from Western Australia. 187 



specimen A and slightly to that in B. So dense and so 

 uniform was the " pale '' rufous in A (exceptions to follow) 

 that I concluded this individual to be either an abnormal 

 form or that Dr. Sharpe was wrong in his remark that 

 " Tasmanian birds are more rufous than mainland ones." 

 I possess very rufous skins from Warragnl in Victoria, 

 Nannine, and Geraldton ; in addition to which specimen A 

 is so rufous that the ordinarily white feathers of the tail and 

 the white throat are both rufous white. 



Gould has remarked upon the possibility of the rufous 

 colour relating to the moult. My specimen (A) is a bird in 

 much-worn plumage. It has been thought also that the 

 rufous may indicate the yoiing. I have a nestling that is 

 more rufous and black than a young bird ; but again I have 

 a young bird that is more rufous than a nestling ; while I 

 possess two adults, from Victoria and West Australia respec- 

 tively, one of which is particularly rufous, while the other is 

 almost absolutely so. The absence of dates in the case of 

 the British Museum specimens has prevented Dr. Sharpe from 

 following out the sequence of plumages '^. 



46. Artamus melanops. Black-faced Wood- Swallow. 

 (Hairs Key, p. 48.) 



A. Sk. juv. 14.10.99.^ 



B. Sk. ad. c? . 16.10.99. [ Geraldton. 



C. Sk. ad. 14.10.99.) 



D. Sk. ad. ? . 3.9.99. Nannine, Cue. 



The length of the wing of the young bird is 4"95 inches, 

 while in the adults it is 4*6, 4*75, and 5*2 inches respectively, 

 shewing specimen A to have a longer wing than B or C. 

 The brownish-white markings of the wing-tips of the juvenile 

 are broad in comparison with those of the adult D, while 

 specimens B and C are intermediate in this respect. D is 

 very much lighter in colour than the others and causes con- 

 fnsion with the questionable species A. cinereus Vieill. 



* In my material there are two phases. Among the specimens of the 

 South Australian Museum there is a rufous skin, as well as one in sooty- 

 plumage, heavily blotched with black. This seems to imply that the 

 species is trimorphic. 



