288 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Sp. 171. PCECILODRYAS CERVINIVENTRIS, Gould. 



Buff-sided Robin. 

 Petroica ? cerviniventris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part xxv. p. 221. 



Petroica ? cerviniventris, Gould, Birds of Australia, foL, Supple- 

 ment, pi. 



So far as regards Ornithological science, it was fortunate 

 that Mr. Elsey remained for a long time encamped near the 

 Victoria River, on the north-west coast of Australia, since it 

 enabled him to pay much attention to the natural objects 

 which surrounded him ; and the discovery of the present 

 bird, which is quite new to science, is one of the results of 

 his long stay in that spot in charge of a portion of Mr. 

 Gregory's Expedition. All who have read my work on the 

 Birds of Australia, will have observed that a species of this 

 form, collected by Gilbert in the neighbourhood of the Bur- 

 dekin Lakes, towards the Gulf of Carpentaria, is figured in 

 the third volume under the name of P. superciliosa ; to this 

 species the one here described is very nearly allied — so nearly, 

 in fact, that, although I have treated them as distinct, a 

 suspicion has arisen in my mind that they may be the sexes 

 of one and the same species ; they both differ in form from 

 the typical or true PetroiccB, and are doubtless representatives 

 of each other in the respective countries they inhabit, the 

 F. superciliosa dwelling on the eastern parts of the continent, 

 and the P. cerviniventris in the western. 



The following is a correct description of the latter : — 



All the upper surface, wings, and tail chocolate-brown ; 

 line over the eye, throat, tips of the greater wing-coverts, base 

 of the primaries, base and tips of the secondaries, and tips of 

 the tail white ; breast grey ; abdomen deep fawn-colour, 

 becoming almost white in the centre ; bill black ; feet black- 

 ish brown ; irides dark brown. 



Total length 6^ inches ; bill f ; wing 3J ; tail 3^ ; tarsi |. 



The original specimen from which the above description 

 was taken is now in the British Museum. 



