the Alexandra District, S. Australia. 407 
This species appears to be rare in the North and in N.W. 
Australia. 
Although these skins have a bleached appearance and are 
pale in coloration, the difference is not sufficiently pronounced 
to warrant their separation as a subspecies. They merely 
represent a pale form of the typical /. aurifrons. 
CisTICOLA EXILIS. 
Cisticola exilis (Vig. & Horsf.); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. 
vil. p. 269 (1883); Hartert, Nov. Zool. vii. p. 227 (Ord 
River Station; Derby; South Alligator River; Eureka). 
a. 9? ad. Alexandra, July 24, 1905. Bill pale brown ; 
feet pale yellowish brown ; iris dull yellow. 
The example from Alexandra varies so markedly from 
any in the large series of C. exilis at the British Museum 
that it is almost worthy of separation as a subspecies ; had 
I more than one skin at my disposal 1 would unhesitatingly 
give this bird a new name, for it appears to me to be a very 
distinct geographical race. It differs from C. evilis in being 
much paler in plumage throughout; the head and mantle 
are very light greyish buff, streaked with dusky brown, this 
pale coloration being especially noticeable on the scapulars 
and wing-coverts, which have a very hoary appearance ; the 
nape and rump are faintly washed with tawny. In the 
typical C, ewilis all these parts are much darker and browner. 
The under parts are white and only tinged with buff on the 
flanks. 
Mr. North mentions (Nests & Eggs Austr. B. p. 258) 
having examined a similarly light-plumaged example pro- 
cured at Derby, N.W. Australia ; he may possibly refer to 
the male of my pale race: he describes it as follows:— 
“has the head and under surface almost white, the former 
beg slightly washed with golden buff, which is more pro- 
nounced on the forehead; the upper surface, wings, and tail 
are correspondingly paler than the typical examples of 
C. ewilis, and only the feathers on the upper portion of the 
back have brown centres: wing 1:9 inches.” 
The same author states that he has never met with this 
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