QUEENSLAND and NORTHERN TERRITORY 67 



which is generally so with all birds of these areas, 

 while "e" is the darker insular form of the main- 

 land. Island birds incline this way. The whole 

 family is low voiced, to be heard only in the tender 

 hours of the day, in the quiet of the close set scrub. 

 Mt. Lofty is the western limit of range of the 

 species. 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE COACH-WHIP 

 BIRDS 



In map 26 we have a long drawn distribution of 

 whip birds found within the great belts of high 

 forest trees. The northern form "b" grows larger 

 as it gets south to "a," and takes on a new plumage 

 feature as it goes west, being black on the throat. 

 This we should note is not the customary way of 

 western species, because they have ceased to be 

 eastern. The whip-crack is to be heard in most 

 of the tangled ground scrub. The long series 

 leading to the main notes is made by male and 

 female. They get much joy out of their morning 

 game of down and up the supple-jacks, lasting an 

 hour or more, along a dead bough in the everlasting 

 green. 



The National Reserve of the Bunya Mountains 

 we hope will be an eternal sanctuary. 



The eggs of this crested whip-bird are of the 



palest delicate blue green. The eggs of another 



crested bird the Wedge-bill (Sphenostoma), also 



are of the most delicate pale green. This latter 



I 



