FIG BIRD. 
Distribution. Eastern Australia from Cairns, North Queensland, to Sydney, New 
South Wales. ? Extra-limital (New Guinea). 
Adult male. Crown of head, nape, and sides of face glossy black, with hair-like tips to the 
feathers of the crown, merging into grey on the hind-neck, sides of neck, and sides 
of throat ; entire back, upper tail-coverts, and wings yellowish-green, including 
the outer webs of the secondary- quills ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and flight- 
quills blackish with grey edges to the outer webs and pale margns to the inner ones 
of the last ; middle tail-feathers slightly fringed with yellowish-green, the outer 
ones blackish at the base, the apical portion and outer web of outermost feather on 
each side white ; throat and fore-neck uniform slate-grey like the thighs ; breast, 
abdomen, sides of the body, axillaries and under wing-coverts like the back ; vent 
and under tail-coverts white ; greater series of under wing-coverts and inner margins 
of quills below grey, remainder of quill-lining pale brown ; lower aspect of tail 
dark brown on the central feathers, and more or less on the outer ones. Bill black, 
feet and tarsus flesh, eyes red, orbits red. Total length 264 mm. ; culmen 22, wing 
150, tail 102, tarsus 25. Figured. Collected at Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1876. 
Adult female. Crown of head, sides of face, hind-neck, upper-back, scapulars and wings 
dark soot-brown like the sides of the breast with pale narrow fringes to the feathers 
on the head and mantle ; median and greater upper wring-coverts and secondary- 
quills edged with buff y- white and tinged with yellow on the last, inner margins of 
flight-quills also buffy-whiie ; lower back, upper tail-coverts, and middle tail- 
feathers yellowish-green, the outer feathers smoke-brown edged with white at the 
tips and along the inner margins ; throat smoke-brown with darker centres to the 
feathers ; breast, abdomen, sides of body, and under tail-coverts dark soot-brown, 
the feathers broadly fringed with white, the dark pattern diminishing in extent on 
the lower-abdomen and almost obsolete on the under tail-coverts ; lower flanks 
tinged with yellow ; axillaries and under wing-coverts drab-grey like the inner 
margins of the flight-quills below, remainder of quill-lining pale brown ; lower aspect 
of tail greyish-brown, the feathers margined with whitish. Bill horn, feet and 
tarsus grey-flesh, eyes brown, orbits bluish-red. Total length 293 mm. ; culmen 22. 
wing 163, tail 115, tarsus 26. Figured. Collected on the Richmond River, 
northern New South Wales, in October 1905. 
Immature (in change). Feathers of head greenish-grey with black tips and grey intermixed ; 
hind-neck greenish-grey, not pure grey as in adult ; back and scapulars dull green 
with darker shaft-stripes ; rump and upper-tail-coverts bright green ; primaries (dull 
dirty brown, primary-coverts brownish with faint paler edgings, secondaries brown 
with outer webs greenish, edgings paler ; secondary coverts green with pale edges, 
other wing-coverts pale green ; tail-feathers brown, the centre ones blackish with 
green edges, outer ones paler on inner webs especially towards tips ; throat and 
breast striped, the feathers having a central brown linear marking, edges whitish ; 
sides of body similarly marked, the feathers having greenish tips ; centre of abdomen 
whitish ; under tail-coverts white ; inner wing-coverts brownish with white edgings. 
Immature female. Similar to adult female but with broader white edgings to wing-coverts, 
secondaries and primaries. 
Nest. Saucer-shaped, thinly built of vinelets and stems of climbing plants, with no lining. 
It is strongly made. Outside dimensions 6 inches by 2| deep. Inside 4§ by 2 deep. 
“ Constructed in about ten days.” (Savage.) 
Eggs. Clutch, three. Ground-colour greenish, spotted all over but more at the larger 
end with reddish or purplish-brown. 31-35 mm. by 24-25. 
Breeding-season. October to December. 
VOL. IX. 
161 
