THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
more yellow on the rump, the white on the shoulder not so distinct, primaries 
not tipped with ashy-white or nearly so distinctly edged with the same colour. 
The nest also varies, and the habitat of the bird is different, E. chrysorrhous 
being a scrub-loving bird and E. jacksoni being only found in open forest and 
scrub country at an elevation of between 3,000 and 5,000 feet.” Jackson’s 
notes state . I fust met with this Robin on Nov. 12, 1908, when travelling 
along the Herberton Range on my way to the Evelyn scrubs, and at an eleva- 
tion of nearly 4,000 feet above sea level. The actions of this bird closely 
resembled those of E. chrysorrhous. Its home appears to be the true forest 
country and not the dense scrubs. When flying, the rich golden yellow plumage 
on the rump is most conspicuous.” 
Broadbent did not differentiate this form, and his notes were published 
years later under the name E. australis : “ This fine Robin is common near 
Melbourne, and just as common near Cardwell in hilly country. This was 
the first bird heard in the morning at Palm Camp, 4,000 feet (Bellenden Ker). 
The eastern is more beautiful than the Melbourne bird. August, Cardwell.” 
The editor’s note reads : “ Mr. Broadbent no doubt intends this species for 
E. chrysorrhous with the bright yellow rump, and different from E. australis 
of southern parts, with its dull wax-yellow rump.” 
Later, A. J. Campbell separated E. coomooboolaroo from the Dawson 
River district, Queensland, as “ in addition to its smaller size, differs chiefly 
from E. australis in the absence of the greenish (olive) tint on the mantle, outer 
edges of the primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers, which are all uniformly 
greyish” ; noting : “ It is remarkable that this (smaller) form of the southern 
bird should appear sandwiched, so to speak, between the two bright yellow- 
rumped varieties, E. chrysorrhoa (New South Wales and South Queensland) 
and E. magnirostris (North Queensland).” 
A little before this I had admitted six subspecies of australis, classing 
it in P ’achycephala. I reduced chrysorrhos and magnirostris correctly to sub- 
specific rank, and made jacksoni an absolute synonym of the latter from actual 
comparison, though this was obvious from the type locality and description 
alone. I, however, separated the Victorian form on account of its greener 
coloration, especially on the rump and under-surface, and it is strange that 
such a noticeable form should have been overlooked while ornithologists 
(Australian) were so keen on separating the northern form by means of different 
shades of yellow as to the rump. When it is recognised that these are purely 
geographical variations, the differences receive their full value and the status 
of the “ species ” becomes simple. At the same time I classed the western 
form as only subspecific, linking it up by means of the S. Australian (Eyre’s 
Peninsula) form, but this is a mistake due to the confusion of representative 
292 
