Genus — S ERICORNIS. 
Sericornis Gould, Synops. Birds Austr., pt. iv, pi. 58, 
April 1st, 1838. Type (by original designation) . . . Acanthiza frontalis 
Vigors and Horsfield. 
Gould described this new genus before he went to Australia, from specimens 
in his own Collection, naming as type Acanthiza frontalis Vigors and Horsfield 
and describing two new species S. parvulus and S. humilis. 
Small birds with long bills, long rounded wings, rounded tail, medium legs 
and small feet. 
The bill is as long as the head, straight and slender, laterally compressed, 
very slightly expanded at the base, the culmen very little curved, the tip slightly 
decurved with a slight posterior notch ; the nasal groove is less than half the 
length of the bill, the nostrils linear ; there are no nasal bristles and the rictal 
bristles are minute and obscure. The under mandible is as deep as the upper, 
the interramal space nearly half its length, the gonys appreciably ascending. 
The wing has the fourth, fifth and sixth primaries longest, the seventh and 
eighth very little shorter, the third less than the ninth, but longer than the 
secondaries which are however longer than the second primary ; the first primary 
is more than half the length of the second but not half the length of the third. 
The tail is long and slightly rounded. 
The legs are medium in length and strength for the size of the bird ; the 
front of the tarsus is booted and the hind part bilaminate ; the hind toe and 
claw is longer than the middle toe and claw, the hind toe stronger and the hind 
claw longer ; the anterior toes weak, the inner and outer toes subequal und the 
middle toe alone equal to the inner toe and claw. 
The species magnirostris is somewhat aberrant, the bill longer and the 
front of the tarsus obscurely scutellate ; in the form I have named S. m. Jceri 
the tarsus is clearly scutellate. In order to keep this in view, I propose the 
subgeneric name Megathiza and name iSericornis magnirostris keri Mathews as 
type, as MEGATHIZA KERI. 
It may be noted that Gould described this species as an Acanthiza at the 
time he introduced his new genus Sericornis. Campbell and Barnard also 
remark on this point. 
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