THE BIRDS OE AUSTRALIA. 
What the Solomon Islands birds might be cannot be determined without 
examination, but this species does not occur, as far as is known, on that group, 
while very distinct species, not easily confused, do occur there, and the fact 
that Campbell s notes refer to a “ transition stage of plumage ” is perplexing. 
Mr. J. P. Rogers’s notes from Melville Island read : “ Cooper’s Camp, 
Nov. 20, 1911 : Occasionally a pair is seen but is decidedly rare. This is 
the first time I have seen this species and after hearing the peculiar call am 
quite sure it is not a resident species either at Parry’s Creek, East Kimberley, 
or in the parts of West Kimberley that I know (East and West Kimberley 
are about 400 by 300 miles, so that there are many parts I do not know). 
Dec. 10, 1911 : Several are heard every day, but only one female seen to date. 
Jan. 13, 1912 : 10 miles S.E. of Snake Bay. This species is fairly common 
here. Eeb. 5, 1912 : Cooper’s Camp. Rare here now.” 
Hill has recorded : “ The movements of a few pairs which arrived at 
Napier Broome Bay on and after 4/12/09 were closely watched until the end 
of February, when the last of them left the district. During these months 
the birds were generally to be seen in the topmost branches of the largest 
trees. Their food appears to consist entirely of large caterpillars.” 
Three subspecies in Australia may be easily recognised as given in my 
“ List ” of 1913, thus : 
Metagraucalus tenuirostris tenuirostris (Jardine). 
New South Wales ; Victoria ; South 
Queensland. 
Metagraucalus tenuirostris obscurus (Mathews). 
North Queensland. 
Smaller and “ of cleaner appearance,” as Campbell phrases it, i.e., the 
barring is more regular and more clearly differentiated. 
Metagraucalus tenuirostris melvillensis (Mathews). 
Melville Island, Northern Territory. 
Separated on account of its very much lighter coloration and more slender 
bill. The species has been since recorded from King River, Northern Territory, 
but I have not examined specimens. 
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