126 



long-disputed point as to what group the Brush Turkey should be 

 referred. Mr. Gould further stated, that the views of those natu- 

 ralists who have considered it to be closely allied to the Megapodii, 

 were perfectly correct, and that the Brush Turkey and the new spe- 

 cies now exhibited would in fact form part of a large and singular 

 family of birds inhabiting Australia and the Indian Islands, all of 

 which assimilate in their habits and mode of nidification. This new 

 species differing considerably in several of its characters from the 

 Brush Turkey {Talegalla), Mr. Gould proceeded to characterize it 

 as a new genus, under the name of Leipoa, signifying ' a deserter of 

 its eggs.' The specific term of ocellata was suggested by the ocel- 

 lated character of many of the spots with which its body is adorned. 



Genus Leipoa. 



Gen. Char. — Rostrum fere tam longum qiiam caput ; gracile, ad 

 basin tumescens, tomiis undulatis et ad basin incurvatis, naribus 

 amplis, oblongis, operculo tectis, et in fovea centrali positis. Caput 

 subcristatum. Alee amplse, rotundatae, concavse ; e remigibus pri- 

 mariis quinto longissimo ; tertiariis quam remiges primarii fere tam 

 longis. Cauda rotundata, rectricibus quatuordecem. Tarsi mediocres, 

 robusti, antice scutis, postice squamis rotundatis baud sequalibus, 

 tecti. Digiti subbreves ; digitis lateralibus inter se fer^ sequalibus. 



Leipoa ocellata. Lei. pectore per medium plumas lanceolatas 

 nigras, strigd centrali albd ornatas, prcsbente, plumis corporis su- 

 perrie albescenti-cinereis, ad apicem guttdpeni ocellatd, rufd, nigra 

 marginatd, notatis. 



Head and crest blackish brown ; neck and shoulders dark ash grey ; 

 the fore part of the former, from the chin to the breast, marked by 

 a series of lanceolate feathers, which are black with a white stripe 

 down the centre ; back and wings conspicuously marked with three 

 distinct bands of grayish white, brown and black near the tip of each 

 feather, the marks assuming an ocellate form, particularly on the 

 tips of the secondaries ; primaries brown, their outer webs marked 

 with zigzag lines of darker brown ; rump and upper tail -coverts 

 brownish gray, the feathers of the latter transversely marked with 

 two or three zigzag lines near their tip ; all the under surface light 

 buff, the tips of the flank feathers barred with black ; tail blackish 

 brown, broadly tipped with buff ; bill black ; feet blackish brown. 



Total length, 24 inches; bill, \\; wing, 12; tail, 85; tarsi, 2^. 



Hab. Western Australia. 



Mr. Gould next proceeded to characterize the two following new 

 birds : — The first {Cracticus argenteus) is from the collection of Capt. 

 Gray, and the second, a new species of Amadina, is from the collec- 

 tion of Mr. Dring, of H.M.S. Beagle. 



Cracticus argenteus. Cra. guld corporeque subths albis ; humeris 



nigris ; dorso argenteo-cinereo . 

 Crown of the head, ear-coverts, shoulders, primaries, and all the 



