THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
coat and became jet black, apparently proving that the Rufous Butcher-Bird 
is only a young male in immature plumage of the Black Butcher-Bird.” 
Later still, Cornwall recorded this species from Mackay : “ The bird is not 
by any means a rarity in this district. They love the muddy fastnesses of the 
mangroves, and to observe them * at home ’ one must be prepared to put up 
with much discomfort. When the tides are neap the mangrove flats are some- 
times dry for days at a time ; then they are comparatively firm, and walking 
is not difficult, but when the big tide floods them every day they are veritable 
quagmires, and one flounders knee-deep at every step, whilst countless myriads 
of sand-flies and mosquitoes add to the general discomfort. Black Butcher- 
Birds are very local in their habits. Once a pair is located they may always 
be found within a very short radius. They nest year after year in the same 
locality, and the remains of several season’s nests may be found in the adjoining 
trees. Hitherto I have not noticed a brown specimen in this district. Nests, 
each containing three eggs, were noted on 11th and 13th November.” 
The only other note of interest is the association at Cape York of the 
Manucode and Black Butcher for nesting purposes. “ Towards one another 
the attitude of these species seems to be of armed neutrality, the Manucode 
finding a certain amount of protection from being in the neighbourhood of so 
warlike a bird, but at the same time keeping a watchful eye upon its own eggs 
or callow young when the ally is near.” 
Barnard was the first to note the association, and he found that when he 
robbed the Butcher-Bird’s nest the Manucodes deserted theirs and that in 
order to secure the eggs of the latter he had to leave the former alone ; the 
Manucodes apparently building and laying their eggs after the Butcher-Bird 
had chosen the locality and built their nest. 
Ramsay described a new species from Port Darwin, Northern Territory, 
which from the description was obviously this form, but the incompetent 
Gadow placed it in the synonymy of Gracticus mentalis Salvadori, from which 
the description differed in every detail. 
Consequently when Hartert examined specimens from Northern Territory, 
accepting Gadow’ s disposition of Ramsay’s spaldingi as correct without 
investigation (quite correctly had Gadow been at all trustworthy, as no orni- 
thologist could confuse the two species), he renamed the Western form. In the 
meanwhile De Vis had described as a new species a red-brown Cracticus with 
the name rufescens. Rothschild pointed out that this was the immature of the 
Queensland form of quoyi, but that no red-brown specimens were known from 
New Guinea. Hartert’ s conclusion was that rufescens must be used for the 
Queensland race of quoyi , his disposition reading : 
“ Cracticus quoyi tunneyi. 
370 
