No. 4.] THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD 89 



mainland. and as in habits, note, etc., it is essentially identical, 

 it may be simply an island evolution of the blue and white 

 form. Moreover, he adds that the two species of the latter 

 I recognised in my List, viz., Hallornis cyanotus and 

 Hallornis leuconotus, are identical. I have always been 

 troubled about this item and am inclined to agree with 

 Mr. Carter, but at present do not know which name has 

 priority, although apparently the latter. In which case 

 the species would read — 



Hallornis leuconotus, 

 Hallornis leuconotus leuconotus. 



Interior of South Australia. 

 Hallornis leuconotus cyanotus. Coastal New South 



Wales, Queensland. Victoria and South Australia 



and South Australia. 

 These seem scarcely separable. 

 Hallornis leuconotus exsul. West Australia. 

 Hallornis leuconotus per plexus is a synonym of this form. 



The subject of the Dark Blue Wrens is more complex than 

 at first appears. While it may be quite true that the Dirk 

 Hartog and Barrow Island Wrens are simply melanistic 

 products of Hallornis, we cannot jump to this conclusion 

 without considering the New Guinea so-called Malurus and 

 Todopsis. The latter genus was proposed for large birds of 

 Malurus (cyaneus) coloration, and has since been regularly 

 recognised even by genus lumpers. Under Malurus has 

 been classed a New Guinea species of similar coloration to 

 the Dirk Hartog species, but comparison shows it to have 

 had an entirely different origin to that suggested for the 

 latter. The New Guinea species Malurus alboscapulatus 

 Meyer, has a much longer broader bill, recalling the formation 

 of the bill of the New Guinea Todopsis, and quite different 

 from the Dirk Hartog Island bird's bill, it also has a different 

 wing formula and a noticeably shorter square tail. It is 



