422 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



many examples, which, all carefully labelled, are now in the 

 national collection. Some of the black-headed ones, or P. 

 goiddiff,, are labelled " adult male ; " one is marked " female 

 obtained from the nest ; " there are also red-headed speci- 

 mens labelled " adult male " and " adult female," and 

 young birds Avhicli are totally different in colouring, being 

 nearly uniform olive, without markings of any kind. Mr. 

 Elsey informed me that he often saw the two species associ- 

 ated in large flocks. 



Grown of the head and cheeks of a beautiful carmine, 

 bounded posteriorly by a narrow line of black ; throat black ; 

 to this succeeds a band of pale blue, narrow on the throat and 

 broad on the back of the neck ; back and wings green, passing 

 into yellow at the nape of the neck ; breast crossed by a broad 

 band of lilac, separated from the yellow of the abdomen by a 

 narrow line of orange ; rump and upper tail-coverts pale blue ; 

 quills brown ; tail black ; bill fleshy white, becoming redder 

 at the tip ; feet flesh-colour. 



Sp. 261. POEPHILA ACUTICAUDA, Gould. 



Long-tailed Grass-Finch. 

 Amadina acuticauda, Gould in Proc, of Zool. Soc.^ part vii. p. 143. 



Poephila acuticauda, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. iii. pi. 90. 



The specimens from which my description of this bird was 

 taken are from the interesting collection placed in my hands 

 by the late Mr. Bynoe, whose great perseverance and assi- 

 duity have enabled me to add many species to the fauna 

 of Australia. Indeed many of the officers of the 'Beagle' will 

 have their names handed down to posterity in consequence 

 of the attention they paid to this branch of science, inde- 

 pendently of the legitimate objects of their various expe- 

 ditions ; among others I may particularly allude to Mr. 

 Charles Darwin, Captain Wickham, Captain Stokes, Mr. 

 Dring, &c. Since the arrival of Bynoe's birds I have also 



