PLATE I IX _ 



PARDALOTUS QUADRAGINTUS (-Gould). 



FORTY-SPOTTED DIAMOND BIRD. 



rTlHIS is an inhabitant of* tlie forests of lofty gum trees in the interior of Tasmania, where it is 

 found in considerable abundance. 



It feeds entirely on insects and their larvae, displaying much activity in obtaining them from 

 amonsr the brandies. 



It breeds in September and the two following months, the nest being constructed in a hole 

 in the trunk of a high tree. Three or four eggs are laid, white in colour, and seven and a half 

 lines long by six lines broad. 



There is no difference in the outward appearance of the sexes. 



The crown of the head and upper surface are olive-green, each feather with a minute spot 

 of brown ; wings and tail, blackish-brown, all the feathers of the wings having a spot of white at the 

 tip ; cheeks, greenish-yellow ; throat and under surface, light grey, tinged with olive on the flanks ; 

 bill, black ; irides, legs, and feet, dark brown. 



Habitat : Tasmania. 



PARDALOTUS STRIATUS (Temm.j 



STRIATED DIAMOND-BIRD. 



1% /TOST parts of the Australian continent are inhabited by this species, which is, however, not found 

 in Tasmania. 



It is arboreal in habits, very seldom descending to the ground. When flying from tree to 

 tree, which it does with great swiftness, it utters a piping note, several times repeated. 



The breeding season lasts from September to December, three or four eggs being laid in a 

 nest made of strips of bark and grass, which is placed in a hole in a dead branch of some lofty 

 tree. The length of the eggs is nine lines, and the breadth seven lines. 



The crown of the head is black ; a broad line above the eye, orange ; ear-coverts, grey ; 

 back, olive-grey; rump, yellowish-brown; wing- feathers, black, margined externally with rufous-brown; 



