THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
sides of body, thighs, under tail-coverts, and under wing-coverts pale fawn colour ; 
under-surface of flight-quills dark brown, slightly paler on the edges ; lower aspect 
of tail similar to its upper-surface. Bill black, eyes brown, legs light slate. Total 
length 143 mm. ; culmen 10, wing 55, tail 72, tarsus 25. Figured. Collected 
on Augusta Downs, Leichhardt River, Gulf of Carpentaria, North Queensland, 
on the 24th of June, 1910, and is the type of Malurus coronatus macgillivrayi. 
Male immature. Crown of the head, hind-neck, sides of neck, back, upper tail-coverts 
and wings burnt sienna, inner webs of flight-quills hair-brown ; tail verditer-blue, 
the outer feathers margined with white on the outer webs ; lores and feathers 
encircling the eye buffy-white ; rictal bristles black ; the feathers in front of the 
eye bristly in texture and blackish in colour ; throat and breast cream-white ; 
abdomen, sides of body, thighs, under tail-coverts, and wing-coverts fawn-colour ; 
under-surface of flight- quills, liair-browm with buffy-white margins ; lower aspect 
of tail similar to its upper-surface. Bill blackish-brown, eyes brown, legs light 
slate. Total length 153 mm. ; culmen 10, wing 51, tail 70, tarsus 25. Figured. 
Collected at Caloola, Leichhardt River, Gulf of Carpentaria, North Queensland, on 
the 14th of June, 1910. 
Adult female. Similar to the above. 
Nest. 
Eggs. 
Breeding-season. January to June (July to December). 
I am inclined to agree with Gonld when he wrote : “ Charming as 
are many of the smaller Australian birds, I think the present species is 
entitled to the palm for elegance and beauty, not only among the members 
of its own genus, numerous and beautiful as they really are, but among all 
other groups of birds yet discovered. The charm too, is considerably 
enhanced by the great novelty in the style of its colouring ; for in how few 
birds do we find the lovely lilac tint which encircles and adorns the head of 
this bird ; a similar tint, it is true, appears in the nape of the Bower-birds 
( Chlamydoderae ) ; but I scarcely know of a third instance.” 
I would like to add the third instance is the Pink-eared Duck ( Malacor - 
hynchus membranaceus). 
Gould continued with a personal narrative which I have also pleasure 
in copying and in confirming : “ Having premised thus much respecting 
this new Malurus, I now come to the painful task of naming its collector ; 
I say painful, because the gentleman who shot and brought it to this country 
has fallen, like many other Australian explorers, a victim to the climate of 
that country, congenial to Europeans as it generally is. It will be recol- 
lected by all those who take an interest in scientific explorations, that 
Mr. Elsey accompanied A. C. Gregory, Esq., as surgeon and naturalist on 
“ A bulky structure, composed of strips of paper bark and blades of cane grass, 
lined with fine grass-roots ; the opening at the side, near the top, has a platform 
of grass built out under it for a distance of almost 3 inches.” (H. L. White.) 
“ Clutch three, pinkish-white marked all over, but principally at the larger end, 
with ill-defined spots and splashes of dark brownish-pink. 15-16 mm. bv 13.” 
(ib.) 
126 
