THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Immature male. Crown of head dusky-brown with a tinge of lead-grey, becoming paler 
on the base of the forehead and sides of face ; back smoke-brown, the bases of 
the feathers dark lead-grey ; upper tail-coverts ochreous with buffy-white bases 
to the feathers ; wings, for the most part, dark chestnut ; bastard-wing, primary- 
coverts, and flight-quills blackish-brown, with pale margins to the outer and inner 
webs of. the last, some of the primary-quills of one wing marked with smoke-brown 
on the inner webs near the tips ; tail dark lavender-blue with obsolete cross-bars, 
some of the feathers have pale narrow edgings and others more or less marked 
with smoke-brown ; lores and rictal bristles black ; throat and breast greyish-white 
inclining to pure white on the breast and abdomen ; sides of body ochreous-brown ; 
thighs dusky ; under tail-coverts buff at the base becoming darker at the tips ; 
under wing-coverts and inner margins of quills below cinnamon-buff, remainder 
of quill lining dark brown ; lower aspect of tail similar to its upper-surface. Bill 
black, eyes dark brown, feet and legs deep hazel-brown. Total length 155 mm. ; 
culmen 9, wing 53, tail 87, tarsus 28. Figured. Collected at Wilson’s Inlet, South- 
west Australia, on the 8th of May, 1909. 
Adult female. Similar to the above, but with bill and lores buff. 
Nest. Dome-shaped, with entrance near the top, composed of grass and lined with feathers. 
4 to 5 inches long by 3 to 4 wide. 
Eggs. Clutch, three to five. Pinkish-white, with small marks of reddish-brown, all over, 
but more at the larger end. 15 mm by 12. 
This bird was beautifully figured as a new species in the first number of the 
Birds of Australia and the Adjacent Islands, as from “ East Coast Australia.” 
After this had appeared, Gould conceived the idea of going to Australia and 
dropped the publication. When he recommenced the work after his return he 
ordered the destruction of the parts (only two in a number), replacing them with 
two others later. He then wrote : “ It is an inhabitant of the western coast of 
Australia ; all the specimens I possess were collected at Swan River, where it 
is tolerably abundant. . . The males are subject to the same law relative 
to the seasonal change of plumage as the Malurus cyaneus and the other 
members of the genus. The gay nuptial costume of these birds renders them 
conspicuously different from the Prinice of India, to which they have otherwise 
a seeming alliance.” 
Mr. Tom Carter has written me : “ The Red-winged Wren is given in your 
1912 ‘ Reference List 5 as occurring throughout West Australia. My own 
experience is, that its chief habitats are the swampy coastal districts of the 
south-western corner, where they have been noted as fairly common from Albany 
round to the Vasse River, also about forty miles up the Blackwood River. 
They seem particularly partial to the neighbourhood of swampy ground, and 
the extra dense vegetation and scrub prevailing in such situations. By 
remaining quietly in such places, one seldom has to wait long before a small 
party of these birds pass along. They travel rather quickly when feeding, and 
the full-plumaged males are shy.” 
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