352 timeludjE. 



Ephthianura crocea. 



YELLOW-BKEASTED NUN. 



EplUhianura crocea, Castlenau &, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Vol. I., p. 380 (1877); Sliarpe, 

 Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. VII., p. 669 (1883); Gould & Sharpe, Bds. New Guin., Vol. III., 

 pi. 14 (1888); North, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Vol. XXIII., p. 380 (1898); Sharpe, Hand-1. 

 Bds., Vol. IV., p. 148 (1903). 



Adult male — General colour above broicn slightly washed with olive, the feathers on the hack 

 with indistinct darker brown centres; lower back olive yellofv ; rump and tipper tail-coverts bright 

 yellow: upper wing-coverts blackish-bro?rn, the lesser coverts margined with yellow, the median and 

 greater series tvith broad dull whitish margins which are again narrotoly edged with yelloiv; 

 primaries broivn, their basal portion narrowly edged externally with yellotv, irhich passes info ashy- 

 white towards the tips; secondaries dark brown externally margined and tipped with nshyirhite, 

 their outer webs also narrowly edged with yelloiv; tail feathers dark broivn, externally edged with 

 yellow, paler at the tips, and having a white spot at the end of their inner web, the outermost 

 feather pale brown, tvhite at the base on the edge of the inner web; crown of the head olive-yellow ; in 

 front of the eye a small dusky-brou'n spot; ear-coverts yellow slightly tinged with olive; a line of 

 feathers extending from the nostril over the eye bright yellojc ; sides of the neck olive-yellow ; all tlie 

 under surface bright yellow, deeper in lint on the chin and throat, which is followed on the fore-neck 

 by a short crescentic band of black; the chest slightly tinged with olive, more distinct on the sides; 

 under tail-coverts bright yellow; bill, legs, and feet (of skin) blockish-hrnnm. Total length ^- 3 inches, 

 vnng 2'o, tail 155, bill 14~t tarsus 0-7. 



Adult female — Above ashy-broum, some of the feathers of tJie liead and hack with slightly 

 darker centres; lower runip and upper tail-coverts yellow; wings and tail as in the male: lores and 

 an indistinct line over the eye dull ashy-'rhite ; ear-coverts and sides of the neck pale asliy-brown: 

 chin and throat dull white ; fore-neck and upper breast pale ashy-brown, slightly darker on the sides 

 of the body; remainder of the under surface dull white, washed with yellow; under tail-coverts 

 yellow; bill (of skin) brown, lighter at the base of the lower mandible; legs and feet blackish-brown. 

 Total length ^-25 inclies, wing 2-3, tail I'JiO, bill 0^2, tarsus 0-7. 



Distribution. — Northern Queensland, North-western Australia. 



^N addition to its smaller size and clearer and brighter yellow under parts, the adult male of 

 the present species may be distinguished from that of Ephthianura aurifrons, which it more 

 nearly resembles, by having the chin and throat rich yellow, and by having a black crescentic 

 markmg on the fore-neck. It was discovered by Mr. T. A. Gulliver, near the mouth of the 

 Norman River, in the Gulf District, Northern Queensland. Subsequently it has been noted 

 and obtained by several collectors, as well as its nests and eggs, near the Fitzroy River, 

 in North-western Australia. Although doubtless its range extends over similar latitudes in the 

 intervening Northern Territory of South Australia, up to the present time I know of no 

 authenticated record of specimens being procured from that part of the continent. 



The above descriptions are taken from a pair of birds obtained near Derby, North-western 

 Australia. The male differs chiefly from Dr. Sharpe's figure and description of this species in 

 the "Birds of New Guinea,"" in having the crown of the head only slightly washed with olive, 

 the ear-coverts almost uniform in colour with the sides of the head; the chin and throat deeper 

 yellow, and the remainder of the under surface, below the black crescentic band on the fore-neck, 

 uniform bright yellow instead of yellow mixed with ashy. The female agrees fairly well in 

 colour with the figure there given. 



• Bds. New Guin., Vol. iii., pi. 14 (1888). 



