204 Jackson, Second Trip to Mact>herson Range, Q. [isfT^ii 



Olive Thickhead [Pachycephala olivacea macphersonianus). 



The first recorded specimen of this shy bird was collected by 

 me near Mount Bithongabel, in 1919, and was described in The 

 Emu for April, 1920, by Mr. H. L. White. We discovered on this 

 trip that these birds did not come below the 3,800 feet level. 

 Above that level the trees and vines are festooned with luxuriant 

 and wonderful shawls of long hanging moss, usually glistening with 

 moisture, supplied by clouds and mountain mists which frequently 

 envelop these higher portions. The various mosses must run into 

 dozens of different species. It is a fascinating paradise of moss. 



During our twelve weeks' rambling through these jungles we 

 located only seven pairs of birds, usually a good distance apart. 

 The food chiefly consists of beetles, small insects, grubs, and 

 caterpillars, as well as small seeds. 



When leaving a tree the bird often appears to fall or fly almost 

 straight down ; it then travels or swoops along rather close to 

 the ground, usually amongst the dense undergrowth, and is lost 

 until it calls again. It lives where the undergrowth is extremely 

 dense and the ground steep. The birds move so quickly and 

 unobtrusively that it becomes tantalizing and disheartening to 

 a person who, after wriggling and crawling on hands and knees 

 through dripping wet moss-covered logs and rocks, as well as 

 prickly and treacherous vines and bushes, finds on each occasion 

 that the bird has vanished, and the whole work has to be repeated. 

 The most troublesome vines to get through are the wire-vines 

 {Rhipogonmn Faivcettianum), the lawyer- vines {Calamus anstralis), 

 and the barrister-vines {Mezoneitron Scortechinii). A person cannot 

 cut his way through with a brush-hook, as too much noise is 

 created, and using a knife is slow. 



This Thickhead is the most active and restless of the genus 

 that has come under my notice. We obtained one pair of the 

 birds, a male and a female — the only specimens extant, except 

 the single specimen secured in December, 1919. The birds gave 

 the following descriptions and measurements (millimetres) : — ■ 

 (rt) Adult male, collected on 12th October, 1920, altitude about 

 3,860 feet ; {h) adult female, collected on 9th October, 1920, 

 altitude about 3,860 feet. Both birds were obtained at the same 

 locality, and represent a mated pair ; this was done in order to 

 avoid breaking up two different pairs, (a) — Total length, 209 ; 

 wing, 100 ; tarsus, 26 ; bill, 22 ; tail, 95 ; upper and lower mandibles 

 blackish-horn ; eyes reddish-brown ; legs brownish-horn ; feet 

 silver-grey ; feet pale yellowish underneath. Gizzard preserved, 

 and contained chiefly the remains of beetles. Palate covered 

 with many pale flesh-coloured spines, pointing towards the throat. 

 (6) Total length, 213; wing, ioi| ; tarsus, 30; bill, 22; tail, 98; 

 upper mandible blackish-horn, lower mandible much paler ; eyes 

 coffee-colour : legs and feet silver-grey ; under side of feet pale 

 yellow ; numerous small seeds and remains of beetles in gizzard. 



The bird had a variety of notes. One very sweet one was a 

 slow, soft, and long-drawn-out call resembling " P-e-e-p — p-o-o-o-o." 



