286 Mr. J. Gould on new Australian Birds. 



"1 Melithreptes, n. sp. This is the finest I have ever seen 

 of the genus : only four were shot, and I send you the best. 

 The collector remarks that when alive they had a bright yellow 

 rim round the eyes. I remain, very truly yours, 



" F. G. Waterhouse." 



The box so kindly sent to me by Mr. Waterhouse having 

 arrived, I am able to state that the Amytis and Meliihreptes 

 both appear to be new to science. The Cinclosoma I cannot 

 separate from the true C. cinnamomeum ; and the Ptilotis 

 will require further comparison. I now proceed to describe 

 the remaining species, the first of which I shall call after 

 Mr. George Woodroffe Goyder, by whose influence and exer- 

 tions a natural-history collector was sent to the northern 

 territory with the Lake-Eyre expedition. 



Amytis Goyderi, sp. n. 



General colour fawn, distinctly streaked with white on 

 the upper surface, each white stripe having a dark-brown 

 lateral border on each side, the streaks becoming sandy-coloured 

 on the lower back and disappearing entirely on the rump and 

 upper tail-coverts, which are consequently uniform fawn ; 

 tail-feathers brown, with sandy-coloured shafts, the outer 

 feathers rather broadly edged with fulvous ; wings brown, 

 the least coverts minutely and the greater series broadly 

 streaked with sandy buff; quills brown, with light sandy- 

 coloured shafts, and externally margined with rufous, the 

 secondaries much more broadly, the innermost with broad 

 fawn-coloured margins all round and streaked down the centre 

 witli sandy rufous ; lores and sides of face white, the latter 

 narrowly streaked with blackish brown, more distinctly on 

 the cheeks ; throat and breast pure white, as well as the centre 

 of the abdomen ; the flanks bright fawn-colour, inclining to 

 paler and more sandy rufous on the thighs and upper and 

 under wing-coverts. 



Total length 5'5 inches, culmen 0'45, wing 2*1, tail 2*8, 

 tarsus 0'9. 



A second specimen sent, probably the female, is tinged with 

 vinous instead of fawn-colour as in the male. 



As Mr. Waterhouse points out in his letter, the new Amytis 

 is very closely allied to A. textilis; but it differs in being 

 fawn-coloured instead of dull brown, with much broader 

 white streaks on the upper surface ; it is also distinguish- 

 able at a glance by its white under surface and fawn-coloured 

 flanks. 



