Part 7

I was not able to discover the nest and eggs of this little bird, which doubtless breeds among the grasses, and builds a dome-shaped nest similar to that of its European ally.

Crown of the head, back, wing-coverts, scapularies and tail-feathers brownish black, each feather narrowly margined with buff; sides and back of the neck and all the under surface sandy buff, fading into white on the throat and centre of the abdomen; bill and feet flesh-brown.

The figure represents the bird of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA LINEOCAPILLA, _Gould_. Lineated Warbler.

_Cysticola lineocapilla_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Jan. 27, 1847.

The _Cysticola lineocapilla_ is a much smaller and more delicately formed species than the _C. exilis_, and may, moreover, be distinguished from that and every other member of the genus with which I am acquainted by the lineated form of the markings of the head. It is a native of the north coast of Australia, and all the specimens I have seen were from the neighbourhood of Port Essington. Mr. Gilbert states that it “is very rarely seen in consequence of its generally inhabiting the long grass of the swamps, where it creeps about more like a mouse than a bird, and if once alarmed it is no easy task to get a sight of it again; its note is a short and feeble, but very pleasing song.

“The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of various kinds.”

General plumage pale rufous, with broad and conspicuous striæ of blackish brown forming lines down the centre of the feathers of the head and back; the under surface fading into white on the throat and centre of the chest; tail-feathers with a conspicuous blackish spot on the under surface near the tip; irides light reddish brown; bill and feet flesh-brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA ISURA, _Gould_. Square-tailed Warbler.

_Cysticola isura_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XV.

Little as is the information I have been able to give respecting the _C. ruficeps_, I have still less to communicate about the present species, circumstances not having admitted of my seeing them in a state of nature: at a first glance it might readily be mistaken for the _C. exilis_, but after a careful examination of many specimens I am satisfied of its being distinct; had it been identical with that species, I must have procured specimens at the same time that I killed the many examples I obtained. I am not so sure however that it may not prove to be the female, or some peculiar state of plumage of the _Cysticola ruficeps_; without a further knowledge of the subject, I can only view it as distinct from both, and I have therefore assigned to it the specific appellation of _isura_, as indicative of the shorter and more truncated form of its tail, the principal character by which it may be distinguished. Like the other species of the group, it appears to enjoy an extensive range over the grassy districts of the country, the specimens in my possession having been killed on the Liverpool Plains and at Port Phillip; the arid and sterile nature of the country seems to be peculiarly adapted to the members of this group, and hence there are many species.

Sides and back of the neck and rump pale rufous; crown of the head, back and secondaries deep brownish black, each feather margined with buff; tail dark brown margined with buff, and crossed on the under side near the tip with a broad conspicuous band of black; under surface deep buff, becoming paler on the chin and centre of the abdomen; bill brown; feet yellowish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA RUFICEPS, _Gould_. Rufous-headed Warbler.

_Cysticola ruficeps_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 150; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

It would give me great pleasure could I communicate any particulars respecting this pretty little bird, but this unfortunately I am unable to do, no information of any kind having as yet reached me; I can only say therefore that I possess three examples, one from the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales, another from the district of Port Philip, and a third from the north coast, which proves that it enjoys a widely extended range of habitat. The uniform rufous colouring of the head and occiput at once distinguishes it from all the other Australian members of the genus. In its habits, manners and general economy it doubtless closely assimilates to its congeners the _C. exilis_ and _lineocapilla_, and like them inhabits the open grassy glades between the forests, the grassy crowns of thinly-timbered hills, and all similar situations.

Crown of the head, and back of the neck, rump, chest, flanks and thighs delicate fawn-colour, becoming deeper and redder on the crown and the rump; upper part of the back, secondaries and tail deep brownish black, each feather margined all round with buff; throat and centre of the abdomen white; bill brown; feet yellowish brown.

The Plate represents the birds of the natural size on one of the plants of New South Wales.

SERICORNIS CITREOGULARIS, _Gould_. Yellow-throated Sericornis.

_Sericornis citreogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 133; and in Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This is the largest and most attractive species of the genus yet discovered, and so far as I am aware, its habitat is restricted to the south-eastern portions of Australia, where it dwells exclusively in the districts known by the name of “brushes.” I personally observed it in those of Illawarra, and of the Hunter, and in the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range. It frequents the most retired parts of the forest, living in gullies and under the canopy of lofty trees, hopping about among the stems of the tree-fern, fallen trunks of patriarchal gums and moss-covered stones. It rarely flies, and when disturbed, seeks seclusion and safety by hopping away among the underwood. Its food, which consists of insects of various kinds, is obtained on the ground or among the trunks of the prostrate trees, over which and the large stones it passes with much ease and agility.

The sexes are very similar in colour, but the female may at all times be distinguished by her smaller size and the less strongly contrasted tints of her plumage, particularly in the hue of the streak running through the eye and extending over the ear-coverts, which is neither so dark nor so broad as in the male.

One of the most interesting points connected with the history of this species is the situations chosen for its nest. All those who have rambled in the Australian forests must have observed, that in their more dense and humid parts an atmosphere peculiarly adapted for the rapid and abundant growth of mosses of various kinds is generated, and that these mosses not only grow upon the trunks of decayed trees, but are often accumulated in large masses at the extremities of the drooping branches; these masses often become of sufficient size to admit of the bird constructing a nest in the centre of them with so much art that it is impossible to distinguish it from any of the other pendulous masses in the vicinity. These bunches are frequently a yard in length, and in some instances hang so near the ground as to strike the head of the explorer during his rambles; in others they are placed high up upon the trees, but only in such parts of the forest where there is an open space entirely shaded by overhanging foliage: as will be readily conceived, in whatever situations they are met with, they at all times form a remarkable and conspicuous feature in the landscape. Although the nest is constantly disturbed by the wind and liable to be shaken when the tree is disturbed, so secure does the inmate consider itself from danger or intrusion of any kind, that I have frequently captured the female while sitting on her eggs, a feat that may always be accomplished by carefully placing the hand over the entrance; that is, if it can be detected, to effect which no slight degree of close prying and examination is necessary.

The nest is formed of the inner bark of trees, intermingled with green moss, which soon vegetates; sometimes dried grasses and fibrous roots form part of the materials of which it is composed, and it is warmly lined with feathers. The eggs, which are three in number and much elongated in form, vary considerably in colour, the most constant tint being a clove-brown freckled over the larger end with dark umber brown, frequently assuming the form of a complete band or zone: their medium length is one inch, and their breadth eight lines.

Lores, circle around the eye, and the ear-coverts deep black; a conspicuous line of yellowish white above and for some distance beyond the eye; crown of the head, and all the upper surface, secondaries, wing-coverts and tail reddish brown, becoming more rufous on the upper tail-coverts and tail; outer edges of the primaries olive; spurious wing blackish brown; throat yellow; chest and flanks olive-brown; centre of the abdomen white; bill brownish black; irides reddish brown; legs purplish flesh-colour, in some specimens flesh-white.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

SERICORNIS HUMILIS, _Gould_. Sombre-coloured Sericornis.

_Sericornis humilis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 133; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

This species is very generally dispersed over Van Diemen’s Land, and as I have found it on some of the islands in Bass’s Straits, it is not improbable that it may also extend its range to the southern coast of the continent of Australia. Ravines, deep glens, water-courses covered with dense herbage and thickly wooded copses are the situations congenial to the habits of this bird; those that are most humid or damp being apparently preferred to any other; consequently, although it is very abundant and its distribution very general, it is a bird that is less seen, and one whose habits are less known than almost any other of the indigenous birds of the island. In many of its actions it closely resembles the Wren (_Troglodytes Europæus_), particularly in its manner of hopping about on the ground, and from stone to stone, with its tail erect in search of insects, upon which it solely subsists; it also assimilates to the Wren in the form, construction and situation of its nest; but in the number and colour of its eggs there is much difference. It rarely flies more than a few yards at a time, but secretes itself in the midst of the little thicket in which it has taken up its abode. There is little difficulty in finding the nest; for although it is in general very artfully concealed among the herbage at the base of a tree, on the edge of a shelving bank, or among the thick tangle of the scrub, yet by attentively watching the old birds for a short time, they will soon indicate by their actions the immediate locality of the nest. The male constantly cheers his mate with a pretty lively song, which, although neither loud nor voluminous, serves to give life to its secluded abode, which in many instances is in the depths of the forests, where few sounds are heard except the monotonous note of the Honey-sucker, and the perpetual rippling of the rivulet as it steals over the stony bed of the gully. It is sometimes seen, particularly towards evening, to leave its lurking-place and seek any little open part or glade in the forest, doubtless attracted to such situations in search of food.

The sexes present no difference whatever in the colouring of the plumage, consequently dissection is necessary to distinguish them.

The nest is of rather a large size and of a domed form, outwardly composed of any coarse materials at hand, such as leaves, tufts of grass, roots, &c., the interior being formed of similar substances, but of a finer kind, and the whole carefully lined with feathers. The eggs, which are large for the size of the bird, are three in number, of a reddish white, curiously freckled and marked all over with reddish brown, particularly at the larger end, where the markings assume the form of a zone; they are ten and a half lines long by eight lines broad.

Lores blackish brown, above which an obscure stripe of white; crown of the head and all the upper surface, wings and tail dark olive-brown with a tinge of red, which becomes more conspicuous on the rump and tail-feathers; spurious wing blackish brown, each feather margined with white; throat greyish white, spotted with blackish brown; chest and centre of the abdomen brownish yellow, the former singularly but more obscurely spotted than the throat; flanks chestnut-brown; bill blackish brown; legs dark brown; irides straw-yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

SERICORNIS OSCULANS, _Gould_. Allied Sericornis.

_Sericornis osculans_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 27, 1847.

The _Sericornis osculans_ inhabits South Australia, where it frequents underwoods and scrubby places, the bottom of dry water-courses, gulleys, &c.; it is naturally shy and retiring in its habits, and evades pursuit by creeping beneath the herbage and making its exit on the other side. It is most nearly allied to the _S. frontalis_, and is intermediate in size between that species and the _S. humilis_; from the former it differs in having at all times numerous longitudinal blotches of black on the throat, and from the latter in these spots being much more distinct than in that species. I have seen specimens in which the yellow tint which pervades the centre of the abdomen has given place to grey or greyish white, as shown in the centre figure of the accompanying Plate; but I have never found the tail tipped with white, as in _S. maculata_ and _S. lævigaster_.

The sexes present the usual characteristic of the genus, in the absence of any black mark on the lores of the female, which are similar to the other parts of the body.

All the upper surface, wings and tail dark brown, all but the two centre feathers of the latter crossed by an obscure band of black near the extremity; spurious wing-feathers black, margined with white; lores black, above which on each side a patch of white, continued in a fine line over the eye; throat and centre of the abdomen greyish white in some and yellowish white in others, marked with a few oblong black spots on the throat.

The female is somewhat smaller in size, and has the lores brown instead of black.

The figures represent two males and a female of the natural size, the upper figure being that of the female.

SERICORNIS FRONTALIS. White-fronted Sericornis.

_Acanthiza frontalis_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 226.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Sericornis parvulus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 134; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV. female.

This little bird inhabits the brushes, as well as all humid situations clothed with thick underwood, such as the sides of creeks, gullies, &c. The locality in which it is most abundant is the south-eastern part of Australia, where it is very numerous in all the dense forests which stretch along the coast between Sydney and Moreton Bay, and I believe I may safely state that its range does not extend westward of the 134th degree of East longitude, beyond which a nearly-allied species is found; the species, therefore, inosculate about Spencer’s and St. Vincent’s Gulfs in South Australia. Like the other members of the genus this bird generally bops about the bottoms of the brushes, selecting in preference the most damp and humid parts, where rotten wood and moss-covered stones afford some peculiar species of insect food, upon which it is destined to live. All the members of this genus are very Wren-like in their habits, actions, the kind of food they select, and in the structure of their nest. The present is one of the smallest yet discovered, and was always a favourite little bird with me, for in the inmost recesses of the forest, where all nature was hushed to quietude, and silence reigned supreme, the presence of the little bird figured in the accompanying Plate, hopping about from stone to stone in search of its insect food, now and then broke the monotony of the scene with its inward warbling strain, which however is so feeble, that it can only be heard when uttered close at hand.

The sexes present so little difference in colour that they cannot be distinguished with certainty; the female is somewhat the smaller. The young birds differ from the adult in having a few faint spots on the throat, but which are entirely lost as they advance in age.

The nest of this species, which, as I have before remarked, is very like that of the European Wren (_Troglodytes Europæus_), is made of leaves, moss and fibrous roots, and lined with feathers; its site is various, being sometimes under the shelving of a bank, and at others at the foot of a tuft of grass or herbage, beneath a stone, &c.; it is quite spherical in form, with a small neatly-made hole for an entrance. The breeding-season includes August, and the three or four following months, during which period two or three broods are usually reared. The eggs, which are generally three in number, are of a dull flesh-white, freckled and streaked with purplish brown, particularly at the larger end; their medium length is ten lines and breadth seven and a half lines.

Centre of the forehead, lores, and a line beneath the eye black; over the eye a line of greyish white; crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown; wing-coverts tipped with white; spurious wing blackish brown; throat white, striated with black; centre of the chest and abdomen citron-yellow; flanks olive-brown; bill blackish brown; feet yellowish white.

The Plate represents the male and female of the natural size. The very pretty plant was gathered in the brushes of Illawarra, where the birds are tolerably numerous.

SERICORNIS LÆVIGASTER, _Gould_. Buff-breasted Sericornis.

_Sericornis lævigaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 27, 1847.

This species, although nearly allied to the _S. maculata_, is distinguished by the entire absence of spots on the throat and chest, and by having the tail-feathers largely tipped with white.

The male and female in my collection, and which are represented on the accompanying Plate, are part of the results of Dr. Leichardt’s overland expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, they having been killed by Mr. Gilbert on the 30th of November 1844; but no information whatever is to be found respecting them in his Journal.

All the upper surface brown; tail deepening into black near the extremity and tipped with white; spurious wing-feathers dark brown, margined with white on their inner webs; lores and mark under the eye brownish black; above the eye an indistinct line of white; all the under surface washed with yellowish buff; irides greenish white.

The female presents the usual differences, being somewhat smaller in size and wanting the black mark on the lores.

The figures are of the natural size.

SERICORNIS MACULATUS, _Gould_. Spotted Sericornis.

_Sericornis maculatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., January 27, 1847.

_Goor-gal_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

The present bird, to which I have assigned the specific term of _maculatus_ has always been a source of perplexity to me, from the circumstance of its varying considerably in its markings; after mature consideration, however, I am induced to regard the specimens from South Australia, Western Australia and the north coast as referable to one and the same species, each however possessing trivial differences by which it may be known from whence it was received. Specimens from the Houtman’s Abrolhos are of a rather smaller size, of a much greyer tint on the back, and have much darker-coloured legs. I believe that the bright yellow wash on the under surface of some individuals is characteristic of newly moulted or young birds: in this species, not only is the throat spotted with black, but the spotting extends over the chest and some distance down the flanks; it has at all times the tail tipped with white, a character which serves at once to distinguish it from _S. osculans_ and _S. frontalis_. Scrubby places, and ravines covered with dense herbage, whether in sterile or humid situations, are its favourite resort. It has the same shy disposition and retiring habits as the other members of the genus, depending for safety rather upon its creeping, mouse-like habits than upon its powers of flight, which are indeed seldom resorted to.

Its note is a harsh, grating kind of twitter, often repeated.

The nest is a warm, dome-shaped structure, formed of leaves and grasses, and lined with feathers; the eggs are reddish white, minutely freckled and streaked with reddish brown, particularly at the larger end; they are three in number, nine lines long by seven lines broad.

All the upper surface, wings and tail brown; the latter crossed near the tip with a broad band of blackish brown, and the outer feathers slightly tipped with white; forehead and lores deep black; stripe above and a small patch below the eye white; spurious wing-feathers black, margined on their inner web with white; under surface in some specimens greyish white, in others washed with yellow; the feathers of the throat and chest spotted with black on a light ground; irides greenish white.

The female is somewhat smaller than her mate, and has the lores brown instead of black; in other respects her plumage is very similar to that of the male.

The upper figure in the accompanying Plate represents a female, and the lower probably a young male; the figures are of the natural size, from specimens killed in Southern and Western Australia.

SERICORNIS MAGNIROSTRIS, _Gould_. Large-billed Sericornis.

_Acanthiza magnirostra_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 146; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.