WHITE-BACKED MAGPIE. 
Variations were introduced such as I had not heard at other seasons of the 
year. Tail and body moved continually whilst he was singing.” 
Under the name G. leuconota Gould wrote : “ This fine species of Gymno- 
rhina , which has been confounded by the Erench writers with the Goracias 
Tibicen of Latham, inhabits South Australia, Victoria, and New' South Wales. 
It is said to be tolerably abundant at Port Phillip, and that it is sometimes 
seen on the plains near Yass. For my own part I have never met with it in 
New South Wales, but observed it to be rather abundant in South Australia. 
In the extreme shyness of its disposition it presents a remarkable contrast to 
the G. Tibicen ; it was indeed so wary and so difficult to approach, that it 
required the utmost ingenuity to obtain a sufficient number of specimens neces- 
sary for my purpose. Plain and open hilly parts of the country are the localities 
it prefers, W'here it dwells much on the ground, feeding upon locusts and other 
insects. In size it is fully as large as any species of the genus yet discovered ; 
it runs over the ground with great facility, and frequently takes long flights 
across the plains from one belt of trees to another ; in other parts of its economy 
it so nearty resembles the G. Tibicen, that it would be useless to repeat a 
description of them. The same single clear note and early carol of small 
companies perched on some leafless branch of a Eucalyptus appears charac- 
teristic of all the members of the genus.” 
Captain S. A. White has written me that it is “ A verv common bird in 
South Australia and a useful one, for they destroy much noxious insect life. 
They have a strange habit at times of chasing birds and I have seen them chase 
a Ground-Lark or Pipit to an immense height, but I have never seen them catch 
a small bird, but I do not doubt they do so at times ; they will pursue imported 
Starlings and Blackbirds, the latter through thick undergrowth. They become 
very vicious at times w'hen nesting and will attack all who come near the nesting 
site, even inflicting severe wounds through a felt hat. Their song or carol 
is one of the most beautiful and pleasing of Australian birds ; they carol much 
on moonlight nights. They are very local, one pair breeding in the same tree 
year after year.” 
Writing from Cobbora, New South Wales, Mr. Thos. P. Austin states: 
Gymnorhina leuconota is a very rare bird here, but one has mated with a 
Black-backed, and reared their young in the same tree for the last three years ; 
this year (1915) they built in another tree, and I took a clutch of three eggs, 
and they then built another nest in a neighbouring tree and laid another three 
eggs. The habit of the present species are very similar to those of the Black- 
backed, but in the Western District of Victoria, where they were at one time 
extremely numerous, and probably are still, they appear to feed upon the 
ground in very large flocks, In the parts where there was no native timber 
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