THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Adult male. General colour, both on the upper and under-surface black ; the feathers on 
the lores are bristly in texture and those on the chin have hair-like tips, the tail- 
feathers tipped with white, or smoky white, more extensively on the inner webs, 
the tips of the flight-quills dark brown and the under tail-coverts white. Eyes 
yellow, feet and bill black. Total length 500 mm. ; culrnen 72, wing 280, tail 
207, tarsus 67. Figured. Collected on Middle River, Kangaroo Island, on the 
17th of October, 1905, and is the type of Strepera melanoptera halmaturina. 
Adult female similar to the male. 
Nestling {Male). Everywhere covered with blackish down, paler and inclining to slate- 
grev on the abdomen ; the quill-feathers, which are just beginning to develop, are 
black with dusky white margins at the tips ; the tail-feathers are also beginning to 
develop, the outer quills of which are white, both the sheath and the feather, while 
the middle ones have slate-brown sheaths and the webs of the feather are black and 
white. Collected on Kangaroo Island in October. It is curious to notice too that 
the shaft protrudes beyond the rest of the feather in a needle-like point. 
Eggs. From two to three eggs form the clutch, usually three. They vary somewhat in 
their size, shape, and general dispositions of the markings. A clutch of three is 
rounded oval in shape, ground-colour of a pale purplish-buff, well spotted and 
blotched all over with purplish-brown, dull reddish-brown and umber. Surface 
of shell smoothly granular and glossy. The clutch measures 40 mm. by 30. 
Collected at Flinders Range, South Australia, on the 8th of September, 1886. 
Another clutch containing two eggs is long oval in shape, ground-colour creamy, 
with a very pale pinkish tinge. Spotted and blotched with dull purplish-brown, 
umber, and pale reddish-brown. Surface of shell smoothly granular and slightly 
glossy. The pair measure 44-46 mm. by 30. Collected at Kow Plains, North- 
west Victoria, on the 23rd of September, 1912. 
Nest. Is a large open structure of sticks, and lined with bark and grasses, etc., and very 
similar to those of the other members of this genus. 
Although Gould described this fine species, he later concluded : “ Upon 
a careful examination of the numerous specimens of this bird contained in 
my collection, I find among them two very singular varieties ; one with the 
base of the primaries of a nearly uniform black and the tips white, and another 
in which, the base of the primaries is white and the tips black. It is evident, 
therefore, that the markings of this species are not constant, and this induces 
me to believe that the bird I characterized as S. melanoptera is nothing more 
than one of the varieties above mentioned. I do not, however, venture to 
affirm that the birds received from South Australia with wholly black wings 
may not prove to be distinct from those from Tasmania ; this is a matter for 
investigation of future Australian naturalists. For the present I sink the 
appellation melanoptera into a synonym (of arguta)N 
Mr. Edwin Ashby writes : “ Found all round Adelaide and Mount Lofty, 
but not common. Is, however, common on Kangaroo Island, and is so destruc- 
tive to the fruit, both apples and plums, that orchardists destroy numbers 
of them. They were feeding young in the nest at Middle River, Kangaroo 
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