CALAMAN'TllUS. 355 



September. 1S93. '••' t iicular Head; and a third, also with three ej^gs, at Longford, on the 17th 

 November, 1896. From Dr. Holden's notes, and the dates just quoted, the breeding season of 

 this species is shown to e.\tend at least over the latter half of the year. 



CalamantliLis albiloris. 



WHITE-LOHED REED-LARK. 

 Calamanlhus albiloris, North, Vict. Nat., Vol. XIX,, p. 102 (1902); Sliarpe, Hand-1. Bds., Vol. 

 IV., p. 358 (1903). 



Adult yiALV.—Li/ce the adult male of Calamantiius fuliginosus. Vigors cO IJorsfield, but 

 distinguish "il frotn that species in being smaller, paler, less distinctly streaked, atul in having a 

 white triangular-shaped patch in front of the eye joining a white superciliary line; ear-coverts dull 

 rufous, indistinctly streaked rvith white; the quills are more distinctly edged ivith ashy-white, and 

 the spot at tlie end of tlie inner webs of the lateral tail feathers is almost pure ivhite. Total length 

 5'2 inches, wing £J, tail J'l, bill 0'4-J, tarsus 'J. 



Adult fkmalk — Differs from the adult male in having the eye-brow less distinct; a spot behind 

 the 7iosfril, and the lores dull orange-rufous, and the throat biiff but narrowly streaked with black 

 like that of the male. 



DistrilmtioH. — Victoria. 



/T^ME present species was described''' from a single specimen, forming part of the Old 

 J- Collection of the Australian Museum, and nothing is known of its history beyond that 

 given on the label: — "Cnlaiiianthus fuliginosus, \'ictoria, 1865." From that species it differs, as 

 pointed out above, the type also having a line of white feathers below the eye. Since the 

 description was sent to press, Mr. G. A. Keartland procured me another specimen obtained by 

 him at Clayton, \'ictoria; and recently, on loan, an adult male and female procured by ;\Ir. R. 

 Hall at Altona Bay. Mr. Keartland and Mr. j. (labriel observed this species at the Werribee 

 River, and it is doubtless the same whose nests and eggs I procured in the vicinity of 

 Melbourne in my earl}' collecting davs. One bird, killed at .Mbert Park with a catapult, I well 

 remember had a spot of white at the tip of the inner webs of the outer tail feathers. As this 

 agrees with the description of the tail feathers of C. cauipestris, and Dr. Sharpe records \'ictoria| 

 as its habitat, I formerly attributed the nests and eggs I found to C. campesiris, instead of the 

 present species. Referrable also to C. albiloris is the single specimen recorded from New South 

 Wales,;: obtained by Mr. E. Payten on the 19th August, 1896, on Boloco Station, near Buckley's 

 Crossing Place. It is a female, and lacks the characteristic triangular white patch in front 

 of the eye as in the male. Except in the tail feathers, lighter colour, and being less distinctly 

 streaked, it is barely distinguishable from the female of C. fuliginosus. 



This bird has a pleasing song, which is usually poured forth when perched on the topmost 

 twig of some low bush. It is generally sustained for a long time, unless interrupted by an 

 intruder, when it immediately seeks cover below. 



The nest is rounded in form, with a small entrance in the side, and is outwardly constructed 

 of coarse grasses and weeds, the inside being lined with finer grasses and a thick lining of 

 feathers, one or two frequently projecting from the entrance. An average nest measures 

 externally four inches and a half in diameter, and across the entrance one inch and a quarter. 

 They vary, however, in size and the materials with which they are outwardly formed; those I 



• Vict. Nat., Vol. xix., p. 102 (1902). 



t Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. vii., p. 503 (1883). 



J Rec. Aust. Mus., Vol. iii., p. 14, 1897. 



