Order PASSERIFORMES . 
No. 617. 
Family CLIMACTERIDJS. 
CLIMACTERIS MELANOTA. 
BLACK-BACK ED TREE CREEPER. 
(Plate 499.) 
Climacteris melanotus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1846, p. 106, January 26th, 1847: 
Lynd River=River Nassau,* Queensland. 
Climacteris melanotus Gould,f Proc. Zool. Soc. (Loud.), 1S46, p. 106, 1847; id ., Birds Austr., 
pt. xxvn. (Vol. IV., pi. 96), June 1st, 1847 ; id., Handb. Birds Austr., VoL I., p. 603, 
1865; Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Vol. II., p. 191, 1878; Gadow, Cat, 
Birds Brit. Mus., Vol. WIT., p. 334, 1883 ; Ramsay, Tab. List Austr. Birds, p. 15, 
1888 ; Hall, Key Birds Austr., p. 35, 1899 ; Campbell, Nests and Eggs Austr. Birds, 
Vol. I., p. 330, 1901; Bemey, Emu, Vol. V., p. 75, 1905; A. G. Campbell, ib., 
Vol. VI., p. 181, 1907 ; Mathews, Handl. Birds Austral., p. 88, 1908; id ., Nov. 
Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 382, 1912 ; Campbell and Barnard, Emu, Vol. XVII., p. 29, 
1917; Macgillivray, ib., p. 203, 1918; F. E. Howe, ib., Vol. XXI., p. 39, 1921 
(Review) ; H. L. White, ib., p. 166, 1922 (Eggs); id., ib., Vol. XXII., p. 112. 1922. 
Whitlocka melanota Mathews, List Birds Austr., p. 252, 1913. 
Whitlocka melanota barroni Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. II., pt. 7, p. 131, Jan. 28th, 
1915 : Cairns, Queensland. 
Whitlocka melanota melanota Mathews, ib. 
Distribution. North Queensland. 
Adult male. General colour of the upper-surface dull black, including the entire top of the 
head, nape, hind-neck, back, scapulars, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail, and upper 
wing-coverts ; outer edge of wing and bastard-wing cream-white; flight-quills 
blackish-brown crossed by a broad band of pale bull, chiefly on the inner-webs; 
lores and a line above the eye, which widens out on the sides of the crown, white; 
sides of face, chin, and throat pale cinnamon-buff with whitish shaft-lines to the 
ear-coverts ; a small patch of white feathers with black subtenninal bands; fore- 
neck and upper breast drab-grey, becoming darker on the sides of the neck ; lower 
breast, abdomen, and sides of body pale umber-brown with white elongated centres 
and black lines to the feathers ; thighs also pale umber-brown; under tail-coverts 
white tinged with buff and barred and marked with black; axillaries and under 
wing-coverts pale buff marked with dark brown on the latter towards the margin 
of the wing ; under-surface of flight-quills hair-brown with a large patch of pinldsh- 
* The Riv r er Nassau is about 25 miles inland from the Gulf of Carpentaria, 
f Also spelt melanota , melanonotus and mclanonota. 
100 
