202 MiLLIGAN. Nezv Calaiiiaii/hHS and M c'^alnyi(s jrom 11'../. [1^''^% 



Type in Western Australian Museum, Perth. 



The bird above described was shot by me at Lake Yanchep, 

 35 miles north of Perth, during the last Christmas holidays. 

 Whilst writing these notes I have before me skins of the Lake 

 Yanchep bird, and of M. grauiineiis, from Victoria and from 

 Mandurah estuary, which is situate some 40 miles south from 

 Perth. Little difference exists between the Victorian and Man- 

 durah skins. On the other hand, the difference between those 

 skins and the Lake Yanchep skins is most marked. The latter 

 is very much smaller, and in addition lacks the oily fulvous 

 colour of the upper surface, sides, flanks, and tail coverts of the 

 former, and in lieu of it has a dullish lustreless smoky-brown. 

 Another point of difference is that the Lake Yanchep bird is 

 striated from chin to abdomen as boldly as a CalaniantJms. I 

 shot four birds, and not any one of them exhibited any appre- 

 ciable difference from the others. The estuary where the 

 Mandurah bird was obtained is salt, and possesses extensive 

 mud-flats covered with samphire. The water of Lake Yanchep 

 is fresh, and heavily charged with carbonate of lime, the forma- 

 tion surrounding the lake being limestone. Is it not possible 

 that the presence of the rich fulvous colour of the estuary bird 

 is due to the mud-flats, and the absence of it in the Yanchep 

 bird to the harsh and harder limestone water? 



The notes of the new bird are two melancholy ones, re- 

 sembling in sound the syllables " tee tee." In the protected 

 area of the Swan River, at Perth, the local bird has three notes, 

 " titty tee tee." The birds were numerous, but difficult to 

 flush, owing to their secretive habits. 



I assign to the new species the scientific name of Megahirus 

 striatus, and the vernacular name of the Striated Grass-Bird. 



Description of a New Acanthiza. 



By a. J. Campbell. 

 Acanthiza magnirostris (Large-billed Tit;, n. sp. 



Upper surface olive-brown ; forehead cinnamon-brown, each 

 feather having a crescent-shaped mark of a brighter colour at 

 the extremity, and tipped with dark brown ; upper tail coverts 

 reddish or rufous-brown ; tail marked with a band of dark 

 brown near the extremity ; cheeks, throat, and chest whitish, 

 each feather centred and edged with dark brown or black ; rest 

 of the under surface light olive-brown, darker on the flanks and 

 under tail coverts ; bill dark brown ; feet brownish or fuscous. 

 Length, 4.25 ; culmen, .45 ; wing, 2.0; tail, 1.6 ; tarsus, .7. 



AcantJiiza magnirostris has more of the black and white 

 mottled under surface than A. dieinenensis, and thus more re- 



