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. III.

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 III.

Erythrodryas rhodinogaster Pink-breasted Wood-robin 1

—— rosea, _Gould_ Rose-breasted Wood-robin 2

Petroica multicolor Scarlet-breasted Robin 3

—— erythrogastra Norfolk Island Robin 4

—— Goodenovii Red-capped Robin 5

—— phœnicea, _Gould_ Flame-breasted Robin 6

—— bicolor, _Swains_ Pied Robin 7

—— fusca, _Gould_ Dusky Robin 8

—— superciliosa, _Gould_ White-eyebrowed Robin 9

Drymodes brunneopygia, _Gould_ Scrub Robin 10

Eöpsaltria Australis Yellow-breasted Robin 11

—— griseogularis, _Gould_ Grey-breasted Robin 12

—— leucogaster, _Gould_ White-bellied Robin 13

Menura superba, _Dav._ Lyre-Bird 14

Psophodes crepitans Coach-whip Bird 15

—— nigrogularis, _Gould_ Black-throated Psophodes 16

Sphenostoma cristata, _Gould_ Crested Wedge-bill 17

Malurus cyaneus Blue Wren 18

—— longicaudus, _Gould_ Long-tailed Wren 19

—— melanotus, _Gould_ Black-backed Wren 20

—— splendens Banded Wren 21

—— elegans, _Gould_ Graceful Wren 22

—— pulcherrimus, _Gould_ Beautiful Wren 23

—— Lamberti, _Vig. & Horsf._ Lambert’s Wren 24

—— leucopterus, _Quoy & Gaim._ White-winged Wren 25

—— melanocephalus, _Vig. & Horsf._ Black-headed Wren 26

—— Brownii, _Vig. & Horsf._ Brown’s Wren 27

Amytis textilis Textile Wren 28

—— striatus, _Gould_ Striated Wren 29

—— macrourus, _Gould_ Large-tailed Wren 30

Stipiturus malachurus Emu Wren 31

Dasyornis Australis, _Vig. & Horsf._ Bristle-Bird 32

—— longirostris, _Gould_ Long-billed Bristle-Bird 33

Atrichia clamosa, _Gould_ Noisy Brush-bird 34

Sphenœacus galactotes Tawny Sphenœacus 35

—— gramineus, _Gould_ Grass-loving Sphenœacus 36

Acrocephalus Australis, _Gould_ Reed Warbler 37

—— longirostris, _Gould_ Long-billed Reed Warbler 38

Hylacola pyrrhopygia Red-rumped Wren 39

—— cauta, _Gould_ Cautious Wren 40

Cysticola magna, _Gould_ Great Warbler 41

—— exilis Exile Warbler 42

—— lineocapilla, _Gould_ Lineated Warbler 43

—— isura, _Gould_ Square-tailed Warbler 44

—— ruficeps, _Gould_ Rufous-headed Warbler 45

Sericornis citreogularis, _Gould_ Yellow-throated Sericornis 46

—— humilis, _Gould_ Sombre-coloured Sericornis 47

—— osculans, _Gould_ Allied Sericornis 48

—— frontalis White-fronted Sericornis 49

—— lævigaster, _Gould_ Buff-breasted Sericornis 50

—— maculatus, _Gould_ Spotted Sericornis 51

Sericornis magnirostris, _Gould_ Large-billed Sericornis 52

Acanthiza pusilla Little Brown Acanthiza 53

—— Diemenensis, _Gould_ Tasmanian Acanthiza 54

—— Ewingii, _Gould_ Ewing’s Acanthiza 55

—— uropygialis, _Gould_ Chestnut-rumped Acanthiza 56

—— apicalis, _Gould_ Western Acanthiza 57

—— pyrrhopygia, _Gould_ Red-rumped Acanthiza 58

—— inornata, _Gould_ Plain-coloured Acanthiza 59

—— nana, _Vig. & Horsf._ Little Acanthiza 60

—— lineata, _Gould_ Striated Acanthiza 61

—— Reguloïdes, _Vig. & Horsf._ Regulus-like Acanthiza 62

—— chrysorrhœa Yellow-rumped Acanthiza 63

Ephthianura albifrons White-fronted Ephthianura 64

—— aurifrons, _Gould_ Orange-fronted Ephthianura 65

—— tricolor, _Gould_ Tri-coloured Ephthianura 66

Xerophila leucopsis, _Gould_ White-faced Xerophila 67

Pyrrholæmus brunneus, _Gould_ Brown Red-throat 68

Origma rubricata Rock-Warbler 69

Calamanthus fuliginosus Striated Reed-Lark 70

—— campestris, _Gould_ Field Reed-Lark 71

Chthonicola minima Little Chthonicola 72

Anthus Australis, _Vig. & Horsf._ Australian Pipit 73

Cincloramphus cruralis Brown Cincloramphus 74

—— cantillans, _Gould_ Black-breasted Cincloramphus 75

—— rufescens Rufous-tinted Cincloramphus 76

Mirafra Horsfieldii, _Gould_ Horsfield’s Mirafra 77

Estrelda bella Fire-tailed Finch 78

—— oculea Red-eared Finch 79

—— Bichenovii Bicheno’s Finch 80

—— annulosa, _Gould_ Black-rumped Finch 81

—— temporalis Red-eyebrowed Finch 82

—— Phaëton Crimson Finch 83

—— ruficauda, _Gould_ Red-tailed Finch 84

Amadina modesta, _Gould_[1] Plain-coloured Finch 85

—— Lathamii Spotted-sided Finch 86

—— castanotis, _Gould_ Chestnut-eared Finch 87

—— Gouldiæ, _Gould_[2] Gouldian Finch 88

Poëphila mirabilis, _Homb. & Jacq._ Beautiful Grass Finch 89

—— acuticauda, _Gould_ Long-tailed Grass Finch 90

—— personata, _Gould_ Masked Grass Finch 91

—— leucotis, _Gould_ White-eared Grass Finch 92

—— cincta, _Gould_ Banded Grass Finch 93

Donacola castaneothorax, _Gould_ Chestnut-breasted Finch 94

—— pectoralis, _Gould_ White-breasted Finch 95

—— flaviprymna, _Gould_ Yellow-rumped Finch 96

Emblema picta, _Gould_ Painted Finch 97

Footnote 1:

For _Amadina modesta_ read _Estrelda modesta_.

Footnote 2:

For _Amadina Gouldiæ_ read _Poëphila Gouldiæ_.

ERYTHRODRYAS RHODINOGASTER. Pink-breasted Wood-Robin.

_Saxicola rhodinogaster_, Drap. Ann. Gén. des Sci. Phys. de Bruxelles.

_Muscicapa Lathami_, Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. i. p. 410. pl. 13.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pl. 8.

_Petroica rhodinogaster_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn. Add., vol. ii.

_Erythrodryas rhodinogaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., August 9, 1842.

_Pink-breasted Robin_, Colonists of New South Wales.

The great stronghold of this species is Van Diemen’s Land, particularly the western parts of the island. I feel assured that it is rarely seen on the main land of Australia, from the circumstance of the total absence of skins in collections from those parts. In one instance only did I meet with it on the continent, and that was in a deep ravine under Mount Lofty in South Australia; I shot the specimen, which on dissection proved to be a young male.

In habits and disposition this and the following species are very dissimilar to the Red-breasted Robins (_Petroica_), being much less spirited in all their actions. They prefer the most secluded and remote parts of the forest, particularly the bottoms of deep gullies, the seclusion of which is seldom broken by the voice or presence of any living being, and where animal life is almost confined to aphides and other minute insects, upon which they exist. There are times, however, especially in winter, when they leave these quiet retreats and even enter the gardens of the settlers; but this is of so rare occurrence, that few persons can have had opportunities of observing this bird in a state of nature, except those who have visited the localities above described. I shot several specimens in the gullies under Mount Wellington in Van Diemen’s Land; and on visiting, in company with the Rev. T. J. Ewing, the enchanting spot selected by my ever-esteemed friend Lady Franklin as a site for a Botanic Garden, I observed it to be tolerably numerous there. Through the kindness of Ronald C. Gunn, Esq., who liberally placed the whole of his collection at my disposal, I was enabled to obtain examples of many species, in every stage from youth to maturity; among others, of the present bird, which Mr. Gunn informed me had been collected on the Hampshire Hills, a locality where it is very abundant.

The food of the Pink-breasted Wood-Robin consists solely of insects, which it procures by darting out in pursuit of them while passing by in the air, and also on the ground.

It exhibits the peculiar actions and manners of the Robins by sitting about on stumps and stones at the bottom of the gullies, presenting its full breast like the Robin of Europe.

Its nest is formed of narrow strips of soft bark, soft fibres of decaying wood, and fine fibrous roots matted and woven together with vegetable fibres, and old black nests of spiders. The eggs are three in number, smaller but very similar to those of _Petroica multicolor_; of a greenish white thickly sprinkled with light chestnut and purplish brown; eight lines and a half long, by six lines and a half broad.

Like the true Petroicas, the sexes present considerable differences in their colouring.

The male has the head, neck, throat and back sooty black; a small spot of white in the centre of the forehead; wings brownish black; a few of the primaries and secondaries with an oblong spot of reddish brown on the outer web near the base and another near the tip, forming two small oblique bands when the wing is spread; breast and abdomen rose-pink, passing into white on the vent and under tail-coverts; irides and bill black; feet black, with the soles orange.

The female has an indication of the white spot on the forehead; all the upper surface brown; wings and tail brown, with the markings on the primaries and secondaries larger and of a more buffy colour than in the male; throat brownish buff; chest and abdomen brownish grey; vent and under tail-coverts buff.

The young male during the first autumn closely resembles the female; for the first two months after they have left the nest, they have the centre of each feather striated with buff.

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

ERYTHRODRYAS ROSEA. Rose-breasted Wood-Robin.

_Petroica rosea_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 142.

_Erythrodryas rosea_, Gould in Ibid., August 9, 1842.

This pretty little Robin inhabits all the brushes which skirt along the south-eastern coast of New South Wales. I also observed it to be numerous in the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range, and it doubtless frequents similar situations in all other parts of the country. It penetrates to the very depths of the forest, and chooses as its favourite abode the most secluded spots. It is a solitary species, more than a single pair being rarely seen at one time, is excessively quiet in its movements, and so tame, that in the course of my wanderings through the woods of Illawarra and in the neighbourhood of the Hunter, it frequently perched within two or three yards of me while resting my wearied limbs under a dense canopy of foliage, and listening to the songs of the various species surrounding me. What has been said respecting the habits and manners of the Pink-breasted Robin is equally descriptive of those of the present bird; its food is also precisely of the same kind, and is captured in a similar manner.

Although it is by no means rare in the localities I have mentioned, but few specimens yet adorn our Museums, and it certainly had not received any scientific appellation until I proposed the one given above, in a letter addressed to the Zoological Society of London during my residence in New South Wales.

Of its nidification and the number and colour of its eggs nothing is at present known.

It has a cheerful inwardly uttered song, the strain of which is very like that of the other Robins, but is much more feeble.

The male has the forehead crossed by a very narrow band of white; crown of the head, throat and all the upper surface dark slate-grey; chest rich rose-red, inclining to scarlet; lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; wings and the six central tail-feathers blackish brown; the three outer ones on each side tipped with white, the white predominating over the inner webs, particularly on the two lateral feathers; bill and feet blackish brown; gape and soles of the feet yellow.

The female differs considerably from her mate, having the forehead crossed by a narrow band of buff; all the upper surface greyish brown; wings brown; secondaries crossed by two obscure bands of greyish buff; tail of a browner tint, but otherwise marked like that of the male.

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

PETROICA MULTICOLOR, _Swains._ Scarlet-breasted Robin.

_Muscicapa multicolor_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 243.

_Red-breasted Warbler_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 17.

_Petroica multicolor_, Swains. Zool. Ill., 2nd Ser. pl. 36.—Gould in Syn. of Birds of Australia, Part I.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 30.

_Goȍ-ba_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Robin_, Colonists.

This beautiful Robin is a denizen of the wide extent of country reaching from New South Wales on the east to Swan River on the west, including Van Diemen’s Land and all the small islands lying off the southern coast. In Van Diemen’s Land it is much less common than on the continent, and is also far less numerous than its near ally, the _Petroica phœnicea_. I have not been able with any degree of certainty to trace how far it proceeds northwards. I believe, however, that a few degrees from the latitude of Sydney is the limit of its range in that direction.

Although closely allied to the _Petroica phœnicea_, its structure on examination will be found to present some trifling modification, which better adapts it for arboreal existence; and although frequently on the ground, where it has much of the habits and actions of the _Saxicolinæ_, the low bushes and woods skirting the open plains and sterile districts are its favourite places of resort.

Its food consists solely of insects of various orders, its modified structure enabling it to capture both aphides and swift-flying insects as well as the less agile _Coleoptera_.

When far removed from our native land, recollections and associations are strong incentives to attachment for any object that may remind us of our home; hence this beautiful Robin, which enters the gardens and even the windows of the settlers, is necessarily a great favourite; its attractiveness is moreover much enhanced by its more gay attire, the strong contrasts of scarlet, jet-black and white rendering it one of the most beautiful to behold of any of the birds of Australia. After a careful comparison of a large number of specimens, I feel fully satisfied that the scarlet breast of this species, like that of the Robin of Europe, is assumed during the first autumn, and that it is never again thrown off; but, as might be expected, it is much more brilliant and sparkling during the breeding-season than at any other period of the year. I have remarked that a slight difference exists in the depth of the colouring of specimens from the western and eastern coasts, those from the former, particularly the females, having the scarlet more brilliant and of greater extent than those from New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land; the difference is, however, too trivial to be regarded otherwise than as indicative of a mere variety.

Its song and call-note much resemble that of the European Robin, but are more feeble, and uttered with a more inward tone.

The nest is a very compact structure of dried grasses, narrow strips of bark, mosses and lichens, all bound firmly together with cobwebs and vegetable fibres, and warmly lined with feathers and wool or hair; in some instances I have seen it lined entirely with opossums’ hair; it is generally placed in the hollow part of the trunk of a tree, or in a slight cavity in the bark six or seven feet from the ground, but I have found it placed in a fork of a small upright tree more than thirty feet from the ground. The eggs, which are three or four in number, are greenish white, slightly tinged with bluish or flesh-colour, rather minutely freckled with olive-brown and purplish grey, the latter more obscure than the former; these freckles are very generally dispersed over the surface of the shell, but in some instances they also form a zone near the larger end; the medium length of the eggs is nine lines, and breadth seven lines.

It usually rears two or three broods in the year, the period of nidification commencing in August and ending in February.

The male has the head, throat and upper surface black; forehead snowy white; a longitudinal and two oblique bands of white on the wings; breast and upper part of the belly scarlet; lower part of the belly dull white; irides very dark brown; bill and feet black.

The female has all the upper and under surface brown, with the breast strongly tinged with red.

The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size, perched on a sprig of a species of _Corea_, which I found growing on Kangaroo Island.

PETROICA ERYTHROGASTRA. Norfolk Island Robin.

_Muscicapa erythrogastra_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 479.—Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 944.

—— _multicolor_, Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 944.

_Red-bellied Flycatcher_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iii. p. 343. pl. 50.—Ib. Supp., vol. ii. p. 216.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 400. pl. 32.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vi. p. 209. pl. C.—Shaw, Nat. Misc., pl. 147.

_Petroica pulchella_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 142, male.

—— _modesta_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 147, female.

I have been induced to give a figure of this Robin, which I believe to be strictly confined to Norfolk Island, in order to clear up the confusion which has hitherto existed respecting it and the _Petroica multicolor_, with which it has been confounded. Under the impression that the two birds were identical, and that the terms _erythrogastra_ and _multicolor_ were synonymous, I was induced some years ago to characterize the male of the present bird under the name of _pulchella_, and the female under that of _modesta_, believing as I then did that it was a distinct species; subsequent research has however enabled me to perceive the errors into which I had fallen, and I now proceed to point out the differences between the two species, and to restore to the Norfolk Island bird the term _erythrogastra_, originally applied to it by Latham. The _P. erythrogastra_ may be distinguished then from its near ally by the greater size of the bill; by the greater extent and more silvery hue of the white feathers on the forehead; by the tail being wholly black, while in the _P. multicolor_ the lateral feathers are white; by the white on the wing forming a large spot near the shoulder, instead of a line as long as the secondaries; and by the scarlet of the breast and abdomen being much more intense in colour: the females of the two birds also differ from each other, the tail of the _P. erythrogastra_ being wholly brown, while that of the _P. multicolor_ has the lateral tail-feathers marked with white.

The male has the forehead silvery white; a small patch on the wings near the shoulder, under wing-coverts, the flanks and under tail-coverts white; chest and abdomen very rich scarlet, the remainder of the plumage deep black; bill black; feet brown.

The female has the crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail reddish brown; throat white, tinged with brown; chest and centre of the abdomen washed with scarlet; lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; flanks brown; bill blackish brown; feet yellowish brown.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PETROICA GOODENOVII, _Jard. and Selb._ Red-capped Robin.

_Muscicapa Goodenovii_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 245.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pl. 8, fig. 2.

_Petroica Goodenovii_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., Add., vol. ii.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Mȅ-ne-gȅ-dang_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

_Red-capped Robin_ of the Colonists.

The red crown and much smaller size of this beautiful Robin at once distinguishes it from every other species of the genus yet discovered. Although not plentiful in any part I have visited, it is very generally distributed over the whole of the southern portion of Australia. I have observed it myself in South Australia and in New South Wales, and Mr. Gilbert killed it in Western Australia, where, however, it is very local, for he only met with it in two spots, one in the York district and the other at Kojonup, about one hundred miles towards the interior from King George’s Sound. I have not yet heard of its being an inhabitant of the northern portion of the country.

I generally observed it either singly or in pairs, and it appeared to give a decided preference to the beds of dry rivulets, and to thinly timbered plains, the dense brushes near the coast never being visited by it; it would seem therefore to be a species peculiar to the interior of the country.

The whole of the actions and economy of this bird so closely assimilate to those of the _Petroica multicolor_, that it is unnecessary to repeat a description of them here; of its nidification no information has yet been obtained; but in this respect also it doubtless closely resembles the same species.