Part 7

The natural disposition of this species leading it to confine itself almost exclusively to the topmost branches of the loftiest trees, is doubtless the cause of its not being more generally observed; its rich scarlet breast, so strongly contrasting with the other parts of its plumage, not even attracting notice at the distance from the ground at which it generally keeps; and, in obtaining specimens, I was more frequently made aware of its presence by its pretty warbling song than by its movements among the branches; so small an object, in fact, is most difficult of detection among the thick foliage of the lofty _Casuarinæ_, to which trees it is extremely partial, particularly to those growing on the banks of creeks and rivers. It is also frequently to be seen among the branches of the beautiful parasite figured in the accompanying Plate: this charming _Loranthus_ was gathered at Dartbrook, on the Upper Hunter, where it is very common on the _Casuarinæ_. Whether the bird is attracted to this misseltoe-like parasite, like many others, for the purpose of feeding upon its sweet and juicy berries, I could not fully make out; its chief food is insects, but in all probability it may partially feed on these fruits also.

The Swallow Dicæum has neither the actions of the Pardalotes nor of the Honey-eaters; it differs from the former in its quick darting flight, and from the latter in its less prying, clinging and creeping actions among the leaves, &c. When perched on a branch it sits more upright, and is more Swallow-like in its contour than either of the forms alluded to; the structure of its nest and the mode of its nidification are also very dissimilar.

Its song is a very animated and long-continued strain, but is uttered so inwardly, that it is almost necessary to stand beneath the tree upon which the bird is perched, before its notes can be heard.

It would appear that the range of this species extends to all parts of the Australian continent, since I have received specimens from every locality yet explored by Europeans. I found it breeding on the Lower Namoi, which proves that the interior of the country is inhabited by it as well as those portions between the ranges and the coast.

Its beautiful purse-like nest, of which the drawing will give a far better idea than the most minute description, is composed of the white cotton-like substance found in the seed-vessels of many plants, and among other trees is sometimes suspended on a small branch of a _Casuarina_ or an _Acacia pendula_. It was on the latter tree that I found a nest containing three or four young; a second nest with the eggs was given to me in Sydney. The ground-colour of the eggs is dull white, with very minute spots of brown scattered over the surface; they are nine lines long by five and a half lines broad.

The male has the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail black, glossed with steel-blue; primaries black; throat, breast, and under tail-coverts scarlet; flanks dusky; abdomen white, with a broad patch of black down the centre; irides dark brown; bill blackish brown; feet dark brown.

The female is dull black above, glossed with steel-blue on the wings and tail; throat and centre of the abdomen buff; flanks light brown; under tail-coverts pale scarlet.

The figures are of the natural size, on a branch of the _Loranthus_ above mentioned, which I believe to be an undescribed species.

PARDALOTUS PUNCTATUS, _Temm._ Spotted Pardalote.

_Pardalotus punctatus_, Temm., Man., Part I. p. lxv.—Id. Pl. Col., 78.—Vieill. Gal. des Ois., tom. i. pl. 73.—Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 237.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Pipra punctata_, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp., p. lvi. No. 1.—Shaw, Nat. Misc., p. 111.—Id. Zool., vol. x. p. 30.

_Speckled Manikin_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 253.—Id. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 238.

_Wë-dup-wë-dup_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

_Diamond Bird_, Colonists of New South Wales.

No species of the genus to which this bird belongs is more widely and generally distributed than the Spotted Pardalote; it inhabits the whole of the southern parts of the Australian continent from the western to the eastern extremities of the country, and is very common in Van Diemen’s Land. It is nearly always engaged in searching for insects among the foliage, both of trees of the highest growth and of the lowest shrubs; it frequents gardens and enclosures as well as the open forest; and is exceedingly active in its actions, clinging about in every variety of position both above and beneath the leaves with equal facility.

With regard to the nidification of this species, it is a singular circumstance, that in the choice of situation for the reception of its nest, it differs from every other known member of the genus; for while they always place their nests in the holes of trees, this species descends to the ground, and availing itself of any little shelving bank that occurs in its vicinity, excavates a hole just large enough to admit of the passage of its body, in a nearly horizontal direction to the depth of two or three feet, at the end of which a chamber is formed in which the nest is deposited. The nest itself is a neat and beautifully built structure, formed of strips of the inner bark of the _Eucalypti_, and lined with finer strips of the same or similar materials; it is of a spherical contour, about four inches in diameter, with a small hole in the side for an entrance. The chamber is generally somewhat higher than the mouth of the hole, by which means the risk of its being inundated upon the occurrence of rain is obviated. I have been fortunate enough to discover many of the nests of this species, but they are most difficult to detect, and are only to be found by watching for the egress or ingress of the parent birds from or into its hole or entrance, which is frequently formed in a part of the bank overhung with herbage, or beneath the overhanging roots of a tree. How so neat a structure as is the nest of the Spotted Pardalote, should be constructed at the end of a hole where no light can possibly enter is beyond our comprehension, and is one of those wonderful results of instinct so often presented to our notice in the history of the animal creation, without our being in any way able to account for them. The present species rears two broods in the course of the year, the eggs upon each occasion being four or five in number, rather round in form, of a beautiful polished fleshy white, seven and a half lines long by six and a half lines broad.

Its voice is a rather harsh piping note of two syllables often repeated.

The male has the crown of the head, wings, and tail black, each feather having a round spot of white near the tip; a stripe of white commences at the nostrils and passes over the eye; ear-coverts and sides of the neck grey; feathers of the back grey at the base, succeeded by a triangular-shaped spot of fawn-colour, and edged with black; rump rufous brown; upper tail-coverts crimson; throat, chest, and under tail-coverts yellow; abdomen and flanks tawny; irides dark brown; bill brownish black; feet brown.

The female may be distinguished by the less strongly contrasted tints of her colouring, and by the absence of the bright yellow on the throat.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PARDALOTUS RUBRICATUS, _Gould_. Red-lored Pardalote.

_Pardalotus rubricatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 149; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

All the information I have to communicate respecting this new and beautiful Pardalote, which I have named _rubricatus_, from the red spot before the eye, is, that I procured a single specimen at Liverpool from among some other birds, all of which had been brought from the east coast of Australia: no other example has come under my notice, and it may probably be the only one in Europe. It belongs to the same section of the _Pardaloti_ as the _P. punctatus_ and _P. quadragintus_, and like them is distinguished from the other members of the group by the absence of the sealing-wax-like tips of the spurious wing-feathers,—a character which is constant in the _P. uropygialis_, _P. affinis_, _P. striatus_ and _P. melanocephalus_. It is the largest species of the genus yet discovered, all the members of which are confined to Australia; and is readily distinguished from its near allies the _P. punctatus_ and _P. quadragintus_ by the larger size of the spots on the crown, and by its having less yellow on the throat than the former, and more than the latter.

As nothing whatever is at present known respecting it, it is one of those species I would especially recommend to the notice of those favourably situated for observing it.

Forehead crossed by a narrow band of dirty white; crown and back of the head deep black, each feather having a spot of white near its extremity; back of the neck, back, wing-coverts and rump brownish grey; wings dark brown, margined with pale brown, the spurious wing, a small portion of the base of the primaries, and the outer margins of the secondaries fine golden orange; immediately before the eye a spot of bright, fiery orange; above and behind the eye a stripe of buff; upper tail-coverts bright olive-green; tail deep blackish brown, the extreme tips of the feathers being white; throat and abdomen greyish white; chest bright yellow; upper mandible and legs brown, under mandible greyish white.

The bird is represented in two positions, of the natural size, on a plant gathered in New South Wales.

PARDALOTUS QUADRAGINTUS, _Gould_. Forty-spotted Pardalote.

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

_Forty-spot_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

This species is peculiar to Van Diemen’s Land, where it inhabits the almost impenetrable forests which cover that island, particularly those of its southern portion. It is I think less numerous than its congener, the _Pardalotus affinis_, and appears to confine itself more exclusively to the highest gum-trees than that species. I found it very abundant in the gulleys under Mount Wellington, and observed it breeding in a hole in one of the loftiest trees, at about forty feet from the ground; I afterwards took a perfectly developed white egg from the body of a female killed on the 5th of October. The weight of this little bird was rather more than a quarter of an ounce; the stomach was muscular, and contained the remains of the larvæ of lepidoptera, which with coleoptera and other insects constitute its food.

It has a simple piping kind of note of two syllables.

In its actions it much resembles the Tits of Europe, creeping and clinging among the branches in every direction.

The eggs are white and nearly round in form, being seven lines and a half long and six broad.

The sexes are so much alike in colour, that a separate description is unnecessary.

Crown of the head and all the upper surface bright olive-green, each feather obscurely margined with brown; wings brownish black, all the feathers except the first and second primaries having a conspicuous spot of pure white near their extremities; tail blackish grey, the extreme tips of the feathers being white; cheeks and under tail-coverts yellowish olive; throat and under surface greyish white, passing into olive on the flanks; irides dark brown; bill brownish black; feet brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

PARDALOTUS STRIATUS, _Temm._ Striated Pardalote.

_Pardalotus striatus_, Temm. Man., Part I. p. lxv.—Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 237. note.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Pipra striata_, Lath. Ind. Orn., p. 558. No. 13.—Gmel. Syst., vol. i. p. 1003.

_Striped-headed Manakin_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 526. pl. 54.—Id., Supp., p. 188.—Shaw, Zool., vol. x. p. 29. pl. 4.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 237. pl. 109.?

_Pardalotus ornatus_, Temm. Pl. Col. 394. fig. 1.

_Wë-dup-weë-dup_, Aborigines of the lowland, and

_Wë-dee-wë-due_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

This beautiful species, like the _P. punctatus_, enjoys an extensive range of habitat, being found in all parts of the southern portion of the Australian continent; it has not as yet been discovered in Van Diemen’s Land, its place in that island being apparently occupied by the _P. affinis_. I have carefully examined specimens killed at Swan River with others from New South Wales, and I cannot find the slightest difference either in their size or markings. It will be interesting to know how far this species and the _P. punctatus_ extend their range northwards, a point which can only be ascertained when the country has been fully explored. The _P. uropygialis_ is the only species that has yet been discovered on the north coast. This active little bird is generally seen seeking insects among the leaves, for which purpose it frequents trees of every description, but gives a decided preference to the _Eucalypti_. Its flight is rapid and darting, hence it passes from tree to tree, or from one part of the forest to another with the greatest ease. Its voice is a double note several times repeated.

The nest, which is a very neat structure of dried soft grasses and the bark of the tea-tree, lined with feathers, is usually placed in a hole of a dead branch, but sometimes in the boll of the tree. It breeds in September, October and November, and lays three or four fleshy-white eggs, which are nine lines long by seven lines broad.

The sexes so closely assimilate in colour and markings that they are only to be distinguished by dissection.

The young assume the adult colouring from the nest, but have the tips of the spurious wing orange instead of red.

Forehead and crown of the head black, the feathers of the latter having a stripe of white down the centre; a stripe of deep orange-yellow commences at the base of the upper mandible and runs above the eye, where it is joined by a stripe of white which leads to the occiput; back of the neck and back brownish olive-grey; rump and upper tail-coverts yellowish brown; wings black, the external edges of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh primaries white at their base and tipped with white; secondaries margined with white and reddish brown; tail black, each feather tipped with white; sides of the face and neck grey; throat and upper part of the chest yellow; centre of the abdomen white; flanks and under tail-coverts brownish buff, the former tinged with yellow; irides brownish red; bill at the tip and along the culmen dark brown tinged with blue, the remainder yellowish white; legs and feet greenish grey.

The Plate represents a male, a female, and three young birds of the natural size.

PARDALOTUS AFFINIS, _Gould_. Allied Pardalote.

_Pipra striata?_ Gmel. et Auct.

_Striped-headed Manakin_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 29, pl. 4.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 237, pl. cix.

_Pardalotus affinis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. 1837, p. 25.—Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

The _Pardalotus affinis_ is distinguished by the yellow tips of its spurious wings and by the margin of the third primary only being white. The bird figured by Shaw and Latham, as quoted above, has in all probability reference to the present species, but not, in my opinion, to the _Pipra striata_ of Gmelin, whose description does not agree with the Van Diemen’s Land bird, or with any of those from New South Wales; he distinctly states that the tips of some of the wing-coverts are yellow, and that the spurious wing is tipped with white, and, moreover, adds that it is a native of South America.

The Allied Pardalote is distributed over every part of Van Diemen’s Land, and may be regarded as the commonest bird of the island: wherever the gum and wattle exist there also may the bird as certainly be found; giving no decided preference to trees of a high or low growth, but inhabiting alike the sapling and those which have attained their greatest altitude. It displays great activity among the branches, clinging and creeping about in the most easy and elegant manner, examining both the upper and under sides of the leaves with the utmost care in search of insects. It is equally common in all the gardens and shrubberies, even those in the midst of the towns, forming a familiar and pleasing object, and enlivening the scenery with its sprightly actions, and piping, though somewhat monotonous note. Its food consists of seeds, buds, and insects, in procuring which its most elegant actions are brought into play.

I am led to believe that it is strictly confined to Van Diemen’s Land and the islands in Bass’s Straits, having never observed it on the mainland, or seen specimens in any one of the numerous collections I have examined from New South Wales.

The season of nidification occupies at least four months, during which two or more broods are reared. Eggs may be found in September, and on reference to my journal I find that near George Town, on the 8th of January, I took from a nest in the hole of a tree five fully-fledged young. The nest in this instance was of a large size, and of a round domed form like that of the Wren, with a small hole for an entrance; it was outwardly composed of grasses and warmly lined with feathers. The eggs vary from three to five in number, and are of a beautiful white, nine lines long by seven lines in diameter.

The holes selected for the nest are sometimes high up in the loftiest trees, at others within a few feet of the ground. The young birds have the tips of the spurious wing orange instead of yellow; and although the whole plumage possesses the same character as that of the adults, the markings are less brilliant and well-defined. The sexes offer no observable difference in their colouring by which they can be distinguished.

Forehead and crown of the head black, the latter with a stripe of white down the centre of each feather; a stripe of yellow commences at the base of the upper mandible, and runs above the eye, where it is joined by a stripe of white, which proceeds nearly to the occiput; back of the neck and back greyish olive-brown; rump and upper tail-coverts olive-brown; wings black, each of the primaries slightly tipped with white, and the third externally edged with white; the secondaries edged with white and rufous, and the tips of the spurious wing yellow; tail blackish brown, each feather having a transverse mark of white at the tip; ear-coverts and cheeks grey; throat yellow, passing into lighter yellow on the flanks; centre of the abdomen white; irides olive-brown; bill black; feet brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

PARDALOTUS MELANOCEPHALUS, _Gould_. Black-headed Pardalote.

_Pardalotus melanocephalus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part v. p. 149; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

I have received numerous examples of this species from Moreton Bay, where it probably takes the place of the _P. striatus_, from which it is distinguished by the black colouring of its head and by its thicker bill, but to which it is very nearly allied, as well as to the _P. uropygialis_; it is in fact directly intermediate between the two, having the black head of the latter without the yellow colouring of the rump. There is no external difference in the sexes.

Nothing whatever is known of its history.

Crown of the head, lores and ear-coverts black; over each eye a stripe commencing at the nostrils, the anterior half of which is orange, and the posterior white; sides of the face and neck white; back of the neck and back olive-grey; upper tail-coverts brownish buff; tail black, each feather tipped with white; wings blackish brown, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh primaries white; secondaries edged and tipped with white; one of the wing-coverts broadly margined on the inner web with white, forming an oblique line across the shoulder; spurious wing tipped with crimson; line down the centre of the throat, the breast and middle of the abdomen bright yellow; vent and under tail-coverts buff; hill black; feet brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

PARDALOTUS UROPYGIALIS, _Gould_. Yellow-rumped Pardalote.

_Pardalotus uropygialis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. 1839, p. 143.

For this very beautiful Pardalote, and several other interesting birds from the north-west coast of Australia, I am indebted to the kindness of Benjamin Bynoe, Esq., Surgeon of Her Majesty’s Surveying Ship the Beagle; to Captain Wickham and the other officers of which vessel my thanks are also due for their polite attention to my wishes, and the promise of communicating to me any novelties they might procure during their survey of the north-west coast.

The Yellow-rumped Pardalote is easily distinguished from every other species of the group with which I am acquainted, amounting to seven or eight in number, by the bright yellow colouring of the rump, by the rich spot of orange before the eye, by having a shorter wing, and by being more diminutive in size than any of the others, with the exception of _Pardalotus punctatus_. It is more closely allied to my _Pardalotus melanocephalus_ than any other species; but as the latter is without the yellow on the rump, and has a larger bill, I am induced to regard them as distinct.

I am unable to give any account of its habits and manners, but in these respects it doubtless closely assimilates to the other members of its group.

Crown of the head, stripe before and behind the eye black; lores rich orange; a mark from above the eye to the occiput, chest and centre of the abdomen white; throat and cheeks delicate crocus-yellow; rump and upper tail-coverts sulphur-yellow; back of the neck and back olive-grey; wings black, the external webs of the second and five following primaries white at the base; tips of the spurious wing scarlet; tail black; the three outer feathers tipped with white, the white spreading largely over the inner web of the outer feathers; bill black; feet lead colour.

The sexes do not differ in size or in the colour of their plumage.

The figures are of the natural size.

STREPERA GRACULINA. Pied Crow-Shrike.

_Réveilleur de l’Isle de Norfolk?_, Dand., tom. ii. p. 267.

_Corvus graculinus_ (White-vented Crow), White’s Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 251.

_Coracias strepera_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 173.

_Corvus streperus_, Leach, Zool. Misc., vol. ii. pl. 86.

_Noisy Roller_, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp., vol. ii. p. 121.

_Le Grand Calibé_, Le Vaill. Ois. de Par., &c., pl. 24.