Order CHARADBIIFORMES 
No. 223. 
Family OTIDIDM. 
AUSTROTIS AUSTRALIS DERBYI. 
WESTERN BUSTARD. 
(Plate 175.)* 
Choriotis australis DERBYI Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 226, 1912 ; Derby, 
North-west Australia. 
Chariotis australis Keartland, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr., Vol. XXII., p. 185, 1898. 
Eupodotis australis Le Souef, Emu, Vol. II., p. 156, 1903 ; Carter, ib,, Vol. III., p. 174, 
1904 ; Hartert, Nov. Zool., Vol. XII., p. 202, 1905 ; Ogilvie-Grant, Ibis 1910, 
p. 177 ; Carter, ih., p. 657. 
Choriotis australis derhyi Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 226, 1912 ; id., Austral 
Av. Rec., Vol. I., p. 55, 1912. 
Austrotis australis derhyi Mathews, List Birds Austr., p. 77, 1913. 
Distribution. West Australia ; Northern Territory ; Northern Queensland. 
Adult male. Entire back, wings, and tail dark brown, everywhere finely vermiculated 
with sandy-buff ; median and greater wing-coverts white with pale brown vermicula- 
tions on their basal portions, subterminally black, and tipped with white ; bastard- 
wing and primary-coverts lead-grey edged with white at the tips ; primary- quiUs 
pale brown, more or less vermiculated with white towards the base ; secondary- 
quills greyish-brown, finely vermiculated with sandy-buff and tipped with white, 
the long innermost secondaries like the back ; middle tail-feathers also hke the 
back, the outer feathers subterminally black, tipped with white, and some dark 
bars more or less indicated ; crown of head and an elongated nuchal crest black ; 
lores, eyebrows, and ear-coverts buffy-white ; throat, sides of face, neck aU 
round, and breast white, finely barred with dark brown and tinged with buff ; 
an irregular black band across the breast, the feathers of which are black, white, 
and buff ; abdomen, sides of body, and axillaries buffy-white ; lesser under wing- 
coverts white ; the small marginal coverts black, edged with white, the larger series 
grey, vermiculated with white ; a patch of black feathers on the lower-fianks 
vermiculated with white and buff ; the short under tad-coverts black tipped with 
white, the long ones buffy-white irregularly marked with brown, the thighs also 
buffy-white more or less vermiculated with brown. Total length 1,155 mm. ; 
culmen (exposed portion) 72, wing 610, tail 245, tarsus 180. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male but smaller and differs in having the tail 
regularly barred with dark brown, the outer marginal upper wing-coverts coarser, 
and the sides of the face and neck all round darker. Total length 830 mm. ; culmen 
(exposed portion) 51, wing 563, tail 210, tarsus 149. 
Nest. None made. 
* The Plate is lettered Choriotis australis. 
368 
