AC ANTE IZ A. 



2.75 



Acanthiza pyrrhopygia. 



KUFuUS-RUMPED THOKN-lilLL. 

 AcatUhiza pyrrhopyyia, Gould, Bds. Austr., fol., Vol. III., pi. 58 (1848); id., Handbk. Bd.s. Austr., 

 Vol. I., p. 369 (186.5). 

 Adult male — General colour above pale olive-hrorvn; upper wing-coverts like the back; quills 

 dusky broirn, the primaries externally edged tvith ashy-olive, the secondaries margined with olive- 

 brown; upper tail-coverts rufous; basal portion of tail feathers very pale reddish-olive externally 

 margined with rufous, the apical portion blackish-hroivn largely tipped with white on the inner web 

 aiid very pale olive-brown on the outer, the lateral feathers also narrowly edged with tchite on the 

 tips of their outer webs; forehead blackish-brown with distinct whitish tips to all the feathers; ear- 

 coverts dull whitish with blackish-brown bases; chin, cheeks, throat and fore-neck dull white tvith 

 dusky-grey bases and blackish margins to the sides of all the feathers, giving these parts a distinctly 

 mottled appearance; sides of the breast ashy-brown; remainder of the tinder surface white tvashed 

 with fulvous on the flanks ; under tail-coverts fulvous ; bill blackish-brown; legs and feet brown ; 

 iris reddish-brown. Total length 4 inches, wing 2, tail 1-7.5, bill OSS, tarsus O-7-o. 

 Adult female — Similar in plumage to the male. 

 Distribution. — South Australia, \'ictoria, Xew South Wales. 

 /-T^HE Rufous-rumped Thorn-bill, an inhabitant of the south-eastern portion of the con- 

 -L tinent, is found in South Australia and North-western \'ictoria. Gould, who discovered 

 this species in the belts of the Murray River, describes and figures it in his folio edition of 

 the -Birds of x\ustralia,'"- and points out where it differs from Acanthiza apicalis of Western 

 Australia. Dr. Sharpe, who had apparently never seen an example of A. pyrrhopygia, for he 

 transcribes Gould's description of it in his "Catalogue of Birds m the British Museum,"! 

 regards it as "very doubtfully distinct from A. apicalis," and erroneously gives its habitat 

 as Western Australia. I feel sure, however, if Dr. Sharpe had seen a specimen he would 

 never for a moment question the validity of A. pyrrhopygia. Its very pronounced rufous upper 

 tail-coverts, and more conspicuously white tipped tail feathers which have also a broader 

 blackish-brown subterminal band, will readily serve to distinguish it from A. apicalis. Wing- 

 measurement of adult males varies from i-g to 2 inches. 



A specimen lent by the South Australian Museum, procured by Mr. R. M. Hawker, m 

 April, 1902, in the scrubs of the Murray River, South Australia, where Gould procured the 

 type, is altogether darker than New South Wales examples, and is furthermore distinguished 

 by having the under tail-coverts fulvous. Gould does not give the colour of the latter, but 

 states that the flanks are pale buff. An adult female, and young male, since received, collected 

 by Dr. A. M. Morgan and Dr. A. Chenery respectively, at Paney and Nooning, during a trip 

 made from Port Augusta to the Gawler Ranges in August, 1902, have the same fuKous-washed 

 flanks and fulvous under tail-coverts, but these parts are naturally paler in the young male. 

 A similar-coloured adult bird is in the Australian Museum collection; it was obtained by :\Ir. 

 R. H. Pulleine on Yorke Peninsula. 



The nest, an oval structure with an entrance near the top, is outwardly formed of strips of 

 bark, wool, dried grasses, and spider's cocoons, all matted together, and lined inside with 

 feathers or other soft material. It is generally placed in the drooping leaves of a eucalyptus, 

 or acacia. 



The eggs are three in number for a sitting, oval in form, the shell being close-grained, 

 smooth, and slightly lustrous. They are of a fleshy-white ground colour, which is thickly 



» Bds. Austr., fol., Vol. iii., pi. 58 {1848). 



t Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. vii., p. 297 (1883). 



