136 WHISKERED FANTAIL. 



a whisker, already mentioned ; the breast and its 

 sides are cinereous, nearly of as dark a tint as the 

 back ; as this colour descends, however, it becomes 

 paler, and blends into the rufous on the belly, vent, 

 and under tail-covers ; the bill is deep black, and 

 the legs very pale. 



Total length, about 7 inches ; bill, gape, ^ ; 

 front, T 4 ; wings, 3 T 4 ; tail beyond, 2 ; base, 3 ; 

 tarsus, T *\j. 



What the fifth and last type of Hhipidura may 

 be, we know not; and we shall therefore at once 

 proceed to the genus 



SEISURA, 



whose characters it is not necessary here to detail, fur- 

 ther than to show its real affinities. Se'isura, in short, 

 resembles an Old World flycatcher of M. Cuvier s 

 division, Muscipeta^ except that its bill is unusually 

 long, its tail nearly even, and its tarsus rather more 

 lengthened ; although the toes are so small, that no , 

 one would suspect they were ever used to stand 

 for more than an instant upon the ground, or upon 

 any flat surface. The tail of S. volitans, the best 

 known species, although not so broad or rounded 

 as in the preceding types, has yet a sufficient length 

 and breadth about it to justify a suspicion that it 



