from Western Australia. 187 
specimen A and slightly to that in B. So dense and so 
uniform was the '^ pale " rufous in A (exceptions to follow) 
that I concluded this individual to be either an abnormal 
form or that Dr. Sharpe was wrong in his remark that 
*' Tasmanian birds are more rufous than mainland ones." 
I possess very rufous skins from Warragul in Victoria, 
Nannine, and Geraldton ; in addition to which specimen A 
is so rufous that the ordinarily white feathers of the tail and 
the white throat are both rufous white. 
Gould has remarked upon the possibility of the rufous 
colour relating to the moult. My specimen (A) is a bird in 
much-worn plumage. It has been thought also that the 
rufous may indicate the young. I have a nestling that is 
more rufous and black than a young bird ; but again I have 
a young bird that is more rufous than a nestling ; while I 
possess two adults, from Victoria and West Australia respec- 
tively, one of which is particularly rufous, while the other is 
almost absolutely so. The absence of dates in the case of 
the British Museum specimens has prevented Dr. Sharpe from 
following out the sequence of plumages ^. 
46. Artamus melanops. Black- faced Wood-Swallow. 
(Hairs Key, p. 48.) 
A. Sk. juv. 14.10.99.") 
B. Sk. ad. S . 16.10.99. [ Geraldton. 
C. Sk. ad, 14.10.99.3 
D. Sk. ad. ? . 3.9.99. Nannine, Cue. 
The length of the wing of the young bird is 4*95 inches, 
while in the adults it is 4*6, 4*75, and 5*2 inches respectively, 
shewing specimen A to have a longer wing than B or C. 
The brownish-white markings of the wing-tips of the juvenile 
are broad in comparison with those of the adult D, while 
specimens B and C are intermediate in this respect. D is 
very much lighter in colour than the others and causes con- 
fusion with the questionable species A. cinereus Vieill. 
* In my material there are two phases. Among the specimens of the 
South Australian Museum there is a rufous skin, as well as one in sooty 
plumage, heavily blotched with black. This seems to imply that the 
species is trimorphic. 
