No. 6.] THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD 135 



other hand into the Western Thickhead (P. occidentalis) of 

 West Australin forests ; while an insular form, the Grey-tailed 

 (P. glaucura) takes possession of Tasmania and some of the 

 intermediate islands in Bass Strait." 



Such gradation would necessitate the acceptance of all the 

 forms as subspecific ; but while, apparently, this has been 

 observed as to the males, it is negatived by examination of the 

 females. As the result, I find three representative species 

 occurring in Australia which are easily separable by the 

 coloration of the females, which noticeably differs. Sub- 

 species can be separated by the variation of the coloration of 

 the tails of the males as well as the underparts of the females. 



These three species occur on the west coast of Australia, 

 while all the eastern up to Cape York are referable to one 

 species. 



Masters described a female from Cape York as Pachycephala 

 robusta, which Ramsay, admitting, noted : " A doubtful 

 species, being founded on a single specimen only, a female ; 

 must be compared with female of P. melanura, which varies 

 much in size." 



As this form, robusta, occurs outside Australia it may be 

 necessary to alter the specific name when I monograph the 

 species for my Birds of Australia, but this preliminary 

 note serves to draw attention to the dangers of lumping, 

 as undoubtedly three species have been confused. In the 

 Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum two species were 

 admitted, but as species and subspecies were there confused 

 no criticism of that work is necessary. The name melanura 

 was used for the group here called robusta, but its limits have 

 been enlarged, incorrectly it appears, until Rothschild and 

 Hartert wrote (Nov. Zool., Vol. XV., p. 364, 1908) : " We are 

 convinced that all the Pachycephala of the melanura-astrolabo 

 group are subspecies of a single species." 



The male of melanura agrees with Gould's description in 

 being a smaller bird with shorter wing, shorter black tail, 

 longer bill and brighter coloration, the secondaries and pri- 

 maries edged with grey. Gould compared this bird with 



