INSESSORES. 331 



distinct from tlie one figured by Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard 

 in the ' Voyage de I'Uranie,' since, on applying at the Museum 

 of the Jardin des Plantes for the purpose of examining the 

 original specimen, it could not be found : the figure above 

 quoted, if intended for this bird, is by no means correct, and 

 it is, moreover, said to be from Dirk Hatich's Island, on the 

 vi^estern coast, a locality very distant from those in which my 

 specimens were procured, New South Wales ; which circum- 

 stance strengthens my belief that they may be distinct : besides 

 which, the bird under consideration is supposed to be ex- 

 clusively an inhabitant of the interior ; for I never observed it 

 between the mountain-ranges and the coast, and it is scarcely 

 probable, therefore, that it should inhabit an island like that 

 of Dirk Hatich. In case they should prove to be different, I 

 propose the name of Malurus cyanotus for the bird from New 

 South Wales. 



The birds seen by me were either in pairs or in small 

 troops, and evinced so much shyness as to render the ac- 

 quisition of specimens a task of no little difficulty, particu- 

 larly of the full-plumaged male, who appeared to be conscious 

 that the display of his gorgeously coloured dress might lead to 

 his detection. Its powers of flight are not great ; but this is 

 fully compensated for by the extraordinary manner in which 

 it threads the bushes, and passes over the sm'face of the 

 ground in a series of hopping bounds, whereby it readily 

 eludes pursuit. The most successful mode of obtaining it 

 is to ascertain the precise spot in which it is located, to 

 approach it cautiously, and to remain silent for a short time, 

 when the male will soon show himself by hopping out from 

 the bush — the restless nature of his disposition not admitting 

 of his remaining long concealed. 



The nest is composed of grasses, rather large and dome- 

 shaped, with a hole near the top for an entrance. The one 

 sent me from South Australia contained two eggs, one of 

 which was the Bronze Cuckoo's, thus showing that this little 



