SMICRORNIS. 



189 



CS-enHS Sl^IOI50IS3>TIS, Gould. 



Smicrornis brevirostris. 



SHORT-BILLED SCRUB-TIT. 

 Psilopus brevirostris, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1837, p. 147. 



Smicrornis brevirostris, Gould, Bds. Austr., fol, Vol. IL, pi. 103 (1848); id., Handbk. Bds. Austr., 

 Vol. I., p. 273 (18G5); Sharpe, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. IV., p. 209 (1879). 



Adult male — General colour above dull olive tinged with yellow, which is more distinct on the 

 lower back and rump; quills broivn, externally edged toith ashy-olive; upper tail-coverts olive-brown; 

 tail feathers pale brmvn, crossed by a broad subterminal black band, which is almost lost on the two 

 central feathers, the four outermost feathers having a spot of white near the tip of their inner webs; 

 crown of the head pale brown, tinged toith olive; from the nostril extending over the eye a line of 

 dull whitish feathers; a small spot in front of the eye rufous-brown; remainder of the feathers 

 around thr eye and the ear-coverts pale rufou$-brow7i: throat and fore-neck dull white, tinged with 

 olive; remainder of the under surface pale yellowlsh-hiff, becoming bright olive-yellow on the 

 abdomen; under tail-coverts pale yeUotvish-buff ; bill broum ; feet fleshy-brown ; iris straw-white. 

 Total length in the flesh 3-5 inches, wing J, tail l-Jf, bill 0-2, tarsus 0-lJ. 



Adult female — Similar in plumage to the male. 



Distribution.— Qu&ftnsX&nA, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia. 

 /T^HE two species belonging to this genus, which is confined to Australia, may be 

 -L distinguished by their diminutive size and unusually short bills. The present species 

 is widely distributed over the continent, and among specimens now before me I can find no 

 difference between eastern and western examples. An adult male, obtained by Mr. George 

 Masters in January, 1869, at Mongup, Salt River, Western Australia, being precisely similar 

 in plumage to another one procured by him in August, 1870, at Gayndah on the Burnett 

 River, Queensland. The wing-measurement of adult males varies from 1-85 to 2-05 inches. 

 Some have narrow central brownish-black streaks on the feathers of the throat, in others they 

 are absent. 



With the exception of heavily timbered mountain ranges, and the dense coastal brushes, I 

 have noted this species in nearly every part of New South Wales and Victoria. In the latter 

 State it was one of the first birds I became acquainted with in my early collecting days, the belts 

 of Melaleuca growing near the mouth of the Yarra River being at that time the favourite resort, 

 among others, of two species known locally and distinguished by bird-nesting boys as the 

 "Scrub-Tit," the present species, and the "Scrub- Wren" (Scriconiis fnmtalis). In New South 

 Wales I found it very common near Wellington and Dubbo, also in the myall scrubs on the 

 Namoi River, its range extending through similar country into Western Queensland, from 

 where I received its nest and eggs. Near Sydney it breeds chiefly in the open forest lands 

 about Blacktown and Seven Hills, and in the sapling scrubs at Cabramatta, Auburn, and 

 Belmore. It is freely distributed on the hills around Adelaide, and Dr. A. M. Morgan found 

 it fairly common at Port Augusta in August, 1900, but not farther north. . Again, in company 

 with Dr. A. Chenery during a collecting expedition made from Port Augusta to the Gawler 

 Ranges in August, 1902, it was observed throughout the trip wherever there were Eucalypti. 

 While undoubtedly resorting to trees of larger growth, it gives decided preference for sapling 

 scrubs and low timber. 



In its actions it closely resembles the typical Acanthis^e, clinging to the leafy sprays and 

 diligently searching for minute insects and their larva;. It is exceedingly tame, and if one 

 remains perfectly still, will venture so close that I have more than once seen an attempt made 

 to catch it in dwarf saplings with a short-handled butterfly-net. 



