THE BIRDS OE AUSTRALIA. 
rapidly along the ground, and are nob easily flushed again. The tail is almost 
always carried very erect, and when one of these birds is seen for a moment, 
it can easily be mistaken for an Amytornis. Although these birds are usually 
very shy, tney can sometimes be chirped close up. One alarm-note is some- 
what like the alarm ‘ churr-r-r ’ of Oreoica cristata. Another resembles the 
4 han-han-han ’ of the English Herring-Gull when heard at a distance. 
Calamanthus campesiris peroni. The Peron Field- Wren is quite distinct from 
the Dirk Hartog bird. The specimens obtained of Calamanthus c. peroni 
are quite unlike any of tne long series obtained of C . c. hartogi, and more closely 
resemble G. c. rubiginosus from Point Cloates and the North-west Cape districts 
(200 to 300 miles north of Shark Bay) and Calamanthus c. wayensis from the 
Day Dawn district (300 miles south-east and inland from Shark Bay). A 
careful comparison of skins in the Perth Museum from these two districts 
with the Peron birds shows that the Peron birds are much more rufous in 
general colouring than either of them, and are especially of a richer rufous on 
the crown. The white superciliary stripe is much more pronounced in C. c. 
peroni, as also are the striations on the mantle. The Peron birds have larger 
and stronger bills, and are bigger made birds than those from Point Cloates 
or Day Dawn. Calamanthus campestris hartogi is much duller in general 
colour than C. c. peroni, and is a smaller bird, resembling more the form from 
Dorrie Island (C. c. dorrie ). A single female specimen of Calamanthus, obtained 
on the mainland (Edel Land) at the south end of Useless Inlet, differs from 
both G. c. hartogi and G. c. peroni, but most resembles the former. A series 
of skins is required from there before a definite opinion can be formed. The 
subspecies on the Peron was not nearly so common as the form on Dirk Hartog. 
Their habits and song are similar but the Peron birds appeared to be much 
more wary and difficult to obtain. Sometimes they run along the ground, 
with tail in a horizontal position, at great speed, on the bare spaces of sand 
between the bushes, and dodge about so that it is often difficult to keep them 
in sight, even when one runs after them. At other times they hop with tails 
erect, and on several occasions, having only caught a momentary glimpse of 
a bird, I mistook it for an Amytornis. No Calamanthus has ever been 
observed in the vicinity of Carnarvon, at the mouth of the Gascoyne River, 
where I have systematically observed and collected birds since 1886. Nor 
has any Calamanthus been seen south of Maud’s Landing (60 miles north of 
Carnarvon) where C. c. rubiginosus appears to find its southern coastal limit.” 
In spite of such clear statements so lucidly expressed Whitlock and A. J. 
Campbell have both recently cast doubt upon these forms, arguing upon 
supposition alone. 
I had separated the Dorrie Island form as C. c. dorrie, writing : “ Differs 
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