STEEPER A. 17 



in ground colour from pale to rich \inous-bro\vn, and are freckled, streaked, or blotched with 

 slightly darker shades than the ground colour, the markings on some specimens being uniformly 

 distributed over the shell, in others forming an irregular shaped cap or zone on the larger end. 

 A set of two measures as follows: — Length (A) i-72xi-2 inches; (B) 173 x 1-23 inches. A 

 set of three measures (A) 1-67 x i'i8 inches; (B) i'65 x 1-15 inches; (C) 1-65 x 1-2 inches. 



Strepera fuliginosa. 



SOOTY CROW-SHKIKE. 

 Cracticus fidiginosjis, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 18.36, p. 100. 



Strepera fuliginosa, Gould, Bds. Austr., fol., Vol. II., pi. 4:5 (18I.S) ; id., Handbk. Bds. Austr., 

 Vol. I., p. 170 (1865); Sharpe, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mas., Vol. III., p. 61 (1877). 



Adult male — General colour sooty black, darker on the upper parts: bases of tlie inner uv.bs of 

 the primaries w/iite, a broad band at the tips of the outer ones, and a narroia ed<je at the tips of some 

 of the secondaries, white: tail duski/ black, all but the two central feathers tipped with irhite ; 

 bill and legs black: iris yelloiv. Total length. IS indies, vjing 10\',, tail S'J, bill :3'6, tarsus 2 '>. 



Adult female — Similar to the male in plumage. 



Distribution. — Tasmania, and most of the larger islands in Bass Strait, South Australia, 

 \'ictoria, NewSouth Wales, Queensland. 

 Tp«) IKE Strepera graculina, on the continent, the present species is kn(.nvn in Tasmania, o\er 



J X which it is widely distributed, as the "Black Magpie." It is also found on most of the 



larger islands of Bass Strait, and is common in some parts of Victoria; Gould also records that 

 a few individuals have been found in South Australia. Hitherto it has not been regarded as an 

 inhabitant of New South Wales, but during a twenty-five years' residence in the south-western 

 portion of this State, the late Mr. K. H. Bennett met with it on three occasions. The last one 

 he observed was in an unusual situation, in a mallee scrub in the most arid part of the Mossgiel 

 district, and far from any permanent water. I have never heard of any species of the genus 

 being found in similar country, but that S. fuliginosa has a still more widely extended range is 

 pro\'ed by my receipt of a specimen for identification that was obtained, with its nest and eggs, 

 in a mountain range in central Eastern Queensland. 



Respecting this species, Mr. G. .\. Keartland writes me as follows: — ".Vlong the shores of 

 King Island, in Bass Strait, these birds are particularly numerous, especially on the west and 

 south coasts. They are seldom found more than a mile from the beach, \vhich furnishes them 

 with an abundance of food in the form of larva;, obtained amongst the decaying kelp and other 

 matter \vashed ashore. At times the ground is almost black with the large flocks which 

 assemble morning and evening to feed. W^hen flying to or from their feeding ground, they 

 keep up an incessant chattering scream, somewhat like the note of the Black-breasted Plover 

 (Sarciophonis tricolor). The Sooty Crow-Shrike is also abundant in parts of Victoria. It is 

 plentiful at Bayswater on the side of the Dandenong Ranges, but as it is accused of making sad 

 havoc amongst the softer fruits — such as strawberries and plums — a constant warfare is waged 

 against it by the fruit-growers." 



The fruit-eating proclivities of this species is confirmed by a note received from !\[r. E. D. 

 .Vtkinson, while resident at Table Cape, on the north-west coast of Tasmania, who writes : — 

 "These birds occur on my farm and are very fond of fruit. .Vt one time there was about a 

 dozen of them. I used to feed them regularly with small bits of apples, and they became so 

 tame that they would eat out of my hand and follow me into the house, though they were very 

 quarrelsome amongst themselves. They are widely distributed in the north-western portion of 

 Tasmania, and I have met with them on most of the larger islands I ha\e visited in Bass Strait." 

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