THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
male in breeding plumage,” and the “ striped ” bird as “ Adult male in non- 
breeding plumage,” giving no reasons nor other details of plumages. 
In my “ Reference List ” I revived Gould’s species with subspecific rank, 
as I found that the differences mentioned were more or less constant according 
to geography. 
I have carefully studied my series again and find that neither of the above 
theories hold good, as though the striped birds may be found moulting into black 
plumage, young birds not out of the nest also carry black plumage, so that 
dichromatism is the only explanation. However, when geography is included 
in the sphere of study, some interesting features present themselves ; thus in 
some places the black are in the majority, in others in the minority, so that 
here we see age variation manifested in geographical races, and consequently 
I would conclude that the latter should still be considered and not discarded. 
Mr. Edwin Ashby wrote {South Australian Ornithology, Vol. II., p. 72, 
1915) : “ In comparing a skin collected by Mr. C. E. May at Port Keats in 1906, 
with the Adelaide Museum specimens, I find that it differs from the Northern 
Coucal, Polophilus phasianinus macrourus Gould, in that the whole of the 
plumage is black with the exception of the wings, which are normal. In 
comparing the specimen which is under review, which is a male, with one of P. p. 
melanurus from North-western Austraha, I find that it differs in that the 
barring of the tail is almost absent, there are no white tips to the tail-feathers, 
the under-tail coverts are quite black, and not speckled as in the North-western 
specimen. We must either extend the range of that species as far as Port Keats 
in the Northern Territory, or designate this variety under the name of keatsiP 
Here we have individual (which nevertheless might be characteristic of a 
geographic race) variation accepted as if it were geographical. The latter can 
only be determined by comparison of series, not single specimens of birds. It 
should be noted here that independently Stresemann concluded that the 
Centropodine forms of the Moluccas showed dichromatism and that the diverse 
coloration was not due to age, sex or individual variation alone. 
As regards size it must be remembered that the males are smaller than 
the females, and consequently the sexes must be carefully distinguished before 
comparisons are made. When this is done the general features indicated by 
Gould are subspecific ally constant, the typical New South Wales form being 
small, with comparatively small tail with noticeable light bars. These of 
course will bear the name Polophilus phasianinus phasianinus (Latham), and 
the other names given are synonyms. In the Catalogue of the Birds in the 
British Museum, Vol. XIX., p. 340, 1891, Polophilus leucogaster Leach was 
included in the synonymy, and it has been since so recorded by myself. No 
white-beUied specimen being available, I looked into the matter, with the result 
