INSESSOBES. 447 



nothing more is required than for the hearer to sluit his eyes 

 to the neighbouring foliage to fancy himself surrounded by 

 London grimalkins of house-top celebrity. 



While in the district in which this bird is found, my atten- 

 tion was directed to the acquisition of all the information I 

 could obtain respecting its habits, as I considered it very 

 probable that it might construct a bower similar to that of 

 the Satin-Bird ; but I could not satisfy myself that it does, 

 nor could I discover its nest, or the situation in which it 

 breeds ; it is doubtless, however, among the branches of the 

 trees of the forest in which it lives. 



The sexes do not offer the slightest difference in plumage, 

 or any external character by which the male may be distin- 

 guished from the female ; she is, however, rather less brilliant 

 in her markings, and somewhat smaller in size. 



Head and back of the neck olive-green, with a narrow line 

 of white down each of the feathers of the latter ; back, wings, 

 and tail grass-green, with a tinge of blue on the margins of 

 the back-feathers ; the wing-coverts and secondaries with a 

 spot of white at the extremity of their outer web ; primaries 

 black, their external webs grass-green at the base and bluish 

 green for the remainder of their length ; all but the two cen- 

 tral tail-feathers tipped with white ; all the under surface yel- 

 lowish green, with a spatulate mark of yellowish white down 

 the centre of each feather ; bill light horn-colour ; irides 

 brownish red ; feet whitish. 



Genus CHLAMYDODERA, Gould. 



Of this well-defined genus four very distinct species are 

 now known : viz., C. nuchalis which frequents the northern 

 parts of the country, C. maculata of the east coast, C. cerviiii- 

 ventris of Cape York, and C. guttata of the north-western 

 districts. 



Sonie parts of tiicir economy are more astonishing than 



