Part 8

The _Sericornis magnirostris_ an inhabitant of the brushes of New South Wales, both those which clothe the gullies and sides of the mountain ranges of the interior, as well as those near the coast; such as occur at Illawarra and on the banks of the Hunter, the Clarence, the Macleay and other rivers; it is never seen in the open country, and so far as I am aware, is entirely confined to New South Wales. Although it has nothing either in its form or colouring to recommend it to notice, it must always be an object of interest, from the very singular nest it constructs, and which, like that of _Sericornis citreogularis_, forms a remarkable object in the scenery of the portion of the country it inhabits. It is formed of a large loose mass of moss, and being attached to the extreme tips of the pendent branches, waves about with every wind that blows; it is very frequently constructed within reach of the hand, but is more often suspended at about ten, and sometimes as high as thirty feet from the ground; occasionally two or three are constructed together under a dense canopy of foliage, overhanging water or a deep and gloomy gully, and then present a very singular appearance. I procured several examples by shooting the branch asunder just above the nest. The nest so perfectly resembles the tufts of living moss which are attached to many of the extremities of the branches of the trees of the brushes, that it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other; and it is a question whether the bird purposely builds its nest in imitation of these hanging masses in order to elude pursuit, or whether it avails itself of the mass already formed, and by a little architectural skill converts it into a receptacle for its eggs. It would seem that the same nest is resorted to for several seasons in succession, and probably for a series of years; the entire mass consists of living moss, and the small hole left for an entrance is so skilfully concealed as scarcely to admit of detection. The breeding-season commences in August and continues until February, during which period many broods are reared. I procured a nest in September out of which flew three young birds, and others during the same month which contained eggs so recently laid that they could scarcely have been sat upon. The eggs are generally two or three in number; their ground-colour varies from bluish white to dull reddish white, with the larger end sparingly washed, freckled and streaked with dark brown; they are large for the size of the bird, being nine and a half lines long by seven lines broad.

It is a very active but shy bird, keeping much among the branches of the high trees, where it gains a plentiful supply of insect food; it may, however, be easily enticed into view by imitating the squeak of its young.

Its powers of song are very feeble.

The sexes do not differ in external appearance, nor do the young when fully fledged offer any variation in colour from the adult.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown, the forehead and tail becoming rufous brown; throat and chest brownish white; abdomen greyish white, passing into bright olive-green on the lower part of the flanks; bill black; feet light brown; irides brown.

The figures represent a male and a female of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA PUSILLA. Little Brown Acanthiza.

_Sylvia pusilla_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lvi.

_Motacilla pusilla_, White’s Journ., pl. in p. 257.

_Bec-fin_, Temm. Man. d’Orn. 2nd edit., tom. i. p. lxviii.

_Dwarf Warbler_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 251.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 647.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 134.

_Acanthiza pusilla_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 227, note.

The present bird is very generally dispersed over New South Wales, where it inhabits the brushes, thickets and gardens. It is most nearly allied to the _A. Diemenensis_, but may be distinguished from that species by its more diminutive size, by its much shorter bill and smaller tail. It is an active prying little bird, and spends much of its time amid the smaller leafy branches of the trees, from among which it collects its insect food: the tail is generally carried above the line of the body. The nest is of a dome-shaped form and is constructed of fine dried grasses and hairy fibres of bark, intermingled and bound together with the hairy cocoons of a species of Lepidopterous insect, and lined with feathers. The eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful pearly white, sprinkled and spotted with fine specks of reddish brown, forming in some instances a zone near the larger end; their medium length is eight lines and a half by six lines in breadth.

The sexes are so precisely similar in outward appearance, that dissection must be resorted to to distinguish the one from the other.

Forehead buff, each feather edged with brown; all the upper surface and wings brown, tinged with olive; tail reddish olive, crossed near the tip by a narrow band of black; throat and chest greyish white, each feather margined with black, giving that part a mottled appearance; flanks, abdomen and under tail-coverts buff; irides brownish red; bill dark brown; feet brown.

The Plate represents two individuals of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA DIEMENENSIS, _Gould_. Tasmanian Acanthiza.

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

_Brown-tail_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

I believe this species, like the _Acanthiza Ewingii_, to be peculiar to Van Diemen’s Land, over the whole of which country it is rather numerously dispersed, and where it inhabits forests and open woodlands, but evinces a preference to low and shrub-like trees rather than to those of a higher growth. It also frequents the gardens and shrubberies of the colonists; it is consequently one of the commonest and one of the best known birds of the island. Active and sprightly in its actions, it prys about the foliage with the most scrutinizing care in search of insects and their larvæ, which constitute its sole food. It frequently utters a rather loud harsh note, which is sometimes changed for a more full and clear strain; still its vocal powers are by no means conspicuous. It has a much more lengthened bill, and is altogether a larger bird than the _Acanthiza pusilla_, whose habitat seems restricted to the south-eastern portion of the Australian continent. The plumage of the sexes is alike, and their size and general appearance so similar, that without the aid of dissection it is impossible to distinguish them. The nest of this little bird, which is usually built in a low shrub, is rather a dense structure, being formed of grasses, fibrous roots and the inner bark of trees, warmly lined with feathers; it is of a globular form, with a small hole in the side near the top for an entrance, and is very similar in appearance to that of the Common Wren, _Troglodytes Europæus_. The eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful pearly bluish white, sprinkled and spotted with reddish brown. In some instances the spots form a zone round the larger end. The medium length of the eggs is eight lines and a half, and breadth six lines.

Independently of the task of incubating its own offspring, this species very frequently has to perform the additional labour of hatching and rearing the young of the Bronze Cuckoo (_Chalcites lucidus_), whose single egg or young is often found in the nest. It is a very early breeder, commencing in August and continuing until January, during which period two or three broods are generally reared by each pair.

Forehead rufous brown, each feather with a crescent-shaped mark of bright buff near its extremity and tipped with blackish brown; all the upper surface and wings deep olive-brown; upper tail-coverts reddish brown; tail olive-brown, crossed by a band of blackish brown; cheeks, throat and chest greyish white, each feather margined with a broken line of deep brown; abdomen and under tail-coverts greyish white, tinged with rufous, which is deepest on the flanks and under tail-coverts; bill dark brown; irides lake-red; feet brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA EWINGII, _Gould_. Ewing’s Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza Ewingii_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., August 13, 1844.

This species of _Acanthiza_ is a native of Van Diemen’s Land, and has been named after the Reverend Thomas James Ewing, a gentleman ardently attached to the study of Natural History, and a sincere friend to all who have the advantage of his acquaintance. That there were two nearly allied species of this genus inhabiting Van Diemen’s Land was an opinion I had entertained before my visit to that country, and I have since ascertained that this opinion was a correct one, although I did not reside there long enough to ascertain what difference may exist in the habits and economy of the two birds.

The _Acanthiza Ewingii_ is more elegant in all its proportions than its near ally, the _Acanthiza Diemenensis_, for although it is a smaller bird, its tarsi are longer and more slender. There is also a rich brown mark at the base of the primaries of _A. Ewingii_, which does not occur in any other known species; the markings of the breast also are more indistinct and clouded with blue-grey, while in _A. Diemenensis_ this part of the plumage is lighter and more inclined to brown. I have never seen this little bird on the continent of Australia, and I believe that it never occurs there.

Crown of the head light brown; all the upper surface brownish olive; wings dark brown; primaries margined at the base with sandy buff; tail rich brown, crossed by a broad band of black near the tip; the lateral feathers tipped with white; throat speckled black and white; under surface pale olive; irides dark brown; bill and feet brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA UROPYGIALIS, _Gould_. Chestnut-rumped Acanthiza.

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

I received this new and well-marked species from New South Wales, with the belief that it had been collected either on the Liverpool Plains or the country immediately to the northward of them; but as there is some degree of uncertainty as to the locality in which it was procured, a knowledge of its true habitat would be very desirable, and I should have been happy to have cleared up this point had it been in my power so to do.

The chestnut colour pervading the basal half of the tail and the tail-coverts forms a very conspicuous mark, and presents a strong contrast to the remainder of the plumage. That its habits, actions and economy are very similar to those of the other members of the genus there can be no doubt, but on these points also I am compelled to silence, no notes of any kind having been sent with the specimens.

Head, upper surface and wings brown, slightly tinged with olive; the feather on the forehead tipped with a lighter colour; rump and upper tail-coverts rich reddish chestnut; tail-feathers brownish black, largely tipped with white, which on the two centre feathers is tinged with brown; throat, chest, and centre of the abdomen greyish white; flanks and under tail-coverts buffy white; bill and feet black.

The Plate represents the bird, which I believe to be a male, in two different positions.

ACANTHIZA APICALIS, _Gould_. Western Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza apicalis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., March, 1847.

_Djool-be-djoȍl-bung_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

_Wren_, Colonists of Swan River.

This species, which is a native of Western Australia, is distinguished from those immediately allied to it—_A. Diemenensis_, _pusilla_ and _Ewingii_—by its large size, by its larger and rounder tail, by the broad and distinct band of black which crosses the tail-feathers near their extremities, and by their being largely tipped with white.

It occurs in great abundance in the colony of Western Australia, both at Swan River and King George’s Sound, and is to be met with in all wooded situations. Like the other members of the genus, it is active and sprightly in its actions, leaping about from branch to branch with its tail erect, and often repeating a note which very much resembles the syllables _Gee-wo-wut_. Its stomach is somewhat muscular, and the food consists of small insects of various kinds.

It breeds in September and October. The nest, which is usually placed in a thickly-foliaged bush, or in a clump of the Tea-tree, is of a domed form, with the entrance in the side, and is composed of dried grasses and strips of Tea-tree bark, and lined with feathers. The eggs are from three to five in number, of a flesh-white, thickly freckled with reddish chestnut, the freckles becoming so numerous at the larger end as to form a complete zone; their medium length is eight lines, and breadth six lines.

The sexes are alike in plumage, but the female is somewhat smaller than her mate.

Feathers of the forehead deep buff, edged with dark brown; all the upper surface, wings and tail light olive-brown; tail crossed with a broad and distinct band of brownish black near the extremity, and largely tipped with white; upper tail-coverts tinged with rufous; throat and chest greyish tail-coverts pale buff; white, each feather margined with black, giving that part a mottled appearance; flanks, abdomen and under irides light red; bill, legs and feet dark brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA PYRRHOPYGIA, _Gould_. Red-rumped Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza pyrrhopygia_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., 1847.

This species differs from the _Acanthizæ Diemenensis_, _pusilla_, _Ewingii_, and _apicalis_, in having a shorter and more robust bill, and in the greater depth of the red colouring on the rump and upper tail-coverts; it also differs from the three former in having the tail tipped with white, in which respect it assimilates to the _A. apicalis_ and _A. uropygialis_, to the former of which it is most nearly allied.

I discovered this species in the Belts of the Murray, where it inhabits the small shrubby trees; upon first seeing it, I at once perceived that it was a distinct species by the red colouring of the rump, which showed very conspicuously at the distance of several yards, and also by the peculiarity of its note. In its actions it very closely assimilates to the other members of the genus, being an alert and quick little bird, carrying its tail above the level of the back, and showing the red colouring of the coverts to the greatest advantage. I succeeded in killing both sexes, and found that they exhibit no outward difference, and are only to be distinguished with certainty by dissection.

All the upper surface and wings olive-brown, the feathers of the forehead margined with buff; wings brown with pale edges; throat white, each feather margined with black; abdomen whitish; flanks pale buff; upper tail-coverts rufous; tail olive, crossed by a broad band of black, and tipped on the outer webs with pale olive, on the inner webs with white; bill blackish brown, under mandible somewhat lighter; feet brown; irides reddish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA INORNATA, _Gould_. Plain-coloured Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza inornata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 171.

_Djo-b̏ul-djo-b̏ul_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

Although neither elegant in form nor characterized by any beauty of plumage, the present little bird demands as much of our attention as any other species of the group. Its true habitat seems to be the south-western parts of Australia, for it is numerously dispersed over the colony of Swan River; it is equally abundant at King George’s Sound; and as I killed specimens on the small low islands at the mouths of Spencer’s and St. Vincent’s Gulfs, it is most probable that its range extends all along the coast between those localities. Independently of its plainer colouring, the truncated form of its tail serves at once to distinguish it from the _Acanthiza apicalis_, with which it is often seen in company; unlike the latter bird however it does not erect its tail, but carries it in a line with the body.

Its note is a little feeble song somewhat resembling that of the _Maluri_. It feeds solely on minute insects of various kinds, in searching for which it assumes the usual clinging and prying positions of other insectivorous birds which seek their food among the leaves and branches of shrubs and trees.

It breeds in November; the nest, which is of a domed form, being placed in some low shrub, often in that of the jam-wood, and composed of grasses lined with a few feathers.

The eggs are five in number, and of a white colour, slightly tinged with greenish grey; they measure seven and a half lines long by five and a half lines broad.

No visible difference is observable in the outward appearance of the sexes.

All the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown; primaries dark brown; tail crossed by a broad band of brownish black; all the under surface light buff; irides greenish white; bill and feet black.

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

ACANTHIZA NANA, _Vig. & Horsf._ Little Acanthiza.

_Dwarf Warbler_, var. A.? Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 134. No. 161.

_Acanthiza nana_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 226.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 283.

This little bird, which is very generally distributed over the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia, inhabits the extremities of the branches of the various trees, without, so far as I could observe, evincing a partiality for any particular kind; the _Casuarinæ_ on the banks of creeks, the _Eucalypti_ of the plains, and the belts of _Banksiæ_ being equally resorted to by it. Insects of various orders constitute its sole food, and in the capture of these it exhibited many lively and varied actions, which strongly reminded me of those of the _Regulus cristatus_ of our own island: that, like its near allies, it may occasionally resort to the ground for food, I think very likely, yet I do not recollect having seen it in such situations.

The nest is a neat domed structure with a small entrance near the top, and is composed of fine grasses; its site varies according to circumstances, but is generally among the smaller branches of the trees. The number and colour of its eggs are at present unknown.

As its name implies, and as will be seen on reference to the Plate, the _Acanthiza nana_ is one of the more diminutive, although not the least of the Australian birds.

There is no outward difference by which the sexes can be distinguished, neither do they undergo any seasonal change, nor is there any great variation in the colouring of the young and the adult.

All the upper surface bright olive; tail greyish brown tinged with olive, and crossed by a broad band of blackish brown; throat and under surface yellow; irides brown with a very narrow rim of yellowish white; bill and feet blackish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA LINEATA, _Gould_. Striated Acanthiza.

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

This pretty little species inhabits most of the wooded districts of South Australia, particularly the gullies among the mountain ranges; it is also tolerably abundant among the brushes and trees near the brooks and rivulets of the Liverpool range in New South Wales. It is very active and animated in its actions, clinging and prying about among the branches in search of insects in every possible variety of position. It is a permanent resident in the countries above mentioned, but is not found in Van Diemen’s Land or Western Australia. Unfortunately I did not succeed in procuring its nest, but judging from those of the other members of the genus, it is doubtless of a domed form, with a small hole near the top for an entrance; and though I have never seen the eggs, it may be presumed from analogy that they are either purely white, or white speckled with reddish brown.

Its food consists entirely of insects, which are procured from the leaves and flowers of the various trees.

The sexes can only be distinguished by dissection, for no perceptible difference whatever is observable either in their size or the colouring of their plumage.

This species, the least of the genus to which it belongs, and one of the most diminutive of the Australian birds, may be thus described:—

Crown of the head brownish olive, with a fine line of white down the centre of each feather; back and wings greenish olive; tail the same, crossed by a broad band of brownish black near the tip, beyond which the extremities are brownish grey; throat and chest grey, tinged with olive, the margins of the feathers spotted with dark brown, giving these parts an irregular spotted appearance; bill and feet black; irides brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA REGULOIDES, _Vig. & Horsf._ Regulus-like Acanthiza.

_Acanthiza Reguloides_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 226.

_Dwarf Warbler_, var. β? Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 135. No. 161.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 283.

Many of the actions of this little bird offer a close resemblance to those of the Yellow-tailed Acanthiza (_A. chrysorrhœa_); like that species, it resorts to the ground for its food; moves about in small flocks of from eight to fifteen in number; when flushed shows the yellow or buff of the rump very conspicuously; always spreads its tail while flying; flits along with a jerking motion, and is very tame. It is extremely common in South Australia, where I observed it in every part of the country I visited, and in New South Wales I even found it in the interior beyond the ranges, and also on the bare ridges between Patrick’s Plains and the Liverpool range. I did not meet with it in Van Diemen’s Land. It evinces a decided preference for the open country or hills slightly covered with brush, where it can feed on the ground and fly to the low shrub-like trees when disturbed; I have also seen it busily engaged among the branches, apparently in search of insects, in the pursuit of which, like the other members of the genus, it displays unusual alertness and address.