92 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



of Australian examples with the New Guinea birds in the 

 Museums of Paris and Ley den. 



The P. Papuensis is the largest species of the genus yet 

 discovered ; the beauty of its markings and the extreme 

 length of its cuneate tail render it also one of the most 

 graceful. The only specimen that came into my possession 

 from Mr. Macgillivray, for the purpose of figuring, before 

 being deposited in the National Collection, was a male. This 

 is of a light brown colour, beautifully marbled on the under 

 surface with large blotches of white. I have another spe- 

 cimen from Cape York, which is said to be the female ; and 

 such, judging from its redder colouring and smaller size, I 

 believe to be the case, for a similar difference exists between 

 the sexes of P. marmoratiis. 



The male has the whole of the upper surface mottled with 

 greyish white, brown, and black, presenting a very close 

 resemblance to some of the larger kinds of moths, the lighter 

 tints prevailing in some parts and the darker in others ; on 

 the primaries the marks assume the form of bars, and are of 

 a redder hue ; tips of the coverts white, forming irregular 

 bars across the wing; tail very similar, but here also the 

 markings assume the form of alternate darker and lighter 

 bands with a rufous tint on the edges of the feathers ; the 

 under surface is much lighter than the upper ; the greyish 

 white assumes a larger and more blotch-like form, and the 

 darker marks that of an irregular gorget across the breast ; 

 bill and feet olive. 



The female is altogether of a more sandy hue ; the dark 

 marks proceed down the centre of the feathers, and terminate 

 in a round spot of buff; the wing- coverts are tipped with 

 white, and the lighter blotches on the wing are very con- 

 spicuous ; the under surface, like the upper, is also of a 

 redder hue than in the male, and the markings are of a 

 smaller and more freckled character. / 



