270 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Sp. 158. GERYGONE MAGNIROSTRIS, Gould. 



Great-billed Gerygone. 

 Gerygone magnirostris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part x. p. 133. 



Gerygone magnirostris, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. ii. 

 pi. 100. 



Of this species I regret to sa}'^ but little information has as 

 yet been received ; the two examples in my collection are all 

 that have come under my notice ; and these were shot by 

 Gilbert on Greenhill Island near Port Essington, while 

 hovering over the blossoms of the mangroves and engaged in 

 capturing the smaller kinds of insects, during which occupa- 

 tion it gave utterance to an extremely weak twittering song : 

 unfortunately he had no further opportunity of making himself 

 acquainted with its habits and manners ; but they doubtless 

 resemble those of the other members of the genus. 



All the upper surface brown ; margins of the primaries 

 slightly tinged with olive ; tail-feathers crossed near the ex- 

 tremity by an indistinct broad band of brownish black ; all 

 the under surface white, tinged with brownish buff; irides 

 light brown ; bill olive-brown ; the base of the lower mandi- 

 ble pearl-white ; feet greenish grey. 



Total length 3f inches ; bill yq J wing 2 J ; tail If ; tarsi f . 



Sp. 159. GERYGONE L^.VIGASTER, Gould. 



Buff-breasted Gerygone. 

 Gerygone Icevigaster, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part x. p. 133. 



Gerygone Isevigaster, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. ii. pi. 101. 



Gilbert killed several specimens of this little bird on the 

 Cobourg Peninsula, and on the islands in Van Diemen's Gulf, 

 and sometimes observed a solitary individual among the man- 

 groves near the settlement of Port Essington. He states that 

 it has a very pleasing but weak piping note, and occasionally 



