Part 10

The ground-colour of the eggs, which are almost invariably two in number, varies from wood-brown to asparagus-green, the blotches and spots, which are very generally dispersed over their surface, varying from dull chestnut-brown to light yellowish brown; in some instances they are also sparingly dotted with deep umber-brown; their medium length is thirteen lines, and breadth ten lines.

Its note, which is seldom uttered, is a peculiar single purring or jarring sound, repeated several times in succession.

The adults have the forehead, sides of the face, ear-coverts and throat jet-black; crown of the head, all the upper surface and wing-coverts delicate grey; primaries black, their outer edges and tips margined with grey; secondaries grey, with their inner webs black; tail grey at the base, gradually passing into black near the extremity, and broadly tipped with white; chest blackish grey, into which the black of the throat gradually passes; lower part of the abdomen pale grey; under tail-coverts white; irides, bill and feet black.

The Plate represents an adult male and a young bird of the first year of the natural size.

GRAUCALUS MENTALIS, _Vig. and Horsf._ Varied Graucalus.

_Graucalus mentalis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 217.

_Lanius robustus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xviii.?—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 311?

_Robust Shrike_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 74?—Ib. Gen. Hist., vol. ii. p. 67?

New South Wales, or the south-eastern division of Australia, is the native habitat of the present species; it is by no means a rare bird in the Upper Hunter and all similar districts, yet I did not succeed in finding its nest and eggs; they are therefore desiderata with me.

There is no one member of the family to which it belongs which undergoes so many changes of plumage as the present species, and it is consequently very puzzling to the ornithologist. In extreme youth, or during the first few months after it has left the nest, the throat, chest and back of the neck is jet-black, while the breast and abdomen are rayed with obscure arrow-shaped markings of the same colour on a greyish white ground; from this state individuals in every variety of change, to the uniform grey throat and head, with black lores and mark under the eye, are to be met with. Independently of a difference in its markings, its much smaller size will at all times serve to distinguish it from _Graucalus melanops_, which inhabits the same districts. Insects of various orders and caterpillars, which are either captured on the wing or taken from the branches, form its diet.

In the adult the upper surface and wings are dark slate-grey, passing into paler grey on the forehead and on the rump and upper tail-coverts; primaries and secondaries slaty black, narrowly edged with greyish white; outer webs of the three secondaries nearest the body grey; tail black, the lateral feathers largely tipped with white; lores deep velvety black, which colour is continued above and below the eye; throat and breast grey; insertion of the wing, under surface of the wing, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; bill black; irides and feet dark brown.

In the accompanying Plate I have figured the extremes of colouring assumed by the bird; the darkest-coloured being the young of the year.

GRAUCALUS HYPOLEUCUS, _Gould_. White-bellied Graucalus.

_Graucalus hypoleucus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1848.

This species inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Essington, where it is a very familiar bird, constantly flitting about the branches overhanging the houses of the settlement. In its general habits, manners and note it closely assimilates to the _Graucalus melanops_. It is abundant in every part of the Cobourg Peninsula, and is generally seen in small families of from four to ten or twelve in number.

The whiteness of the under surface serves to distinguish this from all the other species of the genus yet discovered in Australia.

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of various genera, which are generally taken from off the leafy branches of the highest trees.

The sexes assimilate very closely in colouring, and only differ in the females and young males having the lores of a dull brown instead of black.

Lores black; crown of the head and all the upper surface dark grey; wings and tail black; chin, under surface of the wings, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; breast pale greyish white; irides brownish black; bill blackish brown; legs and feet black; insides of the feet and spaces between the scales of the tarsi mealy grey.

The figures are of the natural size.

GRAUCALUS SWAINSONII. Swainson’s Graucalus.

_Ceblepyris lineatus_, Swains. in Zool. Journ., vol. i. p. 466.

_Graucalus Swainsonii_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This species of _Graucalus_, which is distinguished from all the other Australian members of the genus by the beautiful barring of the breast, was originally described by Mr. Swainson under the appellation of _lineatus_; but that term having been previously applied to another species of the group, it became necessary to change it; and in substituting that of _Swainsonii_, I was desirous of paying a just tribute to the talents of a gentleman who has laboured most zealously in the cause of natural science, and whose researches and writings are so well known to all ornithologists.

Examples of this species occur in almost every collection sent from Moreton Bay; I regret to add that it is one of the few birds I had no opportunities of observing in a state of nature, and that nothing is at present known of its habits and economy. Judging from the specimens I have examined, I believe that the sexes are alike in plumage.

Lores black; head, all the upper surface, wing-coverts, throat and breast grey; primaries and secondaries black; the former narrowly, and the latter broadly margined on their external edges with grey; tail grey at the base, black for the remainder of its length; abdomen, under surface of the shoulder, and under tail-coverts white, crossed by numerous decided narrow bars of black; bill and feet black.

The figures are of the natural size.

PTEROPODOCYS PHASIANELLA. Ground Graucalus.

_Graucalus Phasianellus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 142.

_Ceblepyris maxima_, Rupp. Mon. in Mus. Senckenbergianum, 1839, p. 28. taf. iii.

_Goo-rä-ling_, Aborigines of York, Western Australia.

The rarity of this species in our collections is sufficient evidence that it is a bird inhabiting the interior of the country, and that its native localities have been seldom visited by the explorer; hence it was a source of no ordinary gratification to me when I first encountered it on the plains bordering the River Namoi in New South Wales, and perceived that no very lengthened study of its habits and mode of life was requisite to ascertain that its structure is as beautifully adapted for terrestrial progression and for a residence on the ground, as the structure of the other _Graucali_ fits them to inhabit the branches of the trees; more beautiful modifications of form in fact can scarcely be seen than occur among the members of this group, which now comprehends a considerable number of species; the present bird, however, is the only terrestrial one that has yet come under my notice, either from Australia or the great nursery of these birds—India and the Indian islands. The lengthened form of the tarsi and tail and the narrow form of the bill are the most striking of the structural differences between _Pteropodocys_ and _Graucalus_, and are so apparent that they must be perceptible at a single glance to all who will examine them. Plains and open glades skirted by belts of high trees are the localities in which I generally met with this bird either in pairs or small parties of four or five; in the latter case they were probably the brood of the year, as they usually consisted of both immature and adult birds.

Its powers of progression on the ground are considerable, and are only equalled by those of flight; when disturbed it flies across the plain to the belts of lofty trees, among the branches of which it appears to be quite as much at ease as upon the ground. During flight the white mark on the rump is very conspicuous, and may be seen at a considerable distance.

The food consists of insects and seeds of various kinds.

That its range extends over the whole of the interior of Australia is more than probable, as I have lately received a specimen from Swan River, in which part of the country it doubtless inhabits localities similar to those it frequents on the east coast.

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

The sexes, which exhibit no external differences, may be thus described:—

Head, neck, chest and back delicate grey, becoming darker on the ear-coverts; rump and abdomen white, crossed by narrow irregular bars of black; under tail-coverts white; wings and tail black, the latter having the tips of the outer and the basal portion of all the feathers white; bill and feet black, tinged with olive; irides butty white.

The figures are of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA JARDINII. Jardine’s Campephaga.

_Graucalus tenuirostris_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 114.

_Ceblepyris Jardinii_, Rüpp. Mon. in Orn. Misc. 1839, p. 30.

The only parts of Australia wherein this species has been observed are Moreton Bay and the Liverpool Range in New South Wales, and the neighbourhood of Port Essington in the Cobourg Peninsula on the north coast: it is likely that it ranges over the whole of the intermediate country, but this can only be determined by future research. The great difference in the colouring of the sexes, its smaller size and more attenuated bill, point out most clearly that it is a member of the genus _Campephaga_, and not of _Graucalus_, to which it was first assigned. It is far less common in New South Wales than it is at Port Essington, where Mr. Gilbert collected the following notes respecting it:—

“This bird is extremely shy and retiring in its habits. I have never seen it flying about the low shrubs like the other species of the genus, nor at any time near the ground; on the contrary, it always inhabits the topmost branches of the loftiest and most thickly-foliaged trees growing in the immediate vicinity of swamps, or the mangroves. Its note too is altogether different from that of any other species of the genus, being a harsh, grating, buzzing tone, repeated rather rapidly about a dozen times in succession, followed by a lengthened interval. It appears to be a solitary species, as I never saw more than one at a time.”

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of all kinds, but principally coleoptera.

The adult male has the lores black; all the upper and under surface, wing-coverts, edges of the primaries and secondaries, basal three-fourths of the two central and the tips of the outer tail-feathers deep blue-grey; primaries, secondaries and the other parts of the tail black; irides dark brown; bill blackish brown; legs and feet very dark greenish grey.

The female has the whole of the upper surface, wings and tail brown, the two latter edged with buff; line over the eye and all the under surface buff, the feathers of the side of the neck, the breast and the flanks with an arrow-head-shaped mark of brown in the centre.

The young male is bluish brown above; wings and tail as in the female; under surface buff, crossed with numerous transverse narrow irregular bars of black.

The figures represent an adult and a young male of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA KARU. Northern Campephaga.

_Lanius Karu_, Less. Zool. de la Coq., pl. 12.

_Notodela Karu_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 374.

Mr. Gilbert, who met with this species at Port Essington on the northern coast of Australia, states that it is a very shy and timid bird, that it is generally seen creeping about in pairs among the thickets and clumps of mangroves, that its note is a somewhat shrill piping call, that its stomach is tolerably muscular, and that it feeds upon insects of various kinds: this, I regret to say, is all that is known respecting it.

In referring this species to the _Lanius Karu_ of Lesson, I am rather influenced by a desire not to add to the number of useless synonyms, than from any positive conviction of their being identical; for although, having only M. Lesson’s figure to refer to, I am unable to detect any difference of sufficient importance to be considered specific, little doubt exists in my mind that the two birds are really distinct, and that future research will verify the propriety of this opinion.

The male has the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail black; the wing-coverts largely tipped, primaries narrowly edged and tipped, secondaries broadly margined on their external webs, rump and upper tail-coverts slightly, the external tail-feather largely, and the next on each side slightly tipped with white; line from the nostrils over each eye to the occiput buffy white; under surface pale grey, crossed on the breast and flanks with narrow irregular bars of slaty black, and washed with fulvous, gradually increasing in intensity until on the vent and under tail-coverts it becomes of a deep tawny buff; irides dark brown; bill black; feet blackish grey externally, bluish grey internally; light mealy ashy grey between the scales and inside the feet.

The female differs in being somewhat smaller than the male; in having the upper surface and tail brown, instead of black; the upper tail-coverts tipped with buff instead of white, and the barrings of the under surface broader, darker and more distinct.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA LEUCOMELA, _Vig. and Horsf._ Black and White Campephaga.

_Campephaga leucomela_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 215.

This species, which frequents the brushes of the eastern parts of New South Wales between the river Hunter and Moreton Bay, differs from the _Campephaga Karu_ in its much greater size, in the rufous colouring of the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts, in the more uniform grey colouring of the breast, and in the barring of this part being much less conspicuous. I have had examples of this species in my collection for many years, but was not fortunate enough to see it alive during my visit to Australia. Mr. Strange has also sent me a pair which he had shot in the scrubs on the banks of the Clarence. Its nest and eggs, and any information of its habits, are desiderata to me.

The sexes, as in the other species, differ considerably from each other; they may be thus described:—

The male has the head, back, wings and tail deep glossy black; wing-coverts largely tipped and the secondaries broadly margined with white; the two outer tail-feathers tipped with white, the external one also narrowly margined on the outer web with the same hue; rump and upper tail-coverts very dark grey; line over the eye snow-white; under surface greyish white, gradually passing into rufous on the abdomen and under tail-coverts, and indistinctly rayed with dark grey; bill, feet and irides black.

The young male is brown where the male is black; has the wings not so conspicuously marked with white; the under surface washed with rufous and conspicuously rayed with brown; and the under tail-coverts deep rufous.

The figures represent an adult male and young male of the natural size.

CAMPEPHAGA HUMERALIS, _Gould_. White-shouldered Campephaga.

_Ceblepyris humeralis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 143; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Goö-mul-cül-long_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

This bird occurs in considerable numbers throughout the whole of the southern portion of Australia during the months of summer; it is strictly migratory, arriving in the month of September, when insects are most plentiful, and having performed the task of reproduction departs again northwards in the months of January and February. It is a most animated, lively and spirited bird, constantly singing a loud and pretty song while actively engaged in pursuit of insects, which it either captures on the wing, among the branches or on the ground. It commences breeding soon after its arrival, constructing a shallow round nest of small pieces of bark, short dead twigs and grasses interwoven with fine vegetable fibres, cobwebs, white moss, &c., and sometimes a few grasses and fine fibrous roots by way of lining; it is usually placed in the fork of a horizontal dead branch of the apple- and gum-trees, and is not easily seen from below. During the early part of the breeding-season the male frequently chases the female from tree to tree, pouring forth his song all the while. The eggs, which are generally two, but sometimes three in number, differ very considerably in colour, some being of a light green blotched all over with wood-brown, while others have a lighter ground so largely blotched with chestnut-brown as nearly to cover the entire surface of the shell, and I have seen some of an almost uniform greyish green; their medium length is nine and a half lines and breadth seven and a half lines.

The above is a detail of what I myself observed of the bird in New South Wales. In his Notes from Western Australia, Mr. Gilbert says, “This bird is a migratory summer visitant to this part of the country, where it arrives about the beginning of September, after which it is to be met with in considerable numbers among the mountains of the interior, but is very rarely seen in the lowland districts.

“Its powers of flight are considerable, and when excited during the breeding-season the males become very pugnacious, and not only attack each other in the most desperate manner, but also assault much larger birds that may approach the nest. Its usual flight is even, steady and graceful, and while flying from tree to tree it gives utterance to its sweet and agreeable song, which at times is so like the full, swelling, shaking note of the Canary, that it might easily be mistaken for the song of that bird. It is a remarkably shy bird, especially the females, which are so seldom seen that I was at first inclined to think they were much less numerous than the other sex, but this I afterwards found was not the case; their favourite haunts are thickly wooded places and the most secluded spots. The nest is so diminutive that it is very difficult to detect it, and so shallow in form that it is quite surprising the eggs do not roll out when the branch is shaken by the wind. I am told that they generally build in the Raspberry-Jam-tree, but the nests I discovered were placed on a horizontal dead branch of a Eucalyptus; they were formed of grasses and contained two eggs. It breeds in the latter part of September and the beginning of October.” Mr. Gilbert subsequently met with the bird at Port Essington, where also it appears to be migratory, for not a single individual was to be seen from the early part of November to the month of March; females and young birds were very abundant on his arrival in July, but he only met with one old male during his residence in the colony, a period of eight months.

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of various kinds and their larvæ.

The sexes differ considerably in colour, as will be seen in the accompanying Plate and the following description:—

The male has the forehead, crown of the head, back of the neck and upper part of the back glossy greenish black; shoulders and upper wing-coverts pure white, forming an oblique line along the wing; the remainder of the wing dull black, with the secondaries slightly margined and tipped with white; lower part of the back and rump grey; tail dull black, the two outer feathers on each side largely tipped with white; throat, chest and all the under surface white; bill and feet black; irides nearly black.

The female has all the upper surface, wings and tail brown; wing-coverts and secondaries margined with buff; throat and all the under surface buffy white, with the sides and front of the breast speckled with brown; irides very dark brown; upper mandible and tip of the lower dark reddish brown; basal portion of the latter saffron-yellow; legs and feet dark greyish black, slightly tinged with lead-colour.

The figures represent the two sexes of the size of life.

PACHYCEPHALA GUTTURALIS. Guttural Pachycephala.

_Turdus gutturalis_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xlii.

_Black-crowned Thrush_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 10.

_Guttural Thrush_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 182.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 256.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 136.

_Pachycephala gutturalis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 239.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd edit., p. 45.

_Turdus lunularis_, Shaw.

_Laniarius albicollis_, Vieill.

_Pachycephala fusca_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 240.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

—— _fuliginosa_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 241, female or young.

_Pe-dil̈-me-dung_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Thunder Bird_, Colonists of New South Wales.

It would seem that the whole extent of the southern coast of Australia is inhabited by the present species, for on comparing adult males from New South Wales, South Australia and Swan River, I find that they do not differ in any respect; the apical half of the tail is blackish brown in all, and the colouring of the under surface of the richest yellow. It is rather abundantly dispersed over the forests of _Eucalypti_ and the belts of _Acaciæ_, among the flowering branches of which latter tribe of trees the male displays himself to the greatest advantage, and shows off his rich yellow breast as if desirous of outvieing the beautiful blossoms with which he is surrounded.

The stomach is very muscular, and its principal food consists of insects of various genera, which are sought for and captured both among the flowers and leaves as well as on the ground.

It is generally met with in pairs, but the males are more shy than the females. It flies in short and sudden starts, and seldom mounts far above the tops of the trees.