322 TIMELIID.E. 



should never have noticed it but for the actions of the old birds, who kept hopping around me, 

 utterinfj a shrill wliistling note, and moving their tails up and down all the time; indeed it is 

 doubtful if I should have discovered the nest even then, although not more than a yard from 

 my feet, if the young one had not moved." 



Drymaoedus superciliaris. 



NORTHERN SCRUB-ROBIN. 



Dn/imiiles superciliaris, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 18.50, p. 200; id., Handbk. Pxls. Austr., Vol. I, 

 p. 291 (18(55); id., Bds. Austr., fol., Suppl,, pi. IG (1869). 



Drymaoedus superciliaris, Hliarpe, Cat. BJs. Urit. Mus., Vol. Vll., p. 314 (1883); id., Hiiud-1. Bds., 

 Vol. IV., p. 4 (1903). 



Adult m.^le — General colour above rufous-broivn, the plumes of i!ie loimr back anil rump, 

 long, donmy, and richer in colour ; lesser wing-coverts slightly browner than the back; median and 

 greater coverts black tipped mith luhite; quills blackish-brown, darker in the centre, all except the 

 outermost primiries and the innermost secondaries crossed near the base of the inner web iritli a 

 white bar; the primaries externally margined with white, and the secondaries margined and tipped 

 with white, the innermost secondaries washed ivith rufous-brown on their outer tvebs; npper tail- 

 coverts cliestnut-red ; central tail feathers dull chestnut-red, the remainder blackisli-broivn margined 

 with dull chestnut-red. for two-thirds of their length and tipped with white; lores and feathers behind 

 the upper portion of the eye white; a small spot above and an oblique streak below the eye black; 

 ear-coverts pale sandy-brown ; chin, cheeks, and throat white; remainder of the under surface white, 

 washed with sandy-brown, which is darker on the sides of the body,; lower Jlanks light sandy-brown; 

 under tail-coverts white washed with sandy-brown. Total length 8'2 inches, wing Jfl, tail Jf, bill Oil, 

 tarsus 165. 



Adult fem.\LE — Similar in plumage to the male, but smaller. 



Distribution, — Cape York Peninsula. 

 "^^T O specimen of the present species has been recorded from any other part of the 

 ±- » Australian continent than the neighbourhood of Cape York, where it was discovered 

 by MacGillivray in 1848, also its nest and eggs. Mr. J. .\. Thorpe obtained specimens at 

 Cape York in 1867-8, and Mr. George Masters procured an adult male in the same locality in 

 1875, during the stay there of the "Che vert" E.\pedition, under the command of the late Sir 

 William Macleay. 



From Somerset, Mr. Bertie L. Jardine writes me: — " Drymaadus superciliaris is a very 

 common species here, and may be seen hopping about the scrub or making a short flight close 

 to the ground. Frequently, as it perches on a log or dead branch near the ground, it will 

 utter a loud shrill whistle, at the same time moving its tail up and down after the manner of 

 a Rail. In habits and actions it resembles very much the Pitta, passing most of its time on 

 the ground, and feeding upon insects and their larva', and a small species of Hcli.x found among 

 the fallen leaves, .\lthough b}' no means a shy bird, when startled it will hop away with great 

 speed and quickly disappear among the vines and imdergrovvth. The nest, which is generally 

 placed at the foot of a small tree, consists of a circular hole scooped in the ground, about four 

 inches in diameter and one inch and a half in depth, and this is roughly lined with the long wiry 

 tendrils of a scrub plant. Around this cupped portion of the structure is built a compact wall, 

 about an inch or more in height, of sticks and leaves. As the nesting season, which begins in 

 November and continues until the end of January, is during our heavy rains, this wall is, I 

 think, in all probability raised with the motive of preventing the water from running into the 

 nest. The structure measures e.xternally over all about nine inches, and two eggs are usually 

 laid for a sitting." 



