INSESSORES. 217 



of Western Australia. The following notes, which are all that 

 is known of its history, accompanied the specimens sent to 

 me : — " This species inhabits the the thick brushes of the 

 interior. It is an early breeder, as is proved by my finding 

 a nest with three newly hatched young birds in the middle 

 of August. The nest was built in the upright fork of a small 

 shrub about four feet from the ground. It was deep, cup- 

 shaped in form, and constructed of dried grasses, and, except 

 that it was rather more compactly built, it was very similar to 

 those of the other members of the genus." 



The sexes of the present bird exhibit a similar difference in 

 colour to those of P. rufogularis ; the females of both species 

 being very sombre and devoid of any rufous colouring on the 

 throat and breast. 



The male has the upper surface dark greyish olive-brown ; 

 head dark slate-grey ; breast of a lighter grey ; lores black ; 

 throat rust-red ; under surface of the shoulder, centre of the 

 abdomen, and under tail-coverts sandy buff; irides light 

 brown ; bill and feet black. 



Sp. 121. PACHYCEPHALA SIMPLEX, Gould. 



Plain-coloured Thickhead. 

 Pachycephala simplex, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part x. p. 135. 



Pachycephala simplex, Grould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. ii. pi. 72. 



The Pachycephala simplex is a native of the north-western 

 parts of Australia, but does not appear to be very numerous 

 in any locality yet explored; Gilbert, who discovered it in 

 the neighbourhood of Port Essington, states that it is of a 

 very shy and retiring disposition, and that it is usually met 

 with in pairs hopping and creeping about among the under- 

 wood or very thickly-foliaged trees, bat may be more fre- 

 quently seen in thickets situated in the midst of swamps or 

 among the mangroves. In its mode of feeding and in many 

 of its actions it greatly resembles the Flycatchers, but does 



