650 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on a 



XXXIV. — On a Collection of Birds from Western Australia. 

 By W. R. Ogilvie-Grant. With Field-notes by 

 Mr. G. C. Shortridge. 



(Plate IX.) 



The following paper is based on a fine collection of West 

 Australian birds presented by Mr. W. E. Balston to the 

 British Museum (Natural History). The specimens were 

 collected by Mr. G. C. Shortridge in the South-western, 

 Central, and Western Divisions o£ Western Australia, and 

 form a particularly valuable addition to the National Collec- 

 tion, all being carefully labelled and bearing full particulars. 

 In addition to the measurements taken in the flesh and the 

 notes on the colours of the soft parts to be found on the 

 labels, Mr. Shortridge has supplied a number of field-notes. 

 The collection of Australian birds in the British Museum 

 is, according to our modern ideas, of little use for scientific 

 purposes ; for, almost without exception, the skins are badly 

 prepared and in hardly any instance do the labels bear any 

 information except some vague locality, such as " South 

 Australia/' while the sex and date of capture are almost 

 invariably wanting. 



The importance of the " Balston Collection " cannot 

 therefore be over-estimated, as, for the first time, it enables 

 us to examine series of specimens with full data. As was 

 to be expected, several of the forms procured by Mr. Short- 

 ridge prove to be new, and most of these will be found 

 among the Passeres which are described in the following 

 pages. The novelties include Certhionyx occidentalis, Zos- 

 terops shortridgei, Z. balstoni, Climacteris wellsi, Malurus 

 bernieri, and Sericornis balstoni. 



The following is a list of the localities visited and collected 

 in by Mr. Shortridge : — 



Rabbit Island, King George's Sound, South- Western Division, 



West Australia. 

 Big Grove, King George's Sound. 

 Woyaline, King George's Sound. 

 Oyster Harbour, King George's Sound. 

 Pelican Point, King George's Sound. 



