THE BIEDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
for the purpose of pairing, building their nests, and bringing forth their young, 
which when done, concludes their visit, and they migrate or depart to some 
other quarter about January where they frequent the other part of the year 
we know not. In the crop and gizzard of several which I shot I found the 
seeds of the red-gum and peppermint trees, which I beheve to be their principal 
food. The bill, which is strong, homy, and pointed, is well adapted for brealdng 
and dividing the capsules, as is the tongue, which is small and pointed, and 
of a hard cartilaginous substance, for picking out the seeds. In some of their 
stomachs I found the capsule or pericarpium whole, which they not unfrequently 
swallow without waiting to pick out the seeds. I have also found in their 
stomachs the wings and legs of some kinds of beetles, but in a quantity that 
bore no proportion to the capsule and seed already spoken of. The bill (whose 
upper-mandible is very pointed and round or bent at the extremity lapping 
over the under) and legs are of a lead colour, the former rather inchning to a 
brown ; the toes are placed two forward and two behind, the two hind ones 
opening so as to admit the two before to be placed between them when the 
bird is sitting or perched on a hmb or branch of a tree not too large for the 
toes to grasp or go round. The bird from which this drawing is taken was a 
female with a very distinct ovarium, but the eggs not formed. It measures 
from the tip of the bill to the white extremity of the tail 2 feet, and from the 
tip to tip of each wing exactly the same. The tail (which it sometimes displays 
hke a fan) is not very short of the length of the body, and gives it in flight or 
sitting a very majestic appearance ; the legs are rather short for the size of 
the bird (whole body is the size of a Crow), and partakes much of the Parrot 
kind. The natives know very Uttle about its habits, haunts, etc., etc. 
However, they consider its appearance an indication of wind and blowing 
weather, and that its frightful scream is through fear, as it is not a bird of very 
active or quick flight. Nothing in nature can be more fiery or fierce than the 
uncommon clearness of the pupil eye. I had a wounded one two days afive, 
but could not get it to eat ; it bit everything that approached it very severely.” 
When Latham added the above he proposed for his genus Scythrops the 
vernacular, Channel bill, calling the species the “ N. Holland Channel bill ” 
and tills name is generally used. 
Gould remarked that as he had but few opportunities of observing the 
species, he transcribed Latham’s account taken from the above, and then added : 
“ In some notes by the late Mr. Elsey on the birds observed by him during 
Mr. Gregorj^’s Expedition, and which were kindly made for my use, he says : 
‘ This bird appeared on the northern side of the ranges. It settled in a tree 
close to our camp, and for five minutes at a time pumped out its awful notes. 
Sometimes it was quite indifferent to our presence, but generally it was very 
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