650 
Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on a 
XXXIV.— -On a Collection of Birds from Western Australia. 
By W. R. Ogilvie-Grant. With Field-notes by 
Mr. G. C. Shortridge. 
(Plate IX.) 
The following paper is based on a fine collection of West 
Australian birds presented by Mr. W. E. Balston to the 
British Museum (Natural History). The specimens were 
collected by Mr. G. C. Shortridge in the South-western, 
Central, and Western Divisions of Western Australia, and 
form a particularly valuable addition to the National Collec¬ 
tion, all being carefully labelled and bearing full particulars. 
In addition to the measurements taken in the flesh and the 
notes on the colours of the soft parts to be found on the 
labels, Mr. Shortridge has supplied a number of field-notes. 
The collection of Australian birds in the British Museum 
is, according to our modern ideas, of little use for scientific 
purposesfor, almost without exception, the skins are badly 
prepared and in hardly any instance do the labels bear any 
information except some vague locality, such as ts South 
Australia,” while the sex and date of capture are almost 
invariably wanting. 
The importance of the u Balston Collection ” cannot 
.therefore be over-estimated, as, for the first time, it enables 
us to examine series of specimens with full data. As was 
to be expected, several of the forms procured by Mr. Short¬ 
ridge prove to be new, and most of these will be found 
among the Passeres which are described in the following 
pages. The novelties include Certhionyx occidentalis, Zos- 
terops shortridgei, Z. balstoni, Climacteris wellsi, Malurus 
bernieri, and Sericornis balstoni. 
The following is a list of the localities visited and collected 
in by Mr. Shortridge :— 
Rabbit Island, King George’s 3ound, South-Western Division, 
West Australia. 
Big Grove, King George’s Sound. 
Woyaline, King George’s Sound. 
Ovster Harbour, King George’s Sound. 
Pelican Point, King George’s Sound. 
