468 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



black ; orbits and a narrow space leading to the nostrils 

 naked and of a light bufFy yellow ; throat, chest, and collar at 

 the back of the neck dark slate-grey ; all the upper surface, 

 greater wing-coverts, outer webs of the secondaries, abdomen, 

 and flanks yellowish green ; lesser wing-coverts, primaries, 

 and inner webs of the secondaries slaty black, fringed with 

 grey ; vent and under tail -coverts white ; tail black, the 

 apical half and the outer web of the external feather pure 

 white ; the apical half of the second feather on each side 

 white, the next on each side with a large spot of white at the 

 extremity, and the six central feathers slightly fringed with 

 white at the tip ; bill black ; irides very dark brown in some, 

 red in others ; feet flesh-colour. 



The female has the upper surface brown, washed with 

 olive, each feather with a darker centre ; wings dark brown, 

 the coverts and secondaries conspicuously, and the primaries 

 narrowly, edged with greenish grey ; under surface buffy 

 white, each feather with a broad and conspicuous stripe of 

 brown down the centre ; flanks washed with yellowish green ; 

 under tail-coverts white, with a narrow stripe of brown down 

 the centre ; tail brown, each feather narrowly edged on the 

 inner web with white, and all but the two lateral ones on each 

 side washed with yellowish green. 



Sp. 287. SPHECOTHERES FLAVIVENTRIS, Gould, 



Northern Sphecotheres. 

 Uphecotheres flavwentris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, 1849, p. 111. 



Sphecotheres flaviventris, Gould, Birds of Australia, foL, Supple- 

 ment, pi. 



This bird may always be distinguished from its near ally 

 the 8. maxiUuris by the beautifid jonquil-yellow of its under 

 surface. Mr. Macgillivray informed me that it is very com- 

 mon in the neighbom-hood of Cape York, where he daily 

 observed it either in pairs or in small parties of three or four 



