THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
flight- quills black ; paler on the inner webs of the last which are broadly margined 
with white ; edge of wing white barred and irregularly marked with black ; tail 
black with more or less white at the base and also at the tips of some of the feathers 
and along the outer edge of the outermost feather on each side ; lores, feathers 
surrounding the eye, and ear-coverts darker than the back ; throat and fore-neck 
slate-grey, becoming paler on the breast where the feathers have dark shaft-lines, 
narrow blackish bars, and whitish fringes ; abdomen, sides of the body, flanks 
and thighs white with narrow blackish cross-bars ; vent and under tail-coverts white ; 
axillaries and under wing-coverts also white, irregularly marked with blackish ; 
inner webs of flight-quills below pearly-white, remainder of quill- linin g greyish- 
brown ; lower aspect of tail white at the base and along the outer web and tip of 
the outermost feather on each side ; remainder of tail blackish. Bill and feet 
black ; eyes dark-brown. Total length 365 mm. ; culmen 17, wing 219, tail 190, 
tarsus 35. Figured. Collected at Moree, New South Wales, in October 1907. 
The extraordinarily shaped tail is most marked. 
Aclult male. Similar to the adult female. 
Immature female. Crown of head, hind-neck, scapulars and upper back pale ash-grey 
or cream-white with narrow blackish cross-bars to the feathers ; lower back, rump, 
upper tail-coverts, and base of tail white, or cream-white, barred or mottled with 
black or smoke-brown ; lesser upper wing-coverts slate-grey ; median and greater 
series blackish or smoke-brown with smoke-white tips to the feathers ; bastard- 
wing, primary-coverts, and flight-quills black margined with white or buffy-white 
narrowly on the outer webs but much more broadly on the inner ones towards the 
base ; tail blackish on the apical portion with white tips and white fringes to some 
of the feathers, the outermost feather on each side for the greater portion white 
with smoke-brown, or blackish mottlings ; chin white ; throat and sides of face 
grey with more or less white intermixed and black hair-like tips to the feathers ; 
upper-breast also pale grey with narrow dark brown bars and whitish fringes to 
the feathers becoming white on the abdomen and sides of body, where the dark 
cross-bars are rather more pronounced ; lower flanks, vent, and under tail-coverts 
white like the axillaries and under wing-coverts ; inner edges of flight-quills below 
pearl-white ; remainder of quill lining greyish-brown. Lower aspect of tail white 
at the base and for the greater portion of the outer feather on each side and the 
remainder blackish. Figured. Collected at Moree, New South Wales, in November 
1898. 
Nestling female (in partial first plumage). Crown of head, lores, sides of face, nape, hind- 
neck, and sides of neck, pale grey with a tinge of isabelline and blackish-brown 
cross-bars to the feathers ; entire back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and lesser upper 
wing-coverts greyish- white tinged with isabelline and dark brown cross-bars to the 
feathers ; median upper wing-coverts dark brown barred and tipped with ochreous ; 
greater upper wing-coverts, bastard-wing, primary-coverts and flight-quills inclining 
to black with white or smoky-white margins to the feathers ; edge of wing whitish 
narrowly barred with dark brown ; tail blackish with pale tips to the feathers ; 
throat, breast, abdomen, sides of body, and under tail-coverts greyish-white or 
cream-white with dark brown cross-bars ; lower abdomen and vent covered with 
white down ; under-surface of flight-quills slate-brown ; lower aspect of tail black- 
ish-brown. Eyes hazel ; feet and legs purplish-flesh ; bill horn-colour ; mouth 
orange. Collected at Broome Hill, South-west Australia, on the 8th of October, 
1910 . 
Nest. Saucer shaped. Composed of grass, etc., held together by cobwebs and lined with 
fine grass. Outside dimensions 5 by 2 inches deep. Inside 3 by 1 deep. 
100 
