THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
more rounded in form ; hinder face blackish with a pale edging, pale drab-grey, 
with hair-like tips to the feathers ; throat and fore-neck silvery-wMte with dark 
centres to the feathers, becoming whiter on the latter where the feathers have dark 
shaft-streaks and lanceolate tips ; breast, abdomen, sides of body, thighs, under 
taU-coverts, axillaries, and under wing-coverts pale drab-grey; under-surface 
of flight-quills dark browTi with white shafts ; lower aspect of tail similar but paler. 
Eyes brown, bill and feet black. Total length 335 mm.; cuhnen from knob 36, 
wing 155, tail 132, tarsus 42. Figured. Collected at Cape York, North Queens¬ 
land, on the 13th of May, 1912, and is the type of P. h. yorki. 
Adult female similar to the adult male. 
Adult female. A large swollen helmet at the base of the upper mandible ; feathers of the 
head, short, narrow and pointed, white 5 ’’-brown in colour, with light brown shafts; 
back, scapulars, wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts smol^-brown, slightly 
fringed with ash-colour; primaries, secondaries and tail hke the back, slightly 
fringed and bordered with greyish-ash; lores, a large space surrounding the eye 
to behind the ear, devoid of feathers ; cliin and tluoat composed of short pointed 
feathers, greyish-brown at the base, whitish at the tip, the shafts produced beyond 
the feathers and terminating in a long hair-Uke beard; a patch across the crop 
similar to the feathers of the throat but wider ; under-surface of the body, includhig 
the thighs and imder tail-coverts, light brownish-ash, paler on the middle of the 
belly; under-surface of wings and tail brownish-grey, inner margins slightly 
fulvescent. Eyes brown, feet and bill black. Total length 310 mm.; cidmen 
from knob 22, wing 147, tail 122, tarsus 38. Collected at Cape York, North 
Queensland, on the 23rd of May, 1912 
Almost adult male. Head covered with very short pointed feathers brownish-bufi in colour, 
with the white bases showing tlnough ; a ring of white feathers surrounding the 
neck; mantle, back and wing-coverts tawny-brown; rump buffish-white fringed 
with light buff; upper tail-coverts brownish-buff; wings ash-brown, the iimermost 
primaries and secondaries margined with yellowish-olive; tail-feathers ash-brown, 
margined on the outer web with oUve and with whitish-buff at the extremity; 
lores, a space over the eye and sides of the face, devoid of feathers; middle of the 
throat brownish-ash with the brownish shafts terminating in a hair-like tip; a whitish 
spot at the base of the neck; chest greyish-white ; remainder of the under-surface 
including the sides ash-grey ; under-surface of wings and tail ash-brown. Eyes 
grey, feet slate-blue, bill and face black. Collected at Cape York, North Queensland, 
on tire 13th of May, 1913. 
“ Young birds may be distinguished by having the sides of the neck entirely covered with 
silvery-browm or pale brown feathers.” (North.) 
Nestling. Sides of face, over and above the eye, devoid of feathers ; head and back of 
the neck greydsh-wliite with blackish shaft-streaks ; upper back, rump, upper tail- 
coverts and secondaries brownish-ash, the former sUghtly tinged with dark grey; 
primaries brownisb-ash, narrowly margined with yellowish-olive; tail biwnish- 
ash shghtly margined with wliite ; throat whitish ; remainder of under-parts grejiah 
ash-colour, slightly darker on the sides of the chest. Eyes grey, feet blue-grey, 
bill and face grey, palate bright yellow. Collected at Cape York, North Queensland, 
on the 29th of October, 1912. 
Eggs. Three to four eggs form the clutch. A clutch of three eggs taken at Borroloola, 
Macarthur River, Northern Territory, on the 28th of January, 1914, is of a beautiful 
pinkish-white ground-colour, spotted and boldly blotched with reddish-brown, 
brownish-red, and duU purple, the blotches being largest and most numerous about 
the larger end. Long ovals in shape. Surface of shell fine and slightly glossy. 
34 by 22 mm. 
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