^'"'<1^' ] WHITLOCK, Notes on Birds of Shark Bay. 129 



(lid little collecting duriiii^ my second \isit. I had a permit 

 to do so, but Dirk Hartog being a faunal reserve. I natiu-ally 

 refrained as much as possible. 



My only reason for alluding to the name "Ijlue-breasted Wren" 

 was that I considered it a misnomer when a|)])lied to Alalurus 

 assi»iilis. T didn't in any sense hold Mr. Carter responsible 

 lor it. 



With regard to the ditferences in jjlumage between the P'ield- 

 Wrens {Calaiiiaiitluis) found on Dirk Hartog, Peron I'eninsula, 

 and Jlernier Island, all depends on what value is to be set on such 

 slight dift'erences, which 1 still contend require a fine discrimina- 

 tion to detect, when age of birds and age of specimens are 

 taken into consideration. Mr. Carter's method of shuffling a 

 number of skins together, and then picking out those resembling 

 one another most, at the same time ignoring the labels, is an 

 excellent one, and if the result shows consistent differences 

 between specimens fi;om the three adjacent localities, then it is a 

 very interesting fact. But whether the differences merit sub- 

 sj)ecific rank is still a matter for debate. I am content to abide 

 by the result of Mr. Campbell's examination. 



In the case of the coloured plate of the White-winged Wren- 

 Warbler (Alalurus cyauotus)*! seem to have drawn a wrong 

 inference. Gould doubtfully described this species (?) from a 

 mounted specimen brought to his notice in England. That he 

 had not much confidence in its validity is shown by his recom- 

 mendation that if it did not stand, the name was to be trans- 

 ferred to its closely allied congener. I thought that the white 

 feathers on the back, as shown in the plate, had been purposely 

 so drawn to show how easily Gould could have been misled. 

 Certainly the extent of white on the wings varies in the indi- 

 vidual, perhaps usually due to age; but never in my experience 

 does it extend across the interscapulary region. In drawing at- 

 tention to this, I thought I was confirming Mr. Carter's own 

 observations. 



W'th regard to the Grass Wren, when I referred to the "few 

 miles of water" separating the localities where Mr. Carter and 

 I obtained our specimens, I had in mind the distance of Dirk 

 Hartog from Peron Peninsula; roughly, about twenty miles, and 

 not the South Passage. I hope my statement as to the reputed 

 differences in plumage is not a more "sweeping one" than Mr. 

 Carter's assertion that the South Passage, with a width of about 

 a mile at its narrowest, prevents the interchange of species be- 

 tween Edel Land and Dirk Hartog. The present-day absence of 

 the Shrike Thrush and Babbler from the latter locality is no 

 evidence that they did not exist there prior to the advent and 

 increase of bush cats. It must not be forgotten that no ornitho- 

 logist had visited Dirk Hartog for a hundred years until Mr. 

 Carter arrived there. But it has been a sheep station for quite 

 forty years. No doubt cats were introduced with the sheep. 

 Mr. IJovd, the present manager, told me that formerly small 



' Maliirus cyaitntHs is now regarded a.s a synonym of M. Icuconotus. 



