OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA. 99 



WHITETHROATED THICKHEAD, 



Paehycephala guttiiralis. Lath. 



Pak-i-sef'a-ld gut-u-ra'lis. 

 Pachus, thick ; kephale, head ; guttur, throat ; alis, pertaining to. 



Pachycephala guttuealis, Gould, " Birds of Australia," foL, vol. ii., 



pi. 64. 



Geographical Distribution. — Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 



Key to the Species. — Male — Under surface rich yellow; pectoral 

 collar jet black ; throat white ; head black ; only terminal part of 

 tail black, basal part grey, washed with ohve. 



Female — Throat pale brown, with white spots ; under parts 

 buff, without streaks ; under wing coverts whitish ; general 

 colour above, head, neck, upper tail coverts, and tail olive-brown ; 

 wing coverts and secondaries blackish-brown, edged with reddish- 

 brown ; primaries edged with grey ; bill stout and black. 



Young — Uniform grey. 



Fledgling — Rusty colour, lighter brown on wings. 



" The Pachycephala gutturalis may be regarded as the type of 

 this genus, the members of which are peculiar to Austraha and 

 the adjacent islands to the northward. Their habits differ 

 from those of most other insectivorous birds, particularly in 

 their quiet mode of hopping about and traversing the branches 

 of the trees in search of insects and their larvae. Caterpillars 

 constitute a great portion of their food." 



This was that great ornithologist, Mr. John Gould's, 

 impression of the representative species under present 

 notice. 



The species has three phases of plumage, very distinctly 

 different from each other— (a) rufous, (6) grey, (c) yellow, 

 white, and grey. My correspondent, Mr. Geo. Graham, 

 corroborates my observations on this point in the two notes 

 of observations which he has been good enough to send me. 



He notes that the male grey bird has a trace of the black 



