MALURINiE. 
The typical species of this genus is peculiar to Australia; frequenting the marshy districts clothed with ta 
grass, in the midst of which this bird conceals itself, and among which it is capable of running with great bwx 
carrying its tail erect over its back. Its flight is weak, and rarely employed; and its food consists of msec s, ^ 
seeks for among the herbage. The nest, which is concealed in a low bush or tuft of grass, is composed of gms , 
form of a ball, with a long opening on the side, and lined with feathers. The eggs are three in number. 
S. malackurus (Lath.) Less. Lamb. Icon. ined.iL 11, LevailL I trie Vieill. Gould, B. of Austr. pi. ; Malurus gularis Griff- ^ 
Ois. d’Afr. 1. 130. f. 2., Linn. Trans, iv. pi. 21. — Malurus palus- I Kingd. ii. pi. p- 39- 
Atrichia Gould.* 
,de9 
pot 
Bill nearly as long as the head, broad, and elevated at the base, with the oilmen sloping, and the si 
compressed to the tip, which is emarginated; the gonys long and slightly ascending ; the g a P®^ 
furnished with bristles ; the nostrils basal, placed in a broad groove, and partly clothed with p ’ 
with the opening covered by a large scale. Wings short and rounded, with the first three <1 
graduated, and the fourth to the seventh nearly equal and longest. Tail lengthened, br°a<3> ^ 
graduated. Tarsi moderate, strong, and covered with broad scales. Toes moderate ; and the 111 
long, strong, and armed with a long curved claw. 
A of 
The type of this genus is recorded by Mr. Gould as a resident among the dense thickets and tangled bee » 0 
trees in Western Australia. It emits a noisy note, which gives notice of its existence in such places. 
A. clamosa Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1844. p. 2, B. of Austr. pi. 
Amytis Less. + 
; d t° 
Bill moderate, and rather elevated at the base, with the culmen curved, and the sides comp^ 
the tip, which is hooked and emarginated ; the gonys long and ascending ; the gape furnished *i g 
or four moderately long bristles ; the nostrils basal, and placed in a broad groove, with the °1 ^ 
exposed and rounded. Wings short and rounded, with the fourth to the sixth quills nearly ^^dly 
longest. Tail very long, and graduated. Tarsi longer than the middle toe, robust, and . 
scutellated. Toes rather long, strong ; with the outer longer than the inner, and united at its 
hind toe long, strong, armed with a moderate compressed claw. 
the pl a ’ n9 
It is in various parts of Australia that the species of this genus are found. They frequent in small 
that are thinly covered with scrubs and clumps of a low shrub-like tree, amidst the branches of wide i ^ ^ galU c t' 1 *’ 6 
great quickness. While on the ground their progress is performed by a series of rapid hops, carrying a ^ .^^g. 
the head low and the tail erect over the back. The food of these birds consists chiefly of various kinds o 
1. A. textilis (Quoy & Gaim.) Less. Zool. de l’Uranie, Ois. t. 23. 
f. 1., Gould, B. of Austr. pi.. Less. Tr. d'Orn. t. 67. f. 2. 
2. A. striata (Gould), Proc. Z. S. 1839- P 
3. A. macroura Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1847. P 
* Established by Mr. Gould in 1844 (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1844, p. 2.). 
f Established by M. Lesson in 1831 (TV. d’Ornith. p. 453.). 
