Part 11

This species is abundant in many parts of the colony of Swan River on the western coast, but has not as yet been discovered elsewhere. Like its near ally the _Estrelda bella_ it inhabits open grassy glades studded with thickets, particularly in moist swampy districts and along the borders of lakes and rivers. Its food consists of small grass-seeds procured among the herbage on the ground. It is not a migratory species, and its place of resort appears to be merely changed when, the supply of food being exhausted, it becomes necessary to seek it elsewhere. Mr. Gilbert states that “it is a solitary species and is generally found in the most retired spots in the thickets, where its mournful, slowly drawn-out note only serves to add to the loneliness of the place. Its powers of flight, although sometimes rapid, would seem to be feeble, as they are merely employed to remove it from tree to tree. The natives of the mountain districts of Western Australia have a tradition that the first bird of this species speared a dog and drank its blood, and thus obtained its red bill.”

The sexes are so much alike that dissection is necessary to distinguish the male from the female. The beautiful patch of scarlet feathers behind the eye, together with the rich colouring of the bill, assists very materially in relieving the more sombre but delicate markings of the remainder of the body.

Lores, line over the bill and a narrow circle surrounding the eye black; behind the eye a small patch of shining scarlet; all the upper surface olive-brown, crossed by numerous fine irregular crescent-shaped bands of black, which are broadest and most conspicuous on the lower part of the back; wings and tail similarly marked, but with the black bands still broader and more distinct; rump and the margins of the base of the central tail-feathers shining scarlet; throat and breast light brown, crossed by numerous crescent-shaped bands of black; abdomen and under surface black, with a large spot of white near the tip of each feather; irides red; bill bright vermilion, the base of the upper mandible edged with pearl-grey; eyelash greenish blue; legs yellowish grey.

The figures are of the natural size.

ESTRELDA BICHENOVII. Bicheno’s Finch.

_Fringilla Bichenovii_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 258.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pl. xii. fig. 3.

This beautiful little Finch inhabits the extensive plains of the interior, particularly such portions of them as are thinly intersected with low scrubby trees and bushes. The localities in which my specimens were obtained were the Liverpool and Brezi Plains, and I have not yet received it from any other parts of Australia, but this may be attributed rather to the paucity of information respecting the interior than to any other cause; and as I have had occasion to remark with respect to other species, it will be impossible to determine the precise extent of the range of this bird until the country has been more fully explored.

The Bicheno’s Finch is very tame in its disposition, and is generally to be observed on the ground, occupied in procuring the seeds of the grasses and other small plants, which form its principal food. At the time of my visit to the interior, which was in the month of December, it was assembled in small flocks of from four to eight in number; these, when flushed from among the grasses, would perch on the neighbouring bushes rather than fly off to any distance, and indeed the form of its wings and tail indicate that it possesses lesser powers of flight than many of the other Finches.

I was not fortunate enough to obtain its nest or eggs, neither did I ever hear it utter any kind of song; consequently I am unable to give any information on these points.

The male has the face, ear-coverts and throat pure white, completely surrounded by a band of black, which is broadest on the forehead; crown of the head, nape of the neck, and back broccoli-brown, each feather crossed by numerous transverse lines of a lighter tint; upper part of the rump black; lower part of the rump and upper tail-coverts snow-white; wings black, all the feathers except the primaries beautifully spotted with white; chest greyish white tinged with buff, bounded below by a broadish band of jet-black; abdomen and flanks buffy white; under tail-coverts and tail black; irides black, surrounded by a narrow black lash; bill beautiful pale blue.

The sexes, although having a similar character of marking, may be distinguished from each other by the male having the black bands of the chest and throat broader, and its plumage more brilliant. The young also at an early age possess the characteristic markings of the adult.

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

ESTRELDA ANNULOSA, _Gould_. Black-rumped Finch.

_Amadina annulosa_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 143.

This species was one of several, collected by the Officers of H.M.S. the Beagle, and for the specimens from which my figures were taken I am indebted to Messrs. Bynoe and Dring. The bird has also been more recently brought to England by Captain Grey: all the specimens here alluded to were collected on the north-west coast, and I find it is not unfrequently seen on the Coburg Peninsula, where it inhabits the grassy banks of running streams, in small families of from six to ten in number.

It differs from Bicheno’s Finch in the spots and markings on the upper surface being rather less defined, and in the colouring of the rump, which in this species is black, while in the other it is white.

Face, ear-coverts and throat white, surrounded by a jet-black band, which is broadest on the forehead; chest greyish white, bounded below by a conspicuous band of black; lower part of the abdomen white; crown of the head, back of the neck, and back greyish brown marked with numerous fine transverse lines of greyish white; rump, upper and under tail-coverts and tail black; wings blackish brown, the secondaries and coverts thickly dotted with fine markings of greyish white; bill and feet lead-colour.

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

ESTRELDA TEMPORALIS. Red-eyebrowed Finch.

_Fringilla temporalis_, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp., p. xlviii.—Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 258.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. ix. p. 533.

_Temporal Finch_, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp., vol. ii. p. 211; and Gen. Hist., vol. vi. p. 115.—Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 12.

_Le Sénégali quinticolor_, Vieill. Ois. Chant., p. 38, pl. 15.

_Fringilla quinticolor_, Vieill. 2nde Edit., du Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xii. p. 183.—Ib. Ency. Méth., Part III. p. 991.

_Goo-lung-ag-ga_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

_Red-Bill_ of the Colonists.

This species of Finch is very generally spread over the gardens and all such open pasture lands of New South Wales and South Australia as abound in grasses and small plants, upon the seeds of which it chiefly subsists. It is particularly abundant in the neighbourhood of Sydney; even in the Botanic Garden numbers may always be seen flitting from border to border. It is easily domesticated, and is of a lively disposition in captivity, even old birds becoming perfectly reconciled after a few days. In the autumn it is gregarious, and Mr. Caley states it often assembles in such large flocks, that he has killed above forty at a shot; in the spring they are mostly seen in pairs, and then build their large and conspicuous nest, which is formed of dead grass, lined with thistle down, in any low bush adapted for a site, but in none more frequently than in the beautiful plant figured in the accompanying Plate (_Leptospermum squarrosum_) which was made by Mrs. Gould during our stay in Sydney; and I feel assured it will be acknowledged, that in delineations of flowers as well as of birds her pencil was directed by a hand at once masterly and truthful.

The eggs are five or six in number, of a beautiful fleshy white, seven lines long by five and a half lines broad.

Crown of the head bluish grey; upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown; under surface white; patch over the eye and rump crimson; irides brownish red; eyelash narrow, naked and black; bill fine blood-red, with the ridge of the upper and the lower part of the under mandible black; legs yellowish white.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ESTRELDA PHAETON. Crimson Finch.

_Bengali Phaéton_ (_Fringilla phaeton_), Homb. et Jacq. Ann. des Sci. Nat., tom. vi. p. 314.

_Ing-a-dȁm-oon_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

_Red Finch_, Residents of Port Essington.

In a paper addressed by MM. Hombron and Jacquinot to the Académie des Sciences on the 9th of August, 1841, entitled, “_Déscription de plusieurs Oiseaux nouveaux ou peu connus, provenant de l’expédition autour du monde faite sur les corvettes l’Astrolabe et la Zélée_,” I find the characters of a Finch, which, although the colouring does not quite agree with that of the bird here figured, I have little doubt is identical with it. I am the more inclined to consider them to be identical from the circumstance of MM. Hombron and Jacquinot’s bird having been collected at Raffles’ Bay, a locality closely bordering that in which Mr. Gilbert procured the specimens in my own collection, and who states that “this bird is an inhabitant of moist grassy meadows, particularly where the _Pandanus_ (Screw Pine) is abundant. It is generally found feeding among the grass, and when disturbed invariably takes to those trees. From July to November it is to be observed in large flocks, sometimes of several hundreds; but although great numbers were shot during this period, not more than three or four were obtained in the rich plumage. About the latter part of November they were either in pairs or in small companies, not exceeding six in number; the males decorated with their rich red and spotted dress.”

In its form it is in every respect closely allied to the _Estrelda temporalis_ of the southern coast, and it doubtless as closely assimilates in its actions, economy and nidification, of which at present nothing is known.

The stomach is somewhat muscular, and the food consists of grass and other small seeds.

Crown of the head deep bluish black; lores, line over the eye, sides of the face and ear-coverts rich crimson red; under surface crimson red, spotted on the flanks with white; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts black; back of the neck and rump dark brownish grey; back and wings brownish grey, each feather crossed near the extremity with a band of deep crimson red; upper tail-coverts and two centre tail-feathers deep red; the remainder deep red at the base, passing into brown at the tip; bill rich carmine, bounded at the base by a band of greyish white about one-tenth of an inch in breadth; hinder part of the tarsi and inside of the feet ochre yellow; front of tarsi and upper surface of the feet ochre yellow, strongly tinged with hyacinth-red.

The female, who is rather smaller than her mate, is brown above, a few of the feathers on the back and the wing-coverts crossed with red as in the male; lores, line over the eye, sides of the face, chin, upper tail-coverts and tail as in the male, but not quite so brilliant; breast and flanks greyish brown, the latter ornamented with a few small spots of white; centre of the abdomen buff.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ESTRELDA RUFICAUDA, _Gould_. Red-tailed Finch.

_Amadina ruficauda_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 106; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

I observed this beautiful Finch rather thinly dispersed on the sides of the river Namoi, particularly along the sloping banks covered with herbage, where it appeared to be feeding upon such grasses and other annuals as afforded seeds congenial to its taste; I also frequently observed it among the rushes which grow in the beds of mud along the sides of the water; and this, I regret to say, is all the information I have to communicate respecting it. It is a species seldom seen in collections, which may be attributed to the circumstance of its being strictly confined to the interior, a part of the country where collections are much less frequently formed than near the coast. The only parts of Australia whence I have received or in which I have killed it, are the Liverpool Plains, and the banks of the rivers Mokai and Namoi.

The adult male and female are scarcely to be distinguished by outward appearance; the female is, however, a trifle less than her mate in size. The young, on the contrary, present a very different appearance; the whole of their plumage being of a uniform buffy brown; eye yellowish olive surrounded by a narrow olive lash; bill reddish brown; legs brownish yellow.

Face and cheeks scarlet, the latter covered with narrow feathers, which are finely spotted with white at the tip; upper surface and wings olive-brown; upper tail-coverts and tail deep crimson-brown, the former having a large spot of pinkish white near the tip of each feather; throat, chest and flanks delicate olive-grey, each feather having a large oval white spot transversely disposed near the tip; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts dirty yellowish white; bill scarlet; irides orange slightly inclining to hazel, surrounded by a rather broad, naked, flesh-coloured lash; legs and feet rather darker than fine lemon-yellow.

The figures are of the natural size.

AMADINA MODESTA, _Gould_. Plain-coloured Finch.

_Amadina modesta_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 105; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

The native habitat of this species of Finch, so far as is yet known, is confined to New South Wales, where it inhabits the stony ridges bordering the large plains. I have known it to cross the Liverpool range and take up its summer abode in the flats of the Upper Hunter, but this proximity to the coast is rare. I found it tolerably abundant on the Liverpool Plains and on the banks of the Namoi, and Mr. Gilbert also mentions his having observed it on the low ranges to the northward of Moreton Bay. In its habits, actions and economy no remarkable differences were observed from those of the other species of the genus.

It is usually seen in pairs or associated in small companies, feeding either on or near the ground; the seeds of grasses and other annuals forming its chief supply of food.

A nest found by Mr. Gilbert was of a domed form, composed of grasses, and contained five or six white eggs, about half an inch long by three-eighths broad.

The sexes may be distinguished by the absence of the black mark in the female, as shown in the accompanying Plate.

The male has the fore-part of the head deep crimson red; lores and a spot on the chin black; nape of the neck, mantle and back brown; wings brown; tertials (which are very long in this species), together with the greater and lesser quill-feathers, having a spot of white at the tip; rump and upper tail-coverts alternately barred with lines of greyish white and brown; tail-feathers black, the two outer ones on each side tipped with white; under surface white, transversely barred with lines of brown, which are strongest on the flanks; middle of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; bill black; irides reddish brown; eyes surrounded by a very narrow lash of blackish brown; legs flesh-white.

The female differs in having the colouring of the crown less extensive, and in wanting the black on the chin and lores.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

AMADINA LATHAMI. Spotted-sided Finch.

_Fringilla leucocephala_, var., Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xlviii.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. ix. p. 493.

_Spotted Grosbeak_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. ix.

_White-headed Finch_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 210. pl. 132.

_Spotted-sided Grosbeak_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 248. pl. lxxxix.

_Fringilla Lathami_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 256.

This bird is very generally dispersed over the southern portion of the Australian continent; I found it plentiful in South Australia and in every part of New South Wales that I visited; and it was equally numerous beyond the boundary of the colony on the Liverpool Plains, the Namoi, &c. It is a showy attractive species, and passes much of its time on the ground, where it procures its food, which consists of the seeds of various kinds of grasses, &c.; upon being compelled to rise from the ground it merely flies into the nearest tree, the scarlet rump showing very conspicuously during these short flights.

The most singular part of this bird’s history is the site often chosen for its nest, which is frequently built among the large sticks forming the under surface of the nest of the smaller species of Eagles, and that too during the time the Eagle is sitting, both species hatching and rearing their progeny in harmony; this I have witnessed in several instances, and have taken the eggs of the Eagle and of the Finch at the same time, as mentioned in the following extract from my journal:—“Oct. 23. Found the nest of _Amadina Lathami_ placed under and among the sticks of a Whistling Eagle’s (_Haliastur? sphenurus_) nest, in which latter the old bird was then sitting. My black companion Natty ascended the tree, a high swamp oak (_Casuarina_) on the bank of the Dartbrook, and brought down the eggs of both birds. The little Finches were sitting on the small twigs close to their rapacious but friendly neighbour.” At other times the nest is placed on the leafy branch of a gum- or apple-tree. It is of a large size, and is constructed of grasses of various kinds; in form it is nearly spherical, with a short pendent spout on one side, through which the bird obtains access to the interior; the eggs are white, rather long in shape, and five or six in number.

The sexes offer little or no difference in the markings of their plumage.

Crown of the head and back of the neck brownish grey; back and wings brown, becoming deeper on the tips of the primaries; lores, a broad band across the breast, flanks and tail deep black; each feather of the flanks with a large spot of white near the tip; rump and upper tail-coverts shining scarlet; throat, abdomen and under tail-coverts white; irides red, surrounded by a narrow, naked, lilac-red lash; bill blood-red, passing into lilac at the base and on the culmen; feet purplish brown.

The young for the first year has the bill black, except at the base, where it is flesh-colour; the band across the breast and the flanks greyish brown, the latter being barred indistinctly with black and greyish white; in other respects the plumage nearly resembles the adult.

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

AMADINA CASTANOTIS, _Gould_. Chestnut-eared Finch.

_Amadina castanotis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 105; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

This bird, which is nearly allied to the _Bengali moucheté_ of Vieillot’s ‘Oiseaux Chanteurs,’ plate 3, appears to be almost peculiar to the interior of Australia; among other places it inhabits the large plains to the north of the Liverpool range, and is particularly abundant about Brezi and the banks of the river Mokai; but that it sometimes occurs on the southern side of the range, is proved by my having killed five specimens in Mr. Coxen’s Garden at Yarrundi on the Upper Hunter. It has also been found, though very sparingly, at Swan River, and a specimen is contained in the collection formed by Mr. Bynoe at Port Essington: like the _Amadina Lathami_, this species resorts much to the ground and feeds upon the seeds of various kinds of grasses. On the plains it congregates in small flocks, and evinces a decided preference to those spots where the trees are thinly dispersed and grasses abundant.

The Chestnut-eared Finch is one of the smallest of the genus yet discovered in Australia; it is also one of the most beautiful, and in the chasteness of its colouring can scarcely be excelled.

The two sexes differ very considerably in their markings, and may be thus described:—

The male has the crown of the head, nape and back brownish grey; wings brown; rump white; upper tail-coverts jet-black, each feather having three large and conspicuous oval spots of white; tail-feathers blackish brown slightly tinged with white at their tips; cheeks and ear-coverts reddish chestnut, separated from the bill by a narrow transverse line of white, which white line is bounded on each side by a still finer line of black; throat and chest grey, the feathers transversely marked with fine lines of black; a small black patch on the middle of the chest; abdomen white; under tail-coverts buffy white; flanks chestnut, each feather marked near the tip with two small oval spots of white; bill reddish orange; feet reddish orange, rather lighter than the bill; irides red.

The female has the transverse lines on the face, upper tail-coverts and feet, as in the male; upper surface, ear-coverts, wings, tail and flanks greyish brown; throat and chest grey, slightly tinged with brown; abdomen yellowish brown; bill reddish orange.

The figures represent both sexes of the natural size.

AMADINA GOULDIÆ. Gouldian Finch.

_Amadina Gouldiæ_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 23, 1844.