Part 1

THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

BY

JOHN GOULD, F.R.S.,

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

IN SEVEN VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON:

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

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

1848.

LIST OF PLATES. VOLUME II.

Ægotheles Novæ-Hollandiæ Owlet Nightjar 1

—— leucogaster, _Gould_ White-bellied Owlet Nightjar 2

Podargus humeralis, _Vig. & Horsf._ Tawny-shouldered Podargus 3

—— Cuvieri, _Vig. & Horsf._ Cuvier’s Podargus 4

—— Phalænoïdes, _Gould_ Moth-plumaged Podargus 5

—— plumiferus, _Gould_ Plumed Podargus 6

Eurostopodus albogularis White-throated Goat-sucker 7

—— guttatus Spotted Goat-sucker 8

Caprimulgus macrurus, _Horsf._ Large-tailed Goat-sucker 9

Acanthylis caudacuta Australian Spine-tailed Swallow 10

Cypselus Australis, _Gould_ Australian Swift 11

Atticora leucosternon, _Gould_ White-breasted Swallow 12

Hirundo neoxena, _Gould_ Welcome Swallow 13

Collocalia arborea Tree Martin 14

—— Ariel, _Gould_ Fairy Martin 15

Merops ornatus, _Lath._ Australian Bee-eater 16

Eurystomus Australis, _Swains._ Australian Roller 17

Dacelo gigantea Great Brown Kingfisher 18

—— Leachii, _Vig. & Horsf._ Leach’s Kingfisher 19

—— cervina, _Gould_ Fawn-breasted Kingfisher 20

Halcyon sanctus, _Vig. & Horsf._ Sacred Halcyon 21

—— pyrrhopygia, _Gould_ Red-backed Halcyon 22

—— sordidus, _Gould_ Sordid Halcyon 23

—— MacLeayii, _Jard. & Selb._ MacLeay’s Halcyon 24

Alcyone azurea Azure Kingfisher 25

—— pusilla Little Kingfisher 26

Artamus sordidus Wood Swallow 27

—— minor, _Vieill._ Little Wood Swallow 28

—— cinereus, _Vieill._ Grey-breasted Wood Swallow 29

—— albiventris, _Gould_ White-vented Wood Swallow 30

—— personatus, _Gould_ Masked Wood Swallow 31

—— superciliosus, _Gould_ White-eyebrowed Wood Swallow 32

—— leucopygialis, _Gould_ White-rumped Wood Swallow 33

Dicæum hirundinaceum Swallow Dicæum 34

Pardalotus punctatus Spotted Pardalote 35

—— rubricatus, _Gould_ Red-lored Pardalote 36

—— quadragintus, _Gould_ Forty-spotted Pardalote 37

—— striatus Striated Pardalote 38

—— affinis, _Gould_ Allied Pardalote 39

—— melanocephalus, _Gould_ Black-headed Pardalote 40

—— uropygialis, _Gould_ Yellow-rumped Pardalote 41

Strepera graculina Great Crow-Shrike 42

—— fuliginosa, _Gould_ Sooty Crow-Shrike 43

—— arguta, _Gould_ Hill Crow-Shrike 44

—— Anaphonensis Grey Crow-Shrike 45

Gymnorhina Tibicen Piping Crow-Shrike 46

—— leuconota, _Gould_ White-backed Crow-Shrike 47

—— organicum, _Gould_ Tasmanian Crow-Shrike 48

Cracticus nigrogularis, _Gould_ Black-throated Crow-Shrike 49

—— picatus, _Gould_ Pied Crow-Shrike 50

—— argenteus, _Gould_ Silvery-backed Butcher-Bird 51

—— destructor Butcher-Bird 52

Cracticus Quoyii Quoy’s Crow-Shrike 53

Grallina Australis Pied Grallina 54

Graucalus melanops Black-faced Graucalus 55

—— mentalis, _Vig. & Horsf._ Varied Graucalus 56

—— hypoleucus, _Gould_ White-bellied Graucalus 57

—— Swainsonii, _Gould_ Swainson’s Graucalus 58

Pteropodocys Phasianella, _Gould_ Ground Graucalus 59

Campephaga Jardinii, _Gould_ Jardine’s Campephaga 60

—— Karu Northern Campephaga 61

—— leucomela, _Vig. & Horsf._ Black and White Campephaga 62

—— humeralis, _Gould_ White-shouldered Campephaga 63

Pachycephala gutturalis Guttural Pachycephala 64

—— glaucura, _Gould_ Grey-tailed Pachycephala 65

—— melanura, _Gould_ Black-tailed Pachycephala 66

—— pectoralis Banded Thick-head 67

—— falcata, _Gould_ Lunated Pachycephala 68

—— Lanoïdes, _Gould_ Shrike-like Pachycephala 69

—— rufogularis, _Gould_ Red-throated Pachycephala 70

—— Gilbertii, _Gould_ Gilbert’s Pachycephala 71

—— simplex, _Gould_ Plain-coloured Pachycephala 72

—— olivacea, _Vig. & Horsf._ Olivaceous Pachycephala 73

Colluricincla harmonica Harmonious Colluricincla 74

—— rufiventris, _Gould_ Buff-bellied Colluricincla 75

—— brunnea, _Gould_ Brown Colluricincla 76

—— Selbii, _Jard._ Selby’s Colluricincla 77

—— parvula, _Gould_ Little Colluricincla 78

Falcunculus frontatus Frontal Shrike-Tit 79

—— leucogaster, _Gould_ White-bellied Shrike-Tit 80

Oreoïca gutturalis Crested Oreoïca 81

Dicrurus bracteatus, _Gould_ Spangled Drongo 82

Rhipidura albiscapa, _Gould_ White-shafted Fantail 83

—— rufifrons Rufous-fronted Fantail 84

—— isura, _Gould_ Northern Fantail 85

—— Motacilloïdes, _Vig. & Horsf._ Black Fantailed Flycatcher 86

Seïsura inquieta Restless Flycatcher 87

Piezorhynchus nitidus, _Gould_ Blue Shining Flycatcher 88

Myïagra plumbea, _Vig. & Horsf._ Plumbeous Flycatcher 89

—— concinna, _Gould_ Pretty Flycatcher 90

—— nitida, _Gould_ Shining Flycatcher 91

—— latirostris, _Gould_ Broad-billed Flycatcher 92

Micrœca macroptera Great-winged Micrœca 93

—— flavigaster, _Gould_ Yellow-bellied Micrœca 94

Monarcha carinata Carinated Flycatcher 95

—— trivirgata Black-fronted Flycatcher 96

Gerygone albogularis, _Gould_ White-throated Gerygone 97

—— fuscus, _Gould_ Fuscous Gerygone 98

—— culicivorus, _Gould_ Western Gerygone 99

—— magnirostris, _Gould_ Great-billed Gerygone 100

—— lævigaster, _Gould_ Buff-breasted Gerygone 101

—— chloronotus, _Gould_ Green-backed Gerygone 102

Smicrornis brevirostris, _Gould_ Short-billed Smicrornis 103

—— flavescens, _Gould_ Yellow-tinted Smicrornis 104

ÆGOTHELES NOVÆ-HOLLANDIÆ, _Vig. and Horsf._ Owlet Nightjar.

_Crested Goat-sucker_, Phill. Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 270.

_Caprimulgus Novæ-Hollandiæ_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 588.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 265.—Ib. Man., t. i. p. 412.—Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., t. x. p. 234.

—— _cristatus_, Shaw in White’s Voy., pl. in p. 241.

_New Holland Goat-sucker_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 261.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 170.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 341.

_Bristled Goat-sucker_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 342.

_Caprimulgus vittatus_, Ib. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lviii.

_Banded Goat-sucker_, Ib. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 262, pl. 136.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 152, pl. 17.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 342, pl. cxv.

_Ægotheles Novæ-Hollandiæ_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 197.—De la Fresn. in Guerin, Mag. de Zool. 1838, p. 21, pl. 82.

—— _lunulatus_, Jard. and Selby, Ill. Orn., vol. iii. pl. 149.

—— _Australis_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 338.

—— _cristatus_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, p. 7.

_Little Mawepawk_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land. _Teringing_, Aborigines of the coast of New South Wales.

This very interesting little Nightjar is subject to great variation in the colour and markings of its plumage, a circumstance which has tended to produce much confusion, and greatly to increase the list of synonyms.

It possesses a great range of habitat, being found in every part of Van Diemen’s Land, and throughout the southern portion of Australia, from Swan River on the western coast to Moreton Bay on the eastern; time, and the continued exploration of that vast country, can alone determine how far it may be found to the northward: it is a stationary species, inhabiting alike the densest brushes near the coast, and the more thinly-wooded districts of the interior.

While rambling in the Australian forests I had the good fortune to meet with more than an ordinary number of specimens of this curious bird. I also procured its eggs, and considerable information respecting its habits and actions, which differ most remarkably from those of the true _Caprimulgidæ_, and on the other hand assimilate so closely to the smaller Owls, particularly those comprised in the genus _Athene_, as to form as perfect an analogical representative of that group of birds as can possibly be imagined, for which reason the English name of Owlet Nightjar has been assigned to it.

During the day it resorts to the hollow branches or spouts as they are called, and the holes of the gum-trees, sallying forth as night approaches in quest of insects, particularly the smaller _Coleoptera_, upon which it chiefly subsists. Its flight is straight, and not characterized by the sudden turns and descents of _Caprimulgus_. On driving it from its haunts I have sometimes observed it to fly direct to a similar hole in another tree, but more frequently to alight on a neighbouring branch, perching across and never parallel to it. When assailed in its retreat it emits a loud hissing noise, and has the same stooping motion of the head observable in the Owls; it also resembles that tribe of birds in its erect carriage, the manner in which it sets out the feathers round the ears and neck, and in the power it possesses of turning the head in every direction, even over the back, a habit it is constantly practising. A pair I had for some time in captivity were frequently leaping to the top of the cage, and had a singular mode of running or shuffling backwards to one corner of it.

While traversing the woods, the usual mode of ascertaining its presence is by tapping with a stone or a tomahawk at the base of the hollow trees, when the little inmate, as represented in the upper figure of our Plate, will almost invariably ascend to the outlet and peep over to ascertain the cause of disturbance. If the tree be lofty or its hole inaccessible, it will frequently retire again to its hiding-place, and there remain until the annoyance be repeated, when it flies off to a place of greater security. In these holes, without forming any nest, it deposits its eggs, which are four or five in number, perfectly white, nearly round, and about one inch and a line in length and eleven lines in breadth. At least two broods are reared by each pair of birds during the year. I have known the young to be taken in Van Diemen’s Land in October, and in New South Wales I have procured eggs in January.

Specimens from Van Diemen’s Land, Swan River, South Australia, and New South Wales, all present considerable difference in the colour and markings of the plumage, but none of sufficient importance to justify their separation into distinct species: in some the nuchal band and the circular mark on the head are very conspicuous, while in others scarcely a trace of these markings is observable; these variations do not depend upon habitat, but are constantly found in specimens from the same localities.

Little or no difference is apparent in the size or plumage of the sexes.

Adults have the patches above the eyes, a semilunar mark at the back of the head, a band round the neck, and all the under surface grey, finely sprinkled with black, and tinged with buff; ear-coverts reddish buff, the remainder of the head blackish brown; all the upper surface and wings dark brown, sprinkled with grey in the form of irregular bars; primaries brown, sprinkled on their outer webs with lighter brown and grey; tail dark, regularly barred with numerous narrow lines of grey sprinkled with black: irides hazel; feet flesh colour.

In immature birds the lunulate markings are much richer in colour and more distinct than in the adults, in many of which they are nearly obliterated, and the irides are nearly black.

The figures are of the natural size.

ÆGOTHELES LEUCOGASTER, _Gould_. White-bellied Owlet Nightjar.

_Ægotheles leucogaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., June 25, 1844.

This is altogether a larger and more powerful bird than the _Ægotheles Novæ-Hollandiæ_; besides which, the white colouring of the lower part of the belly will at all times serve to distinguish it from that species.

It is rather abundant on the Cobourg Peninsula, where it inhabits the forests in the immediate vicinity of Port Essington; how far its range may extend is at present unknown, but it is probable that the bird is distributed over the whole of the northern portion of the continent, and that it there forms the representative of the _Æ. Novæ-Hollandiæ_, which up to the present time has only been found on the southern.

Mr. Gilbert states that it is abundant in most parts of the settlement at Port Essington, “where it is frequently seen flying about at twilight, and occasionally during the day. On the approach of an intruder it flies very heavily from tree to tree, and on alighting invariably turns round on the branch to watch his approach, moving the head all the time after the manner of the Hawk tribe.”

The sexes when fully adult will not I expect be found to differ in plumage. I attribute the redness of some of my specimens to the age of the individuals; but whether the red varieties or the grey are the most mature birds, I have not had sufficient opportunities of ascertaining.

It feeds on insects of all kinds, and as the bird is strictly nocturnal in its habits, they are, as a matter of course, procured at night.

Head black; the crown, a lunar-shaped mark at the back of the head, and a collar surrounding the back of the neck freckled with grey; back freckled black and white; wings brown, crossed by numerous bands of lighter brown freckled with dark brown; primaries margined externally with buff, interrupted with blotchings of dark brown; tail dark brown, crossed by numerous broad irregular bands of reddish buff freckled with dark brown; ear-coverts straw-white; chin, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; breast and sides of the neck white, crossed by numerous freckled bars of black; irides dark brown; upper mandible dark olive-brown, lower mandible white with a black tip; legs very pale yellow; claws black.

The figures are of the natural size.

PODARGUS HUMERALIS, _Vig. and Horsf._ Tawny-shouldered Podargus.

_Caprimulgus gracilis?_ Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 58.

_Gracile Goatsucker?_ Ib. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 263.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Zool., vol. x. p. 145.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 344.

_Podargus? gracilis?_ Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Zool., vol. xiii. p. 93.

_Podargus Australis?_ Ib., vol. xiii. p. 92.

_Podargus cinereus?_ Cuv. Règn. Anim., pl. 4. fig. 1.—Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxvii. p. 151. pl. G. 37. fig. 3.—Vieill. Ency. Méth., p. 547.

_Cold-River Goatsucker_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 369.

_Podargus Humeralis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 198.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 88.—Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 338.

So great a similarity reigns throughout the _Podargi_ inhabiting Australia, that it is most difficult to distinguish them; and after a minute examination of a great number of specimens it appears to me that there are five species, only two of which are inhabitants of New South Wales, and to these, in my opinion, the various names of the older authors are referrible. But as it must ever remain a matter of uncertainty as to which these names have been applied, I have preferred to retain for the present bird that proposed by Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield.

The Tawny-shouldered Podargus may be distinguished by the greater breadth of its markings, by the decided admixture of tawny in its colouring, by the feathers of the head having a small round spot of white at the tip, and by the more boldly-marked tips of the coverts. It is plentifully dispersed over New South Wales, where it is not restricted to any peculiar character of country, but inhabits alike the thick brushes near the coast, the hilly districts, and the thinly-wooded plains of the interior. I found it breeding on the low swampy islands studding the mouth of the Hunter, and on the Apple-tree (_Angophora_) flats of Yarrundi, near the Liverpool Range. In their habits and mode of life the _Podargi_ differ very considerably from the true Nightjars, and also in many particulars from _Ægotheles_.

Like the rest of the genus, the Tawny-shouldered Podargus is strictly nocturnal, sleeping throughout the day on the dead branch of a tree, in an upright position across, and never parallel to, the branch, and which it so nearly resembles as scarcely to be distinguishable from it. I have occasionally seen it beneath the thick foliage of the _Casuarinæ_, and I have been informed that it sometimes shelters itself in the hollow trunks of the _Eucalypti_, but I could never detect one in such a situation; I mostly found them in pairs, perched near each other on the branches of the gums, in situations not at all sheltered from the beams of the midday sun. So lethargic are its slumbers, that it is almost impossible to arouse it, and I have frequently shot one without disturbing its mate sitting close by; it may also be knocked off with sticks or stones, and sometimes is even taken with the hand: when aroused, it flies lazily off with heavy flapping wings to a neighbouring tree, and again resumes its slumbers until the approach of evening, when it becomes as animated and active as it had been previously dull and stupid. The food consists of insects of various kinds; but in what way they are obtained is uncertain, though the contents of the stomach of one I dissected induce me to believe that it does not usually capture its prey while on the wing, or subsist upon nocturnal insects alone, but that it is in the habit of creeping among the branches in search of such as are in a state of repose; and an examination of the tail will, I think, serve to strengthen this supposition, since it in some degree resembles the form and structure of that organ in many of the climbing birds. The power it possesses of shifting the position of the outer toe backwards, as circumstances may require, is a very singular feature, and may also tend to assist them in their progress among the branches. A bird I shot at Yarrundi, in the middle of the night, had the stomach filled with fresh-captured mantis and locusts (_Phasmidæ_ and _Cicadæ_), which never move at night, and the latter of which are generally resting against the upright boles of the trees. In other specimens I found the remains of small _Coleoptera_, intermingled with the fibres of the roots of what appeared to be a parasitic plant, such as would be found in decayed and hollow trees. The whole contour of the bird shows that it is not formed for extensive flight or for performing those rapid evolutions that are necessary for the capture of its prey in the air, the wing being short and concave in comparison with those of the true aërial Nightjars, and particularly with the Australian form to which I have given the name of _Eurostopodus_.

Of its mode of nidification I can speak with confidence, having seen many pairs breeding during my rambles in the woods. It makes a slightly-constructed flat nest of sticks carelessly interwoven together, and placed at the fork of a horizontal branch of sufficient size to ensure its safety; the tree most frequently chosen is an _Eucalyptus_, but I have occasionally seen the nest on an Apple-tree (_Angophora_) or a Swamp-Oak (_Casuarina_). In every instance one of the birds was sitting on the eggs and the other perched on a neighbouring bough, both invariably asleep; that the male participates in the duty of incubation I ascertained by having accidentally shot a bird on the nest without being aware it was so occupied, which on dissection proved to be a male. The eggs are generally two in number, of a beautiful immaculate white, and of a long oval form, one inch and ten lines in length by one inch and three lines in diameter.

The sexes so closely resemble each other both in size and plumage, that a separate description is unnecessary. Like the other species of the genus, it is subject to considerable variation in its colouring; the young, which assume the adult livery at an early age, being somewhat darker in all their markings.

The night-call of this species is a loud hoarse noise, consisting of two distinct sounds, which cannot be correctly described.

The stomach is thick and muscular, and is lined with a thick hair-like substance like that of the Common Cuckoo.