REVISION OF THE GENUS MALURUS. 
M alums ( H .) melanocephalus pyrrhonotus Mathews. 
Malurus melanocephalus pyrrhonotus Mathews, Nov. Zool., 18, p. 362, 
1912 ; Cairns , North Queensland. 
Range. — From south of Cardwell to north of Cairns, N.E. Queensland. 
Specimens examined. — 15 from Cairns and Cardwell. 
M easurements . — 
Wing Tail Exposed Culmen Tarsus 
13 males . . 43-45 (44) 43-51 (46-4) 9 18-20 (18-9) 
1 female 42 54 9 19 
Subspecific characters. — Intermediate between typical melanocephalus and 
cruentatus in colour of back which is scarlet to scarlet-red, and averaging slightly 
less than the former and more than the latter in length of wing and tail. 
Similar to cruentatus in having innermost secondaries almost black. 
The range indicated, owing apparently to climatic conditions, 
is rich in distinct forms of many species. Specimens from 
Cairns are slightly deeper in colour on the back than those from 
Cardwell, but are still widely different in that respect from 
cruentatus, to which examples from Claudie River and Coen 
are plainly referable. 
Malurus ( H .) melanocephalus cruentatus Gould. 
Malurus cruentatus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1839, p. 143 ; =Port 
Essington, Northern Territory. 
Malurus cruentatus boweri Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc., N.S.Wales, 1, 
p. 1100, 1886; Derby, North-west Australia. 
Malurus melanocephalus melvillensis Mathews, Aust. Avian Rec., 1, p. 45, 
1912 ; Melville Island, Northern Territory. 
Range. — Northern coast of Australia from north of Cairns, N.E. Queensland 
to Derby, N.W. Australia ; Groote Eylandt and Melville Island. 
Specimens examined. — 41 from the following localities — Claudie River, 
Coen, N. Queensland ; Borroloola, Brunette Downs, Groote Eylandt, King 
River, Flora River, Darwin, E. Alligator River, Northern Territory ; Napier 
Broome Bay, Leopold Downs, Fitzroy River and Derby, N.W. Australia. 
M easurements . — 
Wing 
Tail 
Exposed Culmen 
Tarsus 
27 males 
. 41—45 (42-8) 
39-47 (42-6) 
9 
18-19 (18-7) 
7 females . 
. 41-45 (42-8) 
45-63 (54-1) 
9 
18-19 (18-7) 
Subspecific characters. — Differs from both other forms in the much deeper 
colour of back which is nopal red, and in averaging less in length of wing and 
tail. Similar to pyrrhonotus in having innermost secondaries almost black. 
Specimens from Derby are slightly deeper in colour on the 
back, but the difference is too slight to be considered of sub- 
specific value. The original description of M. c. boweri is that 
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