BLACK-TAILED TREECREEPER. 
Distribution. Northern Australia, ranging down on the west as far south as the Upper 
Gascoyne River, and eastwards to the Gulf Country of Queensland. 
Adult male. Fore-part of head, including the lores and crown, blackish, becoming coffee- 
brown on the hind-neck, sides of face, sides of neck, and sides of broast; back, 
rump,upper tail-coverts,tail,scapulars, and upper wing-coverts black; bastard-wing, 
outer-webs and tips of primary-quills dark hair-brown, inner-webs of flight-quills 
buffy-whito, secondary quills similar to the back; rictal-bristles black but only 
feebly developed ; throat and fore-neck black with white shaft-lines to the feathers ; 
breast, abdomen, thighs, and vent umber-brown ; under tail-coverts black marked 
with white at the tips ; axillaries similar to the abdomen; under wing-coverts 
grey tinged with buffy-wliite ; under-surface of flight-quills hair-brown on the 
apical portion and cream-wiiite at the base ; lower aspect of tail similar to its 
upper-surface. Total length 173 mm. ; culmen 15, wing 99, tail 74, tarsus 25. 
r Collected at Derby, North-west Australia, on the 26th of June, 1886. 
Adult female. Top of head and lores soot-black; sides of face, sides of hinder-crown, 
hind-neck, and sides of neck very dark chocolate-brown with pale shaft-lines to 
the feathers on the ear-coverts ; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail, 
and upper wing-coverts black, becoming paler and inclining to hair-brow T n on the 
bastard-wing and outer webs and tips of the primary-quills; inner webs of flight- 
quills buffy-w T hite on the basal portion; secondary-quills darker and more like 
the back; rictal-bristles black and numerous but only feebly developed ; chin 
and throat white ; fore-neck also white with broad chestnut margins to the feathers ; 
sides of breast and upper sides of body umber-brown, becoming paler and 
inclining to] smoke-brown on the breast; abdomen, thighs, flanks, and under 
tail-coverts black, slightly marked with whitish on the terminal portion of some 
of the feathers ; axillaries similar in colour to the abdomen; under wing-coverts 
white marked with pale brown; under-surface of flight-quills hair-brown, cream- 
white on the basal portion ; lower aspect of tail similar to its upper-surface but 
paler. Eyes dark brown, bill, legs and feet black. Total length 164 mm. ; 
culmen 15, wing 92, tail 70, tarsus 23. Figured. Collected at Derby, North-west 
Australia, on the 21st of June, 1886. (Plate 504.) 
Adult male. General colour of the upper-surface black, including the top of the head, back, 
wings, and tail; crown of head and hind-neck more soot-black than the back ; 
primary-quills dark brown on the apical portion, a broad band of buff across the 
flight-quills ; sides of face and sides of neck dark coffee-brown with pale shaft- 
lines on the ear-coverts ; fore-part of head minutely dotted with whitish; chin, 
throat, and fore-neck streaked with black and white ; breast and abdomen smoke- 
brown with blackish shaft-streaks, becoming darker on the sides of the body, where 
it is almost uniform and inclining to blackish on the lower flanks and thighs ; under 
tail-coverts black tipped with -white ; axillaries and under wing-coverts white, or 
buffy-whito barred with dark brown ; under-surface of flight-quills dark brown 
on the apical portion and buffy-white at the base ; lower aspect of tail black like 
its upper-surface with obsolete cross-bars. Eyes brown, bill and feet black. Total 
length 197 mm. ; culmen 14, wing 97, tail 70, tarsus 25. Figured. Collected 
at Alexandria. Northern Territory, in May 1905, and is the type of C. m. 
alexandrce. (Plate 503, bottom figure.) 
Immature. General colour, both on the upper and under-surface deep black, including 
the top of the head, entire back, wings, tail, and upper wing-coverts ; some of the 
flight-quills inclining to dark brown towards the tips ; a buffy-white band across 
the primary and secondary-quills, chiefly on the inner-webs ; throat black with 
white bases to the feathers ; sides of face, sides of neck, breast, abdomen, thighs, 
under tail-coverts and axillaries also black ; under wing-coverts wiiitish intermixed 
