290 THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 



Group GicMomorphcE. 

 Wing with ten primaries, the first more or less markedly 

 reduced in size; claw of middle toe oblique; bill notched, the 

 cubnen nearly straight, bent at the end in an arch, generally 

 incised at the sides, rietal bristles generally present round the 

 base; nostrils placed low nearer to the cutting edge of the 

 mandible than to the culmen. Thrush-like Passeres. 



Family Gampophagidce. Cuckoo-Shrikes. 



Shrike-like birds of soft plumage ; the shafts of the feathers 

 of the lower back and rump stiffened. Bill short, moderately 

 hooked and notched, thick at the base, rather widened, the 

 nostrils hidden by nasal plumes. Wings in most species 



lej^thentd. 



Key to the Genera. 

 Tail forked. Pteropodocys. 



Tail rounded. 



Bill broad. Coracina (Graucalus). 



Bill long and thin, the culmen equal to the tarsus. Edoliisoma. 

 Bill moderate, the culmen shorter than the 



tarsus. Wing much longer than tail. Lalage. 



The Ground Cuckoo-Shrike. 



Pteropodocys phasian^lla. 



Australia in the interior of the States. 



Above Prench-grey; abdomen, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts 

 pure white, with narrow bars of black; wings and tail black; bill and 

 feet black, tinged with olive; iris buffy-white. Length 13 inches, culmen 

 .85, wing 7.65, tail 7, tarsus 1.45. 



A rare bird which, unlike the rest of the family, hunts for 

 insects along the ground, over which it travels rapidly. When 

 disturbed it will fly across the plain to the timber. Egg long and 

 tapering, of a polished dark-green or olive, without blotches, but 

 with the slightest washings of a darker shade, especially on the 

 top of the egg, and measures 1.25 x .9 inch. 



Genus Coracina ( Graucalus) . 

 Large arboreal Cuckoo-Shrikes, 9.5 to 12.5 inches in total 

 length with broad bills, which measured at the gape equal the 

 outer toe without its claw, of a general French-grey colour. 



