INSESSORES. 635 



their existence is Illawarra, where they are rare, and from 

 whence to Moreton Bay they gradually increase in numbers. 



The nest, which is placed in the midst of a tuft of grass, is 

 of a large size, composed of dried grasses, and is of a domed 

 form with two openings, through one of which the head of 

 the female protrudes while sitting, and her tail through the 

 other. At Port Essington the nest is sometimes placed among 

 the lower leaves of the Pandanus, but this occurrence seems 

 to be rare ; a large tuft of long grass being most frequently 

 selected, as affording a better shelter. The eggs are from 

 three to five in number, nearly round, and of a dirty white, 

 in some instances stained with brown, and with a rather 

 rough surface, somewhat like that of the eggs of the Cormo- 

 rant ; they are about one inch and four lines long by one inch 

 and two lines broad. 



By dissection I learn that the males are always smaller 

 than the females ; it also appears that when fully adult both 

 sexes are alike in plumage, and have the bill, head, neck, and 

 abdomen black, whereas the young has the bill horn-colour, 

 and the same parts which are black in the adult, of a deep 

 brown with a tawny stripe down the centre of each feather. 



The adults of the present species have all the feathers of the 

 upper and under surface dull black with glossy black shafts ; 

 wing-coverts mottled tawny brown and black, each feather with 

 a conspicuous tawny shaft ; remainder of the wing rich reddish 

 chestnut crossed with irregular double bars of black, the inter- 

 stices between which fade into tawny on the outer webs of the 

 primaries ; lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts deep 

 green freckled with black ; tail dark brown glossed with 

 green, and minutely freckled with rufous and pale tawny, the 

 latter hue assuming the form of irregular and interrupted 

 bars, all but the two centre feathers tipped with white ; bill 

 black ; feet leaden black, the scales lighter. 



The young have all the upper surface reddish brown with 

 glossy conspicuous tawny shafts ; the throat and breast tawny 



