58 STTTID.E. 



with a blfu-kish-hrown streak down the centre widen imj nut ititi, ,i /riniK/idin- sJiK/u'd /m/ch towards the 

 extremity of each feather ; hill black; leys and feet i/illmr: Iris /lalr i/rlhur. Total htujlh .'^-.io inches, 

 iriiHi 4-0-'), tail I:'), hill (rJ^S, tarxns ()■(;. 



Adult female -Similur in phimai/i- to thf inah: 

 Dislrihution — Queensland. 



/T^HIS species is probably confined to Queensland, although it may possibly occur in the 

 J- contiguous north-eastern portions of South Australia. It has also been erroneously 

 recorded from Northern New South Wales, but it does not occur in the latter State. There are 

 specimens in the Australian Museum collection obtained at Wide Bay by Mr. George Masters, 

 and at Chinchilla in Western Queensland by Mr. K. Broadbent, and si.x specimens procured by 

 Mr. H. G. Barnard at the Dawson River, Queensland, from whom the nest and eggs have also 

 been received. In the Macleay Museum there are specimens obtained at Port Denison. Gould's 

 three figures of this species in the "Birds of Australia,'" are all different, to which he draws 

 attention, stating that the bird with the pure white head procured by Gilbert may pro\e to be 

 distinct. The upper figure has the head hoary-grey, similar to a specimen in the Australian 

 Museum, the lower one on the left side of the plate has the top of the head overspread with a 

 dusky wash, almost as dark as in A^. chrysoptcra. Of the latter type is the specimen obtained by 

 Mr. K. Broadbent, and to which he also makes reference.- Of the six specimens received 

 from Mr. Barnard, four have the head pure white, another has a slight hoary wash, the other a 

 young bird has the head greyish-brown. In answer to an inquiry, :\Ir. Barnard informs me that 

 when the head is not pure white in both sexes, it is an indication of youth or immaturity. The 

 wing measurement of adults varies from rg to yz inches. 



.\ nest in the Australian Museum collection is a cup-shaped structure, formed of fine short 

 shreds and scales of bark, intermingled with cobwebs and plant-down, the inside being lined 

 with pieces of the white egg-bags of spiders. It is built at the junction of an upright forked 

 branch, the bottom of the structure tapering and somewhat resembling an inverted rounded 

 cone, the whole exterior being covered with short pieces of bark fastened longitudinally with 

 cobwebs, and giving it the usual shingled appearance of the nests of this genus. It measures 

 externally three inches in length by two inches in diameter, the inside cup measuring one inch 

 and three quarters in diameter, by one inch and a quarter in depth. It contained three fresh 

 eggs, and was taken by Mr. H. G. Barnard at Bimbi, on the Dawson River, Queensland, on 

 the 14th March, 1905, and the male was forwarded with it, shot some distance from the nest. 



Mr. Barnard sent me the following note :--" During the big drought in 1902 birds of many 

 species died here in hundreds, and se\eral species, including Malimis melanocephalus and Centropus 

 phasianus, have since entirely disappeared. Last spring (1904), owing to the dry weather, no 

 birds bred in this part, but on the 14th March, 1905, while out fencing I heard the note of 

 SitteUa leucocephala, and looking up saw three of the birds fly into a dead Bloodwood tree,! and 

 from their actions I concluded they were nesting. On going over I saw the nest with a bird 

 sitting on it, and climbing the tree found there were three eggs in it. I went liomeand returned 

 with my gun. .\fter waiting some time at the tree the male came and fed the female while 

 sitting, and after flew some distance away. I managed to shoot him, and returning flushed the 

 female, but unfortunately only managed to wound her. She flew into some thick bushes, and I 

 could not find her." Writing in March, 1906, Mr. Barnard remnrks:—'' SittcUa leucoccphala is 

 breeding again now, but I think this is owing to the dry spring we had last year. The usual 

 breeding season is from June to October, preferably the winter months. These birds build 

 many nests, and desert them when completed. I have lately found three nests, and the birds 



* Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensl., Vol. II., p. 125 (18 

 t Eiicaliiptiis coi-yiiibosa. 



