104 president's address SECTION D. 



the east side in Kent Group, out of the 54 species collected 

 only 4 were peculiarly Tasmanian, the rest, save 2, were 

 common to Victoria and Tasmania, these two being Victorian. 

 Of the peculiar species, Alcyone diemensis is the only repre- 

 sentative of the genus Alcyone belonging to the kingfisher 

 family which is found in Tasmania. 



In the Pardalotes, the 40-spotted diamond bird (P. 

 quadrangintusj is peculiar to Tasmania, ranging northwards 

 into King Island. 



The ground thrush, Geocinchla macrorhyncha, may be 

 noted as a species peculiar to Tasmania and belonging to a 

 widely dispersed genus. The latter extends from E. Siberia, 

 through Burmah to India and Ceylon and thence through 

 the Malay Archipelago to Australia, where are 3 species — 

 G. heinii of N. x4.ustralia and Queensland, G. lunulata of 

 New South Wales, Victoria, and S. Australia and G. 

 macrorhyncha of Tasmania. 



The crow-shrikes are represented by two species, of which 

 one (Strepera arguta), the Hill crow-shrike, is peculiar to 

 Tasmania, the other, the sooty crow-shrike ( E. fulginosa) 

 is common to Tasmania and Victoria. 



The genus Gymnorhina, which includes the common 

 Australian piping crow-shrike, is represented by one peculiar 

 species, G. organicum, the Tasmanian crow-shrike, whilst the 

 two Victorian forms do not pass across the Straits. 



The genus Cracticus is only represented by one species, 

 C. cinereus, the Butcher bird. 



Of Robins, Tasmania has the pink-breasted, the scarlet- 

 breasted, the flame breasted and the dusky robin, the 

 latter belonging to a genus, Amaurodryas, confined to 

 Tasmania and Victoria. 



One of the most interesting forms in the great Acanthiza 

 peculiar to the island, and for the reception of which Colonel 

 Legge has made a new genus — Acanthornis. Mr. R. B. 

 Sharpe, however, places it in the genus Sericornis. In the 

 characteristic Austrahan family the Meliphagidae, or honey- 

 eaters, Tasmania possesses the wattle bird ( AcanthochcBra 

 inaurisj, the strong-billed honey-eater ( Melithreptus validiros- 

 trisj, and the black-headed honey-eater C31. melanocephalus). 



Among the parakeets (Platycercus), which have 6 species 

 in Victoria, only 2 are found in Tasmania, the common 

 yellow-beUied parakeet (P. fiaviventris ) being common in 

 Tasmania but ranging northward into King Island, the 

 Kent Grodp and Victoria. 



