THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Campbell and Barnard simply wrote: “We observed Cat-Birds in the 
scrub by the sea (Cardwell) as well as in the mountains, where they were more 
numerous. They were laying during October.” 
Macgillivray has recorded: “We seldom saw the Spotted Cat-Bird ' 
the scrub, but frequently heard its cat-hke cries. When first we came to the 
Claudie, dozens of old nests were seen in the scrub, but it was not until after 
our return from the islands that we found a fresh one; this contained 
pair of eggs on the 21st December, and was 15 feet up in a small scrub 
tree. The nest was open, constructed of sticks, and lined with hark fibre” 
It will be seen that httle has been recorded of this species of Cat-Bird also 
but the range of this form is more restricted. When Ramsay described it 
as a new species, he did not know that the Aru Island bird would be similar 
a quite unexpected result. This bird is not yet known from the Cape York 
district, yet it seems only sub specifically separable from the Aru Island species. 
It thus constitutes another remarkable case of the reappearance of Papuan 
forms in the Bellenden Ker district, without being present on the Cape York 
peninsula adjacent to the mainland of New Guinea. Two subspecies can 
be admitted : 
Ailuroedus melanotus maculosus Ramsay, Rockingham Bay. 
Ailurcedus melanotus fairfaxi Mathews, Bellenden Ker Range; 3,400 
feet up. 
U OH : (;o:;r7ivi 
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