THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
dusky-brown; axiilaries pale drab-grey; under wing-coverts white; under¬ 
surface of flight-quills dark brown with whitish margins ; lower aspect of tail 
similar to its upper-surface. Bill and eyes black, feet brown. Total length 105 mm.; 
culmen 14, wing 61, tail 42, tarsus 16. Figured. Collected at Cape York, North 
Queensland, on the 10th of August, 1913. 
Adult female. Fore-part of head, chin and fore-part of cheeks dull red; hinder-crown, 
sides of face, hind-neck, back, -wings, upper tail-coverts and tail dusky-brown; 
inner webs of flight-quills darker and inclining to blackish-brown with whitish 
margins ; throat, sides of neck and breast ash-grey ; breast, abdomen, sides of 
body, thighs and under tail-coverts whitish-grey ; axiilaries, under wing-coverts 
and inner margins of quills below white, remainder of quill-lining dark brown like 
the lower aspect of the tail. Eyes brown, feet olive, tarsi leaden-blue, bill black, 
lower base and base of tomium yellow. Total length 105 mm.; culmen 13, wing 
55, tail 36, tarsus 15. Figured. Collected on Melville Island, Northern Territory, 
on the 28th of November, 1911. 
Adult male. Head and neck all round vermilion-red; lores and eye-ring black; rump 
and upper tail-coverts vermilion-red like the head; sides of neck, mantle, back, 
scapulars, and wings soot-black, paler on the outer edges of the flight-quills, inner 
margins fringed with greyish-white ; tail also soot-black ; the fore-neck adjoining 
the red of the throat soot-brown ; breast, abdomen, and sides of body dusky-grey, 
becoming paler on the middle of the lower abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts; 
axiilaries, under wing-coverts, and margins of flight-quills below white, remainder 
of quill-lining dark hair-brown, like the lower aspect of the tail. Eyes brown, feet 
and legs brown, bill black, lower mandible brown. Total length, 113 mm.; culmen 
13, wing 60, tail 41, tarsus 18. Collected at Point Torment, North-west 
Australia, on the 17th of January, 1911, and is M. e. derbyi. 
Immature male. General colour of the upper-surface pale earth-brown including the 
liinder-crown, nape, hind-neck, sides of neck, back, wings, and tail; rump and 
upper tail-coverts inclining to smoke-brown; inner-webs of flight-quills dark 
brown fringed with white ; fore-part of head red ; lores and space above the eye 
like the nape and sides of the neck; chin, throat, and cheeks red; fore-neck and 
breast dull grey becoming paler and inclining to whitish on the abdomen; flanks, 
and under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts and margins of quills below white; 
under-surface of flight-quills hair-brown; lower aspect of tail similar to its upper- 
surface but rather paler. Eyes brown, bill brown, corner of mouth yellow, feet 
and legs olive-brown. Collected at Derby, North-west Australia, on the 13th of 
January, 1904. 
Immature female. General colour of the upper-surface earth-brown including the top of 
the head, nape, hind-neck, sides of neck, wings and tail; some of the upper wing- 
coverts fringed with whitish and some of the flight-quills similarly margined; tail 
hair-brown ; fore-part of head, chin, throat and fore-parts of cheeks red ; lores and 
space above the eye similar to the crown; fore-neck and breast dull grey with 
white tips to some of the feathers of the former ; abdomen, sides of body, and under 
tail-coverts buffy-white ; axiilaries, under wing-covorts, and margins of the flight- 
quills below white, remainder of quill-lining hair-brown; lowor aspect of tail 
similar to its upper-surface but somewliat paler. Eyes brown, feet and tarsus 
olive-brown, bill brown, lower base yellow’. Collected at Point Torment, North¬ 
west Australia, on the 20th of February, 1911. 
Eggs. Two eggs usually form the clutch. A pair taken at Port Darwin, Northern 
Territory, on the 27th of December, 1908, is of a white ground-colour, finely spotted 
with pale chestnut, reddish-brown, and purplish-grey ; the markings being chiefly 
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