302 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



General plumage brown ; the secondary wing-feathers 

 nearest the body, and the outer webs of the remainder, rich 

 rufous brown ; upper tail-coverts tinged with rufous ; chin 

 and front of the throat rufous, much richer during the 

 breeding-season ; all the under surface brownish ash-colour, 

 becoming paler on the vent ; upper surface of the tail blackish 

 brown ; under surface silvery grey, becoming very dark on 

 the external web of the outer feather ; the inner webs of these 

 feathers fine rufous, crossed by numerous bands, which at 

 first appear of a darker tint, but on close inspection prove to 

 be perfectly transparent ; the margin of the inner web and 

 tips black ; bill and nostrils black ; irides blackish brown ; 

 bare space round the eye blackish lead-colour ; legs and feet 

 black, the scales mealy. 



The female differs in wanting the singularly formed tail, and 

 in having the bare space round the eye less extensive and less 

 brilliantly coloured. 



Sp. 180. MENURA VICTORItE, Gould. 



Queen Victoria's Lyre-bird. 

 Menura victoria, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, 1862, p. 23. 



Those ornithologists who have examined specimens of the 

 Menura from the neighbourhood of Melbourne must have 

 noticed a great difference in the structure of their tails from 

 this lyre-shaped organ in examples from New South Wales. 

 Although on slender grounds, I admit, I have been induced to 

 consider the Port Philip bird to be a distinct species ; I say 

 slender grounds, because I have not seen a sufficient number 

 of specimens from that locality to enable me to say positively 

 that it is really difierent. The specimens kindly sent to 

 me by Professor M'Coy, the learned naturalist at the head 

 of the zoological department of the public Museum at 

 Melbourne, would, however, tend to warrant this view ; and I 

 would especially call the attention of Australians to the 



