216 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Podiceps nestor Gould, Synops. Birds Austr., pt. 1, pl. 19, Jan. Ist, 1837: Van Diemens 
Land and New South Wales=Tasmania. (W. Stone.) 
Podiceps poliocephalus cloatesi Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 197, Jan. 31st, 1912: 
Point Cloates, mid-West Australia. 
DisrrisutTion.—Australia generally and Tasmania. 
Adult male in breeding-plwmage.—General colour of the upper-surface dark 
slate-grey, the feathers of the mantle, back, scapulars, and wing-coverts fringed 
with white; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dark brown, the latter 
blackish at the tips and white on the inner webs, the white increasing in extent on 
the inner primaries, where they become white shaded with brown at the tips, the 
dark pattern increasing on the inner secondaries, where it spreads over the greater 
portion of the feathers, the white pattern being reduced to the base only ; sides of 
the lower back and rump white streaked with brown; head and neck all round 
black, dusky on the fore-head and lores, the feathers on the top of the head and sides 
of the face continued into white, hair-like tips, which impart a streaked appearance ; 
lower hind-neck dusky-brown, becoming buff on the fore-neck ; breast also bufl, 
darker on the sides, which is continued along the sides of the body on to the lower 
flanks, where they are greyish-brown ; under-surface pearly-white ; under wing- 
coverts and axillaries white, the latter with dark brown on the outer webs; bill 
black, tip flesh colour; iris straw-yellow; tarsi and feet olive. Total length 
271 mm.; culmen 25, wing 111, tarsus 35. 
Adult female in breeding-plumage.—Similar to the adult male but differs in 
being paler, the throat dark brown, and the fore-neck pale fawn. It is also somewhat 
smaller. Total length 230 mm.; culmen 25, wing 111, tarsus 32. 
Adult in winter—Everywhere paler on the upper-parts; top of head grey, 
blackish on the hind-neck ; the hair-like plumes short on the fore-head, longer on 
the hinder face and sides of upper neck ; throat pale grey. 
Immature and Nestling—Similar to those of preceding. 
Nest.—Very much like that of the preceding species. 
Eggs.—Clutch, four to six; ground-colour when fresh pale green, covered with 
white chalky nodules ; axis 39, diameter 26-27. 
Breeding-season.—October to January. 
Distribution and forms.—Throughout Australia and Tasmania. It is possible 
that more subspecies will be admitted later, but with the material at hand only two 
are recognised, an eastern and a western form, the latter being darker above and 
the buff on the sides of the breast being more extensive. The New Zealand bird, 
P. rufopectus Gray is closely related but is specifically distinct. 
OrpreR GALLI. 
This order comprises five suborders, the Hoatzin as sole member of one, 
Curassows, Megapodes, etc., Hemipodes, and Seed Snipe. The Hoatzin, constituting 
the Opisthocomiformes, has a wonderful literature on account of its mangrove 
breeding-habits and its use of otherwise disused members. Nevertheless, it is 
only a little modified relative of the Curassows and Guans and must be included 
in the same order. Moreover, it inhabits the same countries, both being restricted 
to South and Central America. The Craciformes, including the Curassows and 
Guans, are peculiar low forms of Galline birds, agreeing in some internal features 
with the Megapodes with which they have no near relationship. The former are 
large birds which live in the forests in trees ; they are stoutly built with crested 
heads and bare spaces round the eyes, varying in the different species, and mostly 
of dark coloration. The Megapodes are famed for their peculiar lack of incubating 
their eggs and will be more fully dealt with below as they belong to the Papuasian 
and Australian Regions. They are only regarded as constituting a superfamily 
