11 



the lateral rectrices with the outer webs pale ; at the base of 

 upper mandible the feathers are tipped light ; throat, foreneck, 

 chest, and under wing coverts rufous, the colour extending 

 somewhat to the sides of the breast, and the centre of the 

 chest deeper than the rest ; beneath, from the breast, white, 

 with a faint wash of fulvous on the under tail coverts; flanks, 

 bluish grey.* 



This would appear, according to Gould, to be the dress of 

 the female, except that in his plate of that sex the rufous of 

 the chest spreads lower down the flanks than in my example, 

 and in this the quills and rectrices are not edged with blue as 

 he describes them to be in the note accompanying his figure. 

 The plumage ©f my specimen is, however, considerably 

 abraded, so that it is probable the latter features may have 

 existed at an earlier stage, 



I had but little opportunity of observing the habits of this 

 interesting little visitor, except that the peculiar tremulous 

 motion of the tail on alighting after each little flight in search 

 of its food was very apparent ; in fact, it was this characteristic 

 that first drew my attention to the bird. Its stationary habit as 

 exemplified by what I have stated above is also noteworthy. 



The Myiagra plumbea is the sixth addition to the avi-fauna 

 of Tasmania within the past six or seven years, the others being 

 Scythrops novce Hollandice, Lamprotreron superbus, Synoicus 

 sordidus, Berniclajubata, and a Raptor which, Mr. Allport says, 

 approaches more nearly to Haliastur sphenurus than to any other 

 Eagle figured in Gould's birds of Australia. The latter bird 

 together with the two first named — the remarkable "Channel 

 bill" and the beautiful "Superb Fruit Pigeon" — are evidences 

 of what we may expect in the way of stragglers, or occasional 

 visitors to this country, and the fact of their being procured 

 and located in our Museum holds out a hope of many additions 

 yet to be made to our list, when there shall arise (as probably 

 will be the case) the same spirit of research into the ornithology 

 of Tasmania as has existed with regard to that branch of 

 natural history in Great Britain for more than fifty years past. 



* I append for future reference Gould's description of the male. "Whole 

 " of the upper surface, wings, tail, and breast, lead colour, glossed with green 

 "on the head, neck, and breast, and becoming gradually paler towards the 

 " extremity of the body, and on the wings and tail ; primaries, slaty black ; 

 "secondaries, faintly margined with white ; under surface of the wing, abdomen 

 " and under tail coveits, white ; bill, leaden blue, except at the extreme tip 

 " which is black ; irides and feet, black." 



