175 



u 11 , r^crnrHpd as strictly an inland species, but during the great 



::■ ,:r ,::':i: . r. m" er::n::io„ „..ai„i ., ... .. m. k. « B.„.e.. .„ .= 



specimens luc , , ,t .o.c 17 T Cairn and Robert Grant near Bourke on the 



^:^t:^:::r:^^^^ test^:? W. ^ro. gueensW there are 

 fpeci::n^pro;uredby Mr. George Masters, at Wide Bay, in September iS^calso one specn.en 

 received from the late Mr. George Barnard of Duarmga. 



^ nest in the Australian Museum collection, taken by Mr. E. H. Lane, at Wambangalang 

 Statii near Dubbo, in November :899. is a cup-shaped th.ck walled structure compactly 

 formed ex ernally of hin strips of bark and bark f^bre, thickly lined inside with fine dried yellow 

 IraTses Externally it measures five inches and a half in diameter by four inches m depth the 

 fnn cup measuring three inches and a quarter in diameter by two inches and a quar er in 

 depth Usually the nest is bu.lt low do.n at the end of a drooping branch and frequently on 

 one overhanging water. 



The e.^.-^s are usually three, sometin.es four in number for a sitting, oval or elongate oval in 

 form the shell being close-grained smooth and lustrous. They vary in ground colour trom 

 dlh-salmon to a^faint purplish-red which is almost obscured by f-k^es-Jts an. fleecy 

 markin<.s of a light purplish-red, or of a darker shade than the ground colour. Others are 

 Z inct y spotted and blotched with purplish-red and purplish-grey, the markings P-don.nating 

 a ound the thicker end forming there an ill-defined zone. A set of three taken by Mr H. ^ 

 Barnard, at Duaringa, Queensland, on the 14th October, 1893, are conspicuous y blotched and 

 St aked with faint purplish-red on a pale reddish-white ground colour. A set of three taken by 

 L late Mr. K. H. Bennett, near the Lachlan River in October 1882, measures :-Length (A) 

 5x08 inches; (B) x-:. . o-8 inches; (C) .03 x 0-75 inches. A set of three taken by Mr. 

 E H Lane on Wambangalang Station, near Dubbo, on the 27th November, 1692, measures:- 

 Length (A) nS x o-Si inches; (B) rii x 0-82 inches; (C) m x o-8i inches. 



Youncr birds resemble the adults but the feathers are downy, the crown of the head, rump, 

 upper tail-coverts and margins of upper wing-coverts and tips of the tail feathers are a pale 

 buffy-brown, the outer webs of some of the secondaries are margined with greenish-yellow, the 

 feathers on the hind neck are grey with small brownish tips; all the under surface very pale 

 brown slightly darker on the chest, some of the feathers on the sides of which are broadly tipped 

 with y'ellow, throat yellow, crossed on the centre with an indistinct blackish-grey band. \\ mg 

 Tinches. Another young specimen has some of the feathers on the back and rump with whitish 

 margins, the feathers on the chest have yellow centres and son.e of them small white tips. 

 Wings 4-75 inches. 



Gould separated PInlanon so.duU. from P. aUrogulans on account of its --Her sfze and 

 n,ore developed bill. Five specimens from Port Essington, where the type of F. sord.dus was 

 obtained by Gilbert, have the bills of the same size as examples of P. c^treog^Uans procured m 

 New South Wales. They are, however, much smaller, the wing measurements varying m 

 len-^th from 4-55 to 47 inches. Four adult females and one immature male procured by Mr. 

 G A Keartland! near the junction of the Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers in North-west Australia 

 have 'the bills larger than in P. citrcogulans, and the wing measurement nearly alike, varying only 

 Tom 4-95 to 5-05 inches. They are slightly paler brown above and whitish on the under surface 

 a°d have that washed out appearance often seen in birds frequenting very hot districts. The 

 Specimens obtained by Mr. E. J. Cairn on the Lennard River in :886. are slightly larger, and 



