BLACK BUTCHER-BIRD. 
“ The black Cr adieus from the Alhgator River are clearly distinct from 
both C. quoyi quoyi and C. quoyi rufescens. Their bills are long and slender, as 
thin as those of C. q. rufescens , but much thinner and longer than those of 
C. quoyi quoyi. The wing is also much longer than in either of the two other 
known forms. There appear to be four forms of black Cradicus : — 
“ 1. Cradicus quoyi quoyi (Less.). Typical locality : Dorey in Dutch New 
Guinea. Differs from all the other forms by its much thicker and more swollen 
bill. Young apparently always black ! Hab : New Guinea, Salwatti, Waigiu, 
Mysol. 
“ 2. Cradicus quoyi rufescens De Vis. Typical locality : Queensland. 
Differs at a glance from C. q. quoyi by its thinner, less swollen bill. Young 
evidently dimorphic ; sometimes black, more often brown above with rusty- 
buff stripes, underside rusty-buff. Females (? when fully adult) also sometimes 
brown, but generally black. 
“ 3. Cradicus quoyi subsp. Aru Islands. Like G. q. tunneyi, but bills 
seem to be slightly shorter, and the wings shorter. 
“4. C. quoyi tunneyi nov. Type. ad Alligator River. Northern 
Territory. Differs from C. q. rufescens in its much larger size ; bill $ 65*5 ; 
$ 53 to 55 ; wing d 205, $ 185-188 mm. ; i.e ., fully an inch longer than in 
C. q. rufescens. I am unable to say whether the young are black, rufous, or 
black and rufous.” 
The error in naming this last form was immediately pointed out by North, 
and the two Australian forms have been accepted as distinct subspecies of 
quoyi ever since. 
I added a third : 
Cradicus quoyi jardini. 
“ Differs from C. q. rufescens De Vis (black phase) in its absolutely larger 
size and from C. q. spaidingi in its noticeably smaller bill, which is even less 
than in New Guinea examples of C. q. quoyi , Cape York, North Queensland.” 
Barnard and Macgillivray do not mention any red-brown birds from 
Cape York, and Campbell and Barnard state: “ Although we were in the region 
of the Brown birds, those that came under our observation were invariably 
black, except in one instance. It is remarkable that there is a central belt of 
Brown birds in the Cairns and Tully River district, while on either side — at Cape 
York to the north and at Mackay to the south — the birds are always black.” 
Later, Campbell dealing with birds from the King River, Northern 
Territory, concluded : “ One <$, wing 195 ; 1 ?, wing 180 mm. Similar to east 
coast birds, which are a brighter black. Wing of eastern specimens 170-175 mm. 
Masters’ spaidingi may stand, but Gilbert first procured this black Butcher- 
Bird — a mangrove, mud-loving, crab-hunter.” 
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