THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Micrartamus minor S. A. White, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr., Vol. XXXVIII., p. 432, 
1914 (Central). 
Distribution. Northern Australia, range undetermined. 
Adult female. Crown of head, back, and scapulars smoke-brown ; wings blackish slate- 
colour ; inner webs of flight-quills somewhat paler than the outer ones and whitish 
edges at the tips ; upper tail-coverts and tail glossy black with white, or smoke-white 
tips to the feathers of the latter ; lores and eye-lids black, the feathers of the former 
bristly in texture ; fore part of cheeks and chin also black ; throat, breast, abdomen, 
and sides of body coffee-brown; thighs and under tail-coverts black; axillaries 
and under wing-coverts pale ash-grey ; under-surface of flight-quills dark silver- 
grey ; lower aspect of tail similar to its upper-surface. Eyes and feet black, bill 
blue with black tip. Total length 145 mm. ; culmen 11, wing 98, tail 58, tarsus 14. 
Figured. Collected on the Bafel Group, Norman River, Gulf of Carpentaria, 
Queensland, on the 30th of April, 1914. 
Adult male similar to the adult female. 
Immature 'male. General colour of the upper-surface soot-black with smoke-brown streaks 
and edgings to the feathers, including the top of the head, sides of face, sides of neck, 
nape, hind-neck, back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts ; wings blackish 
tinged with slate-grey, smoke-brown tips to the coverts, and whitish tips to the 
flight-quills, the inner webs of the last somewhat paler ; tail blackish with white at 
the tips of all except the two middle feathers and the outermost one on each side ; 
throat, breast, abdomen, sides of body, and under tail-coverts similar to the upper 
surface ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale grey slightly intermixed with white ; 
under-surface of flight-quills dark glossy grey ; lower aspect of tail similar to its 
upper-surface ; eyes black ; feet and bill grey. Collected at Normanton, Queens- 
land, on the 16th of March, 1914. 
Juvenile. General colour of the upper parts blackish intermixed with dark chestnut, including 
the top of the head, sides of the face, sides of neck, hind-neck, back, upper wing-coverts 
and upper tail-coverts, the chestnut edgings almost obsolete on the last ; flight- 
quills slate-grey margined with cinnamon at the tips ; tail slate-black, the apical 
portion for the most part white or greyish-white ; throat, breast, abdomen, and 
under tail-coverts dark smoke-brown, darker and inclining to black on the last ; 
under-surface of flight-quills dark glossy grey ; lower aspect of tail for the most 
part greyish-white with dark margins to the feathers. 
Nest. Placed in a hole in a branch about 4 feet from the ground or a small hole in the 
side of the trunk. Constructed of a little pile of paper bark leaves laid parallel 
with each other with a hollow in the middle. Outside measurements 3 inches 
by 1| deep. 
Eggs. Clutch three. Whitish, with blotches, chiefly at the larger end, of brown and light 
grey. 18 mm. by 14-15 (N.W.A.). 
Artamus minor Vieill. Little Wood-Swallow. 
Eggs* Three eggs usually form the sitting, and vary from ovals to swollen ovals in shape. 
Ground colour varies from white to yellowish- white. Clutch of three eggs, oval in 
shape, rather pointed at the smaller end, ground colour pale creamy- white, spotted 
with umber, dark reddish-brown, and pale to dark slate, and forming a well defined 
zone at the larger end. Surface of shell fine and smooth, and with very little gloss, 
some eggs of this species having more gloss than others. The clutch measures 
19-20 mm. by 14. 
270 
