[NSESSORES. 345 



tunity of observing it ; and it was only after many days of 

 patient and motionless watcliing among the scrubs, that he 

 succeeded in obtaining specimens. Future research will 

 doubtless furnish us with some interesting information re- 

 specting the habits of this curious form. It is a bird evi- 

 dently destined to tenant the most dense thickets and tangled 

 beds of dwarf trees. 



The examples forwarded to me were killed between Perth 

 and Augusta, and were all males. The females will doubtless, 

 when discovered, prove to differ but little from their mates, 

 except that the black mark on the breast will not be so large 

 or conspicuous. I am led to offer this opinion from the cir- 

 cumstance of one of the specimens being a young male, which 

 usually resembles the female during the first year. 



All the upper surface, wings, and tail brown, each feather 

 crossed by several obscure crescent- shaped bars of brown ; 

 the inner webs of the primaries very dark brown, without 

 markings, and the tail freckled instead of barred ; throat and 

 chest reddish white, with a large irregular patch of black on 

 the lower part of the throat ; flanks brown ; abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts rufous ; bill horn-colour ; irides dark brown. 



Total length 7f inches; bill |^; wing 3 ; tail 4; tarsi 1. 



Genus HYLACOLA, Gould, 



A genus comprising two species peculiar to the southern 

 parts of the country, one of which enjoys an extensive range 

 from South Australia to Moreton Bay ; the other has, as yet, 

 only been found in the Great Murray Scrub. These birds 

 carry their tail in an upright position, move quickly over the 

 surface of the grov^nd, and trip with agility along the hori- 

 zontal branches of fallen trees. In size they are about equal 

 to om* well-known Hedgc-Sparrow {Acceiitor modularis), to 

 which they bear some resemblance when seen in their native 

 country. The sexes are alike in plumage. 



