156 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



had rendered warm and of the proper size by slightly hning 

 it with grasses, fibrous roots, and the narrow leaves of the 

 Eucalypti. The eggs are generally three in number, and much 

 lighter in colour and more minutely spotted than those of 

 any other species of the genus I have seen ; their ground- 

 colour is flesh-white, finely freckled and spotted with faint 

 markings of reddish brown and grey, in some instances 

 forming a zone at the larger end ; their medium length is 

 ten lines, and breadth seven lines and a half. 



The sexes are only to be distinguished by dissection, and 

 may be described thus : head, throat, and back sooty grey ; 

 primaries and tail brownish black, washed with grey ; chest, 

 all the under surface, and rump pure white ; irides brown ; 

 bill light bluish grey at the base, black at the tip ; legs and 

 feet mealy greenish grey. 



Family AMPELID^ ? 

 Genus PARDALOTUS, Vielllot. 



This form is pecuHar to Australia, in every portion of which 

 great country, including Tasmania, one or other of the species 

 are to be found ; some of them associated in the same district, 

 and even inhabiting the same trees, while in other parts only 

 a single species exists : for instance, the P. punctatus, P. qua- 

 dragintus, and P. affinis inhabit Tasmania ; on the whole of 

 the southern coast of the continent from east to west F, 

 pundatus and P. striatus are associated ; the north coast is 

 the cradle of the species I have called uropygialis, and the east 

 coast that of melanocephahis, from both of which countries the 

 others appear to be excluded ; the true habitat of the beautiful 

 species I have described as P. rubricattis is the basin of the 

 interior. 



