TAWNY FROGMOUTH. 
bars of groy and. black, more coarsely marked on the lateral feathers, the outermost 
pair somewhat paler and marked wdth white on the outer-webs ; the feathers 
surrounding the nostrils and base of the bill disintegrated and hair-like ; sides of 
the forehead in front and below the eye chestnut-brown like a patch on the sides 
of the neck ; cheeks grey ; throat and entire under-surface, including the under 
wing-coverts, pale cinnamon intermixed with white and with black longitudinal 
shaft-streaks ; axillaries pale ochreous ; under-surface of flight-quills greyish- 
brown with pale mottled bars ; lower aspect of tail cinnamon-grey with dark 
mottlings, thighs blackish-brown. Bill light brown, eyes bright yellow, feet light 
brown (lighter than the bill), gape sulphur yellow. Total length 450 mm. ; culmen 25, 
wing 267, tail 200, tarsus 31. Figured. Collected at Woy Woy, New South 
Wales, on the 27th of May, 1915. 
These represent the “grey” and the “red” phases, but adult females are also met 
with that show the grey phase, but no male adult occurs in the red phase. 
Adult female. General colour above and below cinnamon-brown, everywhere freckled 
with silvery-white and dark shaft-streaks which are usually pear-shaped at the 
tip and terminated with white ; the scapulars paler and inclining to smoky-brown 
contrasting with the back ; marginal wing-coverts above and below whitish marked 
with smoke-brown like the outer under wing-coverts ; lesser upper wing-coverts 
chestnut-brown irregularly marked with black and white ; bastard-wing and 
primary-coverts dark brown with pale mottlings ; primary- and secondary-quills 
brown with pale mottled bars which are paler on the outer-webs, the innermost 
secondaries like the back ; tail cinnamon-brown with pale mottlings which assume 
the form of irregular bars, a subterminal black spot edged with white at the tips 
of the middle feathers ; crown of head somewhat darker than the back, the feathers 
minutely tipped with white more conspicuously on the sides of the forehead ; the 
feathers at the base of the bill and on the eyelids black and hair-like in structure, 
those at the base of the forehead erectile ; under surface rather paler than the 
upper-parts, especially the under tail-coverts, but the colours similarly distributed ; 
ax^aries and inner wing-coverts isabelline ; under-surface of quills greyish-brown 
with whitish mottled bars ; lower aspect of tail pale cinnamon with whitish mottlings 
and irregular dark markings. Eyes yellow : feet and tarsus olive-brown ; bill 
olive-brown ; culmen brown. Total length 372 mm. ; culmen 30, wing 207, tail 165, 
tarsus 26. Figured. Collected on Melville Island, Northern Territory on the 
20th February, 1912. 
Adult male. Similar to the adult female (Melville Island 24/6/12). Perhaps on the whole 
the females are browner in their general coloration. 
Immature. Soon acquire the marbled appearance of the adult. 
Nestlings are hatched covered with a whitish down. 
Nest. An open structure composed of sticks placed loosely together. 
Eggs. Clutch two. White with a slight gloss 42 to 47 mm. by 29-32 (Victoria, October), 
37 to 40 by 26 to 29 (Derby, December). 
Breeding-season. August to December. \^\ 
The early history of this bird is mainly on the technical side and wiU be treated 
hereafter. Here it may be observed that it was first described by Latham in 
1801, from a series of paintings made at Sydney, New South Wales, and on account 
of the variation observed it was thrice named by that famous ornithologist. 
Naturally no life-history was known save the artist’s notes on the paintings, 
which read : “ Native name is Birreagal July ” and “ Native name is Poo-book.’^ 
VOL. vn. 
9 
