Part 12

Novelty in itself has attractions, but when with novelty, beauty and elegance are combined, the attractions are augmented beyond measure. With this trite observation I here introduce to the notice of the ornithologist a species not only the most beautiful of the family to which it belongs, but which has its plumage adorned with colours and markings that render it conspicuously different from every other bird known; it is in fact beyond the power of my pen to describe or my pencil to portray anything like the splendour of the changeable hues of the lilac band which crosses the breast of this little gem, or the scarcely less beautiful green of the neck and golden-yellow of the breast, the latter colour being only equalled, certainly not surpassed, by the crest-feathers of the Golden Pheasant. Whenever this bird becomes so far common as to form a part of our preserved collections, or to add a living lustre to our aviaries, it cannot fail to become a general favourite. It is therefore with feelings of no ordinary nature that I have ventured to dedicate this new and lovely little bird to the memory of her, who in addition to being a most affectionate wife, for a number of years laboured so hard and so zealously assisted me with her pencil in my various works, but who, after having made a circuit of the globe with me, and braved many dangers with a courage only equalled by her virtues, and while cheerfully engaged in illustrating the present work, was by the Divine will of her Maker suddenly called from this to a brighter and better world; and I feel assured that in dedicating this bird to the memory of Mrs. Gould, I shall have the full sanction of all who were personally acquainted with her, as well as of those who only knew her by her delicate works as an artist.

A single specimen of apparently an adult male and two immature birds are all that ever came under my notice; for the former my especial thanks are due to my esteemed friend Benjamin Bynoe, Esq., Surgeon R.N., late of H.M.S. the Beagle, who obtained it in the Victoria River, on the north-west coast of Australia. The young birds were procured by Mr. Gilbert at Port Essington. These three examples are probably all that have been collected, and from the remote situation of the country of which it is a native, a long period is likely to elapse before the species becomes common.

“This would seem to be a very local species,” says Mr. Gilbert, “for I only met with it on Greenbill Island at the head of Van Diemen’s Gulf, where it inhabited the edges of the mangroves and thickets: when disturbed it invariably flew to the topmost branches of the loftiest gums, a habit I have not before observed in any other member of the genus. Its note is a very mournful sound, added to a double twit. Those I observed were feeding among the high grass in small families of from four to seven in number, and were very shy. The stomach is tolerably muscular, and the food consists of grass and other seeds.”

The adult has the forehead, lores, ear-coverts and throat, deep velvety black; from behind the eye, round the occiput, and down the sides of the neck, a mark of verdigris-green, gradually blending into the yellowish green of the upper surface and wings; across the breast a broad band of shining lilac-purple, below which all the under surface is shining wax-yellow; bill flesh-white at the base, tipped with blood-red; feet flesh-colour.

The young bird has the head grey; upper surface light olive; under surface pale buff; chin white; primaries and tail brown; irides dark brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

POËPHILA MIRABILIS, _Homb. et Jacq._ Beautiful Grass Finch.

_Poëphila mirabilis_, Homb. et Jacq. Voy. au Pole Sud.—O. des Murs, Icon. Orn., pl. 3. fig. 1.

Fine examples of this, one of the most lovely of the Finches yet discovered, are contained in the gallery of the Museum of Natural History of Paris; they were procured by Messrs. Hombron and Jacquinot in the neighbourhood of Raffles’ Bay, on the north coast of Australia, where it is so rare, that those gentlemen only met with three examples, and were unable to make themselves acquainted with its actions and manners. In the works above-quoted my _Poëphila Gouldiæ_ is figured as the female of the present bird, but this I believe to be a mistake, the specimen from which my description and figure were taken being to all appearance an adult male; and as an evidence that such may be the case, I may mention that no female of the group has yet been discovered so gorgeously arrayed; the females of all the _Poëphilæ_ I have seen resemble their respective males in the colouring of their plumage, but have all the hues much less brilliant; it is not probable therefore that a bird so gaily coloured as the _P. Gouldiæ_ should be the female of the _P. mirabilis_; besides which, Mr. Gilbert procured an example of _P. Gouldiæ_ during Dr. Leichardt’s Expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, which dissection proved to be a female, and which although similarly, was much less highly coloured than the bird I have represented.

Crown of the head and cheeks of a beautiful carmine, bounded posteriorly by a narrow line of black; throat black; to this succeeds a band of pale blue, narrow on the throat and broad on the back of the neck; back and wings green, passing into yellow at the nape of the neck; breast crossed by a broad band of lilac, separated from the yellow of the abdomen by a narrow line of orange; rump and upper tail-coverts pale blue; quills brown; bill fleshy white, becoming redder at the tip; feet flesh-colour.

The figures represent a male in two positions of the natural size.

POËPHILA ACUTICAUDA, _Gould_. Long-tailed Grass Finch.

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

It is no less interesting to trace the analogies of species inhabiting the opposite portions of a large continent like that of Australia, than to observe how beautifully any peculiar character is preserved in the species of every natural group. The three new species of the present genus afford a very striking example of this, where not only a similarity of colouring exists in the deep fawn or cinnamon hue of the plumage, but in the conspicuous band of black which surrounds the lower part of the body; nor is the graduated character of the tail-feathers less striking in these three species, the first trace of it being observable in _Poëphila cincta_, which would appear to be carried to the maximum in the present species, which, so far as is known, is confined to the north-west coast. The specimens from which my figures of this bird were taken are from the interesting collection placed in my hands by Mr. Bynoe of the Beagle, whose great perseverance and assiduity have enabled me to add many species to the fauna of Australia. Indeed many of the officers of that vessel will have their names handed down to posterity in consequence of the attention they have paid to this branch of science, independently of the legitimate objects of their various expeditions; among others I may particularly allude to my much-esteemed friend Mr. Darwin, Captain Wickham, Captain Stokes, Mr. Dring, &c. Since the arrival of Mr. Bynoe’s birds I have also received specimens from Port Essington, which, like their analogue the _Poëphila cincta_ of the eastern coast, inhabit the open plains bordering streams, and feed on the seeds of various grasses and other plants.

I regret that so little information has been transmitted to me respecting the habits and economy of this beautiful species.

The sexes differ but little in outward appearance; the female is, however, rather less in size, is less strikingly marked, and has the two middle tail-feathers shorter than her mate.

Crown of the head and cheeks grey; upper and under surface of the body fawn-colour, becoming more delicate, and assuming a pinky hue on the abdomen; lores, throat, hand across the rump and tail jet-black; upper and under tail-coverts and thighs white; wings fawn-grey; bill and feet yellow.

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

POËPHILA PERSONATA, _Gould_. Masked Grass Finch.

_Poëphila personata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1842.

This beautiful and well-marked species of Grass Finch is also a native of the north-west coast of Australia, where several specimens were shot by Mr. Gilbert during an excursion from Port Essington towards the interior of the country, who states that it inhabits grassy meadows near streams, feeding on grass-seeds, &c. It was tolerably abundant, being congregated in flocks of from twenty to forty. When on the wing it utters a very feeble cry of _twit, twit, twit_, but at other times pours forth a drawn-out mournful note, like that of the Estreldas.

The sexes are scarcely to be distinguished by their outward appearance, both possessing the masked face; the female is, however, rather less in size, and her markings are not quite so brilliant or decided as those of the male.

Base of the bill surrounded by an irregular ring of deep velvety black; crown of the head, upper surface and wings light cinnamon-brown; lower part of the abdomen banded with deep velvety black; lower part of the rump and under tail-coverts white; upper tail-coverts white, striped longitudinally with black on the outer side; tail deep blackish brown; irides of the old birds red, of the young birds dark brown; bill bright orange; legs and feet fleshy red.

In some specimens the upper and lower ridges of the bill are black, while in others the basal half only is orange, the remaining portion being brown.

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

POËPHILA LEUCOTIS, _Gould_. White-eared Grass Finch.

_Poëphila leucotis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIV. p. 106.

The present beautiful species of _Poëphila_ is one of the novelties discovered during Dr. Leichardt’s expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington; it was killed in the neighbourhood of the river Lynd by Mr. Gilbert, in whose Journal, under the date of June 3, 1845, I find the following remark:—“The most interesting circumstance that occurred to me to-day was the discovery of a new species of _Poëphila_, which is very nearly allied to the one from Port Essington (_P. personata_, Gould), but which differs from that bird in having the bill light yellowish horn-colour instead of orange, the irides dark brown and the legs red; it is in every respect a true _Poëphila_, having the black face and throat, the black marks on the flanks, the lengthened tail-feathers and the general plumage of a light brown; like the other members of the genus too, it inhabits the open spots of country, and feeds on grass seeds.”

This I regret to say is all that is known respecting it. In addition to the differences pointed out by Mr. Gilbert, I may mention that it may also be distinguished from the _P. personata_ by its white ear-coverts and by the black of the throat being bounded below and the black marks on the flanks anteriorly with white; the colouring of the upper surface is also a somewhat richer brown.

I possess both sexes of this species, and, as is the case with the other members of the genus, they differ but little from each other.

Band crossing the forehead, lores, throat, and a large patch on each flank deep velvety black; ear-coverts, a narrow line beneath the black of the throat, and a space surrounding the black patch on the flanks white; crown of the head deep reddish chestnut; all the upper surface and wings dark cinnamon-brown; chest and abdomen pale vinous brown; upper and under tail-coverts white, the former margined externally with deep black; tail black; irides dark brown; feet red; bill yellowish horn-colour.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

POËPHILA CINCTA, _Gould_. Banded Grass Finch.

_Amadina cincta_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 105.

This species is tolerably abundant on the Liverpool Plains, and the open country to the northward towards the interior. It occurs so rarely on the sea side of the ranges, that I only once met with it during my sojourn in New South Wales. It is doubtless a native of the great basin of the interior, where, like the _P. acuticauda_ and _P. personata_, it frequents those parts of the open plains which abound in grasses, upon the seeds of which and other plants it mostly subsists. The range of this species is entirely unknown; I have never seen a specimen except from the localities above mentioned.

Crown of the head and back of the neck grey; ear-coverts and sides of the neck silvery grey; throat and lores black; back, chest and abdomen chestnut-brown; wings the same, but darker; lower part of the body surrounded by a black band; tail-coverts white; tail black; bill black; irides reddish brown; eyelash blackish brown; feet pink-red.

The female differs from her mate by all her markings being much more obscurely defined.

The figure is that of a male of the natural size.

DONACOLA CASTANEOTHORAX, _Gould_. Chestnut-breasted Finch.

_Amadina castaneothorax_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

Judging from the extreme rarity of this species in European collections, its true locality can scarcely as yet have been visited by naturalists. I observed several specimens in the Museum at Sydney; these, as well as those I possess, were obtained at Moreton Bay; the productions of which part of Australia are less known than might have been expected, considering how long it has been colonized. I had not the good fortune to meet with this bird in a state of nature, but I have been informed that it frequents reed-beds on the banks of rivers and lagoons, and that it much resembles the Bearded Tit (_Calamophila biarmicus_) of Europe, in the alertness with which it passes up and down the upright stems of the reeds, from the lower part to the very top, a habit for which the lengthened and curved form of its claws seems well adapted.

The sexes appear to differ but little in colouring; in some individuals, however, the cheeks and throat are black instead of brown, a character doubtless dependent on age or season.

I have not as yet seen this bird from the northern or western coast.

Crown of the head and back of the neck grey, the centre of each feather being brown; cheeks, throat and ear-coverts blackish brown in some specimens, each feather slightly tipped with pale buff; upper surface and wings reddish brown; upper tail-coverts orange; tail brown, margined with paler brown; across the chest a broad band of pale chestnut, bounded below by a line of black, which gradually widens towards the flanks, along which it is continued for some distance; the remainder of the feathers on this part white, with a spot of blackish brown at the extremity of each; abdomen white; thighs black; under tail-coverts white, with a spot of blackish brown at the extremity of each; bill black; feet brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

DONACOLA PECTORALIS, _Gould_. White-breasted Finch.

_Amadina pectoralis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 127.

For two beautiful specimens of this entirely new Finch I am indebted to E. Dring, Esq., of the Beagle, who procured them on the north-west coast of Australia: no notes of their habits or economy having been forwarded with the specimens, I am unable to give any particulars respecting them.

In structure and in the general disposition of its markings, the White-breasted Finch offers a considerable resemblance to the _Donacola castaneothorax_ of the eastern coast, and in all probability they are analogues of each other, in accordance with a law which appears very generally to prevail among the birds of Australia; each great division of this vast country having its own peculiar species.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface and wings delicate greyish brown; the tips of the wing-coverts very minutely spotted with white; tail blackish brown; throat and ear-coverts glossy blackish purple; chest crossed by a band of feathers, black at the base, largely tipped with white; abdomen and under tail-coverts vinous grey; flanks ornamented with a few feathers similar to those crossing the breast; bill bluish horn-colour; feet flesh-colour.

The figures in the Plate are of the natural size, and are supposed to represent the two sexes; the principal figure the male.

DONACOLA FLAVIPRYMNA, _Gould_. Yellow-rumped Finch.

_Donacola flaviprymna_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part xiii. p. 80.

A single specimen, and the only one I have ever seen of this pretty Finch, was presented to me by Benjamin Bynoe, Esq., Surgeon, R.N., who procured it on the banks of the Victoria River during the late surveying voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. It is very nearly allied to the _Donacola castaneothorax_, but is specifically distinct from that as well as from every other known species of this now numerous tribe of birds. I regret to add that nothing whatever is known of its habits or mode of life; but in these respects it doubtless as closely assimilates to its congeners as it does in form.

Head pale fawn-colour; back and wings light chestnut-brown; under surface buff; upper tail-coverts wax-yellow; under tail-coverts black; tail brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

EMBLEMA PICTA, _Gould_. Painted Finch.

_Emblema picta_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., 1842.

This beautiful Finch is a native of the north-west coast of Australia, where it was procured by B. Bynoe, Esq. The single individual sent me by that gentleman, and which I have drawn in two different positions, was unaccompanied by any account whatever of its habits and economy; but we may reasonably infer from the lengthened and pointed form of its bill, that the kind of food upon which it subsists will be somewhat different from that of the other Australian Finches. My readers will not fail to observe how singular is the disposition of the colouring in the present bird, the under parts being extremely beautiful, while on the upper, which is generally the most highly ornamented, a more than ordinary degree of plainness prevails.

Face and throat deep vermilion red; the base of all the feathers of the throat black, giving that part a mingled appearance of black and red; crown of the head, all the upper surface and wings brown; rump deep vermilion red; tail dark brown; chest and all the under surface jet-black, the flanks numerously spotted with white, and the centre of the abdomen dashed with deep vermilion red; feet light red; upper mandible black, under mandible scarlet, with a triangular patch of black at the base.

The figures are of the natural size.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Birds of Australia, Vol. 3 of 7, by John Gould