58 
LANIADjE. 
colour, spotted or blotched with markings of a darker tint, 
one specimen B, is a rounded-oval in form, and the markings are 
clouded and not so well defined. Length (A) 1 '78 x 1T8 inch ; 
(B) 1 *63 x 1-21 inch ; (C) L64 x L22 inch. 
The above eggs are described from a set taken in Tasmania. 
Mr. Sharpe has separated the South Australian examples of 
this species, and described them under the name of & melanoptera 
previously given to it by Mr. Gould. 
The months of September and October constitute the breeding 
season of this species. 
Hab. Tasmania. ( Ramsay .) 
Genus GYMNOKHINA, 
GYMNORHINA TIBICEN, Latham. 
Piping Crow-shrike. 
Gould, Handbk. Bds. Amt., Vol. i., sp. 92, p. 175. 
“ None of the Australian birds I have hitherto met with lay 
eggs that are subject to greater variety than those of the present 
species. Out of twenty specimens now before me, there are twelve 
very distinctly marked varieties ; and i will endeavour to describe 
those of them which are from the neighbourhood of Sydney. 
Var. A. In this, which is perhaps the most common variety, 
the ground colour is of a very pale sky-blue or bluish-white, with 
spots of lilac and numerous irregular markings of light brown 
equally distributed over the whole surface of the egg. Length 
from 16 to 20 lines; breadth from 13 to 15 lines. 
Var. B. Ground colour pale bluish or greenish-white, with long 
curved markings, smears, and dashes of reddish-brown. Length 
18 lines j breadth 13 lines. 
Yar. 0. When first emptied of the contents, the ground-colour 
of this variety is a beautiful light green, with deep rust-red 
