

PACHYCEPHALIA. 



Pteruthius Swains* 

 Bill short, with the culmen arched to the tip, which is strongly emarginated ; the base broad, and the 

 sides compressed ; the lateral margins slightly arched ; the gonys of the lower mandible large and 

 curved upwards; the nostrils basal, lateral, and membranous, with the opening rounded. Wings very 

 short and rounded, with the fourth quill the longest. Tail short, broad, and rounded. Tarsi lono-, 

 longer than the middle toe, and covered with nearly obsolete scales. Toes long, with the lateral ones 

 unequal ; the outer the longest, and united at its base to the middle one ; the hind toe as long as the 

 middle one without the claw; the claws long and curved. 



It is in India and its archipelago that these birds are found, but their manners and habits have not yet been noticed 

 by any naturalist. 



1. P. erythropterus (Vigors), Swains. Gould's Cent, of Birds, 3. P. amobarbus (Temm.) PL col. 589. f- 2. 



pi. 1 1 . 4. P. rufiventer Blytli, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1842. 183. & 1 843. 



2. V.flaviscapis (Temm.) PI. col. 589. f. 1. — Type of Allotrius 954. 



Boie (1835). 5. P. vireoides (Jerd.) Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 1840. 8. 



Pardalotus Vieill.-f 



Bill very short, rather broad at the base, with the culmen much arched to the tip, which is strongly 

 emarginated ; the sides gradually compressed towards the tip ; the gonys of the lower mandible large 

 and ascending ; the nostrils basal, lateral, and covered by a membrane. Wings long and pointed, with 

 the first three quills nearly equal and longest. Tail moderate, and nearly even at the end. Tarsi 

 slender, and much longer than the middle toe. Toes moderate, slender, with the lateral ones equal ; the 

 outer united at the base to the middle one ; the hind toe longer than the lateral ones ; the claws moderate 

 and curved. 



These showily marked birds are continually engaged in searching for insects among the foliage of the trees and 

 shrubs of Australia, whether near the habitations of man or in the open forest. They are active in their manners, 

 prying both above and below the leaves with the greatest ease. Their flight, in passing from tree to tree, is quick 

 and darting. Seeds, buds, and insects form the object of their search. Their nests are, according to Mr. Gould, 

 generally placed in holes of trees ; yet the typical species excavates a hole just large enough to admit of the passage of 

 its body, in a nearly horizontal direction, to the depth of two or three feet, at the end of which a chamber is formed, in 

 which the nest is deposited. The nest itself is a neat and beautifully built structure formed of strips of the inner bark 

 of the Eucalypti, and lined with finer strips of the same or similar material. The eggs are generally from three to five 

 in number. 



1. P. punctatus (Lath.) Vieill. Shaw's Nat. Misc. pi. 111., PI. 

 col. 78., Gould's Syn. of Austr. B. pi. f. 1. (head), B. of Austr.pl. ; 

 P. australis Steph. ? 



2. P. affinis Gould, Lath. Syn. pi. 54., Gould's Syn. of Austr. B. 

 pi. f. 2., B. of Austr. pi. 



3. P. striatus (Lath.) Temm. Shaw's Nat. Misc. pi. 174., Gould's 

 Syn. of Austr. B. pi. f. 3. — Pardalotus ornatus Temm. PI. col. 

 394. f. 1., Gould's B. of Austr. pi. 



4. P. quadrigintus Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1837- p. 148., Syn. of 

 Austr. B. pi. f. 1., B. of Austr. pi. 



5. P. melanocephalus Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1837. p. 149., Syn. of 

 Austr. B. pi. f. 2. 



6. P. rubricates Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1837. p. 149., Syn. of Austr. 

 B. pi. f. 3. 



7. P. uropygialis Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1837. p. 143., B. of Austr 

 pi. 



8. P. superciliosus (Lath.) Vieill. Lamb. Icon. ined. iii. t. 4. 



9. P. ctzrulescens (Lath.) Lamb. Icon. ined. iii. t. 40. Pipra 



CEerulea Vieill. 



* Established by Mr. Swainson (Faun. Bor. Amer. p. 491.) in 1831. In 1835, M. Boie proposed this division as Allotrius. 

 f Established by VieiUot {Analyse, S;c. p. 31.) in 1816. 



