Iviii 
INTRODUCTION. 
the eyes, and beloAv this the cheeks are covered with stiff spines ; ivings moderate, the first quill-feather very short, 
third, fourth and fifth equal and the longest; tail moderate, nearly equal; feet robust, hind-toe strong and longer 
than the middle one, outer toe united at its base to the luiddle toe ; claws hooked. 
The genus Acanthogenys, of Avhich only one species is known, is a form intermediate in size and in structure 
between the smaller Honey-eaters (Meliphagce, Ptiloti, &c.) on the one hand, and the larger kinds (AnthochcEm) 
on the other. 
304. Acanthogenys rufogularis, Govld . . . . . . . . , _ _ Yo\. IV. PI. 53. 
This species is widely distributed over the interior of the southern portion of Austraha, from east to west; the 
sexes are alike in plumage, and the young are very similar, but are destitute of the spines on the cheek, which are 
scarcely assumed during the first year. The Banksice are the trees mostly frequented by this bird, the presence of 
which is indicative of sterile sandy districts. 
Genus Anthoch.^ra, Pig-. 8f Honf. 
A genus pecuharly Australian, three species of which are exclusively confined to the southern or extra-tropical 
parts of the country, and one to Van Diemen's Land. 
/ 
305. Anthochsera inauris, Gould ............ Vol. IV. PI. 54. 
306. Anthochsera carunculata ............... Vol. IV. PI. 55. 
307. Anthochsera mellivora . Vol. IV. PI. 56. 
308. Anthochsera lunulata, Gould Vol. IV. PI. 57. 
These four birds might Avith propriety be separated into two genera, those with auricular appendages, 
A. inauris and A. carunculata, having many characters differing from those of A. mellivora and A. lunulata. 
Genus Tropidorhynchus, Plg\ d^- Horsf. 
The law of representation in Austraha is chiefly confined to the species inhabiting the eastern and western 
coasts, but with the members of this genus it takes the opposite direction, or north and south, for more singular 
and perfect representatives of each other cannot be found than are the T. corniculatus and T. citreogularis of the 
south-eastern parts of the country, the T. argenticeps and T. sordidus of the north-western. Extra Australian 
species inhabit New Guinea and the neighbouring countries. 
309. Tropidorhynchus corniculatus . . . . . .. , . Vol. IV. PI. 58. 
310. Tropidorhynchus argenticeps, Gould ........... Vol. IV. PI. 59. 
311. Tropidorhynchus citreogularis, Gould . . . , . . . . . Vol. IV. PI. 60. 
312. Tropidorhynchus sordidus. 
Inhabits the Cobourg Peninsula, and is precisely similar to T. citreogularis, but is smaller in all its admeasure- 
ments except in the bill, which is more developed. 
Genus Acanthorhynchus, Gould. 
Bill elongated, slender and acute, compressed on the sides ; tomia incurved ; culmen acute and elevated ; nostrils 
basal, elongated, and covered with an operculum ; wings moderate in size and semi-rotund ; first and fifth primaries 
equal ; the third and fourth nearly equal in length, and the longest ; tail moderate in size and slightly forked ; 
tarsi lengthened and strong ; middle toe long and robust, external toe exceeding the inner one in length. 
This genus, like many others of the family, may be regarded as strictly Australian : it comprises two, if not 
three, well-marked species, each of which is confined to a particular part of the country ; the A. tenuirostris 
dwelling in the eastern, and the A. superciliosus in the western districts : both inhabit countries precisely in the same 
degree of latitude, and form beautiful representatives of each other. Van Diemen's Land is the native habitat of 
