976 MR. J. GOULD ON A NEW CLIMACTERIS. [DcC. 12, 



The species are : — 



Climacteris scandens. 



Generally distributed over the south-eastern portions of Australia. 



Climacteris ritfa. 



Inhabits the neighbourhood of Swan River, Western Australia. 



Climacteris erythrops. 



The interior of New South Wales. 



Climacteris melanota. 

 The Gnlf of Carpentaria. 



Climacteris melanura. 

 The north coast of Australia. 



Climacteris leucoph^a. 



New South Wales. 



Thus every colony of that vast country, with the exception of Tas- 

 mania, is inhabited by a species of this singular form. When 1 com- 

 menced the study of the Australian birds, now nearly thirty years ago, 

 only two species were known, namely C. scandens and C. leucophcea. 

 In the interval the four others above named have been discovered; and 

 I now give the description of a lifth, from a skin sent to me two years 

 since by Mr. E. P. Ramsay of Dobroyde, in New South Wales, and 

 which I should have characterized earlier, but for an impression that 

 it was an example of C. leucophcea in an abnormal state of plumage ; 

 I now venture to do so in consequence of a second inquiry from Mr. 

 Ramsay as to what I have called the red-rumped Climacteris. 



The name I propose for it is 



Climacteris pyrrhonota. 



Crown, forehead, and wings brown, the feathers of the former 

 edged with a lighter tint of the same colour ; some longitudinal tear- 

 drop-like streaks of huffy white on the scapularies ; wings crossed 

 by a band of light buff ; rump and upper tail-coverts rust-red, form- 

 ing a conspicuous mark ; throat and chest white ; on the hinder part 

 of the cheeks a patch of rust-red ; centre of the abdomen buflfy white ; 

 flanks deep brown, with the centre of each feather greyish white ; 

 under tail-coverts fawn-white, each feather crossed by two irregular 

 lines of black ; tail grey, the five outer feathers on each side centred 

 with black and tipped with greyish white. 



Total length 5i inches, bill f, wing 3|, tail 2|, tarsi |. 



In favour of its being distinct, I may remark, first, that I found 

 the C. leucophcea very common in New South Wales, and killed 

 many examples of both sexes without finding a trace of red on their 

 rump-feathers ; secondly, that we rarely find rust-red to be the pre- 

 cursor of the fine blue-grey of a subsequent change ; and thirdly, 

 that rust-red is a prevailing tint in some of the other species of the 

 genus. It assimilates in size and general appearance (except in the 



