CATERPILLAR-EATER. 
Adult male (breeding plumage). Crown of head, lores, upper back, scapulars and tail 
glossy black with pale grey bases to the feathers ; lower back, rump, and upper 
tail-coverts grey ; inner upper wing-coverts white, the median and greater series 
longitudinally centred with black, the outer ones, including the bastard- wing and 
primary-coverts black irregularly and sparsely marked with white, two of the greater 
coverts fringed with buff ; flight-quills also black slightly edged with white on the 
outer webs, rather wider on some of the secondaries, and much more broadly on 
the inner webs ; tail black with white tips to some of the outer feathers and the 
central pair slightly fringed with the same colour ; sides of face, throat and entire 
under-surface white including the axillaries, under wing-coverts, and inner margins 
of the flight-quills below, a slight tinge of cream colour pervades the breast and 
abdomen ; remainder of the quills below blackish ; lower aspect of tail also blackish 
with white tips to some of the outer feathers. Bill black ; eyes brown, feet dark 
slate. Total length 185 mm. ; culmen 12, wing 101, tail 75, tarsus 21. Figured. 
Collected at Day trap, Victoria, on the 15th of September, 1912. 
Adult male (in non-breeding plumage). Similar to the adult female. 
Adult female. General colour of the upper-surface pale smoke-brown including the crown 
of the head, back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts ; the feathers on the 
crown of the head have dark shaft-streaks, the feathers on the rump and the upper 
tail-coverts are paler than the upper back ; upper wing-coverts blackish with 
cinnamon-rufous margins to the feathers ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and 
flight-quills blackish-brown edged with buffy white, the inner margins cream-white ; 
tail dark brown on the middle feathers which are slightly edged with buff, the lateral 
feathers blackish tipped with cream-white, the outer web of the outermost feather 
is entirely cream-white ; cheeks and a short eyebrow buff ; throat white with 
minute dark shaft-streaks, cheeks, breast and sides of body straw colour with 
dark shaft-lines on the breast and obsolete greyish bars on the sides of the body ; 
middle of abdomen and under tail -coverts white ; axillaries and under wing- 
coverts straw colour with a few dark sagittate marks on the margin ; flight-quills 
below pale brown with buffy-white margins ; lower aspect of tail blackish-brown 
with cream- white tips to the outer feathers and along the outermost webs. 
Upper mandible black, lower base yellow, eyes black, feet blue-black. Total 
length 172 mm. ; culmen 11, wing 97, tail 74, tarsus 23. Figured. Collected 
at Normanton, North Queensland, on the 16th of May, 1914. 
Immature male. Crown of head, hind-neck, upper back, and scapulars cinnamon-brown 
with dark shaft lines to the feathers ; lower back, rump, and short upper 'tail- 
coverts olive-grey with whitish fringe to the feathers, the long upper tail-coverts 
similar but tinged with cinnamon-brown ; upper wing-coverts, bastard-wing, 
primary-coverts and flight-quills blackish brown margined with white, buffy white, 
or cinnamon, the quills broadly margined with cream-white on the inner webs ; 
tail blackish, the feathers tipped and fringed with white, or buffy white ; eyebrow 
buffy white ; throat white ; sides of face, and sides of neck buffy white becoming 
deeper in colour and inclining to fawn on the breast and sides of the body 
where there is an indication of grey cross-bars ; thighs dusky ; abdomen, under 
tail-coverts, axillaries, under wing-coverts and inner edges of quills below cream- 
white ; apical portion of quills below greyish brown ; lower aspect of tail blackish 
with white tips to some of the feathers. Eyes umber, bill blackish with lower base 
yellow, feet blackish. Collected at Napier Broome Bay, North-west Australia, on 
the 23rd of April, 1910. 
Immature female. General colour of the upper-surface smoke-brown including the crown of 
the head, ear-coverts, back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts, somewhat paler 
on the rump ; upper wing-coverts and flight-quills blackish-brown with cinnamon- 
VOL. IX. 
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