THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Captain S. A. White has written me : “ My late father hunted over 
thousands of miles for this bird and I have done the same and Dr. Morgan 
has been on the look out for it for many years. I think we had all come to the 
opinion that Gould had made some mistake, so you can judge of my surprise 
when I re-discovered the species in 1914.” 
Captain White’s published notes read : “ On June 29tli, 1914, my assistant 
and taxidermist (Air- J. P. Rogers) brought in a couple of small birds and I 
at once recognised them as the lost bird. Within a few hours I met with a 
small party myself and secured several specimens. I found this bird to extend 
over the country for 100 miles west of Oodnadatta, and seemed to be entirely 
confined to the tableland country covered with gibber stones and small clumps 
of low bushes and a few mulga (Acacia aneura) growing in the water-courses. 
A. pectoralis was found nearly always in the company of A. nigricincta and 
another species which was very numerous and resembled both A. leucopm 
and A. p. castaneiventris. Their habits seem to be identical with other members 
of the genus, but their call is distinctive, in being a low plaintive note, and 
they are not nearly so bold as the common species, and on being alarmed 
they flew straight away out of gun shot. A few points of rain fell in February 
over this country, and these birds must have bred, because fully fledged 
young were collected with the parent birds, but unfortunately I did not meet 
with any nests containing eggs.” He also wrote at the same time in another 
journal: “It -was met with in small parties on the tablelands or gibber 
country, about 50 miles west of Oodnadatta, and continued to do so off and 
on till we entered the granite country west of the Indulkana Range, and this 
range may form the westerly limit. They were hopping about on stony ground 
in search of seeds. When alarmed they 7 flew into a bush (if one was near), 
then off to some little distance, and alight upon the ground, where they 
moved about very quickly 7 . When on the wing they uttered a twittering note. 
A good series of [the] species was collected—adult males and females, as well 
as immature birds. Rain having fallen lightly over a restricted area a few 
weeks prior to our visit, these birds had nested and brought up their young, 
having quite a number with them. In some cases the young birds had a few 
dark spots appearing on the faint buff band which crosses the breast.” 
The series I examined suggested that the re-discovered pectoralis was 
the immature state of nigricincta , as in some specimens there was black 
spottmg suggestive of the black band of the latter, and I sank nigricincta as a 
synonym of pectoralis, being also influenced when Captain White found the 
tw r o “ species ” always associated. 
Captain White has, however, written: “ It has been put forward that 
A. pectoralis is the immature form of A. nigricincta. I am sure this is not 
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