Order PASSERIFORMES. 
No. 23. 
Family MUSCICAPIDjE. 
PETROICA MULTICOLOR. 
» 
NORFOLK ISLAND ROBIN. 
(Plate 20.) 
Pethoica Swainson, Zool. IUustr., 2nd Ser., Vol. I., p. 39, 1829. Type (by monotypy) : Muscicapa 
multicolor Gmelin. 
Muscicapa multicolor Gmelin, Syst. Nat., Vol. I., pt. ii., p. 944, April 20th, 1789 : Norfolk 
Island. 
Red-bellied Flycatcher Latham, General Synops. Birds, Vol. II., pt. 1, p. 343, pi. l., 1783 ; id., 
General History Birds, Vol. VI., p. 209, pi. c., 1823 : Norfolk Island. 
Muscicapa midticolor Gmelin, Syst. Nat., Vol. I., pt. ii., p. 944, April 20th, 1789. 
Muscicapa erylhrogastra Latham, Index Ornith., Vol. II., p. 479, before Dec. 9th, 1790. New name 
for multicolor Gmelin. 
Rose-breasted Flycatcher Latham, Snppl. ii., Gen. Synops., p. 223, 1801 : New South Wales error 
=Norfolk Island. 
Muscicapa rhodogastra Latham, Index Ornith. Suppl., p. lii., after May 30th, 1801 : New South 
Wales error=Norfolk Island (Watling drawing No. 183). 
Petroica modesta Gould, Synops. Birds Austr. and Adj. Isl., pt. iv.. Append., p. 3, April 1838 : 
East coast of New Holland error=Norfolk Island. 
Petroica pulchdla Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1839, p. 142, March 1840 : Norfolk Island. 
Muscicapa dibaplia Forster, Descr. Anim. ed. Licht., p. 267, (pref. Jan.) 1844 : Norfolk Island. 
Petroica erytlirogastra Gould, Birds Austr., pt. xxvii., Vol. III., pi. 4, 1847 : Norfolk Island; id., 
Handb. Birds Austr., Vol. II., p. 526, 1865, Dec. 
Petroica multicolor Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., Vol. IV., p. 168, March 26th, 1879. 
Petroica midticolor multicolor Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 449, Jan. 1912 ; id., List Birds 
Austr., p. 321, Dec. 1913. 
Distribution. Norfolk Island. 
Adult male. Fore-head, to a line between the eyes, satiny-white ; remainder of the upper-surface, 
including the lores, deep black ; primary-quills and secondaries brownish-black ; a large 
patch of white on the secondary-coverts ; feathers of the rump very dense and fringed 
at the tips with white ; tail-feathers brownish-black, fringed at the extremity with w T hite ; 
sides of the face, ear-coverts, cheeks, chin and throat black ; sides of the neck, chest, 
breast and belly scarlet; middle of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white, as also the 
sides of the body ; under wing-coverts and axillaries also white ; under-surface of the 
quills ash-brown. Bill black, eyes dark grey, feet black tinged with greyish-brown. 
Total length 120 mm. : wing 73, culmen 11, tarsus 23, tail 48. Figured. Collected at Dixey, 
Norfolk Island, on the 9th of January, 1913. 
Adult female. Feathers at the base of the mandible brownish-white ; top of the head and back 
of the neck ash-brown ; scapulars, back and mantle dark olive-brown ; feathers of the 
rump very dense, Huffy, and dark olive-brown in colour, tipped at the extremity with 
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