The Emu 



Official Organ of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union 



" Birds of a feather. 



Vol. XXII. 1 1st JANTARV, 1923. fP.^RT ,v 



Two Australian Grass -Wrens, Diapborillas 

 purnelli and D. ^whitei 



By A. J. CAMPBELL, C.M.B.O.U., F.A.O.U., 



Sometime President, R.A.O.U. 



Box Hill, Vic. 



At the recent Adelaide Conference of the R.A.O.U, a work- 

 able amount of material was examined, including specimens at 

 the local Aluseum kindly placed by the authorities at the disposal' 

 of the Check-List Committee. The Committee was also fortun- 

 ate in having the advice of the Hon. Ornithologist, Dr. A. M. 

 Morgan, R.A.O.L'. After inspecting the material available, in- 

 cluding that in the collection of Capt. S. A. White, C.M.B.O.U., 

 the Committee accepted ten species and the genus Alaf/namytis 

 for D. Iwitsei and D. woodivardi 



It appeared that the fine dark variety of the "tcxtilis" series, 

 named D. purneUi by G. M. Mathews (A.A.R. H., p. 99), and 

 found in the interior of the continent, was sufficiently differen- 

 tiated to stand as a full species. Fig. (lower) pi. 1. For former 

 remarks by H. L. White, C.F.A.O.U., see Emu, vol. xx., p. 190, 

 pi. XX. 



Of the "striata" series, another interior bird, D. whitei, 

 Mathews (Bull. B.O. Club, xxv., p. 34), also appeared a good 

 species, of which D. ozveni, Mathews, and D. rufa, Campbell and 

 Kershaw, are synonyms. Fig. (upper) pi. 1. Former remarks on 

 these birds will be found in Emu, xviii., p. 8L pl- >^v., and the 

 description of the nest and eggs of D. whitei, by H. L. White, 

 Esq., of "Belltrees," N.S.W., in Emu, vol. xiv., p. 157. 



The photographs are from specimens in the "H. L. White 

 Collection," National Museum, Melbourne. The birds were 

 mounted bv kind direction of the Curator, Mr. J. A. Kershaw, 

 F.E.S. 



