THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
through Norfolk Island, is found at New Caledonia and in the Pacific Islands, 
as at Fiji. Four occur in Tasmania, the headquarters of three of them, and one 
is restricted still to that island while another is just colonising the mainland, 
and the third has only progressed a little way. Such a distribution is very 
suggestive, and it may be noted that the group as a whole shows very highly 
coloured males, dull females, and spotted young, while the species confined 
to Tasmania has achieved a plain plumage entirely. The seven species can 
be arranged according to colour phylogenetically, somewhat as follows : A 
spotted plumage is seen in the immature, but in some cases is lost almost as 
soon as the birds leave the nest. Then a plain plumage of a grey-brown is 
achieved, which persists in the females throughout the super-group, and which 
is the male plumage in the island form, vittata, which is the largest species 
with the longest bill. Probably the next evolution is the black and white 
species, cucullata, which does not occur in Tasmania, and which is also as 
large and with a long bill. Then the red stage seems to have been established, 
as the multicolor series are black above, with a white head spot, and a red breast ; 
these are slightly less with shorter but still long bills. A different evolution 
is goodenovii, which has evolved a red head spot, but otherwise is dark above 
and red breasted. It is however, much smaller, with a short bill. Related 
apparently closely to the preceding, it is much smaller throughout and in view 
of the next its history would be valuable. This is chrysoptera, which has 
increased the red breast so that practically all the under parts are brilliant, 
hence the name. Flame-breast. But above the coloration is grey, not black. 
In size it is about equal to multicolor. The last two have the grey back of 
chrysoptera , but are much smaller birds and the breast coloration is rose-pink, 
not flame. To account for the variation as specific only would nullify the 
whole structure of bird-classification, as these species differ more from each 
other than any of them do from Muscicapa, and their association is really 
geographical not zoological. It should be noted that the Neozelanic species 
have been long recognised as generically distinct, though obviously of the 
same descent, and the differences are no more marked than those which 
separate the mainland forms. 
As regards Australia and New Zealand these might well be grouped as 
a subfamily (or family if their internal features be recognised) : Petroicince , 
including the Australian forms from Microeca to Amaurodryas , the Moluccan- 
New Guinea species referred to Microeca, and the Neozelanic Myiomoira, Miro 
and Nesomiro. 
It must be remembered in criticising the Moluccan-New Guinea species 
that recently they have been described by genus-lumpers, and consequently 
we find a species classed in Microeca (papuana) on account of its coloration 
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