GEOBASILEOS. 285 



Geobasileus reguloides. 



BUFF-EUilPED THOKN-BILL. 

 Acanihiza reguloides, Yig. A- Horsf., Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. XV., p. 226 (1826); Gould, Bds. 

 Austr., fol., Vol. III., pi. 62 (18i8); Sliarpe, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. VII., p. 299 (1883); 

 id., Hand-1. Bds., Vol. IV., p. 220 (1003). 



Geobasileus reguloides, Gould, Handbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. I, p. 370 (1805). 



Adult male — General colour above olive-broitm, the lower hack of a slightly brighter olive; 

 upper wing-coverts like the back, the greater series with broad dusky brown centres; quills dusky 

 brown, narroivly edged externally tvith olive; rump and upper tail-coverts ochraceous-yellow ; basal 

 half of the tail feathers pale ochraceous-buff, the apical half blackish-brozvn mith pale ochraceous-brown 

 tips 'vhich are lighter on the inner webs; forehead pale rufescent-hroiun ivith ivhitish margins to the 

 feathers; remainder of the under surface pale ochraceous-yellow, slightly richer and brighter %n 

 colour on the flanks and abdomen; sides of the breast washed ivith olive-brown; binder tail-coverts 

 pale ochraceous-buff; bill dark greuislt-brown at the tip, ichitish at the base of the lower mandible; 

 legs brownish-grey, the feet a slightly darker shade of grey ; iris very pale bluish-white. Total length 

 in the flesh 4'3 inches, wing 2'1, tail 1'6, bill OS, tarsus 0'7. 



Adult female — Similar in plumage to the male. 



Distrib\Uion. — Queensland, New South Wales, \'ictoria, South Australia. 

 "P^T liW SOUTH \VALES is the stronghold of Geobasileus reguloides, the type of which, 

 -L ^L described by Messrs. \'igors and Horsfield, ■' was obtained near Sydney. It is also 

 found in Southern Queensland, and in much diminished numbers in some parts of Mctoria and 

 South Australia. It is abundantly distributed in the coastal districts of New South Wales and 

 the contiguous mountain ranges, but I have never met with it or seen a specimen in any 

 collection formed in the dry western portions of the State. 



In New South Wales, between the Hawkesbury River and Port Jackson, this species 

 is very common, even more so than its congener G. chrysorrhous, but unless there is a good 

 rainfall, it is not often seen in the late summer months; and in periods of drought, as in the early 

 part of 1902, in common with many other species, it leaves the district. After the cool weather 

 sets in, from April to the end of July, it is usually met with in small flocks, from seven to ten 

 or more in number, busily engaged in searching for insects over the ground or in low saplings. 



The note is a difficult one to syllabicate, but when once heard it is easily distinguishable 

 from that of its congener, G. chrysorrhous, being less musical and the strain not so sustained. 



The nest is a dome-shaped structure, with an entrance in the side, slightly protected by a 

 small hood. It is formed of strips of bark, dried grasses, with which are intermingled a few 

 egg-bags of spiders, and the green silky covering in which some are enveloped, the inside being 

 thickly lined, usually with feathers, and sometimes with hair or fur. An average nest measures 

 externally four inches and a half in height by three inches and a half in diameter, and across 

 the entrance one inch. When the nest contains eggs, the entrance is smaller and more neatly 

 rounded than it is after the young ones are hatched and the parents repeatedly pass in and out 

 while attending to their wants. A nest found at Roseville, on the i6th September, igoi, in a 

 thin rotten stump, which I had to pull to pieces to get at it, was first lined at the bottom with 

 white plant down, on the top of that a thick felting of rabbit fur, and finally a quantity of 

 feathers. It contained five fresh eggs. The lower portion of another nest, found by me at 

 Roseville, on the 4th October, igoi, which contained four half incubated eggs, was formed 

 almost entirely of the soft red downy tufts stripped off" Banksia cones, the inside being 

 lined with fowl feathers, the lining most commonly used when the nest is constructed near 



* Trans. Linn. Soc, Vol. xv., p. 226 (1826). 



