84 
MTJSCIOAPIDJE. 
inches; bill from forehead 1 inch. A specimen of C. parvissima 
from Cape York measures G'5 inches in length ; wing, 3-7 inches; 
tail, 3 inches; bill from forehead, 0-87 inch. 
A nest of this species, from the same district, is similar to 
those of the other members of the genus, being an open cup-shaped 
structure composed of strips of bark, lined with grasses ; the eggs, 
two in number for a sitting, are pearly-white, spotted all over 
with slate and umber-brown, with obsolete markings of deep 
bluish-grey. Length (A) 0'97 x 0-7 inch; (B) OOG x 0'7 inch. 
I lab. Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York, Rockingham Bay, South 
Coast New Guinea. {Ramsay.) 
Family MUSCICAPIDiE. 
Genus EHIPIDUEA, Vigors and IJorsfield. 
RHIPIDURA ALBISCAPA, Gould. 
White-shafted Pantail. 
Gould, Ilandblc. Bds. Aust., Yol. i., sp. 134, p. 238. 
This lively and interesting little bird is plentifully distributed 
throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South 
Australia, and although it has nothing to recommend it in the 
sombre tints of its plumage, the remarkable shape of its nest 
attaches to it an interest that renders it oneof the most conspicuous 
of the smaller birds of the Australian bush. 
A nest of this species now before me is funnol-shaped, or like a 
wine glass with the base broken oft; it is composed of strips of 
very fine bark closely interwoven and securely held together on 
the outside with spider’s web, which is neatly wound round 
the exterior portion of the nest proper, the thin branch on which 
it is placed and the upper portion of the stem-like appendage 
which extends below the branch from the bottom of the nest; 
the lower portion of the stem is ragged at the end, and just 
sufficient web placed around it to hold together the fine shreds of 
