28 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Amytis gigantura, sp. nov. 



The whole of ihe upper surface extending from the forehead to 

 and including the wings and tail a uniform dull brown, with the 

 feathers of the head, neck, cheeks, mantle, tail, and wing coverts 

 striated with white, the striations more numerous and emphatic 

 on the head and nape ; tail feathers (lo) not striated, but shafts 

 brighter brown than the web ; chin, throat, and breast with 

 lighter wash of brown tending towards fawn ; feathers distinctly 

 striated with white ; abdomen still lighter, with striations fainter ; 

 a bright chestnut patch on each side of spring, but in front of 

 thigh ; under wing coverts light chestnut ; under surface of tail 

 feathers brown ; shafts white at base, but becoming brownish 

 towards extremities ; web of tail feathers open, and shafts robust 

 and distinct ; primaries brown with bright brown shafts ; first 

 primary diminutive, second longer but much shorter tlian third, 

 third distinctly shorter than fourth, the fourth and remaining 

 ones almost of even length ; mandibles bright brown ; legs dark 

 brown ; total length culmen, wing, tail, and tarsus as per table. 



Locality, Mt. Magnet, Western Australia. 



The specific name of macrura, which would have been 

 specially appropriate, having already been allotted, I propose 

 that it receive the scientific name of Amytis gigantura (Gr. gigas 

 + oura), and the vernacular name of the "Western Grass-bird." 



Comparative Table of the Genus Amytis above referred to. 



Culmen. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. 



0.45 

 0-55 



■ 0-55 



■ 0.45 

 . 0.5 



It may be of some interest to know that the birds in spirits 

 mentioned in the first paragraph were specimens of Carter's 

 Desert-bird, and to which I had assigned a new genus. Sub- 

 sequently the description of that bird in the Victorian Naturalist 

 was brought under my notice, and which proved their identity. 



The Little Kingfisher. — Up to the date of the publication 

 of Mr. A. J. Campbell's work on " Nests and Eggs of Australian 

 Birds" the eggs of the rare Little Kingfisher, Alcyone picsilla, 

 Temm., had not been discovered. However, on the 14th 

 February, 1901, in the Cape York district, Queensland, a nest 

 was found in a bank of a creek, containing five eggs, probably the 

 full clutch. The eggs are nearly round in shape, texture of 

 shell fine and glossy, and colour pearly white. Measurements. — 

 (i) .82 x .72, (2) .79 X .71 inch. — T. A. Brittlebank, 

 Myrniong. 27/5/01. 



