THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
and I saw males apparently only just changing into scarlet and black at the 
close of the breeding-season. All but one of the nests I found were very low 
down, and usually placed on dead wood. The exception was a nest near 
my camp at Bore Well, which was fully eight feet from the ground. The 
nest was completed and eggs laid within nine days.” 
Less than twenty years ago Hall wrote an article in the first number of 
the Emu , concluding : “ Upon the evidence I make P. ramsayi Sharpe a 
variety of P. goodenovii Vig. and Hors.” 
This result was arrived at through his collecting a specimen in Victoria 
showing the characters of the western “ species ” somewhat imperfectly, 
but still showing the variation towards that form. 
He also wrote : “It had occurred to me, judging by the known distribution 
of the two species, that when the Red-capped Robins started from the Cape 
York Peninsula to populate our continent the red-throated part went due west 
u.nd had to stop at a little beyond the Fitzroy River, owing to geographical 
barriers ; and that the black-throated part went due south as far as Victoria, 
then west to Albany, W.A., and north to a little above Geraldton, W.A. There 
it stayed, owing to the same desert barriers that stopped the downward western 
course of the red-throated part.” 
Milhgan, commenting upon this, added that he collected similar variations 
in West Australia, and observed : “ P. goodenovii is found on Rottnest 
Island, opposite Fremantle, the port of Perth, but strange to say, not anywhere 
on the mainland between the sea-coast and the mountains. On the inland 
side of the mountains the bird is, comparatively speaking, plentiful in favoured 
places. The colour of the cap of the Rottnest Island bird varies from pale 
pink to deep scarlet.” 
Mr. J. P. Rogers sent me the following notes : “At Lallaka a male of this 
species seen has a very slight wash of red on the throat. At Marngle Creek 
I found this species fairly numerous and a few males in red plumage, but so 
far I have only found birds with a faint wash of red on the throat and some 
do not show the red at all, but young males in changing plumage show the 
red on the throat. At Mungi this species was not so numerous as at Marngle 
Creek. This species is not usually found at the Fitzroy, but some years comes 
in fair numbers ; there are more this year than I ever saw before. None of 
these birds were seen on my return to Derby after leaving the Fitzroy River 
fifty miles out from that town.” 
When I drew up my “ Reference List ” I found that ramsayi was only a 
subspecies of goodenovii and that five subspecies could be determined and 
these were differentiated thus : “ P. goodenovii goodenovii Vigors and Horsfield, 
Victoria and South Australia ; P. g. quoyi Mathews of “ large size, brighter 
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