THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Adult male. General colour of the upper-surface bronze-green, including the top of the 
head, back, and wings, becoming bronze-brown on the upper tail-coverts and tail ; 
bastard-wing, median and greater upper wing-coverts black margined with green ; 
primary-coverts uniform black ; outer edges of some of the primary-quills yellowish- 
green, inner webs of flight-quills blackish-brown ; a pale yellow line from the lores 
to the eye which widens out and extends along the sides of the crown where it 
becomes deeper in colour ; base of fore-head and sides of face, including the eye, 
deep black ; chin and throat uniform yellow ; sides of breast, sides of body, and 
thighs ochreous-brown ; breast and abdomen pale lemon-yellow, more or less 
washed with ochreous-brown ; under tail-coverts white tinged with yellow ; axillaries 
grey ; under wing-coverts yellow, becoming almost white on the outer edge of the 
wing ; under-surface of flight-quills hair-brown ; lower aspect of tail similar to 
its upper surface but paler. Eyes brown, bill black, feet and legs light flesh. Total 
length 130 mm. ; culmen 10, wing 69, tail 53, tarsus 30. Figured. Collected on the 
Tweed River, Northern New South Wales, in September 1912. 
Adult female. Somewhat like the male, but has the side of the face and lores olive-green. 
Immature take on the adult plumage practically from the nest. 
Nest. Dome-shaped with opening about the middle and hanging by a stem from a small 
branch. Loosely composed of fine rootlets, with leaves and green lichen intermixed. 
Lined with feathers. Outside measurements including stem about 12 inches deep 
by 4 or 5 wide. Opening about 1 inch wide. 
Eggs. Clutch two or three. White, with the larger end dark bluish, which colour merges 
into white at the point. 24 mm. by 17. 
Breeding- season. August to December. 
This very beautiful species was described as new by Gould, but the 
examination of the Lambert drawings indicated that it had been named by 
Latham as Muscicapa barbata but in this case Gould did not displace his own 
name by Latham’s choice so that Gould’s specific name continued in use until 
Sharpe reconsidered the Watling drawings when he unhesitatingly accepted 
Latham’s name and proposed the usage of Sericornis barbata. However, I noted 
that Latham’s Muscicapa barbata could not be used as it had been previously 
proposed for another species and reversion must have been made to Gould’s 
name had it not been that Stephens many years before had also observed the 
invalid nature of Latham’s name and for this species proposed Muscicapa 
lathami. 
Gould’s notes are however the earliest on record and these read : “ This 
is the largest and most attractive species of the genus ( Sericornis ) yet discovered, 
and so far as I am aware, its habitat is restricted to the south-eastern portions 
of Australia where it dwells exclusively in the districts known by the name of 
‘ brushes.’ ” 
Mr. J. W. Mellor has written : “ This is the most common of the family 
in Queensland and New South Wales. I have taken specimens at Cooroy in 
the Blackall Ranges, one hundred miles above Brisbane, in November, 1910, 
when it was breeding. It was numerous in the thick tropical scrubs, hanging 
