THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
on the breast is usually dull black, with a few dirty-grey margins to the 
feathers, but very old females have a streak of the fiery red of the male down 
the centre of the breast. The males vary very much in intensity of coloration 
very old birds being the most brilliantly coloured. When crouching amongst 
the spinifex, this Finch is very difficult to see, the brown of the upper parts 
harmonizing so weU with the ferruginous soil.” 
Captain S. A. White recorded it from Central Australia as: “ Very rare; 
only found in the deep gorges of the Musgrave Ranges.” 
HiU, recording a series of specimens from Central Australia, made no 
remarks save full measurements and details of soft parts. 
This rare and weU coloured species had no subspecies named until I drew 
up my “ Reference List,” when I recognised the variation as allowing easy 
separation into three races : 
Emhlema picta picta Gould. 
North-west Australia (Derby). 
Emhlema picta territorii Mathews. 
“ Differs from E. p. picta in its darker coloration above. Alexandra, Northern 
Territory.” 
Northern Territory. 
Emhlema picta coongani Mathews. 
‘ Differs from E. p. picta in its paler coloration. Coongan River, West 
Australia.” 
West Australia. 
These were admitted without change in my 1913 “ List,” but a little later 
I wrote: 
“ Dr. Burton Cleland pointed out to me that Stokes in his Discovs, 
in Austral., Vol. II., 1846, p. 175, states that the type of Emblema picta Gould 
was procured on Depuch’s Island, Mid-west Australia. This necessitates a 
re-arrangement of the subspecific names, as I arbitrarily selected Derby, 
North-west Australia, as a suitable locahty for Gould’s species. I now 
describe the Roebuck Bay bird as 
Emhlema picta clelandi. 
“ Differs from E. p. picta in being much darker above, the black on the under¬ 
surface being deeper and the red on the throat more extensive,” and restrict 
Emhlema picta picta (Gould) 
to Depuch’s Island, Mid-west Austraha. 
I had thought of using that name for my E. picta coongani, but the 
Coongan River birds disagree too much with Gould’s figure and description. 
I also named 
Emhlema picta ethelce. 
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