52 Mr. D. Le Souef on Birds 



brown, the tail being almost black; the feathers of the 

 under surface are also blackish brown, tipped with light 

 grey. 



The female is slightly smaller than the male ; the coloration 

 of the head and neck is not so bright, and she has no wattle, 

 otherwise she is similar. 



The eggs of this bird are oval in shape and smaller at 

 one end; they are pure white and finely granulated. One 

 obtained at Somerset by Mr. Barnard on Nov. 3rd, 1893, 

 measures 3'61 X 2-36 inches. 



I propose that this new species should be known in the 

 vernacular lists as Barnard's Talegallus, after Mr. H. Greensill 

 Barnard, one of the most reliable and observant collectors 

 in Australia, whose name, like that of his brother, Charles 

 Barnard, is a household word among Australian naturalists. 



a. Calornis metallica Temm. (Shining Galornis.) 

 These beautiful birds are very plentiful on the north-east 

 coast, and build their bulky hanging nests on the tallest 

 trees they can find, in scrub, forest-country, or man- 

 groves. The tall trees they choose in the scrub are generally 

 almost bare of leaves, and in the forest-country they prefer 

 the locally-called " Moreton-Bay '^ eucalyptus. Their 

 general habits ai'e very similar to those of the European 

 Starling. They live in flocks of varying numbers and are 

 often seen feeding on the ground ; they fly with great 

 rapidity and seem always in a hurry. The way they dart 

 in and out of the thick scrub without coming in contact 

 with the branches is wonderful. When a large colony are 

 nesting on one tree the chatter they make is considerable, 

 and they look like a hive of bees round the top of the tall 

 trees. They evidently feed largely on the fruit of the native 

 nutmeg, as the ground under the trees on which they nest is 

 generally covered thickly with these seeds. The thin branches 

 from which their nests are suspended occasionally break with 

 the extra weight of the nests and fall to the ground. The 

 same trees are used year after year. Mr. H. G. Barnard 

 climbed up one large tree at. Somerset, Cape York, and 



