PLATE I IX. 



GENUS PYRRHOL^EMUS ( Gould. ) 



fj^HIS is a purely Australian form, of which only one species is known. 



PYKKHOLiEMUS BPJMNEUS (Gould). 



RED-THROAT. 



VICTORIA, South Australia, and Western Australia are the habitats of this bird, plains covered 

 with scrub and underbrush being its favourite resorts. 



It runs about the ground in search of food, keeping its tail erect and uttering a low, piping- 

 note. Its usual note, which is emitted while perched on a bush or low tree, is very beautiful, and 

 is one of the sweetest sounds to be heard in the bush. 



Its powers of flight, which are not great, seem to be scarcely ever , used, even to 

 escape pursuit. 



In the spring it builds a nest of grass, lined with feathers, making it on the ground after 

 the fashion of the Calamanthi. 



The upper surface, wings, and tail are brownish-black ; lores, greyish-white ; centre of the 

 throat, rufous; chest and part of abdomen, bluish-grey; rest of under-surface, light buff; irides, light 

 yellowish-brown ; bill, legs, and feet, blackish-grey. 



Habitats : Victoria, South Australia, and southern part of Western Australia. 



GENUS XEROPHILA (Gould). 



TI^HERE is only one species known of this form, which approximates more closely to the Acanihiza 

 J- than to any other genus. 



