Ordek PASSEEES.] [Fam. SYLYIID^E. 



GEKYGONE FLAVIVENTBIS. 



(GREY WARBLER.) 



Gerygone flaviventris, Gray, Voy. Ereb. and Terror, p. 5, pi. 4. fig. 1 (1844). 

 Gerygone assimilis, Buller, Essay on Orn. N. Z. p. 9 (1865). 

 Acanthiza flaviventris, Gray, Hand-1. of B. i. p. 219 (1869). 



Native names.— Biroriro and Koriroriro. 



Ad. supra grisescenti-brunneus, dorso et uropygio cum supracaudalibus olivaceo lavatis, his lsetiiis tinctis : tec- 

 tricibus alarum remigibusque brunneis, extiis anguste olivaceo limbatis : rectricibus cinerascenti-brunneis 

 versus apicem conspieue nigricantibus, duabus externis macula auteapicali alba notatis, reliquis ad 

 apicem pogonii interni albo maculatis : facie laterali guttureque toto sordide cinereis : corpore reliquo 

 subtus albicante, abdomine imo et hypochondriis flavido tinctis, his etiam paullo olivascentibus : rostro 

 et pedibus saturate brunneis : iride rubra. 



Tuv. similis adultis, sed coloribus dilutioribus. 



Adult. Upper parts brownish grey, tinged on the back with olivaceous brown ; throat, fore part of 

 neck, breast, and sides cinereous grey; abdomen and under tail-coverts white, the former slightly 

 tinged with yellow ; primaries dark brown, paler on the inner webs ; tail-feathers dark brown in their 

 basal, almost black in their apical portion, and, with the exception of the two median ones, having an 

 angular white spot near the tip on their inner webs. Irides red ; bill, tarsi, and toes dark brown. 

 Total length 4 - 5 inches; extent of wings 6; wing, from flexure, 212; tail 2; culmen -3; tarsus "75; 

 middle toe and claw "5 ; hind toe and claw "75. 



Young. In the young bird the tints of the plumage generally are paler. 



Obs. In some examples the measurements are slightly larger, there is an absence of the yellow tinge on the 

 abdomen, and the white spot on the lateral tail-feathers is terminal. 



Note. A figure of this bird in the act of feeding a young Cuckoo will be found on the Plate representing 

 Eudynamis taitensis, opposite page 73 of this work. 



This little bird, of sombre plumage and unobtrusive habits, is an interesting species, whether we 

 regard it merely as the familiar frequenter of our gardens and hedgerows, or, more especially, as 

 the builder of a beautiful pensile nest and the foster-parent of our two parasitical Cuckoos 

 (Eudynamis taitensis and Chrysoeoccyx lucidus). It belongs to a group of which there are nu- 

 merous representatives in Australia, and its habits are in no way different from those of its rela- 

 tions. Its food consists of minute flies and insects and their larvae, in the eager pursuit of which 

 it appears to spend every moment of its waking hours, moving about with great agility and 

 uttering at short intervals a trilling note of much sweetness, though of little variety. The bird is 



p2 



