THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Myzantha ohscura delandi, Ashbj'’, ib. 
Myzantha ohscura melanotis Ashby, ib. 
Distribution. South-west Australia and the Mallee country of South Australia and 
Victoria. 
Adult male. Feathers at the base of the upper mandible and fore-head olive-yellow; 
back of the neck, mantle, lower back and rump ash-brown, slightly tinged with 
grey; uj)per tail-coverts slightly paler thaji the rump; tail-feathers dark olive- 
brown, slightly margined on the outer web with olive-yellow' and widely tipped 
with whitish-grey ; lorimaries and secondaries dark olive-brown, with tlie outer 
Aveb olive-j’elloAv; chin washed with pale yellow; lores black, sides of the face 
black; throat and chest smoky-grey, each feather ti pped with white and submarginally 
baned w'ith dull browm; sides, flanks and under tail-coverts white. Eyes grey, 
feet yellowish-brown ; bill and bare skin round eye bright yellow. Total length 242 
mm. ; culmen 19, wing 123, tail lOG, tarsus 30. Figiued" Collected at Turner s 
Well, 20 miles N.E. of Bow Hill, South Australia (Central), on the lOtli of 
November, 1911. 
Adult female. Feathers of the fore-head dull olive-green; top of tlie head, neck, back, 
rump and upper tail-coverts dull greyish-brown, each feather margined with dull 
grey, lightest in colour on the rump; tail ash-brown, the outermost pairunifonn, 
remainder of the tail margined on the outer web with yellowish-olive; vving- 
coverts and innermost secondaries ash-brown ; outer primaries uniform ash-brown; 
inner primaries and outennost secondaries ash-brown, with the outer webs greenish- 
yellow ; lores black ; feather's below the eye and extending on to the ear-coverts 
blacldsh, a bare space behind the eye ; sides of the face dark ash-grej’ tipped with 
lavender-grey ; chin and throat smoky-grey ; low'er throat and upper chest whitish- 
grey, each feather margined at the tip with white and with a submai'giiial bar of 
blackish-brown ; breast and upper belly greyish-white ; abdomen and imder tail- 
coverts white; axillailes and under wing-coverts dark ash-grey. Eyes brown, 
bare skin behind eye sulphm’-yellow, feet brownish-yellow, bill orange. Total 
length 258 mm.; culmen 19, w^ing 121, tail 110, tarsus 28. Figured. Collected 
at Kookoomboo, Victoria, on the 14th of September, 1912. 
The sexes are alike. 
Eggs. Three to fom’ eggs fomi the clutch, four usually. A clutch of fom' eggs taken at 
Jlount Scratch, Yandanooka district. Western Australia, on the 30th of August, 
1907, is of a beautiful rich salmon-buff ground-colour, spotted, particularly at the 
larger end, w ith rich reddish-brown and pale purplish-brown. Swollen ovals in 
shape. Sm'face of shell fine, smooth and rather glossy. 25-27 by 19 mm. 
Nest. A cup-shaped and rather bulky structui'e, composed of grass and dry twigs, lined 
with fine grasses, hair, and soft material. Dimensions over all—about 7 to 8 inches; 
size varies according to position and place in which the nest is built. Generally 
placed about 10 to 16 feet up from the ground in a bush or small tree. 
Breeding-months. (July) August to Februaiy. 
Gould, who described this species, quoted Gilbert’s notes (Gilbeii being 
the discoverer of the Western form): “It inhabits every variety of wooded 
situation, in all parts of the colony, and is generally met %vith in small families. 
In flying the Avings are moved very rapidly, but the bird does not make progress 
in proportion to the apparent exertion; at times, Avhen passing from tree 
48 
