THE BIRDS OE AUSTRALIA. 
centres to the feathers ; inner margins of flight-quills whitish ; central tail-feathers 
similar to the back, the outer ones blackish margined with bufly-white ; throat, 
breast, and abdomen silky white like the under tail-coverts and under wing-coverts ; 
under-surface of flight- quills pale greyish brown with buff y- white edgings ; lower 
aspect of tail greyish-brown with a dark subterminal spot and greyish-white tips 
to the feathers. Upper mandible brown, lower fleshy- grey ; feet and legs yellowish- 
white ; legs pale brown. Total length 103 mm. ; culrnen 9, wing 43, tail 35, 
tarsus 20. Figured. Collected Point Torment, North-west Australia, on the 4th of 
April, 1911, and is the type of Cisticola exilis tormenti. (Top fig.). 
Adult male. Crown of head, sides of face, hind-neck, rump, and upper-coverfcs sandy-buff ; 
back, wings, and tail dark brown, or blackish with drab-grey or ochreous margins 
to the feathers ; inner edges of flight-quills huffy- white ; tail-feathers darker than 
the primary and outer secondary- quills ; throat and entire under-surface sandy- 
buff, including the under wing-coverts, somewhat darker on the thighs and paler 
on the under tail-coverts, with more or less white on the breast and abdomen ; 
under-surface of quills dark brown with buff edgings ; lower aspect of tail blackish 
with pale tips to the feathers. Bill dark brown, lower mandible light horn, feet 
flesh ; eyes brown. Total length 100 mm. ; culrnen 9, wing 48, tail 30, tarsus 20. 
Figured. Collected at Cairns, North Queensland, on the 14th of January, 1885. 
Young. “ Both sexes resemble the winter plumage of the adult female, but are duller 
in colour, the feathers of the hind-neck and rump alone showing a distinct wash of 
golden-buff, those on the under-surface being dull white with a faint tinge of 
yellowish-buff on the neck and golden-buff on the sides of the body ” (North). 
Nest. Dome-shaped, with the opening near the top, placed near the ground. Composed 
of thistledown and grass, and with the leaves of the herbage in which it is built 
woven into it, in some places having the appearance of being sewn. Lined with 
thistledown. Outside measurements about three-and-a-half inches. Opening 
about one inch wider. 
Eggs. Clutch, three to four. Glossy. Ground-colour bluish-green, spotted and blotched 
with purple or purplish-brown, more so on the larger end where sometimes a zone 
is formed. 18 mm. by 12. 
Breeding-season. October to February. 
Under the genus name Cisticola Gould observed : “ These little birds 
are most perplexing, and the due elucidation of the Australian members of 
this form can only be effected by resident ornithologists ; to this subject I 
would therefore direct the special attention of Mr. Ramsay, of New South 
Wales, Mr. White, of South Australia, or any other person favourably located 
for investigating them. A knowledge of the changes of plumage, if any, of a 
single species would be a key to the whole. By closely watching the birds 
while breeding, obtaining the mated pairs, ascertaining the sex of each by 
dissection, and by observing the young from youth to maturity, the matter 
might easily be determined.” He then continued under the heading Cisticola 
exilis : “ This species appears to have been first noticed by Latham in the 
seventh volume of his 4 General History of Birds ’ under the title of Exile 
Warbler, and to have been subsequently placed in the genus Cisticola (error 
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