Notes on Plumage Chcmges. 17 



Without a standard for comparison or a knowledge as to 

 what range the under and upper surfaces have in their coloura- 

 tion one would believe this to be a fully developed bird. Place 

 it against a fully adult skin and you will find the red of the 

 under surface lacks density, the grey of the upper is not so 

 leaden, and the forehead is uniform with the grey crown. The 

 frontal mark is white ; lores dark slate ; chin grey ; abdomen 

 and under tail coverts white ; central tail feathers slate-brown, 

 lateral mostly white, penultimate tipped white ; wings brownish 

 black, secondaries and coverts edged white ; inner primaries 

 tipped white ; the white patches on quills clear white ; under 

 wing coverts smoky white, and whiter towards tips ; base of 

 lower mandible light brown, other portions of bill deep brown ; 

 legs leaden-black. Length of wing, 3"15 inches; tail, 2*45 

 inches. 



Stage F.,. Imm. c?, sk., 30-8-97. Essendon, Victoria. 



It is very much the same as Fj. There is a flush of dull red, 

 scarcely perceptible above the frontal mark, that indicates the 

 approach to maturity. 



Phase G. 



Imm. (?, sk., 10-7-97. Maribyrnong, Victoria. 



A description is not necessary for this phase, as it has been 

 described as the adult.^ By the above I do not wish to convey 

 the meaning that Dr. Sharpe has described an immature bird for 

 an adult, but, rather, that an immature adult has been described 

 when a stage distinctly more developed would have been described 

 had the skin been available or a previous description known to be 

 on record. 



Phase H. 



Ad. (?, sk., 1898. Victoria. 



When this skin is placed parallel with fifteen others together, 

 a glance at each of the crowns will show this to be coloured dull 

 red, while all the others are greyish ; a careful look will show 

 some of them to have a faint flush of dull red upon their crowns. 

 Still keeping them in a row, the ventral red of this specimen 

 shows distinct from all others in its intensity. 



1 Brit. Mus. Cat. Birds, vol. iv., 1879. 



