Part 9

Its domed nest is placed among the foliage of the gum, swamp oak and other trees, and is composed of fine grasses interwoven with cobwebs and slightly lined with feathers. The breeding-season comprises the months of September, October and November, and the eggs are four in number.

Crown, back of the neck, upper surface and wings olive-brown, the feathers of the forehead tipped with a lighter colour; rump, upper and under tail-coverts pale ochre; throat and chest white, each feather with a very slight, broken margin of brown; base of all the tail-feathers pale buff, the external margin of the outer feathers and the tips of all brownish buff, the central portion blackish brown; bill brown, the under mandible paler than the upper; feet olive-brown; irides beautiful straw-yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA CHRYSORRHŒA. Yellow-tailed Acanthiza.

_Saxicola chrysorrhœa_, Quoy and Gaim., Voy. de l’Astrolabe, p. 198. pl. 10. fig. 2.

_Acanthiza chrysorrhœa_, Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Jeȅ-da_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

This well-known species of _Acanthiza_ inhabits Van Diemen’s Land, Western and Southern Australia and New South Wales, in all of which countries it is a permanent resident. It is generally met with in small companies of from six to ten in number, and is so tame that it may be very closely approached before it will rise, and it then merely flies off to a short distance and alights again; during these short flights the yellow of the rump shows very conspicuously.

It commences breeding very early, and rears at least three broods a year. The nest is somewhat carelessly constructed of leaves, grasses, wool, &c., and is of a domed form, with a small hole for an entrance. It would seem that the same nest is resorted to for several succeeding years; but the most curious feature connected with it is, that a small cup-shaped depression or second nest, as it were, is frequently formed on the top or side of the other, and which is said to be either the roosting-place of the male, or where he may sit in order to be in company with the female during the task of nidification. I have myself found many of these double nests, but have not had opportunities for satisfactorily ascertaining the use of the upper one. The bird very readily resorts to the gardens of the settler, and constructs its curious nest in any low shrub. In Van Diemen’s Land one of the trees most frequently selected for the purpose is the prickly _Mimosa_: in Western Australia it is frequently suspended from the overhanging branches of the _Xanthorrhœa_, and in the district of the Upper Hunter upon the apple-trees (_Angophoræ_). The nest varies very much in size, being in some instances considerably larger than the one figured. The eggs are generally of a beautiful uniform flesh-colour, but occasionally they are found sprinkled over with very minute specks of reddish yellow, which in some instances form a zone at the larger end; they are four or five in number, their medium length being nine lines and breadth six lines.

This is one of the species to which the Bronze Cuckoo (_Chalcites lucidus_) delegates the task of rearing its young. I have several times taken the egg of the cuckoo from the nest of this bird and also the young, in which latter case the parasitical bird was the sole occupant.

The song of the _Acanthiza chrysorrhœa_ is extremely pretty, many of its notes closely resembling those of the Goldfinch of Europe (_Carduelis elegans_). Its food consists of small coleopterous and other kinds of insects.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and may be thus described:—

Forehead black, with a spot of white at the tip of each feather; cheeks, throat, and a line from the nostrils over each eye greyish white; chest and under surface yellowish white, passing into light olive-brown on the flanks; upper surface and wings olive-brown; rump and upper tail-coverts bright citron-yellow; base of the tail-feathers white, tinged with yellow; the external margin of the outer feathers and the tips of all brownish grey, the central portion blackish brown; bill and feet blackish brown; irides very light grey.

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

EPTHIANURA ALBIFRONS. White-fronted Epthianura.

_Acanthiza albifrons_, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 56. figs. 1 and 2.

I first met with this species in a state of nature on the small islands in Bass’s Straits, where it had evidently been breeding, as I observed several old nests in the Barilla and other stunted bushes which clothe those isolated spots, particularly Chalky and Green Islands, immediately contiguous to Flinders. I did not observe it in Van Diemen’s Land or to the southward of the localities above mentioned. It would appear that it extends over the whole of the southern portion of the Australian continent, as I have specimens in my collection which were killed at Swan River, in South Australia, and in New South Wales: the extent of its range northwards is not known; I have never yet seen examples from the north coast.

It is a most sprightly and active little bird, particularly the male, whose white throat and banded chest render him much more conspicuous than the sombre-coloured female. As the structure of its toes and lengthened tertiaries would lead us to expect, its natural province is the ground, to which it habitually resorts, and decidedly evinces a preference to spots of a sterile and barren character. The male, like many of the Saxicoline birds, frequently perches either on the summit of a stone, or on the extremity of a dead and leafless branch. It is rather shy in its disposition, and when disturbed flies off with considerable rapidity to the distance of two or three hundred yards before it alights again. I observed it in small companies on the plains near Adelaide, over the hard clayey surface of which it tripped with amazing quickness, with a motion that can neither be described as a hop or a run, but something between the two, accompanied by a bobbing action of the tail.

Of its nidification, I regret to say, nothing is at present known.

The male has the forehead, face, throat and all the under surface pure white; occiput black; chest crossed by a broad crescent of deep black, the points of which run up the sides of the neck and join the black of the occiput; upper surface dark grey, with a patch of dark brown in the centre of each feather; wings dark brown; upper tail-coverts black; two centre tail-feathers dark brown; the remainder dark brown, with a large oblong patch of white on the inner web at the tip; irides, in some, beautiful reddish buff, in others yellow with a slight tinge of red on the outer edge of the pupil; bill and feet black.

The female has the crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail greyish brown, with a slight indication of the oblong white spot on the inner webs of the latter; throat and under surface buffy white; and a slight crescent of black on the chest.

The figures are of the natural size.

EPTHIANURA AURIFRONS, _Gould_. Orange-fronted Epthianura.

_Epthianura aurifrons_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 148; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

As long since as the year 1837 I had the pleasure of characterizing this species at one of the scientific meetings of the Zoological Society of London, from a specimen which had been presented to the Society’s collection by Lieut. Breton, R.N., a gentleman much attached to zoological science, as exemplified by his numerous donations to that Society, and in his “Excursions in New South Wales, Western Australia and Van Diemen’s Land.”

The Orange-fronted Epthianura must be regarded as a bird of the greatest rarity, for the specimen above mentioned is the only one that has ever come under my notice, and in all probability it is quite unique; hence this is another of the birds to which I would wish to direct the attention of residents in New South Wales, particularly those who have an opportunity of visiting the locality in which it was seen by Lieut. Breton, who, when speaking of Gammon Plains, New South Wales, in the work above mentioned, says “we shot also some _Platypi_, and a small bird like a Mule Canary (a species of _Saxicola_); this last is exceedingly rare in the colony, and I am not aware that any other person possesses a specimen; there were only three together, and the natives said they had never seen any before.”

In the lengthened wing, largely developed tertiaries, and in the square form of the tail, it offers a greater alliance to _Epthianura_ than to any other genus, and there I have provisionally placed it; future research, however, and a knowledge of its habits and nidification, will determine the justice of this opinion, or the propriety of separating it into a distinct genus.

Head, upper tail-coverts, sides of the neck, breast and all the under surface fine golden orange, which is richest on the forehead and centre of the abdomen; back olive; wings brown, margined with olive; tail brownish black, each feather except the two middle ones having an oval spot of white on the inner web at the tip; chin and centre of the throat black; bill black; feet brown.

The figure is of the natural size.

EPTHIANURA TRICOLOR, _Gould_. Tri-coloured Epthianura.

_Epthianura tricolor_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 159.

While traversing, soon after sunrise on the 11th of December 1839, the forest lands near Peel’s River to the eastward of Liverpool Plains, a fine male specimen of this bird attracted my notice by the beauty of its colouring and the sprightliness and activity of its actions, while busily engaged in capturing the small insects that were hovering in the air near the ground. As maybe supposed, the sight of a bird of such beauty, and which, moreover, was entirely new to me, excited so strong a desire to possess it that scarcely a moment elapsed before it was dead and in my hand; I regret to add, however, that neither my travelling companion Natty nor any other person could give me any account of it, since, like myself, they had never seen it before; nor could I during my residence in the colony either see another example or obtain any information on the subject. In a small collection procured for me in South Australia by an intelligent and enthusiastic collector, Mr. Strange, two other specimens occurred which I supposed to be male and female; unfortunately in this instance also they were unaccompanied by any notes of their habits or economy; which are yet to be ascertained, the species being doubtless migratory, and the specimens sent rare visitors from the interior to the part of the country where they were killed; any information respecting this _rara avis_ would therefore be very acceptable.

The male has the crown of the head, upper tail-coverts, breast and abdomen bright scarlet; lores, line above and beneath the eye, ear-coverts, occiput and back dark brown; wings brown, each feather margined with brownish white; tail dark brown, each feather having a large spot of white on the inner web at the tip; chin, throat and under tail-coverts white; irides straw white; bill and feet blackish brown.

The female is similar in colour, but has only a slight wash of the scarlet colouring, except on the upper tail-coverts, where it is as brilliant as in the male.

The figures are of the natural size.

XEROPHILA LEUCOPSIS, _Gould_. White-faced Xerophila.

_Xerophila leucopsis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 175.

As an instance how objects which are rare or from remote localities receive a greater share of attention than those with which we are familiar, I may state that while collections of birds have been transmitted to Europe from the most distant parts of the new colony of South Australia, the present little bird, which inhabits the very streets and gardens of Adelaide, like the sparrow in the towns of Europe, had been up to the period of my visit utterly disregarded; it was too common to be considered worthy of notice. Immediately on my arrival, however, in fact on my way to pay my respects to the Governor, Colonel Gawler, I observed it hopping about the street in numbers, and almost on the very door-step of his Excellency’s residence. Upon my calling his attention to the subject and informing him that it was a bird entirely new to science, he at once gave orders that some specimens should be captured alive, so that when I paid my second visit in the evening this undescribed species was a captive in a cage, by which means I was enabled to examine it more closely than I had before been able to do. I afterwards found it to be tolerably abundant in all parts of the colony I visited, both in the interior and in the neighbourhood of the coast. It was generally met with in small flocks of from six to sixteen in number, and more frequently on the ground than among the trees. It hops over the ground very quickly and appears a busy little bird, prying among the herbage for its food, which principally consists of the seeds of the grasses and small annuals which abound on the plains and low hills of South Australia. In disposition it is so remarkably tame that it will allow of a very near approach before it will rise, and then it merely flies to the nearest bush or low tree.

The male offers no external difference by which it can be distinguished from the female, neither do the young exhibit any contrast to the adults in their plumage; it has in fact little to recommend it to the notice of the general observer either in its colouring or in the quality of its song.

The nest which was kindly forwarded to me by Mr. Strange is of rather a large size, of a domed form, with a hole for an entrance very near the top, and is composed of dried grasses, moss, spiders’ webs, wool, the soft blossoms of plants and dead leaves matted together and warmly lined with feathers; it is about seven inches in height and four inches in diameter. The eggs received with the nest were three in number, of a fleshy white, eight and a half lines long and six lines broad.

Forehead and lores white; upper surface olive-brown; wings and tail brown, the latter passing into black near the extremity, and tipped with white; all the under surface pale buff; bill and feet black; irides light straw-colour.

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

PYRRHOLÆMUS BRUNNEUS, _Gould_. Brown Red-Throat.

_Pyrrholæmus brunneus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 173.

_Beȑ-rit-beȑ-rit_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

I found this new bird tolerably abundant in the Belts of the Murray, about forty miles to the northward of Lake Alexandrina, where it gave a decided preference to low stunted bushes and fallen trunks of trees overgrown with herbage, under which it secreted itself; it sometimes rose to the top of a bush to sing, pouring forth a melody equal to any of the smaller birds of Australia, which must render it a general favourite when that portion of the country becomes colonized. It passes much of its time on the ground, hopping about with great celerity, and with its tail elevated considerably above the level of its back.

Since I killed my specimens it has been obtained by Mr. Gilbert in Western Australia, from whose notes I learn that it is there an inhabitant of the underwood and the thickest scrub; and that “it possesses a very sweet and melodious song, which it generally utters while perched on the extreme topmost branch of a small scrubby tree, and having repeated it two or three times, dives down into the impenetrable bush. While feeding it utters a weak, piping, call-like note. I never saw it fairly on the wing, for it seems averse to flying, but generally prefers creeping from bush to bush, and even if closely hunted merely flits a few yards. It makes its nest on the ground, precisely like the members of the genus _Calamanthus_. I found a pair building in the month of September; upon visiting the spot again after an interval of a week, the nest appeared finished, being lined with feathers, but there were no eggs; unfortunately from this time the birds deserted the nest; but Mr. Drummond tells me that he once saw the eggs, that they were three in number and of a green colour.”

Lores greyish white; all the upper surface and wings brown; tail brownish black, the three lateral feathers on each side largely tipped with white; centre of the throat rufous; the remainder of the under surface brownish grey, passing into sandy buff on the flanks and under tail-coverts; irides reddish brown, with an outer ring of yellowish white; upper mandible reddish brown; lower mandible greenish white; legs and feet dark greenish grey.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

ORIGMA RUBRICATA. Rock-Warbler.

_Sylvia rubricata_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. li.—Bonn. et Vieill. Ency. Méth. Orn., part ii. p. 461.

_Ruddy Warbler_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 249.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 697.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 138.

_Motacilla solitaria_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 16.

_Solitary Flycatcher_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vi. p. 220.

_Saxicola solitaria_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 236.

_Origma solitaria_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 30.

Perhaps no one of the smaller birds of New South Wales has attracted a greater share of the attention of ornithologists than the present; a desire indeed of gaining a more complete knowledge of its habits and manners has been generally expressed. Aware of this fact, I made myself as much acquainted therewith as circumstances would admit; and found that they are very peculiar, and different from those of most other birds. Its usual places of resort are the neighbourhood of water-courses and stony, rocky gullies; so exclusively in fact is it confined to such situations, that it never visits the forests, nor have I ever seen it perching on the branches of the trees; indeed it would seem to have an aversion to so doing, as it does not even resort to them as a resting-place for its nest, but suspends it to the ceilings of caverns and the under surface of overhanging rocks in a manner that is most surprising; the nest, which is of an oblong, globular form, and composed of moss and other similar substances, is suspended by a narrow neck, and presents one of the most singular instances of bird architecture that has yet come under my notice. The breeding-season extends over the months of September, October and November, when it is not unusual to find three or four nests suspended to the ceiling of a small dark cavern. I did not succeed in procuring its eggs.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds.

Its note is a low, squeaking sound, which it utters while hopping about the rocks with its tail raised above the level of the body, after the manner of some of the _Acanthizæ_.

The true habitat of this species is New South Wales, which, so far as I am aware, is its exclusive place of abode; I have never seen it from any of the other colonies: over that part of the country it is very generally distributed wherever situations occur suitable to its habits; the rocky beds of the gullies, both near the coast and among the mountains of the interior, being equally frequented by it, but never in any great numbers. It will be seen that it was one of the birds which excited the notice and interest of Mr. Caley, who, in his “Notes,” says, “_Cataract Bird_; an inhabitant of rocky ground. While at the waterfall of Carrung-gurring, about thirty miles to the southward of Prospect Hill, I saw several of them. I have also seen them in the North Rocks, about a couple of miles from Paramatta, and always upon the rocks. I never observed them in trees or bushes.”

The sexes are precisely similar in their plumage, which may be thus described:—

All the upper surface and wings dull brown; tail brownish black; throat grey; under surface dark rusty red; forehead slightly washed with ferruginous red; irides dark reddish brown; bill and feet brownish black, the former rather lighter than the latter.

The figures are of the natural size.

CALAMANTHUS FULIGINOSUS. Striated Reed-Lark.

_Anthus fuliginosus_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 230.

_Praticola fuliginosa_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 27.

This species is very generally dispersed over Van Diemen’s Land, where it frequents open forests and sandy land covered with scrub and dwarf shrub-like trees. It carries its tail erect, like the _Maluri_, but differs from the members of that group in moving that organ in a lateral direction whenever it perches, and at the termination of a succession of hops on the ground, over which it passes with great celerity, depending at all times for safety more on this power than on that of flight. It eludes pursuit by running through a bush to the opposite side, and hopping off to another beyond, which it does quite unseen unless closely watched. It builds a dome-shaped nest, which is placed on the ground, and frequently so hidden by the surrounding grass as to be with great difficulty discovered; a small narrow avenue of a yard in length, like the run of a mouse, being frequently resorted to by the bird, expressly, as one would suppose, to avoid detection. The eggs are three or four in number, rather large and somewhat round in form, of a reddish wood-brown, obscurely clouded with markings of reddish brown, the larger end of the eggs being the darkest; their medium length is ten lines and a half, and breadth eight lines and a half.

The nest is formed of dried grasses and leaves, and is warmly lined with feathers. The breeding-season commences in September and lasts until January.

This species emits so strong an odour, that pointers and other game-dogs stand to it as they do to a quail, and that too at a considerable distance. It possesses a clear and pretty song, which it frequently pours forth while sitting on a bare twig, or the summit of a low bush or shrub among the thickets, to a part of which it dives on the least alarm.

The sexes are precisely similar in colour, and nearly so in size.

All the upper surface olive, with a broad mark of sooty black down the centre of each feather; wings sooty black, narrowly margined with olive; tail olive, all but the two centre feathers crossed near the tip by a broad band of sooty black; line over the eye white; throat greyish white; breast, abdomen and flanks deep buff, each feather of the throat, breast and flanks with a narrow line of sooty black down the centre; irides light sandy buff; bill and feet brownish flesh-colour.