MARBLED FROGMOUTH. 
beetles. Total length in flesh, 15 inches. Mr. Wheatley obtained nests of 
this Podargus in the scrub country bordering the Ducie River ; each nest 
contained three eggs.” 
Consequently the economy of the species is still unknown. Gould having 
determined the Cape York form to be specifically distinct, it was so regarded 
until Hartert monographed the order in the Catalogue of the Birds in the British 
Museum^ when he concluded : “ Birds from Australia have the tail fully an 
inch longer than in typical P. ocellatus, its length ranging from 7*5 to 8 inches. 
Otherwise they are entirely similar to specimens of P. ocellatus from 
Papuasia, and as a few specimens from New Guinea approach and equal them 
in the length of the tail, this form can only be regarded as a subspecies. The 
specimens in rufous plumage seem to be females.” 
As “ Hab.” was given “ Northern, eastern, and south-eastern parts of 
Australia,” the last locality, now well known to be erroneous, was added on 
the authority of a skin from the Adelaide Museum, labelled “ Adelaide, South 
Australia.” The only locality it is Imown to occur is the Cape York Peninsula. 
There can be little hesitation in accepting the New Guinea forms as conspecific 
with the North Australian, as far as our knowledge at present goes, but the 
complexity of the species of '‘^Podargus'''' is such that any dogmatic utterance 
might prove later to be completely valueless. Thus, when Ogilvie-Grant 
reported upon New Guinea birds {Ihis^ Jubilee Suppl., No. 2, Dec., 1915), he 
vTote: Podargus ocellatus. In all five specimens listed above the upper- 
parts are nearly uniform reddish-brown, sparingly spotted with black on the 
scapulars, with practically no light markings except on the wing-coverts. 
The more uniform-backed specimens are found both on the Arfak Peninsula 
and in south-east New Guinea, and seem to have no geographical significance, 
being found everywhere in company with more mottled examples. Males seem 
to have more white on the under-parts than females.” 
VOL. vn. 
41 
