THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
of skins from many localities it appears that this group shows more variation 
than almost any other in Australia and moreover probably many species will 
be separated. The present lack is material, but the numbers examined show 
the great distinction between the species and the well marked colour variation 
of the subspecies ; but as a whole all the smaller species show a general 
resemblance and to the superficial student show great similarity. 
The first species was described from West Australia. When in Australia, 
Gould got two distinct species in East Australia, and recognising one as the 
Western Australian bird described the other as a new species. Later he 
received -a Western Australian bird, and forgetting that was from the first 
named locality, described it as new, still referring to the East Australian bird 
by the West Australian name. As if this confusion was not sufficient, Milligan 
refound the West Australian bird after fifty years and comparing it with Gould’s 
poor description renamed it as new. Before we get more confused we had 
better tabulate the position thus : 
Amytis textilis Dumont, West Australia, equals 
Amytis gigantura Milligan, West Australia, equals 
Amytis macrourus Gould, West Australia. 
Amytis textilis Gould, East Australia, is not A. textilis Dumont, but my 
Diaphorillas inexpectatus . 
Amytis striatus Gould, East Australia, is a very distinct species. 
Then Keartland, having collected specimens in Central and West 
Australia, observed there was some confusion of species, in that two distinct 
species had been collected by him in Central Australia. He impressed North, 
who had the working up of the Central Australian birds, so that North, 
ignoring striatus, which is always recognisable as distinct, named one form 
from Central Australia as a new species Amytis modesta and allowed the other 
to be A. textilis— my D. purnelli. This did not obviate all the confusion, as 
Keartland, probably thinking of the Central Australian birds as “ textilis ,” 
allowed Milligan’s gigantura to be distinct. Later, reconsidering the matter 
with his own collecting in West Australia in view, he repudiated Milligan’s 
species. As a matter of fact both views were correct, as the Central Australian 
birds are different from the West Australian ones. 
However, nearly some thirty years before North published his modesta, 
Gould had described a very extraordinary bird from Lake Eyre as A. goyderi. 
This has never been refound, though the type locality has been searched, 
but owing to the extreme localisation of this species it may yet turn up. 
Then Carter got a new form from South-west Australia, and this he 
described as A. varia. It was of the textilis group, and he separated it from 
Milligan’s A. gigantura, but was afterwards induced to withdraw his species 
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