137 



caw, gobble, gobble, gobble." In the whole of the desert these 

 birds are seen soon after sunset skimming over the tops of the 

 spinifex in search of insects, but camp-tires possess a stron^r attrac- 

 tion for them in the form of winged insects attracted by the 

 light. Whilst on watch on the night of August 17, I counted 

 ten birds flying round the burning spinifex at one time. Although 

 seen far into the desert at night, they prefer rocky country in 

 which to pass the day. On the hillside, near Mount Campbell, I 

 disturbed fourteen birds from about half an acre of ground, and 

 subsequently flushed several lots of five or six, but never saw one 

 perch. They appear to spend all their time on the wing or 

 ground. They lay one egg on the bare ground, without making 

 any nest. The egg is a pale-green, lightly spotted with black.] 



No. 20. Artamus leucogaster (White-bellied Wood-Swallow). 



Ocypterus leucogaster, Valenc, Mem. Mus. d'Hist. Nat., tom. 

 VI., p. 21, pi. 7., tig. 2 (1820). 



Artamus leucojyygialis, Gould, Bds. Austr., fol. vol., II., pi. 33 

 (1848). 



Artamus leucogaster, North, Nests and Eggs, Austr. Bds., p. 

 43 (1889); Sharpe, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., vol. XIII., p. 3 (1890). 



One adult and one young male. Camp about five miles from 

 the junction of the Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers. The young 

 male has the bill brown, all the feathers of the back, scapulars, 

 and greater wing-coverts tipped with rich buff", those on the 

 centre of the throat and the tips of the quills and the tail 

 whitish. 



[A few of these birds were seen along the course of the Fitzroy 

 River, and near our camp I found them in company with A, 

 melanops. On February 15 a pair were seen feeding their young 

 brood. They were not by any means numerous, being generally 

 found in pairs. They seem to be of a most affectionate disposition, 

 and, when not engaged in soaring overhead or seeking food, might 

 be observed perched side by side on some dry twig pluming each 

 other's feathers. They were never seen far from water.] 



No. 21. Pardalotus rubricates (Fawn-browed Diamond Bird). 



Pardalotus rubricatus, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, (1837), p. 139 ; 

 id., Bds. Austr., fol., vol. II., pi. 36 (1840) ; Sharpe, Cat. Bds. 

 Brit. Mus., vol. X., p. 60 (1885) ; Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc, 

 N.S.W., vol. I., 2nd series, p. 1,087 (1886) ; North, Nests and 

 Eggs, Austr. Bds., p. 54 (1889); North and Keartl., Rep. Horn 

 Sci. Exped. Cent. Austr., part 2, Zool., p. 69 (1896). 



One adult male. Camp about five miles from the junction of 

 the Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers. Similar to examples from 

 Northern and Central Australia. 



