THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
/ 
bird for this district, because there are several skins of his coUecting in the 
Queensland Museum.” 
After Gould had described the Eastern form of this species under two 
names he allotted a preoccupied name to the Western form and later explained 
that any alteration would rather tend to produce confusion than otherwise. 
Many years later I made the unavoidable alteration, but recently found that 
the amendment had been made many years ago but overlooked or ignored, 
so that Gould’s action in not making the alteration at the first opportunity 
produced the confusion he tried to avoid. Further, before he named the 
species twice it had received two names, so that in this particular species 
Gould gave three names, none of which can be used. When I was preparing my 
“ Reference List ” I noted that the species name must be altered and also that 
the name of the Western form must be changed. I also regarded the latter as of 
subspecific rank only and wrongly selected Albany as the type locality, whereas 
it should have been Perth, as shown by Gould himself in his later writings. 
I then admitted four subspecies, thus: 
Meliornis nigra nigra (Bechstein). 
New South Wales, Victoria. 
Meliornis nigra Tierbertoni Mathews. 
“ Differs from M. n. nigra in its slightly smaller size, and in having the ear- 
patch of white feathers elongate oval with a square cut end. The shape of 
this ear-patch in the typical form is subovate ; in M. n. dulciei it is lanceolate. 
Herberton Range, Queensland.” 
North Queensland. 
Meliornis nigra dulciei Mathews. 
West Austraha (Albany). 
Meliornis nigra inexpectata Mathews. 
“ Differs from M. n. dulciei in its extremely long biU. Stirling Ranges, West 
Australia.” 
West Austraha (Stirling Ranges). 
These were unchanged in my 1913 “ List,” but since then I have adopted 
the genus name Purnellornis, and here foimd Schlegel’s name M. gouldii for 
Gould’s M. mystacalis, and noted that Perth is the correct type locality 
of this form. 
These changes will make the names read : 
Purnellornis niger niger (Bechstein) N.S.W. 
Purnellornis niger herbertoni (Mathews) Herberton. 
Purnellornis niger gouldii (Schlegel) Perth. 
Purnellornis niger inexpectatus (Mathews) Stirhng Ranges. 
Purnellornis niger dulciei (Mathews) Albany. 
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