INSESSORES. 551 



marked species, each of which is confined to a particular part 

 of the country; the A. tenuirostris dwelHng on the eastern 

 coast, and the A. superciliosus on the western ; both inhabit 

 countries precisely in the same degree of latitude, and form 

 beautiful representatives of each other. 



Sp. 339. ACANTHORHYNCHUS TENUIROSTRIS. 



Spine-bill. 



Certhia tenuirostris, Lath. Ind. Orn., Suppl. p. xxxvi. 



Le Cap noir, Vieill. Ois. Dor., torn. ii. p. 94. pi. 60. 



Slender-hilled Honey -eater, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 194. pi. 62. 



Flapping Honey-eater, Lath. lb., vol. iv. p. 195. 



Slender-billed Creeper, Lath. Gen. Syn., Supp. vol. ii. p. 165. pi. 129. 



Meliphaga tenuirostris, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 317. 



Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, part ii. 



dubius?, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part v. p. 25. 



Leptoglossus cucullatus. Swains. Class of Birds, ii. p. 327. 

 Cobbler's Awl, Colonists of Tasmania. 

 Spine-bill, Colonists of New South Wales. 



Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol. 

 vol iv. pi. 61. 



On referring to the above list of synonyms, it will be seen 

 that I formerly entertained an opinion that there were two 

 species of this genus very nearly allied to each other, the one 

 a native of Tasmania, and the other of the continent of 

 Australia ; the former being distinguished from the latter by 

 its smaller size in all its admeasurements, by the crescent- 

 shaped markings of the neck, and by the brown of the 

 abdomen being much deeper in colour ; I am now, however, 

 inclined to believe they are identical ; but should the Tasma- 

 nian bird to which I have given the name of dubius prove to 

 be merely a local variety, this species will be found to range 

 over Tasmania and all the south-eastern portions of Australia. 



There is no member of the large family of Honey-eaters to 

 which it belongs that enjoys a structure more especially 



