree, descend again almost immediately and search
about for the minute seeds of annuals and other plants, upon which
they principally subsist.

434. Geopelia humeralis Vol. V. PI. 72.

435. Geopelia tranquilla, Gould VoL V. PL 73.

436. Geopelia placida, Gould.

Inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Essington, is much smaller
than G. tranquHlOy but in colour and marking is precisely similar
to that species.

437. Geopelia cuneata Vol. V. PL 74.

« All that we read or imagine of the softness and innocence of

the dove," says Captain Sturt, " is realized in this beautiful and de-
licate little bird ; it is common on the Murray and the Darling,
and was met with in various parts of the interior. Two remamed
with us at the Dep6t in latitude 39° 40', longitude 142°, during a
great part of the winter, and on one occasion roosted on the tent-

ropes near the fire. Its note is exceedingly plaintive, similar to,
but softer than, that of the turtle-dove of Europe."

Genus Macropygia.

A genus the members of which are distributed over India, Java,
New Guinea, Ceram, the Moluccas, Australia, drc Only one species,
M. Pha$ianeUa<, has yet been found in the last^mentioned country,
but others may be discovered when its eastern and northern parts
have been more fully explored.

438. Macropygia Phasianella Vol. V. PL 75.

The interior of the dense brushes are the favourite haunts of this
bird, but it occasionally resorts to the crowns of the low hills and
the open glades of the forest, where it searches for its food on the
ground ; on being disturbed it flies to the branches of the nearest
tree, spreading out its broad tail at the moment of alighting.

Genus Didunculus.

Since I drew and described this most anomalous form, under the
name assigned to it by Sir William Jardine, two important facts
have been ascertained respecting it, viz. that it is identical with the
bird described by Mr. Titian Peale of America under the name of
Didunculus, and that the Samoan Islands and not Australia is its
true habitat.

Didunculus strigirostris.

439. Gnathodon strigirostris, Jard, Vol. Y. PL 76.

Family MEGAPODIDiE.

The genera TalegaUa^ Leipoa and Megapodius form part of a
great family of birds inhabiting Australia, New Guinea, the Celebes,
and the Philippine Islands, whose habits and economy are most
singular and differ from those of every other group of birds which
now exists upon the surface of our globe. In their structure they
are most nearly allied to the GaUinacecB, while in some of their
actions and in their mode of flight they much resemble the Ballida;
the small size of their brain, coupled with the extraordinary means
employed for the incubation of their eggs, indicates an extremely
low degree of organization.

The three species of the family inhabiting Australia, although
referable to three distinct genera, have many habits in common,
particularly in their mode of nidification — each and all depositing
their eggs in mounds of earth and leaves, which, becoming heated
either by the fermentation of the vegetable matter, or by the sun's
rays, form a kind of natural hatching-apparatus, from which the
voung at length emerge fully feathered, and capable of sustaining
life by their own unaided efforts.

Genus Talegalla.

440. Talegalla Lathami Vol. V. PI. 77.

Inhabits all the brushes and scrubby forests of the eastern parts
of Australia. Mr. M'GiUivray informs me, in a letter lately re-
ceived from him, dated on board H.M.S. " Rattlesnake," February
6th, 1848, '* At Port Molle I shot in the brushes both Megapodivs
and TalegaUa" which proves that the range of the latter bird is
much greater than I have stated.

Genus Leipoa.

The only species of this form that has yet been discovered is
strictly confined to Australia.

441. Leipoa ocellata, Gould Vol. V. PL 78.

Since I wrote my account of this bird, it has been found to be
abundantly dispersed over all parts of the Murray Scrub in South
Australia.

The following highly interesting account has been forwarded to
me by His Excellency Captain Sir George Grey, being the result
of his observations of the bird made while Governor of South
Austrjtlia:—

^' Government House, Adelaide, December 12th, 1842.

" My dear Mr. Gould, — I have lately returned from the Murray,
where I have been studying the habits and manners of the Leipoa
oceUatay which is very plentiful in the sandy districts of the Scrub.
The eyes of the living bird are of a bright, light hazel ; its legs and
feet dark brown, but not so dark as shown in your Plate ; whilst
the bare parts on the head and face are of a very delicate and clear
blue. The gizzard is very large and muscular; the inner coats
peculiarly horny and hard. Its food consists chiefly of insects, such
as PhasmidiB and a species of Cimex ; it also feeds on the seeds of
various shrubs. The entire lungs and intestines of the one which I
dissected were full of T^Bnidides. I have never seen any other
animal infested with them to anything like the same extent, and yet
the bird was perfectly healthy. It possesses the power of running
with extraordinary rapidity ; it roosts at night on trees, and never
flies if it can avoid so doing ; — ^the male bird weighs about four
pounds and a half.

*' The mounds they construct are from 12 to 13 y^ds in circum-
ference at the base, and from 2 to S feet in height ; theg^eneral form
being that of a dome. The sand and grass is sometimes scraped up
for a distance of from 15 to 16 feet from its outer edge.

*' The mound appears to be constructed as follows : a nearly cir-
cular hole of about 18 inches in diameter, is scratched in the ground
to the depth of 7 or 8 inches, and filled with dead leaves, dead grass
and similar materials ; and a large mass of the same substances is
placed all round it upon the ground. Over this first layer a large
mound of sand, mixed with dried grass, &c., is thrown, and finally
the whole assumes the form of a dome, as I have before stated.

<< When an egg is to be deposited, tbe top is laid open and a hole
scraped in its centre to within 2 or 3 inches of the bottom of the
layer of dead leaves. The egg is placed in the sand just at the

edge of the hole, in a vertical position, with the smaller end down-
wards. The sand is then thrown in again, and the mound left in
its original form. The egg which has been thus deposited is there-
fore completely surrounded and enveloped in soft sand, having from
4 to 6 inches of sand between the lower end of the egg and the
layer of dead leaves. When a second egg is laid it is deposited in
precisely the same plane as the first, but at the opposite side of the
hole before alluded to. When a third egg is laid it is placed in the
same plane as the others, but, as it were, at the third comer of a
square. When the fourth egg is laid, it is still placed in the same
plane ; but in the fourth comer of the square, or rather of the
lozenge, the figure being of this form, » o ® ; the next four eggs in
succession are placed in the interstices, but always in the same
plane, so that at last there is a circle of eight eggs all standing
upright in the sand with several inches of sand Intervening between
each. The male bird assists the female in opening and covering up
the mound ; and provided the birds are not themselves disturbed,
the female continues to lay in the same mound, even after it has been
several times robbed. The natives say that the females lay an egg
every day.

*^ Eight is the greatest number I have heard of from good authority
as having been found in one nest ; but I opened a mound which had
been previously robbed of several eggs,' and found that two had been
laid opposite to each other in the same plane in the usual manner ;
and a third deposited in a plane parallel to that in which the other
two were placed, but 4^ inches below them. This circumstance led
me to imagine it was possible that there might be sometimes suc-
cessive circles of eggs in difierent planes.

'^ I enclose three sketches which will convey to you a complete
idea of the form of the mound, and of the manner in which the eggs
are placed in it. These sketches were drawn by Mr. Knight, from
a rude one of mine, and are very accurate.

*' One of the mounds of these birds which had been robbed of its
eggs on the 11th November, some of which were quite fresh, had
two fresh eggs laid in it on the 27th of the same month, and the
birds were seen at the nest on the morning of the 28th, apparently
for the purpose of laying, when the male bird was shot.

** Sometimes several of these mounds are constructed close to one
another. I found two within 200 or 300 yards ; and have seen
five within the distance of four or five miles. They were built in
precisely the same situations that I have seen them in other parts of
the continent, that is, in a sandy, scrubby country, the site of the
mound being in some little open glade, in the very thickest part of
the scrub.

'^ The eggs are of a light pink, the colour being brightest and most
uniform when freshly laid. As the time of hatching approaches,
they become discoloured and marked in places with dark spots.

The greatest length of these eggs is about . 3-;^ inches.

„ breadth „ . 2^ „

Circumference in direction of length .10 „

„ „ breadth . TyV »

" The temperature of the nests I have examined has always been
warm ; not so much so, however, as I should have thought necessary
for the purpose of hatching eggs.

** There are two great peculiarities about these eggs ; the first is,
that both ends are of nearly the same size ; which form is pecu-
liarly adapted to the position in which they are always placed ; the
egg being compressed in every part as nearly as possible towards the
axis, in which the centre of gravity lies, there is the least possible
tendency to its equilibrium being destroyed when it is placed in a
vertical position. A second peculiarity is the extreme thinness of
the shell, and its consequent fragility. This is so great, that, unless
the egg is handled with the greatest care, it is sure to be broken,
and every efPort which has been made to hatch these eggs under
domestic fowls has failed, the egg having in every instance been
broken by the bird under which it was placed.

** The native name for the bird on the Murray River is Marrak-
ho or Marra-ko ; in Western Austraulia the name of the bird is
NgoW'O or Ngoto. The name in Western Australia is given from
the tuft on its head, Ngoweer meaning a tuft of feathers.

" I have found this bird in different parts of that portion of
Australia included between the 26th and S6th parallels of south
latitude, and the 113th and l^lst parallels of east longitude, and I
think that there is every probability that it inhabits a much wider
range. It is found in all the scrubby districts of South Australia.

" Yours truly,

" G. Grey."

" December 14th.

« p.S. — I have, by cross examination of several natives, elicited
the following account of this bird, and I am quite satisfied of its
truth.

'^ There is only one male and one female to each nest : they re-
pair an old nest, and do not build a new one ; both assist in scratch-
ing the sand to the nest. The female commences laying about the
beginning of September, or when the spear-grass begins to shoot.
Both sexes approach the nest together when the female is about to
lay, and they take an equal share in the labour of covering and
uncovering the mound. After every sunrise the female lays an
egg, and lays altogether from eight to ten. If the natives rob the
nest the female will lay again in the same nest, but she will only
lay the full number of eggs twice in one summer. From the com-
mencement of building, until the last eggs are hatched, four moons
elapse (this would give a very long period of time before the eggs
were hatched). The young one scratches its way out alone ; the
mother does not assist it. They usually come out one at a time ;

s.
s

1
I
i
i

» I $

■a*

"2 ^'3 a

J I .s S -

3 I 11 5

11 = s'S
■s8t5|

This sketch shows a bird's eye view of the mound, as seen from
above ; the sand is supposed to have been so far thrown out as to
leave the tops of the eggs esposed, and to show theoi standing up-
right in their relative positions.

occasionally a pair appear together. The mother, who is feeding in
the 3crub in the vicinity, hears its call and runs to it. She then
takes care of the young one as a European hen does of its chick.
When the young are all hatched the mother is accompanied by
eight or ten young ones, who remain with her until they are more
than half-grown. The male bird does not accompany them. The
two sexes have different calls : that of the female is constantly uttered
while she walks about in the scrub with her young ones.

*^ The natives frequently find the eggs and nests, but they seldom
see the old birds, which are very timid and quick-sighted. They
run very fast, like the Emu, roost on trees, and live for a long time
vidthout water, but drink when it rains. The natives state that the
EntozfXB which I found in the bird mentioned above were unusual,
and that it must have been in ill health.

'< It is a remarkably stout, compact bird, and appears, when alive,
to have as large a body as the female turkey, but it b shorter on
the legs."

To this valuable account I may add the following, furnished by

Mr. GUbert :—

*' Wongan Hills, Western Australiai September 28, 1842.

^ This morning I had the good fortune to penetrate into the
dense thicket I had been so long anxious to visit in search of the
Leipoa's eggs, and had not proceeded far before the native who was
with me told me to keep a good look-out, as we were among the
Ngovrods hillocks, and in half an hour after we found one, around
which the brush was so thick that we were almost running over be-
fore seeing it ; so anxious was I to see the hidden treasures within
that in my haste I threw aside the black fellow and began scraping
off the upper part of the^ mound ; this did not at all please him and
he became very indignant, at the same time making me understand
' that as I had never seen this nest before I had better trust to him
to get out the eggs, or I should, in my haste and impatience, cer-
tainly break them.' I therefore let him have his own way, and he be-
gan scraping off the earth very carefully from the centre, throwing
it over the side, so that the mound very soon presented the appear-
ance of a huge basin ; about two feet in depth of earth was in this
way thrown off, when the large ends of two eggs met my anxious
gaze ; both these eggs were resting on their smaller apex, and the
earth around them had to be very carefully removed to avoid break-
ing the shell, which is extremely fragile when first exposed to the
atmosphere ; this mound was about three feet in height and seven
to nine feet in circumference ; the form, as left by the bird, was in
outline the segment of a circle. About a hundred yards from this
first nest we came upon a second, rather larger, of the same external
form and appearance ; it cpntained three eggs. Although we saw
seven or eight more mounds, only these two contained eggs ; we were
too early ; a week later and we should doubtless have found many
more. To give you an idea of the place these birds choose for its
remarkable mode of rearing its young, I will describe it as nearly as
I can : — The Wongan Hills are about thirteen hundred feet above

the level of the sea, in a Dorth-north-east direction from Drum-
mond's house in the Toodgay : their sides are thickly clothed \i^ith
a dense forest of Eticalt^pti ; and at their base is a thicket, extend-
ing for several miles, of upright-growing and thick bushy plants, so
high in most parts that we could not see over their tops, and so dense,
that if we separated only for a few yards, we were obliged to cooey,
to prevent our straying from each other ; thb thicket is again sha-
dowed by a very curious species of ^^2lt^ Eticalyptus bearing yellow
blossoms and growing from fifteen to thirty feet in height, known to
the natives as the spear-wood, and of which they make their spears,
digging sticks, dowaks, &c. ; the whole formation is a fine reddish
ironstone gravel, and this the Leipoa scratches up from several yards
around, and thus forms its mound, to be afterwards converted into a
hot-bed for the reproduction of its offspring. The interior of the
mounds is composed of the finer particles of the gravel mixed with
vegetable matter, the fermentation of which produces a warmth
sufficient for the purpose of hatching. Mr. Drummond, who had
been for years accustomed to hot-beds in England, gave it as his
opinion that the heat around the eggs was about 80°. In both the
nests with eggs the White Ant was very numerous, making its little
covered galleries of earth around and attached to the shell, thus
showing a beautiful provision of Nature in preparing the necessary
tender food for the young bird when emerging from the shell ; one of
the eggs I have preserved shows the White Ant's tracks most beauti-
fully ; the largest mound I saw, and which appeared as if in a state
of preparation for eggs, measured forty-five feet in circumference,
and if rounded in proportion on the top would have been full five
feet in height. I remarked in all the nests not ready for the recep-
tion of eggs the inside or vegetable portion was always wet and cold,
and I imagine, from the state of others, that the bird .turns out the
whole of the materials to dry before depositing its eggs and cover-
ing them up with the soil ; in both cases where I found eggs the
upper part of the mound was perfectly and smoothly rounded over,
so that any one passing it without knowing the singular habit of the
bird might very readily suppose it to be an ant-hill : mounds in this
state always contain eggs within, while those without eggs are
not only not rounded over, but have the centres so scooped out
that they form a hollow. The eggs are deposited in a very dif-
ferent manner from those of the Megapodius ; instead of each being
placed in a separate excavation in different parts of the mound,
they are laid directly in the centre, all at the same depth, separated
only by about three inches of earth, and so placed as to form a circle.
I regret we were so early ; had we been a week later the probability
is I should have found the circle of eggs complete. Is it not singu-
lar that all the eggs were equally fresh, as if their development was
arrested until the full number was deposited, so that the young might
all appear about the same time ? No one considering the immense
size of the egg can for a moment suppose the bird capable of laying
more than one without at least the intermission of a day, and per-
haps even more. The average weight of the egg is eight ounces,

and four of them on being blown yielded nearly a pint and a half.
Like those of the Megapodius they are covered with an epidermis-
like coating, and are certainly as large, being three inches and three
quarters in length, by two and a half in breadth ; they vary in colour
from a very light brown to a light salmon. During the whole day
we did not succeed in obtaining sight of the bird, although we saw
numerous tracks of its feet, and many places where it had been
scratching ; we also saw its tracks on the sand when crossing the dried
beds of the swamps at least two miles from the breeding thicket,
which proves that the bird, in procuring its food, does not confine
itself to the brushes around its nest, but merely resorts to them for
the purpose of incubating. The native informed us that the only
chance of procuring the bird was by stationing ourselves in sight of
the mound at a little distance, and remaining quiet and iomioveable
till it made its appearance at sun-down ; this I attempted, and, with
the native, encamped within twenty yards of the mound about an
hour before sunset, taking the precaution to conceal ourselves well
with bushes from the quick eye of the bird, but leaving just a suffi-
cient opening to get a fair sight with my gun ; in a half-sitting, half-
crouching position I thus remained in breathless anxiety for the ap-
proach of the bird I have so long wished to see, not daring to move
a muscle, for fear of moving a branch or making a noise by crush-
ing a dead leaf, till I was so cramped I could scarcely bear the pain
in my limbs ; the bird did not however make its appearance, and the
native, with the fear of wading through the thicket in darkness (for
there was no moon), became so impatient, that he started up and be-
gan to talk so loud and make so much noise, that I was compelled
to give up all hopes of seeing the bird that night; however, just as
we were passing the mound we started the bird from the opposite
side, but from the denseness of the thicket and the darkness closing
around us, I had no chance of getting a shot at it. Mr. Roe, the
Surveyor-general, who examined several mounds during his expedi-
tion to the interior in the year 1836, found the eggs nearly ready to
hatch in the month of November, and invariably seven or eight in
number ; while another authority has informed me of an instance of
fourteen being taken from one mound.'*

In a subsequent letter Mr. Gilbert states that the flavour of the
egg is very similar to that of the Tortoise or Turtle, and that when
mixed with tea its similarity to the peculiar roughness and earthy
flavour of that of the Hawk*8-bill Turtle is very remarkable.

Genus Megapodius.

The members of this genus inhabit all the Indian and Philippine
islands and Australia. Mr. G. R'. Gray informs me that " the fe-
males of some species associate together in bands during the night
and deposit their eggs in a cavity which they dig to the depth of
two or three feet ; that the successive deposits of eggs amount to a
hundred or more and are left to be hatched by the solar rays ; that
some cover them with sand and others with the remains of plants ;

and that the eggs are extremely large for the size of the birds, and
are generally of a cinnamon colour."

44*2. Megapodius tumulus, Gotdd Vol. Y. PI. 79.

The following interesting account of the breeding-places of this
remarkable bird has been transmitted to me by Mr. John M*GiHivray
as the result of his observations on Nogo or Megapodius Island in
Endeavour Straits. It will be seen that its range is more extensive
than I had assigned to it : —

** The most southern locality known to me for this singular
bird is Haggerston Island (in lat. 12° 3' south), where I observed
several of its mounds of very large size, but did not see any of
the birds. During the survey of Endeavour Straits in H.M.S.
Bramble, I was more fortunate, having succeeded in procuring both
male and female on the island marked * Nogo ' upon the chart,
where 1 resided for several days for that sole purpose. On this
small island, not more than half a mile in length, rising at one ex-
tremity into a low rounded hill densely covered with jungle (or what
in New South Wales would be called ' brush '), three mounds, one
of them apparently deserted before completion, were found. The two
others were examined by Mr. Jukes and myself. The most recent,
judging from the smoothness of its sides and the want of vegetable
matter, was situated upon the crest of the hill, and measured 8 feet
in height (or ISj- from the base of the slope to the summit) and
77 feet in circumference. In this mound, after several hours* hard
digging into a well-packed mass of earthy stones, decaying branches
and leaves and other vegetable matter, and the living roots of trees,
we found numerous fragments of eggs, besides one broken egg con-
taining a dead and putrid chick, and another whole one, which proved
to be addled. All were imbedded at a depth of six feet from the
nearest part of the surface, at which place the heat produced by
the fermentation of the mass was considerable. The egg, 3^ by Sc-
inches, was dirty brown, covered with a kind of epidermis, which
easily chipped off, exposing a pure white surface beneath. Another
mound, situated at the foot of the hill close to the beach, measured
no less than 150 feet in circumference, and to form this immense
accumulation of materials the ground in the vicinity had been
scraped quite bare by the birds, and numerous shallow excavations
pointed out whence the materials had been derived. Its form was
an irregular oval, the flattened summit not being central as in the first
instance, but situated nearer the larger end, which was elevated 14
feet from the ground, the slope measuring in various directions 1 8,
21-|-, and 24* feet. At Port Lihou, in a small bay a few miles to the
westward, at Cape York and at Port Essington, I found other
mounds which were comparatively low, and appeared to have been
dug into by the natives. The great size the tumuli (which are pro-
bably the work of several generations) have attained on Haggerston
and Nogo Islands arises doubtless from those places being seldom
visited by the Aborigines. I found several eggs of large size in
the ovarium of a female shot in August, while the condition of the

oviduct showed that an egg had very recently passed ; hence it is
probable that, in spite of their great comparative size, one bird
lays several ; but whether each mound is resorted to by more than
one pair, I had not the means of ascertaining.

" Few birds are more wary and less easily procured than the Mega'
podius : it inhabits the belts of brush along the coast, and I never
found the tumulus at a greater distance from the sea than a few hun-
dred yards. When disturbed it seldom rises at once, unless on the
margin of a thicket, but runs off to some distance and then takes to
wing, flying heavily, but without any of the whirring noise of the
true GallinaceiB, It seldom takes a long flight, and usually perches
on a tree, remaining there in a crouching attitude with outstretched
neck, but flying off again upon observing any motion made by its
pursuer ; and it is only by cautiously sneaking up under cover of the
largest trees that it can be approached within gunshot. As an ex-
ample of its shyness, I may mention that a party of three persons,
scattered about in a small jungle on Nogo Island, for the purpose of
shooting the Megapodius^ did not see a single bird, although they put
up several, one of which came towards me and perched, unconscious
of my presence, within ^0 yards. At Port Essington I have shot this
bird among mangroves, the roots of which were washed by the sea
at high water ; and Capt. F. P. Blackwood killed one while running
on the mud in a similar locality, in both instances close to a mound.
I never witnessed the escape of the young from the mound ; but one,
as large as a quail, and covered with feathers, was brought to Lieut.
Ince by a native, who aflirraed that he had dug it out along with
several eggs.

^* Iris yellowish brown ; stomach a complete gizzard, being thick
and muscular, containing small quartz pebbles, small shells (Helix
and BuMmus)^ and black seeds ; intestine S4< inches in length, of the
size of a goose-quill, and nearly uniform in thickness, much twisted
and contracted at intervals ; caecum, slender, dilated at the extre-
mity, and 44 inches in length."

Family TINAMIDiE?

Subfamily TURNlClNiE.

Genus Pedionomus.

Generic characters.

BiU nearly as long as the head, straight, compressed towards the
tip; nostrils basal, placed in a groove, and protected by an operculum ;
wings short and concave, first, second and third primaries equal in
length ; tertiaries longer than the primaries ; tail nearly obsolete ;
tarsi elongated and defended in front with transverse scales ; toes
four in number, the hinder one feeble and placed high on the tarsus.

Few of the discoveries I made in Australia interested me more
than that of the species forming the subject of the present genus,
and of which during my sojourn in the country I only obtained a

male. Subsequently Mr. Strange sent me another example, which,
from its much larger size and the circumstance of its neck being
adorned with a beautiful collar of mingled black and white fea-
thers, I considered a distinct species and characterized it as such,
under the name of P, torguaius, and assigned that of microurus
to the males or birds destitute of the collar, an error which the
observations of Sir George Grey and Mr. Strange have enabled me
to rectify, and which shows that this bird is another of the anomallies
so often met with in Australia, since, contrary to the general rule,
the female is a far finer and*more conspicuously-coloured bird than
her mate.

" You ask me," says Sir George Grey, *^ to tell you something
about Pedianomus. There is but one species ; you have described
two, P. torquatus and P. microurus ; the former is the female and
the latter is the male. We have now three of these birds in confine-
ment, all similar to your P. torquatus. We had four ; the fourth,
which died, was like your P, microurus ; and was certainly a male ;
they were all caught in the same net, hence I infer that several
females associate with one male.

" We have had several of these birds in confinement at different
times ; they eat pounded wheat, raw and boiled rice, bread and flies ;
the latter appear to be their favourite food. They soon become per-
fectly tame ; the three now in our possession we have had for up-
wards of four months.

'* These birds are migratory ; they appear at Adelaide in June,
and disappear about January ; where they go has not yet been ascer^
tained. They never fly if they can avoid so doing, and are often
caught by dogs ; when disturbed, they crouch down and endeavour
to hide themselves in a tuft of grass. When running about they are
in the habit of raising themselves in a nearly perpendicular position
on the extremities of their toes, so that the hinder part of the foot
does not touch the ground, and of taking a wide survey around
them. The Emu sometimes stands in a similar position. I have
not yet ascertained anything respecting their nests, eggs or time of
breeding. The call of those we have in confinement precisely re-
sembles that of the Emu, not the whistle, but the hollow-sounding
noise like that produced by tapping on a cask, which the Emu utters,
but is of course much fainter."

The plate therefore represents two females, and the appellation
of microurus given to the male bird should be the one adopted.
As the male has not been figured, the following description of that
sex is given : —

Crown of the head, back and upper surface mottled with black,
brown and fawn-colour, the latter occupying the external edge of
the feathers, and the black and brown forming alternate circular
markings on each feather ; throat, neck, chest and flanks dull fawn-
colour, the feathers of the neck and chest blotched with brown ;
flanks marked with the same colour, assuming the form of bars ;
tail-feathers almost invisible ; centre of the abdomen and under tail-

coverts buffy-white, without spots or markings; irides straw-yellow,
passing into black at the point ; feet greenish yellow.

Total length, 4| inches ; bill, -[^ ; trtit^, 3}^ ; tarsi, -J-.

Independently of the plains of South Australia formerly given as
the restricted habitat of this species, I have lately received a letter
from Mr. Strange of Sydney, in which he states a female had been
procured in the neighbourhood of Botany Bay. I am abo in pos-
session of an egg of this bird, which in general character resembles
that of Tumix ; it is somewhat suddenly contracted at the smaller
end, the ground-colour is stone-white, sprinkled with small blotches
of umber-brown and vinous-grey, the latter colour appearing as if
beneath the surface of the shell, the sprinkled markings predomi-
nating at the larger end ; the length of the egg is 1 inch and one-
eighth by seven-eighths in breadth.

443. Pedionomus torquatus, Gould, female . . Vol. Y. PI. 80.
. microurus, Crould, male.

Genus Turkix.

However widely the members of this genus are dispersed, inha-
biting as one or other of them do all quarters of the Old World, Au-
stralia is the great nursery of the race, since it is in that country that
we find the species more numerous than elsewhere ; they not only
inhabit every part of the continent that has yet been explored, but
they extend their range to the islands adjacent to the coast and
even to Van Diemen*s Land ; some species enjoy a wide range across
the continent from east to west, while others are very local ; grassy
plains and stony ridges thickly interspersed with scrubs and grasses
are the situations they frequent ; their eggs are invariably four in
number, pointed in form, and very like those of the Sandpipers ;
their only nest is a few grasses placed in a hollow on the ground ; in
their habits and actions they differ considerably from the Quails
and Partridges, and, strange as it may appear, approach more closely
to the TringcRy particularly to those species with the more attenuated
form of bill ; when rising from almost beneath your feet, they fly,
especially the smaller species, straight and with arrow-like swiftness to
the distance of one or two hundred yards, and then suddenly pitch
to the ground. Their flesh, although eatable, is dry and deficient in
flavour when compared with that of the Quails and Partridges.

444. Tumix melanogaster.

Hemipodius melanogaster, Gould .... Vol. V. PI. 81.

445. Tumix varius.

Hemipodius varius . Vol. V. PL 82.

446. Turnix scintillans.

447. Hemipodius scintillans, Gould Vol. V. PI. 83.

448. Turnix melanotus.

Hemipodius melanotus, Gould Vol. V. PI. 84.

449. Turnix castanotus.

Hemipodius castanotus, Gould Vol. V. PI. 85.

450. Turnix pyrrhotfaorax.

Hemipodius pyrrhothorax, Gould .... Vol. V, PI. 86.

451. Turnix velox.

Hemipodius velox, Gould Vol. V. PI. 87*

Family TETRAONIDiE.

Genus Coturnix.

One true Quail is all that has yet been described as inhabiting
Australia ; as might be expected, it is a denizen of the plains, as
well as of all the open districts of any extent where grass-lands
occur ; it also resorts to the arable districts in great abundance. A
difference exists in specimens from the western and eastern coasts,
the former having a deep fawn or light rufous tint pervading the
under surface ; and it is possible that this difference of colouring
may be characteristic of a second and distinct species.

452. Coturnix pectoralis, Gould Vol. V. PL 88«

Genus Synoicus.

Generic characters*

As in Perdixy but with no spur on the tarsi, and the tail almost
obsolete.

The great paucity of the GallinaceiS in Australia is veiy remark-
able, the members of the present genus being almost the only repre-
sentatives of that group of birds inhabiting the country. The simi-
larity of the habitjs and economy of these birds to those of the true
Partridges, particularly to our own well-known species the Perdix
dnerea, allies them more nearly to those birds than to the Quails.

Low, flat, grassy meads, the sides of rushy creeks, and districts
clothed with dense herbage, are the favourite resorts of these birds,
which move about in smsill coveys, and when flushed fly but a short
distance before they again alight. As an article of food they are
all that can be wished.

Every part of the country, from Port Essington on the north to
Van Diemen's Land on the south, is inhabited by one or other
species of the genus, which are, I doubt not, more numerous than
I have represented, for I feel confident that the bird found at Port
Essington is quite distinct from those of the south coast.

453. Synoicus Australis Vol. V. PI. 89.

454. Synoicus Diemenensis, Gould Vol. V. PI. 90.

455. Synoicus sordidus, Gould Vol. V. PL 91.

456. Synoicus ? Chinensis Vol. V. PL 92.

Order GRALLATORES.

Family STRUTHIONIDiE.

Genus Dromaius.

I formerly entertained an opinion that there were two species of
Emu inhabiting Australia^ but I have not had sufficient proofs that
such is the case. The small specimens in the possession of the
Linnean Society of London and in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris,
may only be stunted birds which had been kept in captivity, but as
some doubt still remains in my mind the subject should be kept in
view.

457. Dromaius Novae-Hollandiae .••••• Vol. VI. PI. 1.

Genus Aptertx.

New Zealand is the only country wherein the members of this
genus now exist ; but they doubtless formerly ranged over that con-
tinent of which the greater part is submerged beneath the surface
of the ocean, and of which a few isolated spots — New Zealand,
Norfolk and Phillip islands among others — alone remain.

458. Apteryx Australis, Shaw Vol. VI. PI. 2.

459. Apteryx Owenii, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 3.

Genus Otis.

A country better adapted than Australia for the members of this
genus can scarcely be imagined, yet singularly enough only one
species has yet been found there. Africa may be considered the
cradle of the race, and it is in that continent that they are most
numerous ; Europe and India are also inhabited by various species.
The Otis nigriceps of the plains of Upper India, and the O. Austro'
lis are beautiful representatives of each other in the respective
countries they inhabit.

460. Otis Australis, Gray,

Otis AustraliSy Gray in Griff. An. King., vol. iii. p. 305.

Otis Australasianus, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 4.

Both Dr. Leichardt and Mr. Gilbert observed this bird within the
tropical portion of Australia, and Captain Sturt found it in the desert
interior ; its range over the country is probably universal.

Family CHARADRIADiE.

Genus CEdicnemus.

This form occurs in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, in which
latter country one if not two species exist that are not found else-
where.

461. CEdicnemus grallarius Vol. VI. PI. 5.

The birds of this form inhabiting the northern coast have longer
legs and shorter wings, and I have no doubt are distinct ; but I have
not seen a sufficient number of specimens to enable me to affirm
that such is actually the case.

Genus Esacus.

The genera (Edicnemus and Esojcus are merely modifications of
the same form ; the variation in that of the bill being expressly
adapted for procuring the kinds of food upon which they respectively
subsist ; the (Edicnemus frequenting the stony deserts of the interior
of the country feeds upon insects of various kinds, and the tender
shoots of herbage ; while the Esacus, resorting to the salt-marshes
and the shores of the sea, lives upon crabs, moUusks and other ma-
rine animals.

462. Esacus magnirostris Vol. VI. PI. 6.

So far as our knowledge extends, the present bird is confined to
the shores of the northern and north-western parts of Australia. It
is beautifully represented in India by the E. recurvirostris, and these
two species are all that are known to ornithologists.

Genus H^matopus.

I believe that there is no country in the world of any extent the
shores of which are not inhabited by one or other of the numerous
species of this genus ; but it would seem that all those which exist
in the southern hemisphere are totally different from those of the
northern.

Two species inhabit Australia, viz.

463. Haematopus longirostris, VieilL Vol. VI. PI. 7.

464. Haematopus fuliginosus, Gould Vol. VI. PL 8.

Genus Lobivanellus.

Two species of this beautiful form inhabit Australia, one the
northern and the other the southern parts of the country ; I be-
lieve they are both confined to this portion of the globe. Other
species are found in India and Africa.

465. Lobivanellus lobatus Vol. VI. PI. 9.

466. Lobivanellus personatus, Gould .... Vol. VI. PL 10.

Genus Sarciophorus«

A genus nearly allied to the last, and of which a single species
inhabits Australia ; like Lobivanellus^ it is an Old World form.

467. Sarciophorus pectoralis VoL VI. PL II.

Genus Squatarola.

The single species of this genus inhabits Europe, 'Asia, North
America and Australia.

468. Squatarola Helvetica VoL VI. PL 12.

Genus Charadrius.

The Australian fauna comprises two species of this genus, of
which one, the Charadrius veredus, might, perhaps, with propriety
be separated or placed in that of Eudramias.

469. Charadrius xanthocheilus, Wagl. .... Vol. VI. PL IS.

470. Charadrius veredus, Gould YoL YI. PL. 14.

Genus Eudromias.

Of this genus of upland Plovers two species at least are known,
viz. the E. morineUus of Europe and the E, Atutralis of Australia.

47i- Eudromias Australis, Gould Yol. YI. PL 15.

This bird inhabits the low hills and plains of the interior of Au-
stralia, a kind of habitat precisely similar to that of its European
prototype.

Since my account of this species was written some additional in-
formation has been acquired respecting it.

" This singular bird,*' says Captain Sturt, in the Appendix to his
Account of his recent expedition into the interior of South Austra^
lia, *' made its appearance in 1841 suddenly on the plains of Ade-
laide, seeming to have come from the north. It occupied the sand-
hills at the edge of the Mangrove swamps and fed round the puddles
of water on the plains. This bird afforded my friend, Mr. Torrens,
an abundant harvest, as it was numerous round his house; but al-
though some few have visited South Australia every subsequent year,
they have never appeared in such numbers as on the first occasion.
It runs very fast along the ground. Mr. Browne and I met or rather
crossed several flights of these birds in August of 1845, going south.
They were on the large open plains and were very wild."

Genus Hiaticula.

Five species of this genus inhabit Australia, and others occur in
New Zealand, the Indian islands, India, Europe, Africa and America,
consequently few genera have their members more widely disperseid.
Almost all the species found in Australia are peculiar to the country,
and are more numerous on the- southern than they are on the
northern parts of that continent ; shingly beaches and low flat shores
are their principal places of resort.

472. Hiaticula bleincta Yol. YI. PL 16.

473. Hiaticula ruficapilla YoL YI. PL 17.

474. Hiaticula monacha YoL YI. PI. 18.

475. Hiaticula inornata, CrimAf YoLYI. PL 19.

476. Hiaticula nigrifrons Yol. YI. PI. 20.

Genus Ertthrooonys, Gould,

Generic characters.
Bill lunger than the head, straight, rather depressed; nosirils

basal, linear ; mngs long and powerful, the first feather the longest ;
tertiaries nearly as long as the primaries; tail short and nearly square ;
1^/8 long ; toes four in number, slender, the hind-toe extremely dimi-
nutive and free, the outer toe united to the middle one nearly to the
first joint ; thighs naked above the knee.

The single species of this genus appears to be strictly Australian,
for I have never seen examples from any other country.

477. Erj'throgonys cinctus, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 21.

In structure, actions and economy this elegantly formed bird is
very nearly allied to the Hiaticula on the one hand, and the SchtB'
nick on the other.

Genus Glakeola.

I have for many years questioned the propriety of placing the
Pratincoles in the same group with the Plovers, or even in the same
order, believing them as I do to be a terrestrial form of the Fissi-
rostral birds. Linnaeus placed them near the Swallows, and I think
he was right in so doing ; and Mr. Blyth, one of the most philoso-
phical of ornithologists, entertains, I believe, the same opinion ; but
as nearly all other writers have placed them with the CharcuiriacUBf
1 have adopted their view of the subject, and have accordingly placed
them in that group.

Species of this genus inhabit India, the Indian Islands, Europe and
Africa.

4'78. Glareola grallaria, Temm Vol. VI. PI. 22.

479. Glareola Orientalis, Leack Vol. VI. PI. 23.

Family SCOLOPACIDiE.

Genus Himaktopus.

Europe, India and Africa are inhabited by one. North America
by a second. South America by a third and perhaps a fourth. New
Zealand by a fifth, and Australia by a sixth species of this elegant
but singular genus ; the Australian bird, which is more abundant
in the southern than in the northern parts of the country, is perhaps
the finest and most ornamental of the whole.

480. Himantopus leucocephalus, Gould . . • Vol. VI. PI. 24*

481. Himantopus Novai-Zealandiae, Gotdd . • Vol. VI. PI. 25«

Genus Chladorhynchus.
The only known species of thb form is peculiar to Australia.

482. Chladorhynchus pectoralis Vol. VI. PI. 26.

Observed in great numbers by Captain Sturt, during his journey
into the interior, in the Appendix to which he says, — '< This singu-
lar bird, with legs so admirably adapted by their length for wading
into the shallow lakes and sheets of water, near which it is founds
was seen in large flocks. It was very abundant on Lepson's Lake
to the northward of Cooper's Creek ; and on Strzelecki's Creek it

H 2

100

was sitting on the water with other wild fowl making a singular
plaintive whistle."

Genus Recurvirostra.

This form, like that of Himantoptis, is widely distributed over
the globe, since species inhabit America, Africa, Europe, India and
Australia, in which latter country, as in Europe, only one species is
found, viz.

4?83. Recurvirostra rubricollis, Temm .... Vol. VI. PI, 27.

Genus Limosa.

Two very distinct species of this genus inhabit Australia, one the
southern and the other the northern divisions of the country ; others
occur in Java, Sumatra, India, Africa, Europe and North America.

484. Limosa Melanuro'ides, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 28.

485. Limosa uropygialis, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 29,

Genus Sch(eniclus.

I have figured four species of this genus as inhabiting Australia,
not more than one, or at most two, of which, however, is or are
peculiar to that country. The species of this genus range over
many degrees of latitude, and occur in America as well as in most
parts of the Old World.

486. Schoeniclus Australis Vol. VI. PI. SO.

487. Schoeniclus albescens Vol. VI. PI. 31-

488. Schoeniclus subarquatus Vol. VL PI. 32.

489- Schoeniclus magnus, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 33.

This species, I believe, also inhabits India and Japan,

Genus Tereria.

The only known species of this form inhabits Java, Sumatra, India
and Europe, and &s I killed a specimen in Australia it enjoys a most
extensive range.

490. Terekia cinerea Vol. VI. PL 34.

Genus Actitis.

One species of this genus inhabits Australia, where it represents
the Actitis hypoleucus of Europe and Actitis macularius of America.

491. Actitis empusa, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 35.

Genus Glottis.

The only species of this genus found in Australia appears to me
to be identical with the Glottis Glotiotdes of India.

492. Glottis Glottoides Vol. VI. PL 36.

101

Genus Totanus.

Of this genus two species are all that have yet been discovered
in Australia; of these I have regarded one as identical with the
Totanus stagncUilis of Europe, and if this view be correct, then the
range of the species will extend from Asia to Australia ; certain it
is that I have seen specimens from all the intermediate countries
which are strictly identical with the European bird. The second
species is an inhabitant of the north coast, and is allied to the
T. caHdris.

493. Totanus stagnatilis Vol. VI. PI. 37.

494". Totanus griseopygius, Gould .... Vol. VI. PI. 38.

Genus Strepsilas.

If any bird may be regarded as a Cosmopolite it is the Turnstone,
for it inhabits the sea-shores of every part of the globe.

495. Strepsilas Interpres Vol. VI. PI. 39.

Genus Scolopax.

If the slight difference which occurs in the Snipes from Port Es-
sington on the north and from Van Diemen's Land on the south be
regarded as mere local variations, then only one species of this form
exists in Australia.

496. Scolopax Australis, Lath Vol. VI. PI. 40.

Captain Sturt informs us that this Snipe is common in South
Australia, but scarce in the interior of the country ; that it breeds
in great numbers in the valley of Mypunga, but is only to be found
in those localities where the ground is constantly soft.

Genus RnYNCHiBA.

The few species comprised in this genus are widely dispersed over
the face of the globe ; one inhabits the southernmost parts of Ame-
rica, another South Africa, a third India, and a fourth Australia.
They affect different situations from those resorted to by the true
Snipes, usually selecting drier ground and knolls' under low bushes
contiguous to marshy lands, where they can readily procure food
and water.

497. Rhynchaea Australis, Crotf/J Vol. VI. PI. 41.

" This beautiful bird," says Captain Sturt, " was very scarce in
the interior, and indeed is not a common bird anywhere. Some
three or four couples visit my residence at Grange yearly, and re-
main in the high reeds at the bottom of the creek, among which they
doubtless breed, but we never found one of their nests. They lay
basking in the shade of a tree on the sand-hills during the day, and
separate when alarmed.*'

Genus Numemi us.

Three species of this form are found in Australia, to which part
of the globe they are confined, and wherein they represent the species

102

inhabiting the northern hemisphere, and with which their habits,
actions and economy are strictly in accordance.

498. Numenius Aostralis, GauM Vol. VI. PI. 42.

499. Numenius uropygialis, Gould .... Vol. VI. PI. 4S.

500. Numenius minutus, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 44.

FamUy ARDEIDi£.
Subfamily TANTALIN^.

Genus Geronticus.

The three species of Ibises inhabiting Australia are referable to
as many genera, at least they have been so separated by ornitholo-
gists, and the difference which exists in their habits and economy
tends to prove the propriety of their subdivision ; for while the Ge-
ronticus congregates in flocks of thousands and mainly subsists upon
caterpillars, grasshoppers and locusts, a kind of food which it readily
obtains on the heated plains, the Threskiomis assembles in small
companies of from four to six in number and resorts to the rushy
banks of the lagoons and other humid situations, and feeds upon
newts, frogs, lizards, snakes and fish, and the FaJcindlus resorts to
similar situations, but I have had no opportunity of observing its
habits.

501. Geronticus spinicoUis Vol. VI. PI. 45.

I have never seen examples of this species from any other country
than Australia, which would therefore appear to be its restricted
habitat.

Genus Threskiornis.

502. Threskiomis strictipennis Vol. VI. PI. 46.

Found in most parts of Eastern Australia during wet seasons.

503. Falcinellus igneus Vol. VI. PI. 47.

This species is scarce in southern, but is more common in the
northern and eastern districts of Australia, whence its range extends
throughout the whole of the islands to India and Europe.

Subfamily GRUINJE.

Genus Grus.

Species of this genus inhabit Europe, Asia, Africa, North
America and Australia.

504. Grus Australasianus, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 48.

The Australian Crane is a noble bird, and is deservedly admired
both by the Aborigines and Europeans. The eastern and northern
parts of the country are the only localities yet known to be inhabited
by this fine bird ; future research may however find that it possesses
a wider range.

103

Subfamily PLATALEINiE.

Genus Platalea.

Two species of this genus inhabit Australia, both of which are,
I believe, peculiar to that country, where they perform precisely the
same offices that their prototypes do in Europe, Asia, Africa and
America.

505. Platalea flavipes, Gould Vol. YI. PI. 49.

506. Platalea regia, Gould Vol. VI. PL 50.

Subfamily CICONIN^.

Genus Mycteria.

The noble species of this genus inhabiting Australia is, I believe,
identical with the bird of the same form inhabiting India, and if
such be the case, then the species enjoys a wide range of habitat.
Africa and America are inhabited by species belonging to this or a
very nearly allied genus.

507. Mycteria Australis, Lath Vol. VI. Pi. 51.

Subfamily ARDEINiE.

Genus Ardea.

The Herons range over every part of the globe. The sixteen
species inhabiting Australia include examples of the genera Ardeay
Herodias^ NycHcoraxy Botaurus and Ardetta^ and I think they should
be still further divided, the Reef Herons, Herodias juffularis^ ff,
Gra/iiy Sfc, differing considerably both in structure and habits from
the other members of the genus. ; the Ardea pacifiea and A. NovtB^
HollanduB too, are not typical Ardece^ but fill a station intermediate
between the true Herons and the Egrets.

508. Ardea pacifiea. Lath, Vol. VI. Pi. 52.

Numerous in tlie southern but rare within the tropical parts of
Australia.

509. Ardea Novae -HoUandiaB, Lath .... Vol. VI. PI. 5S.

Frequents the whole of the southern coasts of Australia and Van
Diemen's Land.

510. Ardea rectirostris, Gould Vol. VI. PI. 54.

Found on the north coast of Australia, and I believe also in the
Indian Islands.

511. Ardea leucophaea, 6rottW Vol. VI. PI. 55.

The range of this species, which is very rare in Australia, appears
to extend to the southern parts of India.

Genus Herodias.

Nearly every part of the globe is tenanted by members of this
genus. Those inhabiting Australia are very nearly allied to, but I

Vol. VI. PI. 57-
Vol. VI. PL 58.
Vol. VI. PI. 59.
Vol. VI. PL 60.
V0LVLPL6I.
Vol. VI. PL 62.

104

believe are quite distinct from, the species found in India, Europe
and America, and of which they are the Australian representatives.

512. Herodias syrmatophorus, Gou/tf .... Vol. VI. PL 56.

513. Herodias plumiferus, Gould . . .

514. Herodias immaculata, Gould . . .

515. Herodias pannosus, Gould ....

516. Herodias jugularis

517. Herodias Greyii

518. Herodias picata, Gould

Genus Nycticorax.

The single Australian species of this well-defined genus cannot
by any possibility be confounded with either of those inhabiting
any other part of the world ; the cinnamon colour of its back ren-
dering it conspicuously different from all known species.

Europe, Africa and America are all inhabited by Night Herons,
consequently it is one of the most widely-distributed sections of the
family.

519. Nycticorax Caledonicus Vol. VI. PL 63.

Ardea Sparrmanniy Wagl. Syst. Ar. Ardea, sp. 32 ?

** Shot at Cape York and Port Essington, in which latter place it
IS rather abundant. Yangko of the Cape York aborigines, Aldwool
of the Port Essington natives.** — J. M*Gillivray.

Genus Botaurus.

520. Botaurus Australis, Gould Vol. VI. PL 64.

The Australian Bittern is very similar to the European species B.
steUaris,

Genus Ardetta.

The members of this genus of Mangrove Bitterns usually frequent
the extensive belts of mangroves and low dells covered with reed-
beds and dense herbage.

Africa and America are each inhabited by birds of this form, one
species of which is also found in Europe, several in India and the
adjacent islands, and three in Australia, viz. —

521. Ardetta flavicoUis VoL VI. PL 65.

This species is said to inhabit Java and India, and although I have
figured it under the name assigned to the Indian and Javanese bird,
I am still inclined to believe that it is distinct

522. Ardetta macrorhyncha, Gould .... VoL VI. PL 66.

523. Ardetta stagnatilis, Gotdd VoL VI. PL 67.

524. Ardetta pusilla VoL VI. PL 68.

This species, with the little Bittern of the British Islands and
several others inhabiting Africa and America, would admit of being
separated into a distinct genus.

/
./

105

Family RiLLIDiE.

Of this family do less than silken species inhabit Australia, and
are comprised in the following genera, viz. Porphyrioy Ftdica, Gal-
linukif iialltif And Porzana, all of which are European forms; and
Parra, Eulabeomis and Tribonfa: : of the latter, the first is common
to India and the Indian Islands, and the other two are confined, so
far as we know, to Australia.

Genus Forphyrio.

525. Porphyrio melanotus, Tekm Vol. VI. PI. 69.

526. Poi-phyrio bellus, Gould Vol. VI. PL 70.

Genus Tribonyx.

527. Tribonyx Mortieri, JDuBus ..... Vol. VI. H. 71.
Inhabits the southern parts of Australia and Van Diemen's Land.

528. Tribonyx ventralis, Gould Vol. VI. PL 72.

Inhabits the interior of Australia.

** This bird," says Captain Sturt, '* appeared suddenly in South
Australia in 1840. It came from the north, fresh flights coming up
and pushing on those which had preceded them. It was moreover
evident that they had been unaccustomed to the sight of man, for
they dropped in great numbers in the streets and gardens of Ade-
laide, and ran about like fowls. At last they increased so much
in number as to awarm on all the waters and creeks, doing great
damage to the crops in their neighbourhood. They took the entire
possession of the creek near my houiSe, and broke down and wholly
destroyed about an acre and a quarter of wheat as if cattle had
bedded on it. They made their first appearance in November, and
left in the beginning of March, gradually retiring northwards as
they had advanced."

Genus Gallinula.

The true GalUnuke are very numerous, and are found in nearly
every part of the world. Australia is inhabited by a species peculi«
arly its own, distributed over all the southern parts of the continent.

529. Gallinula tenebrosa, Gould Vol. VI. PL 73.

Nearly allied to, and a representative of, the Water-Hen of
Europe, Gallinula chloropus.

Genus Fulica.

FuliccB are found in nearly every part of the great continents of
Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and one species in Australia.

530. Fulica Australis, GouM Vol. VI. PL 74.

This bird, which is strictly confined to Australia, is rather smaller
than its European ally.

Genus ?arra.

A tropical form, the structure )f which is admirably adapted for
progression over the aquatic plantcand floating leaves of the lagoons
and inland waters it frequents an4 over which it passes with faci-
lity ; its expansive feet, spreading over a large suHace of fallen
grasses and leaves, readily sust^nipg it, which they would not do
were they of the ordinary form.

Species of this form are found in India, Africa and America.

531. Parra gallinacea, Temm. - Vol. VL PL 75.

Inhabits the northern parts of Australia and New Guinea.

Genus Rallus.

We have here again a genus of birds the range of the species of
which is most extensive, for tliere Ib no country in which one or
other of them is not to be found.

532. Rallus pectoralis, Cuv Vol. VI. PI. 76.

533. Rallus Lewinii, Swains Vol VI. PI. 77.

Genus Eulabeornis.
Generic characters.

Bill longer than the head, nearly straight, but slightly curved
downwards ; compressed laterally ; nostril long and open, situated
in a large groove which runs along the upper mandible for nearly
two-thirds of its length from the base ; wings rather short and
feeble, very much rounded ; terHanes long, nearly reaching to the
end of the wing ; legs rather long, more powerful than in the genus
RctUus ; toes not so much lengthened as in that genus ; tail long
cuneiform ; the webs loose and of a decomposed character.

A genus established for the reception of a singular species of Rail
inhabiting the nor^ coast of Australia, and in which Mr. G. R. Gray
has since placed four other species from different localities.

534. Eulabeornis castaneoventris, Gould . . . Vol. VL PI. 78.

Genus Porzana.

The PorzamB inhabit Europe, Africa, India and A ustralia; the four
species inhabiting the latter country are generally distributed, even
within the tropics.

535. Porzana fluminea, Gould Vol. VI. PL 79.

536. Porzana palustris, Gould Vol. VI. PL 80.

537. Porzana leucophrys, Gould Vol. VI. PL 81.

538. Porzana immaculata Vol. VI. PL 82.

Order NATATORES.

Upon taking a general view of the birds of this order inhabiting
Europe and Australia, our attention cannot foil to be arrested by
some remarkable contrasts which present themselves to our notice.

107

I allude to the great excess in the number of species of some of the
principal groups, and the paucity of others ; for instance, of ^e
true AncUidm or Ducks, exclusive of the Mergansers, the European
fauna comprises at least forty species, while eighteen are all that are
known in Australia ; of the LaridcB or Gulls, exclusive of the Terns,
twenty species inhabit Europe, while three are all that are known
in Australia ; on the other hand, sixteen species of Terns frequent
the shores of Australia, while only twelve resort to those of Europe ;
of the family ProceUarida or Petrels, nearly forty species enliven
the Australian seas, while seven are all that are known to inhabit
the seas of Europe ; of the Puffins and Guillemots of our hemisphere
no species is found in Australia* or in any other- part of the south
seas ; on the other hand, the Penguins of those seas are unknown
in Europe ; while the Grebes and Cormorants are about equal in
number in both hemispheres.

Family ANATIDiE.

Genus Cereopsis.

But one species of this singular and strictly Australian form has
yet been discovered.

539. Cereopsis Novse-Hollandise, Lath. . . . Vol. VII. PI. 1.

Genus Anseranas.

Like Cereopsisy this genus contains but a single species, which is
equally confined to Australia.

540. Anseranas melanoleutsa Vol. VII. PL 2.

Genus Bernicla.

The Australian t>ird'^itberto referred to this genus should cer-
tsunly receive a new generic appellation, since it does not agree eit'ier
in form or habits wMi the true Bernicla,

541. Bernicla jubata Vol. VII. PL 3.

Grenus Nbttapus.

Of this beautiful genus of Pygmy Geese there are now at least
four species known; one inhabiting Africa, one India, and two
Australia.

54*2. Nettapus pulchellus, Gould Vol. VII. PL 4.

54*3. Nettapus albipennis, Gould,

Nettapus CorouMindelianus Vol. VII. PL 5.

I feel confident that the Australian bird which I have figured
under the name of N. Coromandeliamuy is quite distinct from the
Indian bird, and I have therefore assigned it a new name.

My figures are stated to be of the natural size, but this is an
error : they are considerably smaller.

108

Genus Cygmus.

Only one species, the C atralus, is, I believe, found south of the
line ; for the Black-necked Swan of Chili will doubtless prove to be
generically distinct.

544. Cygnus atratus Vol. VII. PI. 6.

This ** rara avis in terris" is not only strictly confined to Austra-
lia, of which country it forms one of the most ornamental of its
feathered tribes, but is so exclusively an inhabitant of the southern
districts, that no notice has been recorded of its having been seen in
Torres' Straits, or on any part of the north coast.

Genus Casarca.

This ornamental section of the AnatidUe is not very numerous in
species.

545. Casarca Tadornoides Vol. VII. PL 7.

A beautiful representative of the C. rutila of Europe.

. Genus Tadorna.

546. Tadorna Radjah Vol. VII. PI. 8.

An equally beautiful representative of the T. Vulpansef\

Genus Anas.
Of true Ducks three species are found in Australia.

547. Anas superciliosa, GmeL Vol. VII. PI. 9.

This bird assimilates very closely in its structure and in its eco-
nomy to the Anas Boschas of Europe, but in its plumage it is very
different.

548. Anas nsevosa, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 10.

A very singular Duck, perhaps more nearly allied to ChaulelaS'
mu8 than to Anas, It is a very rare bird, and has only yet been
seen on the western and southern coasts of Australia ; it probably
inhabits the distant interior.

549. Anas punctata, Cuv Vol. VII. PI. 11.

This species has much the appearance of the Teal (genus Quer-
guedula)t but in its structure is nearly allied to the true ducks (ge-
nus Anas)y with which I have provisionally placed it.

Genus Spatula.

The great continents of America, Africa, Asia and Australia, are
each inhabited by one or more species of this restricted genus.

550. Spatula Rhynchotis Vol. VII. PI. 12.

This bird is, I believe, peculiar to Australia.

Genus Malacorhynchus.

A very delicate form, of which the single species, confined to
Australia, is the only one known.

109

551. Malacorhynchus membranaceus . . . Vol. VII. PL 13*-

Genus Dendrocygna.

This form is found in India, Africa, America and Australia; the
bird I have separated into a distinct genus, under the appellation of
Leptotarsis, should be included in this genus, the difference which
it presents being too slight to warrant their separation.

552. Dendrocygna arcuata Vol. VII. PL l^*

553. Dendrocygna Eytoni.

Leptotarsis Eytoni, Gould Vol. VII. PL 15.

'^ Many of the reaches," says Captain Stokes, when speaking of
the river Adelaide of the north-western part of Australia, " swarmed
with wild fowl, consisting almost wholly of ducks, which, from a
habit of perching on the trees, have received the name of Wood
Ducks. Their singularly long legs, with the web very much arched
near the toes, gives great pliability to the foot and a power of grasp-
ing, which enables them to perch on trees. When on the wing they
make a peculiar pleasing, whistling sound, that can be heard at
a great distance, and which changes as they alight into a sort of
chatter. Their perching on trees is performed in a very clumsy man-
ner, swinging and pitching to and fro. We subsequently often found
them on the rivers of the north coast, but not within some miles of
their mouths or near their upper waters, from which it would appear
that they inhabit certain reaches of the rivers only ; we never found
them in swamps. The farthest south they were met with was on the
Albert River, <in the Gulf of Carpentaria, in lat. 18^ S., which gives
them a range of six and a half degrees of latitude over the northern
part of the continent. These ducks are the Leptotarsis Eytoni of
Mr. Gould."

Genus Nyroca.

Two species at least of this genus are known, one inhabiting Eu-
rope and India and the other Australia^: both have the irides white.

554. Nyroca Australis, Gould Vol. VII. Pi. 16.

Genus Erismatura.

The members of this genus, although but few in number, are found
in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia.

555. Erismatura Australis Vol. VII. PL 17.

This species, the only one of the genus inhabiting Australia, is, I
believe, strictly confined to the western parts of the country, as
hitherto it has not been seen elsewhere.

Genus Biziura.

A genus of which only a single species is known to exist, and which
is singularly different from every other member of the family. It is

110

strictly Australian, and may be regarded as one of the anomalies of
its fauna.

556. Biziura lobata Vol, VII. PI. 18.

Family LARID^E.

Genus Larus.

The members of this genus are distributed over the sea-shores of
every part of the globe. Only one species inhabits Australia, to
which country it is conlSned, and where it represents the Lartuf
marinus of Europe and America.

557. Larus Pacificus Vol. VII. PI. 19.

Genus Xema.

A genus of Gulls, the members of which are delicate in their
structure, elegant in their appearance, and graceful in all their
actions. Many species are found in Europe and America, and others
inhabit Africa ; one species only has been characterized as Austra-
lian, but I believe that another will be found in Torres' Straits very
similar to, but much larger than, the X. Jamesonii of the southern
parts of that continent.

558. Xema Jamesonii ........ Vol. VII. PL 20.

Subfamily ?

Genus Lestris.

The high latitudes of both the northern and southern hemispheres
are frequented by parasitic Gulls.

One species of this form has been found in the Australian Seas,
and another has been discovered within the Antarctic circle.

559. Lestris Catarractes Vol. VII. PI. 21.

Although I have figured and described this Australian bird as
identical with the Skua Gull of Europe, it is likely that hereafter
reasons may be found for separating them.

In a letter just arrived from Mr. J. M*Gillivray, dated on board
H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Feb. 6, 1848, that gentleman says, <^ The
Lestris Catarractes was noticed on various occasions in different
parts of the South Indian Ocean ; while off the Cape of Good Hope
a solitary individual and subsequently two in company were seen. I
have observed it following and hovering over a bait towing astern*
and once saw it chase a Cape Petrel and force it to alight on the
water. This bird seldom remained with us for more than half an
hour at a time, daring which it made a few circular flights about the
ship."

Subfamily STERNINuE.

The members of this family inhabiting Australia and Europe are
nearly equal in number, and in each country examples of the same

Ill

forms are found to exist ; the Australia! fauna has also a CrygU and
an OnpchoprioUy neither of which inhbit the European seas, and
four species of AnaiiSy of which only one frequents the northern
hemisphere.

Genus Stloche^don.

560. Sylochelidon streuuus Vol. VII. PI. 22.

A representative of the S, Caspius olEurope.

Genus THALAss^tjs.

The members of this genus, the type ofwrhich is the T. Caniiactu
of the British Islands, are widely diapered over most parts of the
Old World, and three distinct species inhbit Australia.

561. ThalasseuB Pelecanoides Vol. VII. PI. 23.

562. Thalasseus poliocercus, Goidd .... Vol. VII, PI. 24t.

563. Thalasseus Torresii, Gould Vol. VII. PL 25.

Since my account of this species was plnted I have seen adult
specimens from Southern India, which coutry is in all probability
its true habitat

Genus Sterna.

The members of this genus, as now reacted, enjoy so wide a
range over the globe, that they may be sal to be universally di-
spersed : three species are found in Australi;

564. Sterna melanorhyncha, Gould . ... Vol. VII. PI. 26.

565. Sterna gracilis, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 27.

566. Sterna melanauchen, Temm Vol. VII. PI. 28.

« This beautiful bird,*' says Mr. M^Gilliviy, « is very local in
its breeding-places, the only one known to me bing one of the ' three
sand-banks' near Sir Charles Hardy's Islands. The eggs are two in
number, deposited in a slight hollow in the san I have seen this
bird on another neighbouring sand-bank, also^n Solitary Island,
near Cape York, and in Endeavour Straits, but^as unable to pro-
cure a specimen from any of the three last-me<oned localities, on
account of its excessive shyness. It is one of tl most noisy of the
Terns, and I generally saw it in small parties f half-a-dozen, or
thereabouts. The fully-fledged young of the yv differs from the
adult in having the black on the head dark biwn mottled with
white, and the whole of the upper surface and wicB variegated with
dark brownish grey."

Genus Sternula.

flurope and Australia are both tenanted by little ^rns, the spedfie
distinctness of which cannot be questioned, howter much that of
the large Terns (genus Sylochdidon) may be : oiht we not then
to infer that some peculiar law prevails, and that i^ne be distinct
the other is also ? However that may be, it is cert^ that birds re*

112

garded as identically the same because no external difference is per-
ceptible, breed at opposite seisons in the two hemispheres, and that
if the birds of one hemisphen be brought and retained in the other,
they continue to moult their (athers and to breed at the same period
that they would have done h^ they remained in their native country.

567- Sternula Nereis, GouH Vol. VII. PI. 29.

Genu Gelgchelidon.

It would be strange if tB form did not exist in Australia, when
all the other European genfra of Terns are found there ; still I have
no other evidence of such being the case, than that of a specimen
in the collection of King's College, London, which is said to be from
Van Diemen*s Land, and t» which in the year 1837 I gave the name
of Sterna macrotarsa.

568. Gelochelidon macroirsus, Gould.

Sterna nuzcrotarsa, Gdld in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part V. p. 26 ;
and in Syn. Birds o Australia, Part II.

Crown of the head ail back of the neck black ; all the upper
surface and primaries ligt silvery-grey ; remainder of the plumage
white ; bill and feet blai*

As I did not meet wli this bird myself either in Van Diemen's
Land or in any other of ^e Australian regions, I have not figured it.

Genus Gygis.

One species of thu} Polynesian genus of Terns is found in
Australia.

569. Gygis Candida Vol. VII. PI. SO.

<lenus Htdrochelidon.

The value of mino^enera or subgenera, as naturalists may choose
to designate them, isAuch strengthened, when species, which have
been assigned to eitir of them from countries so distant from each
other as Australia aA Europe, are found to possess similar habits^
but differing from t>se of the other members of the family. Thus
the members of the^esent little group inhabit the inland waters and
marshes of both coAtries; make their nests among the rushes, and
lay^thickly-markecjieggSj in both of which particulars they differ
from the other Te^ ; the generality of which deposit their eggs on
the shingles of tb sea-shore, while others, the Gygis Candida for
instance, lay theiringl^ egg on the horizontal branch of a tree, so
totally unprotect4^ that how it is retained in its position during
windy weather is; perfect mystery ; others again, such as the Nod-
dies, bring togetP^ large masses of sea-weed, which they either pile
upon the swingi^ branch of a Mangrove or on the jutting point of
a rock. All thesficts should be studied by ornithologists before they
discard subgenJ^ proposed by their fellow labourers, and replace
the species the may have so divided in the genera of the older
writers, who i^t necessarily have known less of the subject ; for

/
I

113

wherever a difference occurs in the habits of the members of any
great family a variation more or less marked will be found in their
structure. So far as my own observations go, and they have not
been few, if I have read the great book of nature aright, the genera,
instead of being reduced, might with propriety be multiplied without
the risk of our being burthened with a genus for every species, as
some writers affect to fear would then be the case.

570. Hydrochelidon fluviatilis, Gould . . . Vol. VII. PI. 31.

A fine marsh Tern differing from its European prototypes HMgra^
H^ lettcopterUf and ff. leticopareia.

Genus Onychoprign.
Of this form two species frequent the Australian seas.

571. Onychoprion fuliginosus Vol. VII. PI. 3:2.

Although I have figured one of the two Australian birds of this
genus under the above appellation, rather than run the risk of un-
necessarily adding to the number of species, I have no doubt it will
prove to be distinct from the American bird.

Found breeding in prodigious numbers on Raine's Islet and
Bramble Key in May and June, associated with Noddies (Anoils
stolidus). The Sooty Tern deposits its solitary egg in a slight ex-
cavation in the sand without lining of any kind. The egg varies con-
siderably in its markings. After the party employed in building the
beacon on Raine's Islet had been on shore about ten days, and the
Terns had had their nests robbed repeatedly, the birds collected into
two or three large flocks and laid their eggs in company, shifting
their quarters repeatedly on finding themselves continually molested ;
for new-laid eggs were much in request among people who had
for some time been living upon ship's fare. By sitting down and
keeping quiet I have seen the poor birds dropping their eggs within
two yards of where I sat, apparently glad to get rid of their burthen
at all hazards. During the month of June 1844 about 1500 dozen
of eggs were procured by the party upon the island. About
the SJOth of June nearly one half of the young birds (hatched
twenty-five or thirty days previously) were able to fly, and many
were quite strong upon the wing. Great numbers of young birds
unable to fly were killed for the pot ; — in one mess of twenty-two
men the average number consumed daily in June was fifty, and sup-
posing the convicts (twenty in number) to have consumed as many,
3000 young birds must have been killed in one month ; yet I could
observe no sensible diminution of the number of young, a circum-
stance which will give the reader some idea of the vast numbers of
birds of this species congregated on a mere vegetated sand-bank
like Raine's Islet.

572. Onychoprion Panaya Vol. VII. PI. 33.

Genus Angus.

Unlike other Terns which frequent the sea-shores and rivers, the
Noddies inhabit the wide ocean, far remote from land, and which,

like the Petrels, they seldom quit, except at the breeding season,
when they congregate in vast multitudes on small islands suited to
the purpose. Great nurseries of this kind are to be found in every
ocean ; in the North Atlantic, one of the Tortugas, called Noddy
Key, is a favourite resort, and the Bahama Islands are another ; in
the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, beside other situations, the
Houtmann's Abrolhos, off the western coast of Australia, are resorted
to in such immense numbers that Mr. Gilbert was perfectly astonished
at the multitudes with which he found himself surrounded, upon
landing on those remote and little explored islands.

573. Anolis stolidus Vol. VII. PI. 34?.

" The large Noddy," says Mr. M*Gillivray, " is abundantly distri-
buted over Torres' Straits, but I never met with it to the southward
of Raine's Islet, on which, as at Bramble Key, it was found breeding
in prodigious numbers. Unlike its constant associate, the Sooty Tern,
it constructs a shallow nest of small twigs arranged in a slovenly
manner, over which are strewed about a handful of fragments of
coral from the beach, shells, and occasionally portions of tortoise-
shell and bones of turtle. The nest, sometimes placed upon the
ground, but more usually upon tufts of grass and other herbage, at
about a foot from the ground."

51^. Anolis melanops, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 35.

575. Anoiis leucocapillus, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 36.

576. Anoiis cinereus, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 37.

Family PROCELLARIDiE.

There is perhaps no group of birds respecting which so much
confusion exists, and the extent of whose range over the ocean is so
little known, as that forming the present family.

Having, as I have before stated, paid much attention to these
birds during my voyages to and from Australia and in its neighbour-
hood, my researches were rewarded by my obtaining a knowledge of
at least forty different species, nearly all of which are peculiar to the
seas of the southern hemisphere. The powers of flight with which
these birds are endowed are perfectly astonishing, and they appear
to be constantly performing migrations round the globe from west to
east ; and Australia lying in their tract, all the species may be
found near its shores at one or other season of the year.

It is but natural to suppose that this great group of birds has
been created for some especial purpose, and may we not infer that
they have been placed in the Southern Ocean to prevent an undue
increase of the myriads of mollusks and other low marine animals
with which those seas abound, and upon which all the Procellarida
mainly subsist?

Genus Diomede!a.

Of this genus, which comprises among its members the largest of
the Oceanic birds, three species range over the North Pacific Ocean ;
and six others fly to the southward of the equator.

115

577. Diomedea exulans, Linn Vol. VII. PI. 38<

The weight of this species varies from jieventeen to twenty
pounds, and the expanse of its extended wings averages the enor-
mous breadth of 1 1 feet

578. Diomedea brachyura, Temm Vol. VII. PI. 39.

579. Diomedea cauta, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 4?0.

580. Diomedea culminata, (rcm/!i .... Vol. VII. PI. 41.

581. Diomedea chlororhynchos, ZoM. . . . Vol. VII. PL 42.

582. Diomedea melanophrys, Temm. . . . Vol. VII. PI. 43.

583. Diomedea fuliginosa Vol. VII. PI. 44.

584. Diomedea gibbosa, Gould,

Diomedea gibbosa^ Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol.xiii.
p. 361.

Face, ear-coverts, chin, abdomen, upper and under tail-coverts
white ; the remainder of the plumage very dark brown, approaching
on the occiput, back of the neck and wings to black ; bill yellowish
horn-colour, becoming darker at the tip and at the base ; feet in the
specimen dark brown, but doubtless of a bluish gray, inclining to
flesh-colour in the living bird.

The above is the description of a specimen in the collection of
the Zoological Society of London, to which it was presented by
F. Debell Bennett, Esq., who had procured it in the North Pacific.
It differs from every other that has come under my notice in the
peculiar swollen and raised form of the base of the upper mandible,
which moreover rises high upon the forehead.

585. Diomedea olivaceorhyncha, Gould,

Diomedea olivaceorhyncha^ Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat.
Hist., vol. xiii. p. 361.

I propose this name for a species, examples of which are wanting
to our collections, and of which a bill only has as yet come under
my notice. It is in the possession of Sir Wm. Jardine, Bart., is
3 inches and fths long from the gape to the tip, of a uniform olive-
green, and in form more slender and elegant than that of the other
members of the genus. The locality in which it was procured is not
known, but it is supposed to have been obtained in the China seas.

The two last species were not seen by me in the Australian seas,
but are given in order to complete a monograph of the DiomedecB,

Genus Procellahia.

Of the fifteen species I have placed in this genus as now restricted,
figures of only eight have been given.

586. Procellaria gigantea Vol. VII. PI. 45.

587. Procellaria .^quinoctialis.

588. Procellaria conspicillata, Gould . . . Vol. VII. PI. 46.

589. Procellaria hasitata, KM Vol. VII. PI. 47.

116

590. Procellaria Atlantica, Gould,

Procellaria Atlantica^ Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist,
vol. xiii. p. 362*

Male : the whole of the plumage deep chocolate-black ; bill and
feet jet-black.

This is one of the commonest species inhabiting the Atlantic, and
no ship passes between our shores and the Cape of Good Hope
without encountering it ; it is a species respecting which very con-
siderable confusion exists in the writings of nearly all the older
authors. It is- the P.fuliginosa of Forster's Drawings, No. 93 B,
and the P, fuliginosa of Lichtenstein's edition of Forster's MSS.
p. 23, which term cannot be retained, as it had already been applied
by Latham to a very different bird from Otaheite ; it is the P.grisea
of Kuhl but not of Linnaeus, who has given the term to another
species, consequently grisea cannot be retained for it ; and hence I
have been induced to give it a new appellation, and thereby prevent
misapprehension for the future.

591. Procellaria macroptera, Smith,

Procellaria nuicroptera. Smith, Zool. of South Africa, Aves, pi. 52..

I think that a bird I killed in the seas off Van Diemen's Land,
where it was tolerably abundant, and which differs from the last
in being of a larger size, having much longer wings and a greyer
face, may be identical with the P. macroptera of Smith, and I there-
fore retain it under that appellation, in preference to assigning it a
new name.

592. Procellaria Solandri, Gould,

Procellaria Solandri, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, Part XII.
p. 57 ; and in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. xiii. p. 363.

Head, back of the neck, shoulders, primaries and tail dark brown ;
back, wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts slate-grey, each feather
margined with dark brown ; face and all the under surface brown,
washed with grey on the abdomen ; bill, tarsi, toes and membranes
black.

This is a remarkably robust and compact bird. I shot a single
individual in Bass's Straits on the 13th of March 1839. M. Nat-
terer thought that it might possibly be identical with the bird figured
in Banks's drawings, and to which Dr. Solander has affixed the term
melanopuSf an opinion in which I cannot concur ; I have therefore
named it in honour of that celebrated botanist. The specimen above
described may possibly prove to be not fully adult, as the dark
colouring of the under surface only occupies the extreme tips of the
feathersy the basal portions of which are snow-white.

593. Procellaria Glacialoides, Smith .... Vol. YII. PI. 48.

594. Procellaria Lessonii, Gam Vol. VII. PI. 49.

595. Procellaria mollis,. Gould Vol. VII. PI. 50.

596. Procellaria Cookii, G. R, Gray . . . Vol. VII. PI. 51.

117

597. Procellaria coerulea, Gmd. Vol. VII. PI. 52.

598. Procellaria flavirostris, Gould,

Procellaria Jlavirostrisy Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,
vol. xiii. p. 365.

Feathers of the head and all the upper surface brown with pearl
edges, fading into white on the tips of the upper tail-coverts ; wings
and tail deep blackish brown ; all the under surface pure white; the
feathers of the under surface of the shoulder with a streak of brown
down the centre ; bill yellow, passing into dark horn-colour at the
tip ; tarsi and feet fleshy white.

This fine species was procured off the Cape of Good Hope, in lat.
36° 39' S., long. 10° 3' E., by His Excellency Governor Grey, on
his passage to South Australia. It is distinguished from its con-
geners by its much larger size, and by the yellow colouring of the
bill. The female is somewhat smaller than her mate.

This bird so nearly approaches in form the members of the genus
Pttffintis, that it is almost questionable whether it should not be in-
cluded in that group.

599. Procellaria nivea, GmeL

600. Procellaria Antarctica, GmeL

Genus Daption.

A genus established for the reception of the Procellaria Capensis
of Linnaeus, a species abounding in all the temperate latitudes of the
southern seas.

601. Daption Capensis Vol. VII. PI. 53.

Genus Prion.

A genus of fairy-like Petrels confined to the southern hemisphere :
much confusion exists respecting these birds, and they are so puzzling
that I regret to say I have not been able to throw any light upon the
subject.

Of the following species two only have been figured : —

602. Prion Turtur Vol. VII. PI. 54.

603. Prion vittatus Vol. VII. PI. 55.

604*. Prion Banksii.

Pachypiila Banksii^ Smith, Zool. of South Africa, Aves, pi. 55.
Prion Banksiif Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist, vol. xiii.

p. 366.
Found in the temperate latitudes of the Atlantic and Pacific, and
I believe in similar latitudes all round the globe.

605. Prion Ariel, Gould.

Prion Ariel, Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. xiii.

p. 366.
I killed this species in Bass's Straits, where it was rather numerous.

118

Genus Puffinus.

The members of this genus inhabit the seas of both the northern
and southern hemisphere, but are nowhere more abundant than
round Australia, the fauna of which country comprises four species,
all of which make one or other of the groups of islands lying off the
coast their great nurseries or breeding-places.

606. Puffinus brevicaudus, Brandt .... Vol. YII. PI. Qd.

It will be seen that I have alluded in forcible terms to the great
abundance of this species, in confirmation of which I annex the fol-
lowing extract from Flinders' Voyage, vol. i. p. 170 : —

^ A large flock of Gannets was observed at daylight, and they
were followed by such a number of the sooty petrels as we had
never seen equalled. There was a stream of from fifty to eighty yards
in depth, and of three hundred yards or more in breadth ; the birds
were not scattered, but were flying as compactly as a free movement
of their wings seemed to allow ; and during a full hour and a half
this stream of Petrels continued to pass without interruption, at a
rate little inferior to the swiftness of the Pigeon. On the lowest
computation I think the number could not have been less than a
hundred millions. Taking the stream to have been fifty yards deep
by three hundred in width, and that it moved at the rate of thirty
miles an hour, and allowing nine cubic yards of space to each bird,
the number would amount to 151,500,000. The burrows required
to lodge this quantity of birds would be 75,750,000 ; and allowing
a square yard to each burrow, they would cover something more
than 18^ geographic square miles of ground."

607. Puffinus cameipes, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 57.

608. Puffinus sphenurus, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 58.

609. Puffinus assimilis, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 59.

Genus Puffinuria.
One species of this genus inhabits the Australian seas.

610. Puffinuria Urinatrix Vol. VII. PI. 60.

Genus Thalassidroma.

The little tenants of the ocean belonging to this genus are so
universally dispersed, that they are found in all the seas except those
of the very high latitudes of both hemispheres. The Australian
fauna is particularly rich in birds of this fonn, inasmuch as no less
than five distinct species frequent the seas which wash the shores of
that country.

611. Thalassidroma marina, LeM, .... Vol. VII. PI. 61.

612. Thalassidroma melanogaster, Gould . . Vol. VII. PI. 62.

613. Thalassidroma leucogaster, Gould . . . Vol. VII. PI. 63.

Thalassidroma Tropica, Gould.

Thalassidroma Tropica^ Gould in Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,
vol. xiii. p. 366.

119

Head, back, wings, tail and breast dark sooty black ; chin, under
coverts of the wings, abdomen, flanks, under tail- coverts, and a
broad crescent-shaped band across the upper tail-coverts snow-white ;
bill, feet and legs black.

I observed this species in the Atlantic, where it is confined to the
equatorial regions, being most abundant in the vicinity of the line.
It is the largest member of the genus with which I am acquainted,
and is rendered very conspicuous by the white mark on its throat

614. Thalassidroma Nereis, Gould .... Vol. VII. PI. 64.

615. Thalassidroma Wilsonii, Bonap, . . . Vol. VII. PI. 65.

Family PELECANIDiE.

Genus Phalacrocorax.

The great family of the Cormorants, whose range is universal, are
well represented in Australia, since five species inhabit and are pecu-
liar to that country, where they perform precisely the same offices
as the other species of the genus do in Europe and America.

616. Phalacrocorax Carboides, Gould . . . Vol. VII. PI. m.

Vol. VII. PI. 67.
Vol. VII. PI. 68.
Vol. VII. PI. 69.
Vol. VII. PI. 70.

617. Phalacrocorax sulcirostris . .

618. Phalacrocorax hypoleucus . .

619. Phalacrocorax leucogaster, Gould

620. Phalacrocorax melanoleucus, Vieill.

This species, besides feeding upon fish, devours newts and insects,
to procure which it resorts to the shallow lagoons of the interior of
the country.

621. Phalacrocorax punctatus Vol. VII. PI. 71.

Genus Attagen.

Although I have figured but one, there are evidently two if not
three species of this genus in Australia ; but I have not had sufificient
opportunities to investigate the subject satisfactorily.

622. Attagen Ariel, Gould ..••.. Vol. VII. PI. 72.

623. Attagen Aquila ?

Genus Phaeton.

The beautiful species of this form which graces the fauna of
Australia, ranges over the greater part of the Pacific Ocean, and
among other places retires to Norfolk Island and Raine's Islet for
the purpose of breeding.

624. Phaeton phoenicurus ... % . . Vol. VII. PI. 73.

Genus Pelecanus.

The members of this genus are very widely dispersed, since every
great country has one or more species assigned to it.

The species inhabiting Australia is as fine and as beautifully
marked as any one member of the family.

625. Pelecanus conspicillatus, Temm. . . . Vol. VII. PI. 74.

Genus Plotus.
' Asia, Africa, America and Australia are each tenanted by a species

120

of this genus, the members of which are but few in number, and
the specific differences of which are not well understood or easily
decyphered.

626. Piotus Novffi-HoUandifiB, Gould . . . Vol. VII. PL 75.

Genus Sula.

Four fine species of this genus appertain to the Australian fauna,
since they not only frequent the seas adjacent to the shores of that
country, but all of them resort to its rocks and islands for the pur-
pose of breeding.

The genus comprises several other species which inhabit nearly
every part of the globe.

627. Sula Australis, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 76.

Inhabits the southern coast of Australia and Van Diemen*s Land,
and is a beautiful representative of the Sula Bassana and S. mela'
nura of Europe.

628. Sula personata, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 77.

Common on the east coast.

629. Sula fusca, Briss Vol. VII. PL 78.

'* This species of Booby," says Mr. M*GilIivray, " is generally
distributed on the north-east and north coasts of New Holland ; but
I found it breeding only upon Bramble Key, although I once, on
Raine's Islet, found a solitary egg. The nest is slovenly made of
dried herbage, a foot in diameter, with scarcely any cavity, and con-
tains two eggs, of which in every instance one was clean and the
other very dirty. The eggs, which are white,- vary considerably
in size. The largest measured 2^ inches by l-^^; the smallest

2^ by 1 j^, and one of average size, 2^ by If inches. Both sexes

incubate, and the birds while sitting on their eggs allowed of a very
near approach, and before flying off disgorged the contents of their
^stomachs, chiefly a species of Clupea or herring. I need scarcely
add that their bite is very severe. During our visits to Darnley
Island I observed several tame Boobies among the native villages,
generally perched on the canoes hauled up on the beach. These
birds were allowed their full liberty, and after fishing in the weirs
upon the reefs until they had procured a sufficiency of food, returned
to the huts."

Inhabits the north coast.

630. Sula piscator, Linn Vol. VII. PL 79.

Inhabits the north coast.

Family COLYMBIDiE.
Genus Podiceps.

There is no country of any extent wherein Grebes are not to be
found ; and as their wing-powers are very limited they are mostly
stationary.

I have elsewhere remarked how beautifully the European Grebes

121

are represented by those inhabiting Australia, and the truth of this
remark will be rendered at once apparent on reference to the Plates
of the following species : —

631 . Podiceps Australis, G^ow/tf Vol. VII. PL 80.

632. Podiceps gularis, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 81 .

Podiceps Dominicus, var. LcUh.

633. Podiceps poliocephalufi, Jard. ^ SeW. . Vol. VII. PI. 82.

Family SPHENISCIDiE.

Of this southern group of birds at least three or four species
visit the shores of Van Diemen's Land and the islands in Bass's
Straits, which, in fact, constitute one of the great breeding places
of the members of this family.

Genus Eudyptes.

634. Eudyptes chrysocome Vol. VII. PI. 83.

Genus Spheniscus.

635. Spheniscus minor, Temm Vol. VII. PI. 84.

636. Spheniscus Undina, Gould Vol. VII. PI. 85.

The following " Table of the range or distribution of the species'*
will be of interest, as showing the parts of the country frequented by
each so far as is at present known.

TABLE OF THB RANGE OK DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES.

iphenonia

Pandion leucocephilui, Oould...

FUco bypoleiicui, Oould;

melaiK^Dfi, OotJd

lubniger, (Tray

fhintatiu, Goiild

leracidea Berigoia

occideBtalis, Gcald ...

Tinnunculu) Cenchroidea

Altar None-HoUtndin

{-Ibino)

rBdiatui

approiimBiu, Vig. S[ Honf.

cruGDtiis, GotM ... ...

Accipiter tOTqaatiu

Bnteo melanoaternoQ, OmJif ...
Milvui affinia, GmUd

iBunu, OouU

EUnot arilluiB

tcriptug, OouU

LetndogenyB lobcTirtatua, Ooidd
Caiciii udmilia, Jard, Sf SM, ...

• Jirdinii, (JOuU

Strix CHtuopa, Gmtid

peTMnatt, Wj.

tanebrioMiu, QouU.

delicatulai, (?iNiU

Athene Boobook

marmorati, Owu" '.'.'.

ttrea^a, Qrmld ... .

laSt, Gould

£gothelea Novn-IIolluiditt .

■ leucogaster, Gmild.

Ppdvgui megacephalui ... .
I bomerajii, Vig. Sr Utf^f-
Curieri, V%s. Sf Hor^.

— I bnchjpterus, Crouid

— I Phabenaides, Gmid

plamifenu, GokU ...

Enroatopodiu albognltril

gutt«tui

CiViiinalEiu mtemroi, Hanf.

...

Int., p. m.

I. PL 34.

— 35.

— 36.

...

ILPL 1.

'.'.'.

Ia.,p.uriiL

ILPL 3.

— 4.

lllt.,p.IXTl.

II. PL a.

...

— 6.

— 8.

— 9.

TABLE OP THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE 8PECIE3.

meUoocepbalu*. Gimld.

iin>p)^[Ulu, Gould...

Stnpera gncuUna

fullginau, Gould

■^—— aigata, GoiM

meliinopten, Gould ...

Gyinnorhiii* Tibioen

. leuconola, Gould...

orguiicum, Gould

Cncticni oign^ulBiia, Govid ...

argcntem, (TouJif ...

— dettmctot

i dnereuB, GouU

leacoptwTH, Gouid ...

GnlUnt Auitrulu

Gnucalug meUnopa

• parviroatiis, Gmdd . . ,

menUlu, Vig. ic Hor^.

— 40.

— 41.

— 42.

— 43.

— 62.

Int.,p.xu:T.

Int.,p.iiiT.

II. PL 53.

TABLE OP THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES.

Onncalua hypoleucus, GotJd

— ■■ Sw^QBonu, Gmdd

.^B Pbuiuiella, GvM ... .

in Jacdiuii, Goiiiil

Kara ,

• leucomeU, Vig. 4" Horrf. .

bumeralis, Gould ... ,

PachycephaU g;utturalis

' glaucnra, Goutf

meluinrt, (iDuJif ... .

peetoralia

■ ftlctU, CiniU

L«noide>, GotM ... ,

rnfognluii, GoiJd ... .

Gilbertii, Gould ... .

umplei, CottU

olivacM, Fiy. If Horff. .

Colloriciacls harmonica

niflTentm, Gmiif ... .

trunnea, Gauld

Selbii, /ari

pftTTula, Gouid

latogtatei, Gould ... .

Falcuncoliu frontatua

i leucogaiter, Gmdd ... .

Oreoica gutturalii ■... .

Dicrui-UB brncteatua, Gould

Rhipidura albiscapa, Gould

rufifrona

Dryas, Goald

MotaciJloTdea, Vig. if Hor^. .

picata, Gould

8<niiira inquieta

PiezorliTDChQi nitidua, Cini&f

HyiSgnt plombea, V^). Sr Horff. ... .

concinoa, Gmli.

aitidt, Gould

latinutiia, Goidd

MicnEca macropt«r«

ta»inuli», Gould

flavigaater, Gould

Monaicha carinata

trivirgata

Gerjgone alboguUria, Gould

fuacua, Gould

culiciYoraa, Gould

magniiDstris, Gould

■ imvi^itei, Gould

chloronotua, GoM/ii

SmicTonm breviroatrii, ffotili ... .

aayesceni, Gould

EtTtbrodiyaa Tbodinogaater

Ia.,p.iiivL

Kl).

Kl.

84.

t*!>

.n..p.i;

ii«.

HK.

Hit.

mi.

Ml.

<t».

ntro., p. xL

II. PI.

94.

TABLB OF THE RANGE OR DISTBIBUTION OF THE SPECIES.

ETTthrodryaa rosea, Goutd

Petroic* multicolor

eijthrogSBtm . . .

Goodenovii

phiEmceB. Cimld

bicolor, S%eauu. ...

inpercUioui, GaM

Diymodes brmmeopj'gi*, CouU

Eopultris Aiutnilii

■ Bjiseogularis, GmM. .

fcucogaBter, Gould ..

Menura auperba, Dae,
Paophodes crepitani... .

nigrognlaris, Goufd

Sphenoatoma criBtut, OmM .

Maliuus cyaneoa

lon^ciaduB, Gould ,

melsDotua, Goutd

spleadeoB ,

elegang, Gould ... .

: pulcherrimna, Gould.

Lamberti, Vig. Sf Hor^f.

■ leocopterus, Quay Sf Gaim.

melanocephalua, Vig. Sf Hor^.

BrownU, Yig. ^ Hor^.

AmytlB textitis

BtriatuB, GikM

macrouruB, GoiM

Stipitunu mslacbums

DufoniiB AuBtralis, Vig. ^ Honf.

longiroBtriB, Gimd ...

AtricbiiL clamoBa, CouU

SphenteacuB galactoleB

. grauuneiu, AntU...

Acrocephaliu Aostralia, Ootdd...

loDgirostiiB, GmM

Hjlacota pynhopjgiB

CpitiecU magna, Oould

lineocapilla, Gouid ...

itaia. Could

To&cepi, Gould .

Sdiconiis cilreogiilariB, Gotdd...

biUmliB, Gould.

oBCulanB, ffouU

frontalis

iKvigaster, Gould ...

I maculBtaa, Gould ...

mmoiroBtris, Could...

Acantliiza puulU

>- DiemeneasiB, Gould

:::

::; :::

Si.

33.
34.

36.
36.
37.
38.
39.
*0.
■11.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.

50.

"'. '.'.'.

51.
52.
53.

...

—

54.

TABLE OF THE RANGE OS DlSTfilBUTlON OF THE SPECIES.

■ pynbDiifgiia, OmU.

■ iooriMtta, Gould

nantj Vig. S[ Hor^f.

• tmoBta, CsuZi

Reguloidti, Vig. if Horff.

^^-^— chrTiarrhtEa

SphthiimiTa ^bifrou

lurifl-oiu, Goidi

tricolor, GoaU

Xeropliila leaeopui, Gmid

Pyirhobenius tmumaiu, Goit3d

Orlgmi mbiiuta

CiUnunthiu fuliginosiu

■ campettrii, GoaU

Chthonicoli minima

AUliiu Auatrali*, Vif. if Honf. ...
Ginclonunphua eronOi*

MnCiUaiw, GmM ...

■ rufescens

Mirafra HonGddii, <ji»ttd

Eitrelda bells

Bichenovii

annolou, GokU...

tempwalia ...

Phaelmi

■ '-raAcaada, (roujil

modest*, G»M

tU, GmM .

PoSphila Gouldin, CokM. .

• miratnlii, Homh. If Jaeg. ... .

i acuticBuda, Omid ... ... .

p«r»onat8, GmM

lencotU, Omid .

dncta, GmUd

Doaacola cailaneothorax, Cfeuid ... .

' 'pecioralii, Boidd

flaviprymna, Geuid

Emblema picta, GoiiU

Pitta itrepitani, ItnmM.

Vigonii, Oimid'

Irit, Oouid

GndoBoma punctatmn, Fu/. £- Honf. .
castanotQi, Gaaia.

cinnwnoraeiu, Govid ... .

Oreociacb luDolata

Chlamjdera maoulata, (lOuU

PtOonortifikChua h(

i,£nM,

TA.BLE 0? THE RANQS OB DISTRIBUTION OF THE SFECIES.

I, Gould
Terncolor, Gould...

fliTigula, Gould .

lencotii

CTBlitiia, Gi^ '.

onittus, GauU .

plamulu*, Govld ..

■ flavracens, Gould...

flava, Gould...

• penidlUtus, Gould

fuse*, Gould... .

ehryBopt ... .

— ; unioolor, Goidd .

Plectorb^ch* UnceolaU, Ooidd
Xanthoniyza Pbcjgia
Melicophila picata, Gould
Entomophila picta, Gould

albogulari*. Gould

. roft^ularii, Gould

Acanthogenyi ruft^ulanB, Gould .
AnthoctuBiB iDauris, Gould

caiunculsts ... .

- — mdUTora ... .

. Innulata, Gould .

AouthoAjBdiB* l«Muioibii .. ,

TABLE OF THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OP THE 8PECI18.

mduma, G<mU

mcmnDiu, ToKM.,

Oiiboajx ipnictndiu, Ttmm.,
P^orii pmdiMiu, Adshw.
Sittella chTjMpteis

- tcadbcateri

- unpuittt, GauU.

— 4.

— S.
at., p. IziiL

TABLE OP THE RANGE OR OISTRIBITTION OF THE SPECIES,

i -■ splendida, Owld

BoorUi

MetopBitticm uDdulatiu ...
NfmpbicDi NoTs^HoUudue ...
Pezopomi foimoaaa ... .
Lathkmai <lia<K>]or ... .
Trichoglouiu SwuDBoiiii,

nibritorquit, Fig, ^

-m^^—~^ chloralepidotus ...

«nicolor, Vip. .

oonciBniu ... .

porphfrocaplMliu, Diel.

Ptilinopm SwiinMoii, GtnUd

Ewiogii, Gould

Carpopb^a magDificB

TABLE OF THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OP THE SPECIES.

histrionica, GoiJd

Geophspa Bcripta

i Smithii

plumifen, Ooidd ...

Ocyphtps Lophates

Fetraphassa tlbipeaait, Gould...

Geopelia huaendiB

' traoquilla, GomM

pUcida, GoiUd

— 70.

— 71.

— 72.

— 73.

Talegalla Latbami

Leipoa ocellals, Gmild

Megapodiua Tumulus, Gmtld ...
PedionomuB torquatue, GmUd...
Tumix melanogaater, GmJd . . .

pfrrhothoni, GoiM ...

Teloi:, Gould

Coturnix pectoraliB, Gould

SyHOicus Auatralia

Diemenenais, Gould ...

sordiduB, Gould.

-^ ? ChinenAie...

Dromaius NoviE-Hollaiidis

Apteryx Australia, £iaiD

Owenii, Goidd

Otis Australia

(Edicneuus grailarius

Esocus magoiroBtris

Hiematopus longirostris, PieUl.

f uliginosui, . Gould

Labivanellus lobatus

peiwjoalus, Gould

Sarciophorus pectoralia ... ...

Sqnatarola Helvetica

Charadrius lauthocheilus, Wagl.

vecedna, Gotdd

Eudromias AuBtralis, AnU ...

131
TABLE OF THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES.

Name of SpecieB.

Hiaticula bicincta
— — ruficapilla ...
— — — — monacha . . .

inornata, Gould,

nigrifrons ...

Erythrogonys cinctus, Gould
Glareola grallaria, Temm....

Orientalis, Leach

Himantopus leucocephalus, Gould

NoYse-Zelandiae, Gould

Chladorhynchus pectoralis
Recurvirostra nibricoUis, Temm
Limosa Melanuro'ides, Gould
— ^— uropygialis, Gould

Schceniclus Australis

albescens

— — subarquatus ...

magnuSy Gould

Terekia cinerea

Actitis empusa, Croii2i

Glottis Glotto'ides

Totanus stagnatilis

griseopygius, Gindd

Strepsilas Interpres . . .

Scolopax Australis, Lath....
Rhyncbaea Australis, Gould
Numenius Australis, Gould

uropygiaUs, Gould

minutus, Gould .

Geronticus spinicollis
Threslfiornis strictipennis...

Falcinellus igneus

Grus Australasianus, Gould
Platalea flavipes, G^(m2e^ ...

regia, Gould

Mycteria Australis, Lath,...
Ardea pacifica, Lath.

Novse-HoUandiae, Lath,

rectirostris, Gould . . .

leucopbsea, Gould ...

Herodias syrmatopborus, Gould

' plumiferus, Gould
— — 'immaculatus, Gould
■ pannosus, Gould

? jugularis

'■■"^^■^^^~~ vxeyi ••• ••• •••

' picata, Gould ...

Nycticorax Caledonicus ...

' hi

*
*

• • •

• • •
• « •

*
*
*

*
*

• • •

*
*?

Other
countries.

Zeal

Japan.
India and
Europe.

• • • • • •

India and
Europe.
... ...

The sea-
coasts
of aU

countries.

Borneo
India ?

• • • • •

• •• • •

N.Zealan.

• t • ••

• • • • •

• • • ft •

Number of

Volume and

Plate.

VI. PI. 16.

— 17.

— 18.

— 19.

— 20.

— 21.

— 22.

— 23.

— 24.

— 25.

— 26.

— 27.

— 28.

— 29.

— 30.

— 31.

— 32.

— 33.

— 34.

— 35.

— 36.

— 37.

— 38.

— 39.

40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58;
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.

1S2
TABLE OP THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES.

Nunc of SpedM.

Botaurus Australis, Gtndd

Ardetta flavicoUis

macrorbyncha, Gould.,

— ■^— stagnatilis, Gotdd
pusilla ...

■ • • ••» *•

Porphyrio melanotos, Temm. ..

bellus, Gould

Tribonyx Mortieri, DuBut
■ ventralis; Gould

GaUinula tenebrosa, G^oti/tf

Fulica Australis, (7ot»iii

Parra gallinacea, Temm, ... ..
Rallus pectoralis, Cuv.
Lewioii, Swahu,

• • • • •

• • V ft •

• • • • •

• • • • • •

• • • • •

t • • • •

Eulabeornis castaneoventris, Gould
PoTzana fluminea, Gould ...
— — palustris, Gould ...

■ leucophrys, Gould
? immaculata

Cereopsis Novae-Hollandiae, Latk
Anseraoas melanoleuca
Bernicla jubata
Nettapus pulcbellus, Gotdd

albipennis, Gould

Cygnus atratus ...
Casarca Tadomo'ides

Tadorna Radjah

Anan superciliota, GmeL ...
nsevosa, Gould . . .

— punctata, Cttt»

Spatula Rbynchotis

Malacorbynchus membranaceus

Dendrocygna arcuata

«— — — Eytoni, Gould ..

Nyroca Australis, (r{}uiii

Erismatura Australis...

Biziura lobata

Larus Pacificus...

Xema Jamesonii

Lestris Catarractes

Sylochelidon strenuus

Thalasseus Pelecano'ides

— — - poliocercus, Gould..

Torresii, Gould

Sterna melanorhyncha, Gould,,

■ '■ gracilis, Gould

— - melanauchenf Temm, „

Sternula Nereis, Crou/ii

Gelocbelidon macrotarsus

Gygis Candida ..

Hydrochelidon iluviatilis, Gotdd
Onychaprion fuliginosus ?. . .

- Panaya...

• • * • •

• • • • • •

« •• • t

-I

...

• ••

...

I m <

• • •

• ••

• « •

...

*
*

• • •

*
*

• • •

t • •

• • •

...

» • •

IS.

Other
oooBtriei.

N. Guinea

■ •

India

• 9
..
.•

. a

. *

■ •

Indianlsl

Number nf

Volume and

Plate.

VI.

VII.

Int.
VIL

PL 64.
65.
66.

■ 67.
68.
69.

- 70.

• 71.

• 72.

■ 73*

■ 74.
. 75.
. 76.

■ 77.
. 78.
. 79.

80.

82.

PL 1.

9.
10.
II.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

• 17.
18.
19.
20.
2L
22.

. 23.
. 24.

- 25.

- 26.
. 27.

28.

■ 29.

p. XCY.

PL 30.
31.
32.
33.

13S
TABLE OP THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OP THE SPECIES.

Name of Spedes.

• • • ••»

Anoiis stolldus ...

melanopty Gould ...

■■ ' leucocapillus, Gould

dnereus, Gould ...

Diomedea exulans, Linn. ...
— — — bracbyura, Temm,
— — — cauta, Gould
■ cnlminata, Gould ...

— ^-— chlororhynchoSy Lath,

• melanophrys, Temm,

■' fuliginosa.

■■■ olivaceorhyncha, Gould

Procellaria gigantea

' ^quinoctialis

— — — conapidllata, Gould

— — hasitata, KukL

- Atlantica, Gould ...

macroptem, Smith
Solandrii, Gould ...
GlaciaUudes, Smith

»** .* «

. • « ...

• • . . • •

Lessonii, Gam.
moUis, Gould,..

• • • • m •

• •• • •%

Cookiiy G. R. Gray
coerulea, GmeL
flayirostris, Gould...
nivea, GmeL ...
Antarcticai Gmel. ...

•*• . >

. . . • .

... ... ••• ..

... ... ... ..

••• ..• ••

••• .•• ...

Daption Capensis
PriJm Turtur ...

— Tittatns, Cw. ...

— BaBksii

Ariel, Gould ...

Pufflnus breyicaudus, Brandt ...
■ carneipes, Gould...

' sphenuraSy Gould

asiimilitt Gould ...

•■• ••• ••

• •• ••

• • • • •

• • • ••

••• ••• ••

Puffinuria Urinatrix ...

Tbalassidfoma marina, Z«M

melanogaster, Gould

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ lencogaster, Gould ..

' Tropsca» Gould... ..

Nereis, Gould ...
Wilsonii, Bonap.

Pbalacrooorax Carboidcs, Gould

*
*

• • •

*
*

...
*

• • •

I *

* *

• "l ...

• • •

...

• • •

• « •

I • ■

*
*

Other
comtnoik

••• •• .

.«* ...

••• ••*

... »■.»
S. Ocean
N.Pacific?

... ...

S. Ocean
S. Ocean
S. Ocean
S. Ocean
N.Pacific?

• • • •••

S.LOcean
S.I.Ocean
S. Ocean
S. Pacific

and S.

Atlantic
S. Pacific

... ...

N. Zeal.,

S. Pacific

... ...

S. Indian

and S.

Atlantic

... ...

S.Ocean

Ant. Seas
Ant. Seas
S. Ocean
S. Ocean
S. Ocean
S. Ocean
Bass's St.

... ••.

. • . ...

... •••

... •>.

... « • .

... ...

S.I.Ocean
S.I.Ooe«n

Tropic,

Atlantic

Number of

Volume and

Plate.

VII. PL 34.

— 35.

— 36.

— 37.

— 38.

— 39.

— 40.

— 41.

— 42.

— 43.

— 44.
Int.,p.xcviL
VIL PL 45.
Int.,p.xcviL
VII. PL 46.

— 47.
Int.,p.xcviL

In., p.xcviii.
In.,p.xcviii.
VII. PL 48.

— 49.

— 50.

— 51.

— 52.

S.I.Ocean|ln., p.xcviiL
In., p.xcviiL
In., p.xcviii.
VII. PL 53.

— 54.

— 55.
Int., p. xdx.
Int., p. xcix.
VII. PL 56.

— 57.

— 58.

— 59.

— 60.

— 61.

— 62.

— 63.
Into p. c.

... ...

S. Ocean
and temp,
lat. of the

N.
... .. •

VII. PI. 64.
— 65.

66.

TABLE OP THE RANGE OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES.

• ..

Vil. FL 67.

hypoleucu!

'.'.'. N.'ze JV?

— 68.

— 69.

— 70.

... N, ZeiL

Attagen Ariel, C<»H '." '.'.'. '.'.'.

■ Z •

— 72."

Int., p. c

Phieton ph<inicnruB

- ... *

VU. PI. 73.

Plotus NoTO-HolliDdiie, ft««

— 74.

— 75.

Sula Au8trali», G«i«

— 76.

peiBonaM, Gould

fu8ca,flrii#.

— 77.

— 78.

piKMor, Lbw.

— 79.

Podiceps AustnOii, GokU

— 80.

gqlarie, Oould

— 81.

poliocepbalus, Jard. ^ Selbg ...

— 82.

Endyptes chrfsocome

• rheLof
TrisJ'Ac.
and Am-
«teidun

— 83.

« ...

— 84.

— 85.

On a review of the above Table it will be seen that 385 species
inhabit New South Wales, 289 South Australia, 243 Western Au-
stralia, 230 Northern Australia, and 181 Van Diemen's Land ; and
that of these, 88 are peculiar to New South Wales ; 16 to South
Australia ; 36 to Western AugtraJia ; 105 to Northern Australia,
and 32 to Van Diemen's Land.

The great excess in the Dumber of species inhabiting New South
Wales is doubtless attributable to the singular belt of luxuriant
vegetatioD, termed brushes, which stretches along the southern and
south-eastern coasts between the ranges and the sea, and which is
tenanted by a fauna peculiarly its own.

Although this part of the continent is inhabited by a larger
number of species than any other, it is a remarkable fact that the
species peculiar to Northern Australia are much more numerous
than those peculiar to New South Wales.

It is curious to observe also, that while Southern Australia is in-
habited by a much larger number of species than Western Australia,
those peculiar to the former are not half so numerous aa those
peculiar to the latter.

The more southern position, and consequently colder climate of
Van Diemen's Land, will readily account for the paucity of species
found in that island.

By the term peculiar, I do not mean to convey the idea that the
birds are strictly confined to the respective countries, but th^ as yet
they have not been found elsewhere.

PROSPECTUS

THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA,

JOHN GOULD, F.R.S., &c.,

AUTHOR OF THE ** BTRDS OF EUROPE,'* " CENTURY OF BIRDS FROM THE HIMALAYA

MOUNTAINS," " MOirOGRAPHS OF THE TOUCANS, TROGONS, KANGAROOS,

PARTRIDGES OF AMERICA," " MAMMALS OF AUSTRALIA," &C. &C.

DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO HER MAJESTY.

It was not without a deep sense of the weight of the undertaking,
that the Author announced a Work on the Ornithology of the Au-
stralasian portion of the Globe ; nor, indeed, could he have ventured
upon such a task, had he not possessed peculiar advantages which
inspired him with confidence as to its successful issue. Aware,
however, that much remained to be done in order to obtain a com-
plete acquaintance with the birds of Australia, of which the forms
are so singular and interesting, and whose habits, manners, and
general economy were almost unknown, the Author was induced to
visit those Colonies, and after devoting nearly two years to the obser-
vation of the Birds in their native wilds, succeeded in gaining a rich
harvest of knowledge, the fruit of personal experience, together with
a number of new and highly interesting species. Their migrations,
changes of plumage, food, manners and nidification, all that concerns
their history, or guides the naturalist in the determinations of their
affinities, has been accurately noted, and so far as the size of the

publication (Imperial folio) has admitted, each has been figured of
its natural size, and coloured after life.

The Work, which precisely resembles the Author's previous pub-
lications in size and manner of execution, is now complete in thirty-
six Parts, containing Seventeen Plates, with descriptive letter-press,
at the price of Three Guineas each part, with the exception of the
Thirty-sixth, the price of which, in consequence of the large amount
of introductory matter, is £4 12^. ^ Thus after ten years of anxiety
and constant labour, this the most extensive Ornithological work yet
published has been brought to a successful termination, and now
forms seven folio volumes, with an Introduction compiising a
scientific arrangement of the whole, observations on the various
genera, the range of the species, &c.

Only 250 copies have been printed, and the drawings have been
effaoed from the stones; of these, 180 were subscribed for, the re-
maining seventy the author proposes to issue upon the original
terms, with this exception, that five or more Parts shall be delivered
in the course of each year instead of four; the delivery to commence
on the Ist of January 1849. As in the event of any of these copies
being discontinued the remaining parts would be rendered com-
paratively valueless, inasmuch as it would be impossible to again
replace those taken, it will be considered that every person who
subscribes for one of the seventy remaining copies is bound to com-
plete it. If preferred the work may of course be taken entire, or at
the rate of one volume in each year until complete.

London, 20 Broad Street^ Golden Square.

December 1, 1848.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

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HIS IMPERIAL AND ROYAL HIGHNESS THE GRAND DUKE OF

TUSCANY.
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Craven, The Right Hon. the Earl of.
Crowley, H., Esq.
Currer, Miss.
Dalen, Dr.
De Jersey, Dr.

De la Fresnaye, Mons. le Baron.
Derby, The Right Hon. the Earl of,

K.G., LL.D., Pres. Z.S., F.H.S.,

Trust. Brit. Mus. &c.
De Tabley, The Right Hon. Lord

Warren.
Drummond, C, Esq.
Dry, — , Esq.

Du Bus, Monsieur le Chevalier.
East India Company, The Honourable.
Edinburgh, The Royal Society of.
Edinburgh, The Libraiy of the Uniyer*

sity o£
Egerton, Sir Philip de Malpas Grey>

Bart., M.P., F.R.S., F.G.S., F.Z.S. &c.
Ewing, the Rey. Thomas James.
Eyton, T. C., Esq.
Folliott, G., Esq.
France, The Royal Institute of.

Franklin, His Excellency Captain Sir
John, R.N., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c., Go-
vernor of Van Diemen's Land.

Fuller, — , Esq., F.H.S. &c.

Gibson, W. G., Esq.

Gipps, His Excellency Sir George,
Gov.-Gen. of New South Wales, &c.

Glasgow, The UniTcrsity of.

Gott, W., Esq.

Grey, His Excellency Capt. Sir George,
(Toyemor of New Zealand.

Guise, Lieut.-Gen. Sir John W., Bart.

Gunn, R. C, Esq.

Gurney, Hudson, E8q.,F.R.S.,F.S.A.&c.

Gumey, J. H., Esq.

Hale, R. B., Esq., M.P.

Haslar Hospital Library, The.

Hewson, John, Esq.

Hill, The Right Hon. Viscount HilL

Housman, Mrs.

Howard, The Hon. Mrs.

Hull Subscription Library, The.

Hullmandel, C, Esq.

Hurt, Miss.

Hutt, His Excellency, John, Esq., Go-
vernor of Western Australia.

Jardin des Plantes, The Library of the.

Jardine, Sir WilUam, Bart., F.R.S.E.,
F.L.S., M.W.S. &c.

Kenmare, The Right Hon. the Earl of.

Lea, — , Esq.

Leadbeater, Mr. John.

Leeds, His Grace the Duke oL

Legh, G. C, Esq., M.P.

Linnean Society of London, The.

Little and Brown, Messrs. ; 2 copies.

Liverpool Library, The.

Liverpool, The Royal Institution of.

Llewelyn, J. D., Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S.

Lomax, J., Esq.

London Institution, The.

Lyons, S., Esq.

M^Ardiur, James, Esq.

Malcolm, N., Esq.

Mitchell, D. W., Esq., M.A., F.L.S.,
Sec. Zool. Soc. &c.

Mitford, Rear^ Admiral.

Moore, W., Esq.

Munich, The Royal Library of.

NeviUe, The Hon. Charles.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, The Literary and
Philosophical Society of.

Northampton, The Most Noble the
Marquess of, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.

Northumberland, His Grace the Duke
of, F.R.S. &c.

Norwich, The Right Rev. the Lord
Bishop of, F.R.S., P.L.S. &c.

Ostell and Lepage, Messrs.

Oxley, C. C, Esq.

Paris, The Royal Library of.

Parker, J. C, Esq.

Perkins, H., Esq., F.H.S., F.6.S. &c.

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Reeves, J., Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.

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Robyns, Monsieur M. J.

Rodgers, J., Esq.

Rolle, The Right Hon. Lady.

Rouen, Le Mus^ d'Histoire Naturelle
de.

Happen, Dr.

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Shelley, Lady.

Shrewsbury, The Rt. Hon. the Earl of.

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Skaife, J., Esq.

Somerset, His Grace the Duke of, K.G.,
D.C.L., F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.

Stamford and Warrington, The Right
Hon. the Earl of.

Strasbourg, Le Mus^ d'Hirtoire Natu-
relle du.

Strickland, Mrs.

Surgeons of England, The Royal Col-
lege of.

Sutherland, His Grace the Duke of,
MA., F.Z.S. &c

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Temminck, Monsieur C. J.

Templeman, J., Esq.

Teylerian Library, The.

Thorold, H., Esq.

Trinity College, Dublin.

Van Der Hoop, M.

Vienna, Tlfe Imperial Library of.

Weigel, Mr. T. O.

Wells, W., Esq.

Wenlock, The Right Hon. Lord.

Westermann, M.

Wheble, J., Esq.

Wilson, Edward, Esq.

Wilson, Dr. T. B.

Worcestershire Natural History So-
ciety, The.

Wright, Captain.

Yarrell, W., Esq., F.L.S., V.P.Z.S. &c.

Yass Subscription Library, The.

Yorkshire Philosophical Society, The.

Zoological Society of London, The.

" The return of Mr. Gould, the ornithologist, from his exploration
of the Australasian continent, is scarcely known to the scientific
world, before the first-fruits of his labours are presented to the public
in the shape of Part I. of his splendid work on the Birds of Australia.
Before his departure he had acquired a high reputation as a naturalist ;
but in thus investigating an extensive, interesting, and almost un-
known field, Mr. Gould has greatly raised his claims to scientific
distinction; and the circumstance of his having undertaken this
enterprise at his sole charge, entitles him to every encouragement
in the completion of this costly and valuable addition to natural
science. The birds are mostly drawn of the natural size, and in
attitudes caught from life. The colouring is fresh from nature, and
each plate is as highly finished as if it were a drawing ; in a word,
the work is got up in a similar style of excellence to the ' Birds of
Europe,' with which it will correspond in size and probable ex-
tent." — Spectator,

"That Mr. Gould's new production, 'The Birds of Australia,'
so important to the zoologist, and, as far as he has proceeded^ so in-
trinsically excellent, may meet with the success it merits, is our
cordial wish. It has already secured a large number of supporters,
and is dedicated by permission to Her Majesty, whose name, with
that of her illustrious consort, stands at the head of the list of sub-
scribers." — Westminster Review, April 1841.

"Among those splendid publications of science and art which the
liberality of governments has given to the world, there are few which
in point of beauty or completeness are superior to this unassisted
enterprise of a single individual. Regardless of expense and risk,
Mr. Gould proceeded to Australia for the sole purpose of studying
nature in her native wilds, and after spending two years in traver-
sing the forests and plains of that continent, he returned home with a
valuable collection of specimens, and a stiU more precious one of
facts. These he is now engaged in bringing before the public, and
the many new and interesting details of natural history which his
work contains indicate powers of observation and of description
which will place the name of Gould in the same rank with those of
Levaillant, Azara, Bewick, Wilson, and Audubon." — Report of Brit.
Assoc. 1844, p. 190.

The author's visit to Australia having enabled him to procure much
valuable information respecting the habits and economy, and many new
species, of the singular and interesting mammalia of that country, he has
determined upon publishing a Work on the subject, precisely similar in
execution to the " Birds," to be entitled " THE MAMMALS OF AU-
STRALIA," the work to be completed in Ttn or Twelve Parts, each con-
taining fifteen Plates,, price SL 3#.

The First Part of the Work appeared on the 1st of May 1845 and has
been highly approved of, and as the " Birds " are now completed will be
proceeded with immediately.

A few copies of the author's other publications are still on hand, and may
be had at the following prices : —

THE BIRDS OF EUROPE, £76 8s.

Of this work only twelve copies remain.

A CENTURY OF BIRDS FROM THE HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS,
with descriptive letter-press^ 142. 14«.

A MONOGRAPH OF THE RAMPHASTID^, OR FAMILY OF
TOUCANS, thirty-three species, with descriptive letter-press, 7/.

A MONOGRAPH OF THE TROGONIDiE, OR FAMILY OF
TROGONS, thirty-six species, with descriptive letter-press, SL

A MONOGRAPH OF THE MACROPODIDiE, OR FAMILY OF
KANGAROOS, in three Parts, each containing Fifteen Plates, with descrip-
tive letter-press, price 3/. 3». each ; Two Parts pubUshed.

A MONOGRAPH OF THE ODONTOPHORIN^, OR PAR-
TRIDGES OF AMERICA, in three Parts, each containing Ten Plates, with
descriptive letter-press, price 22. 10«. each ; Two Parts published and the
Third nearly ready.

ICONES AVIUM, or figures and descriptions of new and interesting
Species of Birds from various parts of the Globe, in Parts, at 1/. 16«. each ;
Two "Paits published.

LONDON ^-JOHN GOULD, 20 BROAD STREET, GOLDEN SQUARE.
August Isty 1848.

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