THE



149



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BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICU LTURAL SOCIETY.



New Series .— VOL. II. — No. 5. — All rights reserved. MARCH, 1904.



THE SPOTTED GROUND-BIRD.


Cinclosoma punctatum.


{Cat. B. Brit. Mus. VIZ., p. 332 ).


By Reginald Phillipps.


I have been asked to write about Cinclosoma; and as I

am probably the only person in this country who has ever kept

a specimen of the genus alive there is no escape, notwith¬

standing that some years have elapsed since my bird lived—

and died ; happily my notes are pretty full.


It was in the afternoon of the 8th July, 1899, that a bird*

arrived, with a letter offering me an “Australian Rock-Thrush.”

The name “ Rock-Thrush” was associated in my mind with the

Pied Rock-Thrush, Monticola saxatilis, of which I had, and had

had, many examples, and I was vexed that so common a species

should be sent to me. However, on uncovering the box, quite

a different bird was exposed to view. It seemed familiar, but

somehow I could not just manage to get my tongue round the

name; nevertheless it appeared an innocent kind of thing, so

I accepted and placed it in a six-foot cage in my dining-room,

and, drawing up a chair, sat down to study it.


In outward appearance there was nothing startling about

the little stranger, but it was decidedly interesting. Of about

the size and shape of a Turtle-Dove, it had rather a long fan¬

shaped tail, a slender black bill, and short pale-flesh-coloured



* I heard later that a pair had started from Australia but that the female had

been “buried at sea.”—R. P.



