280 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



rally placed in the hollow part of the trunk of a tree, or in a 

 slight cavity in the bark six or seven feet from the ground ; 

 but I have found it placed in a fork of a small upright tree 

 more than thirty feet from the ground. The eggs, which are 

 three or four in number, are greenish white, slightly tinged 

 with bluish or flesh-colour, rather minutely freckled with 

 olive-brown and purplish grey, the latter more obscure than 

 the former ; these freckles are very generally dispersed over 

 the surface of the shell, but in some instances they also form 

 a zone near the larger end : the medium length of the eggs is 

 nine lines, and breadth seven lines. 



It usually rears two or three broods in the year, the period 

 of nidification commencing in August and ending in February. 



The male has the head, 'throat, and upper surface black ; 

 forehead snowy white ; a longitudinal and two oblique bands 

 of white on the wings ; breast and upper part of the belly 

 scarlet ; lower part of the belly dull white j irides very dark 

 brown ; bill and feet black. 



The female has all the upper and under surface brown, 

 with the breast strongly tinged with red. 



Sp. 16G. PETROICA GOODENOVII. 



Red-capped Robin. 



Muscicapa goodenovii, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 245. 

 Petroica goodenovii, Jard. and Selb. 111. Orn., Add. vol. ii. 

 Petrceca goodenovii, Cab. Mus. Hein., Theil i. p. 11. 

 Me-ne-ge-dang, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western 



Australia. 

 Red-capped Robin of the Colonists. 



Petroica goodenovii, Gould, Birds of Australia, foL, vol. ill. pi. 5. 



Its red crown and much smaller size at once distinguish 

 this Robin from every other species of the genus yet disco- 

 vered. Although not plentiful in any part I have visited, it is 

 very generally distributed over the whole of the southern 



