THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
cheeks leaden-blue, balance of naked skin on head, black. Collected on Melville 
Island, Northern Territory, on the 8th of March, 1912. Wing 123 mm. 
“ Youn^ birds resemble the adults, but the feathers are downy ; the crown of the head rumn 
upper tail-coverts and margins of upper ving-coverts and tips of the tail-feathera 
are a pale buffy-brown; the outer webs of some of the secondaries are margined with 
greenish-yellow ; the feathers on the liind-neck are grey with small brownish tips • 
all the under-surface very pale browm, slightly darker on the chest, some of the 
feathers on the sides of which are broadly tipped with yellow; throat yellow, crossed 
on the centre with an indistinct blackish-grey band.” (North.) 
Immature. Head reddish-brown; mantle, scapulars, wing-coverts, rump and upper 
tail-coverts ash-brown, slightly paler on the rump; wings ash-brown, fringed on 
the outer web with olive, and on the inner web with pale buff; tail-feathers ash- 
brown, darkest on the outer web and towards the tip; a naked space over each 
eye, as well as below and behind the eye; a narrow ring of brown-black feathers 
surrounding the eye ; cliin and tliroat covered wdth very long and pointed feathers, 
white at the back, golden-olive at the extremity ; upper neck whitish-ash, washed 
with golden-olive ; chest, breast, sides of the body, abdomen and under taU-coverts 
whitish-ash, paler on the abdomen. Collected in Queensland. 
Imumture. Top of the head brownish-ash, becoming paler on the back of the head and 
neck ; back of the neck, rump, upper tail-coverts isabelline-buff; mantle and wing- 
coverts ash-brown, margined at the extremity with wliite ; secondaries, wings 
and tail ash-brown, margined on the outer web with greenish-yellow and on the 
inner web with buff ; a bare space over each eye as well as below and beliind the 
eye ; sides of the neck whitish ; throat densely covered with white hair-like feathers, 
brown along the malar region and washed with yellow on the lower throat; neck and 
chest ashy-wliite washed with yellow ; a large patch of chrome-yellow feathers 
on each side of the chest; breast-feathers dusky, margined with wliite, producing 
a slightly scaled appearance ; remainder of the under-surface wliitish-ash; under¬ 
surface of wings and tail ashy-grej’’, margined on the inner web with fulvous-white. 
Eyes brown, legs and biU black. Collected on the South Alligator River, Northern 
Territory, on the 27th of March, 1903. 
iV estling. Head olive-brown, with still a few filo-plumes adhering to the sides; a broad 
collar of wliitish feathers round the hind-neck ; mantle, wing-coverts and scapulars 
ash-brown ; secondaries and primaries dark ash-brown, the secondaries and inner¬ 
most primaries margined on their outer w^eb with yellowish-oUve and all fringed 
at the extremity with buff; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts light ash- 
grey ; base of the tail dark ash, widely margined at the extremit}’’ with isabelUne- 
buff ; a large bare space below the eye ; chin and middle of throat covered with 
yellowish feathers with long hair-like extremities ; sides of the throat naked; an 
indistinct patch of light ash-brown feathers on the sides of the chest, remainder of 
the under-parts greyish-white; flanks, tliighs and under tail-coverts tinged with 
buff. Bill and eyes black, feet grey-blue. Palate rich yellow. Collected at 
Normanton, Gulf of Carpentaria, North Queensland, on the 23rd of January, 1914. 
Eggs. Two to three eggs fonn the clutch, usually three, rarely four. A clutch of three 
eggs, taken at Coomooboolaroo, Huaringa, Queensland, on the 10th of November, 
1898, is of a pinkish-buff ground-colour, spotted and blotched with chestnut and 
purpUsh-brown, becoming more numerous at the larger end. Ovals in shape. 
Surface of shell fine and slightly gloss}^ 26-28 by 18-19 mm. 
Nest is very deep and cup-shaped, but rather loosely made ; composed chiefly of thin 
dried grasses, bound together with thin strips of bark, spiders’ webs, etc. Lined 
with very thin dried grasses. Often the nest is so thin that the eggs can be seen 
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