THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. ^1 



344. Ptilotis cratitia, Gld., Wattle-cheeked Honey-eater. 



Young male skin, 25 9/99. Nhill, Victoria (per Messrs. C. 

 and C. Smart). 



General appearance similar to adult, excepting fleshy wattle 

 extending from gape down each side of the throat, which is dull 

 orange in lieu of lilac ; crown greenish ; forehead grey ; under 

 parts dull yellowish-white and yellowish-grey ; bill black, with 

 base of under mandible yellow ; legs and feet brown. 



379. Pardalotus punctatus, Temm., Spotted Pardalote. 



Immature skin, 5/1 1/99. Loch, Victoria. 



Head spotted with pale yellow ; all feathers of back broadly 

 and faintly marked with yellowish-brown ; upper tail coverts and 

 rump tawny ; tail black and spotted ; wings black, with white 

 spots, except first and second quills, and all smaller than in adult; 

 the whole of under surface pale tawny ; no yellow on throat ; 

 loral spot brown, with pale yellow tips ; cheeks and sides of neck 

 uniform tawny ; bill black ; legs flesh colour. Length of wing, 

 1.35 inches ; tail, 0,8 inches. 



421. Mirafra HORSFiELDi, Old., Bush-Lark. 



Skin, immature male, recently from nest, 18/12/97. Essen- 

 don, Victoria. 



Before me at the moment are five skins, showing as many 

 clearly defined phases in the plumage development of the species. 

 As the bird matures, the black of the dorsal surface gives place 

 to a ruddy greyish-brown, while the chest and breast markings 

 lose the black, blotchy appearance through many stages till the 

 dark rachis of the oldest bird is very narrowly defined upon a 

 fawn or rufous-fawn ground colour. The throat in the adult 

 assumes a clear white. 



Very Young Male Skin. — Crescent-like narrow edge to each 

 feather of the upper surface pale brown, the feathers other than 

 these being deep brownish-black ; chest heavily blotched with deep 

 brownish-black, the centre of it being less dark, owing to the 

 peripheral portion of each feather being of a cream colour; eye- 

 brow fulvous ; throat dull, impure white; outer tail quills show 

 less white than in adult, and more deep brownish-black ; the centre 

 quills are more strongly rufous-marked than in adult ; cheeks 

 blackish ; lower edges of each mandible showing distinctly 

 yellowish against the other portion of the dull-brown bill ; 

 primaries very strongly marked with rufous. Length of wing, 2.7 

 inches; tail, 1.9 inches ; culmen, 0.4 inch. 

 440. tEgotheles nov.e-hollandi/E, Lath., Owlet Nightjar. 



While making the Catal. Birds Brit. Mus., xvi. (1892) Mr. 

 Ernest Hartert remarks (p. 646) : — "There are few groups of birds 

 about which our knowledge is less complete than the genus 

 ^gotheles. We do not know whether one species possesses a 



