256 ASHBY, The Dusky Miner. [Tll'Sii 



stantial foundation. I was much astcmished to tind M. jlavigula 

 at Pungonda, on the Victorian border, the skin taken by me, 

 corresponds with those I have taken «m Spencer's Gulf and east 

 of liroken Hill. I also saw in the "H. L. White Collection" two 

 similar specimens of this species from the border mallee ot Vic- 

 toria. It will thus be seen that the range of the habitat of these 

 two distinct species, almost, if not quite, overlaps; certainly they 

 come within 20 miles of one another. 



Another interesting feature is that the specimens collected by 

 the writer at Speakmans, on the \\'.;\. goldfields, 400 miles in- 

 land, were certainly M. flavigula, whereas at the same latitude 

 300 miles further west we have M. obscura ortoni, and in a 

 coastal range 50 miles further west we have a large-billed variant 

 of M. ohsciira. 



It appears as if the whole c|uestion of habitat resolves itself 

 into one of rainfall and its attendant vegetation. Thus as far 

 as my experience goes, M. flavigula is found within the salt-bush 

 and blue-bush area, in all the localities given by me above, from 

 the Victorian border at Ptmgonda to the far west at Speakmans; 

 this is certainly the case. On the other hand, even Karoonda, 

 in the South Australian mallee, where M. ohscnra mclatiotis is 

 so numerous, is just outside the line of salt-bush, although not 

 many miles away. Again, in Western Australia, obscura sensu 

 stricto is confined to the wet south-west corner of that State in 

 an area probably well defined by the growth of jarrah (Eucalyp- 

 tus marginata), but in the belt of dryer country to the east, well 

 defined by the growth of "Jamwood" (.Icacia acuminata) , we 

 have the two small-billed forms, M . obscura ortoni in the north, 

 and M. o. clclandi in the south, with ortoni recurring at Esper- 

 ance. In 1888 T noted that the "J^^^^^'oo^" gJ'Cw to perfection 

 in the neighbourhood of Eficup, now called Broome Hill, and last 

 year I noted the same acacia at Moora, though there less robust 

 in growth. Mr. A. W. Milligan, in The Emu, iii., p. 11, 1903, 

 says, in his description of the birds of the Stirling Range, "The 

 Dusky Miners were found only in the 'jamwood' (Acacia) 

 country at Toll's Creek"; and on the following page, "Again I 

 was not satisfied of the identity of the Dusky Miner (M. ob- 

 scura) ; the Stirling Rnnge bird appeared to be much smaller 

 than the vSwan River bird." Finally I would submit the opinion 

 that Myzantha obscura is not directly descended from Mycantha 

 flai'igula, but that they are each modern representatives of two 

 distinct branches of some ancient stock. The fJavigular stock 

 have develojied the yellow gular mark and yellow tuft at the 

 gape to a striking degree, whereas these features are nuich modi- 

 fied in obscura and in the eastern sub-species, whose habitat over- 

 laps that of flavigula, these features are sub-obsolete. It is more 

 than likely that some intermediate form of obscura will turn uj) 

 between Esperance Bay in Western Australia and Eyre's Penin- 

 sula, in South Australia. T think it should be sought for in the 

 belt of country between the sea and the line of salt-bush. 



