33 



Stipiturus malachttrus, Lesson, 



This remarkable little bird, so local in its distribution in 

 Tasmania, is abundant in the districts above-mentioned, fre- 

 quenting the sides of the low hills where they are clothed with 

 epacris, mimosa, and other stunted vegetation, as well as the 

 tall grass and reed beds around lagoons and damp hollows. 

 In the middle of the day it resorts to the small clumps of 

 dwarf Eucalyptus above alluded to, in which its presence is 

 betrayed, by its tiny note of tze-tze, resembling more the sound 

 of an insect than the voice of a bird. When in these situations, it 

 is useless to disturb them, as they at once take to the ground 

 and disappear with wonderful quickness, but by remaining 

 quiet a sight of the diminutive Emu- wren will soon be gained 

 as he darts up to an outstanding twig, or the top of some tall 

 reed stalk ; at such times when " twitting " about with the 

 restless movements common to the malurince the tail is gener- 

 ally retroverted over the back giving the bird a quaint 

 appearance. An example from Victoria has the central tail 

 feathers 4*75 inches in length, while the longest pair of 5 

 Tasmanian examples before me, measure, 44 : as a rule the 

 balance as regards size is always in favour of Tasmanian species 

 of birds common to both continent and island, but the above 

 disparity may not be constant. The measurements of a fine 

 male from this district are : — Total length, 6 4; tail, 4*4; 

 lateral tail feather, 2*1 ; tarsus, 0'7 ; mid-toe, 0'45 ; claw, 

 017 ; bill at front, 0*37 ; weight, foz. In the female the bill 

 is of a lighter colour than in the opposite sex, the blue super- 

 cillian and lower white eyelid* are wanting as well as the blue 

 throat and striae of the head ; the web of the tail feathers is 

 rounded at the top and not pointed as in the male ; it also 

 stands out more direct from the shaft making the feathers 

 broader than those of the male. 



LOBIVANELLUS LOBATUS, Vicill. 



The Wattled Pewit, or Spur-winged Plover, has for some 

 reason or another been omitted from the avifauna of 

 Tasmania. Gould remarks of it, in speaking of its supposed 

 absence from this country : " It is not improbable that it will 

 hereafter be found to be an inhabitant of that island," writing 

 at the same time that it is numerous on the islands of Bass 

 Straits. It does not appear in Krefft's list of our birds, nor 

 is it mentioned in Mr. Allport's additions to it, vide Papers 

 of Eoyal Society of Tasmania, 1868, although this gentleman 

 says that it occurs at times in the south of the island. It 

 occasionally visits this district at the latter end of summer, 

 and likewise (as I am informed) after wet weather, during 



* Omitted in Gould's figure. 



