THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
colour of the charcoal. The bill of this bhd m hfe is a bright yellow, 
but fades after skiimmg.” 
hlcLeiinan’s notes, recorded by H. L. White, from the Northern Territory, 
read: “ King River. Occasionally seen in forest and numerous along river 
flats and about springs prior to rains. Crop, small seeds ; gizzard, seeds and 
sand.” 
Discussing these, Campbell has written : “ Three dd, 1 ?. Wings 58 lum. 
Shghtly darker or richer coloured than those from other localities. However, 
some from Port Darwin (near the type locality) are a httle lighter coloured, and 
agree with Napier Broome Bay' (North-west) specimens—Mathews’s JiarteHi:' 
It is a pity Campbell did not give the bill coloration, as Gould described 
it as orange and Gilbert separated as a different bird, which Gould called leucotis, 
the one he met with m Mid-Queensland as it had a yellow bill. I named the 
north-western forms on account of their yellow bills (in the first place) and 
now Barnard and Hfll note that the Borroloola bird has a yelloAv bill, and 
Macgilhvray records the birds from the Guff country as having ynllow bills. 
Gould’s other features of his leucotis are the wliite ear-coverts and richer 
upper coloration, apparently only of subspecific value. 
Macgilhvray has written without comment: “ Poephila leucotis. White¬ 
eared Grass Fuiches were common on the Archer River.” 
Under the heading Poephila leucotis, Gould wrote: “The present beautiful 
species of Poephila is one of the novelties discovered during Dr. Leichardt’s 
exijedition from Moreton Bay' to Port Essington ; it was killed in the neighbour¬ 
hood of the river Lynd by Gilbert, in whose Journal, mider the date of Jmie 3rd, 
1845, I find the following remark: ‘ The most interestmg circumstance that 
occurred to me to-day was the discovery of a new species of Poephila, which 
is very' nearly aUied to the one from Port Essmgton (P. personata) but which 
differs from that bird in havuig the bill fight yellowish horn-colour instead of 
orange, the irides dark brow'n, and the legs red; it is hi every respect a true 
Poephila, having the black face and tliroat, the black marks on the flanlis, the 
lengthened tail-feathers, and the general plumage of a fight brown; like the 
other members of the genus, it hihabits the open spots of country, and feeds 
on grass seeds.’ Li addition to the differences pointed out by Gilbert, I may 
mention that it may also be disthiguished from the P. personata by' its white 
ear-coverts and by the black of the tliroat being boimded below', and the black 
marks on the flanks anteriorly, with w'hite ; the colourhig of the upper-surface 
is also a somewhat richer brow'n.” 
Ramsay was so little impressed with the differences cited that he suggested 
that the tw'o forms w'ere identical, but later they were considered separable, 
although the real value seems only sub-specific. 
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