THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Pitta assimilis d’ Albertis, Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov., Vol. X., p. 12, 1877 ; nom. nud. Error 
for simillima Gould ; id., Ibis, 1877, p. 368 : Cape York. 
Pitta versicolor versicolor Matbews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 298, Jan. 31st, 1912. 
Pitta versicolor intermedia Mathews, ib. : Bellenden Ker, Queensland. 
Pitta versicolor simillima, Mathews, ib., p. 299. 
Coloburis versicolor Mathews, List Birds Austr., p. 161, 1913. 
Coloburis versicolor versicolor Mathews, ib. 
Coloburis versicolor intermedia Mathews, ib. 
Coloburis versicolor simillima Mathews, ib. 
Distribution. Eastern Australia from Cape York to northern New South Wales. (Also 
southern New Guinea.) 
Adult male. Top of head chestnut ; an elongated streak along the middle of the crown, 
a collar on the hind-neck, sides of face, throat, middle of abdomen, axillaries, under 
wing-coverts, and lower aspect of tail black ; back, scapulars, median and greater 
upper wing-coverts, innermost secondaries, outer edges of the secondaries, and 
tips of tail-feathers bronze-green ; lesser upper wing-coverts and upper tail- 
coverts glossy pale blue ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, primary- quills and 
inner portion of the secondary-quills black like some of the long upper tail-coverts 
and tail-feathers ; fourth, fifth, and sixth primary-quills marked with white ; 
vent and under tail-coverts red. Bill and eyes black ; feet reddish. Total length 
190 mm. ; culmen 24, wing 121, tail 40, tarsus 42. Figured. Collected at Cape 
York, North Queensland, on the 8th of January, 1913. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male. 
Immature. Have the upper markings not so pronounced, they also lack the black breast, 
abdomen and red vent. These are noticeable after the next moult. 
Nest. A large covered structure, with entrance at the side, made of sticks, leaves, etc. 
Kept together with moss. Placed usually on the ground. 
Eggs. Clutch, three to five, usually four. Creamy white ground-colour spotted and 
blotched with blackish-brown and lavender. 32-34 mm. by 24-25. 
Breeding-season. October to December or January. 
Mr. Edwin Ashby has sent me the following notes : “ My first acquaintance 
with this lovely bird, the Noisy Pitta, in the field was on September 28th, 1903, 
in the Blackall Ranges in Southern Queensland. The first morning at daylight 
I heard several of the birds calling ; the cry is a loud but melodious whistle com- 
posed of two notes, the first low, the second higher and a little drawn out ; these 
two notes are repeated twice in quick succession and then a pause, probably 
the bird is listening for the answering note of its rival. The people of the district 
say that it says 4 Give me more web ’ fitting the words to the two pair of double 
notes, and they also say that the continuous calling of the birds is an indication 
of rain. The patches of semi-tropical scrub were evidently the home of these 
birds rather than the more open forest country. They answer an imitated call, 
as one replied to my attempt at imitating its call for quite a long time, while 
12 
