INSESSORES. 281 



portion of Australia ; and was killed by Gilbert in Western 

 Australia, where, however, it is very local, for he only met 

 with it in two localities, one in the York district, and the 

 other at Kojenup, about one hundred miles towards the interior 

 from King George's Sound. 



I generally observed it either singly or in pairs, and it ap- 

 peared to give a decided preference to the beds of dry rivulets, 

 and to thinly timbered plains, the dense brushes near the 

 coast never being visited by it ; it would seem therefore to be 

 a species peculiar to the interior of the country. 



The whole of the actions and economy of this bird closely 

 assimilate to those of the Petroica multicolor ; of its nidifica- 

 tion but little information has yet been obtained ; I possess 

 an egg which may be described as of a bluish white, with 

 numerous fine speckles, particularly at the larger end, of yel- 

 lowish brown and purplish grey, the latter appearing as if 

 beneath the shell ; it is five-eighths of an inch long, by half 

 an inch wide. 



It possesses a peculiarly sweet and plaintive song, very 

 much like that of the European Robin, but more weak and 

 not so continuous. 



The male has the upper surface, neck, upper part of the 

 breast, and wings brownish black ; wing-coverts and second- 

 aries edged with white, forming a broad stripe along the 

 wings ; middle of the outer web of the quills with a narrow 

 white margin ; forehead, crown, and lower part of the breast 

 bright scarlet, passing into white on the vent ; irides, bill, and 

 feet blackish brown ; soles of the feet yellow. 



The female, as is the case with the females of the other 

 species, differs much from her mate in the colouring of 

 the plumage. 



