The Emu 



Official Organ of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union 



Birds of a feather." 



Vol. XXI.] 1st JANUARY, 1922. [Part 3. 



Cinclosoma alisteri (Mathews) Black-Throated 

 Ground-Bird 



By A. J. CAMPBELL, C.M.B.O.U., F.A.O.U. 



Mr. H. L. White, C.M.B.O.U., C.F.A.O.U., who again most 

 hberally bears the expense of this beautiful plate by Mr. Neville 

 W. Cayley, R.A.O.U., has requested me to supply the letterpress. 



On the "Provisional List" of the R.A.O.U. Official Check-list, 

 p. 103, is the name "Cinclosoina alisteri, Mathews. Black- 

 breasted Ground-Bird." The original description {d ) is found 

 in Bullcfin B.O.U., xvii., p. 16 (1910). 



For over a decade this description has stood unique until Mr. 

 F. L. Whitlock, collecting for Mr. H. L. White, recently took a 

 fine series of similar skins at the western end of the Nullarbor 

 Plain, Western Australia. Mr. Mathews' description is accu- 

 rate save the coloration of the upper surface, w^hich is auburn, 

 not chestnut as described by Mr. Mathews, who also does not 

 mention a conspicuous, elongated, white patch on the malar 

 region, or side of the neck, and again, the bird is more black- 

 fliroatcd than h\a.ck-breastcd, as the vernacular name describes 

 it in his "1913 List" (p. 198). Should these three marked dif- 

 ferences not agree with Mr. Mathews' type, then I venture to 

 suggest the name nullarboreusis for the bird represented on the 

 present plate, in case it be different. But for the time being, we 

 shall treat the interesting species as C. alisteri. 



Adult Male* — Upper surface from forehead to elongated 

 tail coverts, and including ear-coverts, and side of neck auburn ; 

 wing-coverts and primary coverts black, tipped with white ; 

 secondaries mummy-brown, margined with cinnamon-rufous, 

 some wholly, or on inner webs crimson-rufous ; primaries 

 mummy-brown with paler edges, especially third to sixth quills, 

 whicli are margined with pinkish-buff towards the base ; tail 

 feathers clove-brown to blackish-brown, except the cential pair, 



* The male figured in plate is another specimen. 



