93 
male. Subsequently Mr. Strange sent me another example, which, 
from its much larger size and the circumstance of its neck being 
adorned with a beautiful collar of mingled black and white fea- 
thers, I considered a distinct species and characterized it as such, 
under the name of P. torqucitus , and assigned that of microurus 
to the males or birds destitute of the collar, an error which the 
observations of Sir George Grey and Mr. Strange have enabled me 
to rectify, and which shows that this bird is another of the anomalies 
so often met with in Australia, since, contrary to the general rule, 
the female is a far finer and more conspicuously-coloured bird than 
her mate. 
“ You ask me,” says Sir George Grey, “ to tell you something 
about Pedionomus. There is but one species ; you have described 
two, P. torquatus and P. microurus ; the former is the female and 
the latter is the male. We have now three of these birds in confine- 
ment, all similar to your P. torquatus. We had four; the fourth, 
which died, was like your P. microurus ; and was certainly a male ; 
they were all caught in the same net, hence I infer that several 
females associate with one male. 
“ We have had several of these birds in confinement at different 
times ; they eat pounded wheat, raw and boiled rice, bread and flies ; 
the latter appear to be their favourite food. They soon become per- 
fectly tame ; the three now in our possession we have had for up- 
wards of four months. 
“ These birds are migratory ; they appear at Adelaide in June, 
and disappear about January ; where they go has not yet been ascer- 
tained. They never fly if they can avoid so doing, and are often 
caught by dogs ; when disturbed, they crouch down and endeavour 
to hide themselves in a tuft of grass. When running about they are 
in the habit of raising themselves in a nearly perpendicular position 
on the extremities of their toes, so that the hinder part of the foot 
does not touch the ground, and of taking a wide survey around 
them. The Emu sometimes stands in a similar position. I have 
not yet ascertained anything respecting their nests, eggs or time of 
breeding. The call of those we have in confinement precisely re- 
sembles that of the Emu, not the whistle, but the hollow-sounding 
noise like that produced by tapping on a cask, which the Emu utters, 
but is of course much fainter.” 
The plate therefore represents two females, and the appellation 
of microurus given to the male bird should be the one adopted. 
As the male has not been figured, the following description of that 
sex is given :■ — 
Crown of the head, back and upper surface mottled with black, 
brown and fawn-colour, the latter occupying the external edge of 
the feathers, and the black and brown forming alternate circular 
markings on each feather ; throat, neck, chest and flanks dull fawn- 
colour, the feathers of the neck and chest blotched with brown ; 
flanks marked with the same colour, assuming the form of bars ; 
tail-feathers almost invisible ; centre of the abdomen and under tail- 
