THE BIRDS OE AUSTRALIA. 
away, and only the two poor unfortunate young birds which lay on the ground 
covered in ants one could never tell there had been a nest on the spot. After 
they had destroyed their home the male bird mounted on the top of a dry 
salt bush twig close by and sang till he nearly lost his balance with excitement.” 
Mr. J. W. Mellor writes : “ This species is sparsely distributed over Eyre 
Peninsula, wheie it is a bird that keeps to the low bushes and the ground, 
taking cover in the thick masses of leaves and vegetation when disturbed.” 
These two notes refer to the form I separated as Galamanthus campestris 
ethelce, writing : “ Differs from C. /. campestris in having greenish-brown edges 
to the feathers of the back, and in having the under-surface white with dark 
centres to the feathers.” This form was differentiated by Captain S. A. White 
at sight, while another form was discovered during the investigation of the 
Mallee fauna by the Victorian ornithologists, and I named it Galamanthus 
howei, writing : “ This form seems to be intermediate between C. montanellus 
and C. campestris Gould. From the former it differs in having the ear-coverts 
and crown of the head reddish ; from the latter in having a longer bill, the 
head less rufous, and a much more pronounced brown streak on the feathers 
of the back.” 
Previously to either, and the first form to be named as distinct from Gould’s 
species, was Galamanthus isabellinus by North given to a Central Australian bird 
on account of its pallid appearance. He concluded afterward that it was 
simply a pale race of G. campestris and this has been accepted by all Australian 
workers, even A. J . Campbell as long ago as 1901 regarding it as a subspecies only. 
Wilson recorded under the name Galamanthus howei from the Mallee: 
“ These timid little creatures we found to inhabit the dry salt bush plains 
around Kow Plains and North Dam, and had great difficulty in obtaining 
specimens. We obtained four birds in all, and on dissection we found that 
if not already breeding they were very close upon it. The birds we obtained 
were all secured at the foot of a copai hillock where two species of salt-loving 
plants grew. When flushed they sought refuge in the prickly salt bush, from 
which it was exceedingly difficult to dislodge them. The only note we heard 
them utter was given in a low tone, and was somewhat similar to the commonest 
call of G. albilorisG Later I named the Broken Hill form Galamanthus 
campestris macgillivrayi as differing from C. c. isabellinus in having a longer 
bill, and in having the head much redder, and the ear-coverts red. 
This completes the tale of the eastern forms but there is quite a history 
in connection with the western ones. Heartland has written : “ Although 
the Field Calamanthus is generally found amongst coarse grass, heath and 
scrub in moist localities, it seems to thrive equally well in the dry, sandy parts 
of West Australia. They were frequently disturbed amongst the samphire. 
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