388 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON RHIPIDURA PREISSI. [Mar. 1, 



RhIPIDURA PREISSI. 



Bhipidura preissi, Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. .57 (1850) ; Gould, 

 Handb. B. Austr. i. p. 240 (1865) ; Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 331, no. 

 4972 (1869) ; Ramsay, Pr. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. ii. p. 182 (1878); 

 Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. iv. p. 310, note (1879). 



Adult. General colour above slaty brown, the head scarcely 

 darker than the back ; wing-coverts like the back, the greater series 

 rather browner, and tipped with white like the median series, so as 

 to form a double wing- bar ; primary-coverts and quills brown, the 

 inner secondaries externally bordered with white; tail-feathers brown, 

 the two centre ones black-shafted, the others with white shafts and 

 tipped with white, which extends down the inner web from the tip, 

 increasing in extent towards the outermost, which has the outer web 

 entirely white ; lores, sides of face, and ear-coverts blackish, with 

 a faint indication of a whitish streak over the fore part of the eye ; 

 throat whitish ; remainder of under surface light ochraceous buff, 

 becoming dull white on the under tail-coverts ; the sides of the breast 

 and the lower throat and fore neck ashy grey, the latter streaked 

 with the same colour as the breast ; under wing-coverts white, dusky 

 internally ; quills dusky brown below, lighter along tbe edge of the 

 inner web. Total length 5*4 inches, culmeu 0"3, wing 2"7, tail 3'25, 

 tarsus 0'65. 



On looking over my " Key to the Species " of these white-shafted 

 Fantails, I am not quite satisfied with their arrangement, and would 

 modify the characters given on pp. 303 and 304 of the Catalogue, 

 as follows : — 



a. Three or more outer tail-feathers with entirely white or 



creamy-white shafts. i flabcllifera. 



a'. Centre tail-ieathers with white shaits like the others < bulaeri 



b'. Two centre tail-feathers with brown shafts, the rest with '• ^ 

 white ones. 

 a". Breast not scaly, i. e. not mottled with dark centres to the 

 feathers, but uniform ochraceous buff; throat wJiite, with 

 a patch of black or dull grey on the lower portion. 

 a' . Outer web of external tail-feathers pure white for its 



whole extent i albiscapa. 



a\ Throat-patch black \saturata. 



6*. Throat-patch grey, the fore neck also grey, streaked 

 with ochraceous buff like the rest of the under sur- 

 face preissi. 



b'". Outer web of external tail-feathers dull white, brownish 



towards the tip pelzelni. 



c'". Outer web of external tail-feathers smoky brown, as 



also the tips to all the tail- feathers brenchkyi. 



