OQ2 KsKBY, Birds of Mount Compass Distvict, S. A. V Emu 



to the fact, but said I should Hke to see skins collected at the 

 same season of the year from both localities, to make certain 

 that the differences were not seasonal. I now find that some 

 of the February skins have their new plumage, and am satisfied 

 that the grey character of neck feathers, and the less rufous 

 coloration generally, is a permanent and distinctive character- 

 istic. My colleague, Mr. F. E. Parsons, tells me that he had 

 come to the same conclusion, quite independently. 



For purposes of comparison, I arranged the specimens, irre- 

 spective of locality, in order of the depth of rufous coloration 

 of the upper portions. 



The specimen I collected in Tasmania, near Scottsdale, on 9th 

 October, 1916, easily was first for the depth and briUiancy of 

 rufous coloration of the upper plumage, and incidentally smaller 

 in size than any of the others. Next in order came those I col- 

 lected near Cranbourne, in Victoria, in July, 1886. The whole 

 coloration is decidedly rufous, the male slightly more so than 

 the female, and the forehead of male almost entirely rufous, the 

 blackish mid-streak being almost absent. Then come the Mount 

 Compass birds of the South Australian scries, showing a con- 

 siderably wider distinction between them and the Victorian than 

 there is between the Victorian and Tasmanian races. In the 

 males from Mount Compass, the nape and upper neck is distinctly 

 edged with grey, the rufous coloration being practically con- 

 fined to the forehead, and the black mid-streak being much 

 more in evidence than in the Victorian and Tasmanian specimens ; 

 but in the female this distinction is still more marked — the whole 

 of the upper portion of the head and neck is grey streaked with 

 black, and in this respect being very similar to Mr. Parsons' new 

 Kangaroo Island bird ; but whereas in the Mount Compass birds 

 the feathers of the wings and back are edged with pale rufous, 

 in the Kangaroo Island skins this coloration is practically 

 absent. A consideration of the under surfaces shows that the 

 Tasmanian and Victorian birds are considerably deeper in rufous 

 coloration than is the case with either of the South Australian 

 forms. 



To sum up, we have under review four easily separated forms 

 if examined by daylight. At one end yft have the Tasmanian 

 form, with its near ally the Victorian bird ; at the other end we 

 have Mr. Parsons' Kangaroo Island bird, with its nearest ally the 

 Mount Compass bird herein described. 



The Kangaroo Island l)irds I consider an exceptionally distinct 

 race, and it is very interesting to find that, while tlic mainland 

 South Australian form is easily separated from tlie insular one, 

 it is an intermediate race more closely related to the Kangaroo 

 Island than to the Victorian. 



I regret to say that I have no specimens of either of the 

 Western Australian races, nor of the Mallec bird, and therefore 

 have been unable to deal with them in the above comparisons. 

 I am given to understand that the Malice bird is not likely to 



