WRITE— A New Scrub Wren. 169 



A New Scrub Wren. 



By S. A. White, M.B.O.TJ. 

 Sericornis longirostris wyldei (subsp. n.) — Coorong Scrub Wren. 



All upper surface, warm brown; wings, blackish brown; 

 external margins of primaries, yellowish grey; secondaries, 

 reddish brown ; spurious wing feathers, black, with white mar- 

 gins; tail, greyish brown, two central tail feathers strongly 

 washed with rufous; lores, brown; line of white passing 

 across the forehead and over the eyes ; throat, white, a few 

 of the feathers having a dark line down the centre; centre 

 of breast and abdomen, pale yellow; sides of breast, grey: 

 flanks and undertail coverts, rufous; iris, dull white; bill, 

 dark brown; feet, reddish brown. Type. — A female taken at 

 the Coorong, March 12th, 1916, and now in the "Wetunga" 

 collection. 



These birds were rare, singing morning and evening in 

 the thick masses of lignum, and very seldom showed them- 

 selves, being so very timid. The song is very sweet, but of 

 short duration. 



This new bird mostly resembles the Victorian form of 

 Sericornis longirosi. is, but differs in having the upper surface 

 of a warm shade of ruddy brown, and in showing little or no 

 striations on the throat, the yellow on the breast and abdomen 

 being much brighter, and in having the flanks and undertail 

 coverts of a deep rufous. 



S. I. rosinae shows more striations on the throat, and is a 

 much darker bird throughout. 



This new subsp. seems to be the smallest of the genus. 

 The Flinders Island bird (S. flindersi, White and Mellor) 

 resembles it somewhat, but is much larger. The bird from 

 Flinders Island should be Sericornis longirostris flindersi, 

 because it resembles the Victorian bird very much, and is not 

 half the size, or is not at all like Tasmanomis humilis. I think 

 Mr. Mathews was quite right in dividing the latter bird into 

 a new genus, but because Flinders Island is closer to Tas- 

 mania than Australia does not constitute that S. flindersi is, 

 a sub-sp. of T. humilis. 



