THE WHITE-THROATED THICKHEAD. 165 



CHAPTER XCVII. 



WHITE-THROATED THICKHEAD. 

 (^Pachycephala gutturalis, Latham.} 



According to Gould, the male has the crown of the 

 head, lores, line beneath the eye, ear coverts, and a 

 crescent-shaped mark from the latter across the breast, 

 deep black; throat, within the black, white; back of 

 the neck, a narrow line down each side of the chest 

 behind the black crescent, and all the under surf ace , 

 gamboge-yellow; back and upper tail coverts, yellowish- 

 olive; wing coverts, blackish -brown, margined with 

 yellowish-olive ; primaries and secondaries, blackish- 

 brown, margined with greyish-olive ; basal half of the 

 tail, grey; apical half, blackish-brown, tipped with grey ; 

 irides, dark brown; bill, black; legs and feet, blackish- 

 grey. 



The female has the whole of the upper surface and 

 tail greyish-brown; primaries and secondaries, brown, 

 margined with grey ; throat, pale brown, freckled with 

 white; remainder of the under surface, pale brown, 

 passing into deep buff on the abdomen. 



This bird is generally found amongst tea tree (Leptos- 

 permum) and other trees and bushes growing near 

 creeks and rivers, and its melodious note is well known 

 to persons visiting the bush. These birds are fairly 

 common at Ringwood, Dandenong Ranges, Warrandyte, 

 and other localities within easy reach of Melbourne. It 

 is a lovely bird, the bright orange-colored breast and 

 the white throat of the male making it one of the most 

 conspicuous birds to be found in the bush. Its food 

 consists of noxious insects of all kinds, and it should 

 be protected by growers and others interested in the 

 preservation of our insectivorous birds. The nest, 



