Order PASSERIFORMES . 
No. 65. 
Family SYLVIIDM. 
CISTICOLA JUNCIDIS. 
(normani) 
FANTAIL WARBLER. 
(Plate 45.) 
Cisticola Kaup, Skizz. Entwick. Gesch. Nat. Syst., p. 119, 1829, pref. April. Type (by 
tautonymy): Sylvia cisticola Temminck. 
Sylvia juncidis Rafinesque, Caratteri Ale. nuovi. Gen. Spec. Anim. Sicilia, p. 6, spec. 10, 1809 : 
Sicily (fig. Gould, Europe, pi. 113 ; Dresser, Yol. III., pi. 96). 
Cisticola cisticola Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., Yol. VII., p. 259, 1883, pref. July 1st. 
Cisticola exilis normani Mathews, Austral. Av. Rec., Vol. II., p. 98, Sept. 24th, 1914 : Norman 
River, West Queensland; Mathews, Emu, Vol. XXVI., pt. in., p. 223, Jan. 1927 ; id.. 
Birds Austr., Vol. XII., pt. 10, p. 430, Eeb. 8th, 1927 : Normanton. 
Distribution. Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. 
Adult male. Top of the head olive-brown, some of the feathers indistinctly margined with 
lighter-olive ; a narrow white eye-brow continued on to the lores ; back of the neck and 
upper mantle ash-grey, each feather bordered with olive-yellow ; feathers of the mantle 
blackish-brown, margined with whitish-buff ; lower back and rump rusty-rufous ; upper 
tail-coverts brownish-black, margined with yellowish-white ; wings ash-brown, narrowly 
margined on the outer web with whitish ; middle tail-feathers ash-grey, broadly barred 
towards the extremity with black and tipped with greyish-white ; third innermost pairs 
of tail-feathers with a large oval spot of rust-colour on the inner web and with a broad 
bar of black across the extremity, tipped with white ; under-parts white, washed with rufous 
on the sides of the body; iris hazel ; bill grey ; feet pink. Total length 90 mm. : 
exposed culmen 9, wing 49, tail 29, tarsus 19'5. Eigured. Collected at Normanton, 
Queensland, on the 27th of March, 1914. Summer plumage. 
Adult female in summer plumage more like that of the winter plumage of both sexes. 
Adult female. Top of the head light straw-colour with ven r broad streaks of black from the base 
of the culmen over the head to the neck ; back of the neck and upper mantle golden-brown, 
each feather with brownish middles ; back and scapulars deep brownish-black, bordered all 
round with pale straw-colour ; lower back and rump rusty-rufous ; upper tail-coverts 
rusty-rufous but with a broad mesial streak of dark brown ; primaries and secondaries 
ash-brown, bordered on the outer web with tawny-rufous ; middle pairs of tail-feathers 
dark blackish-brown, margined on both webs and broadly tipped with rufous ; remainder 
of the tail-feathers dull blackish-brown, widely barred with black towards the extremity ; 
tips of the feathers broadly white ; under-surface white, very strongly washed with rich 
rufous down the sides of the body and flanks ; iris grey ; bill pale horn-colour ; feet pale 
flesh-colour. Total length 95 mm. : exposed culmen 9, wing 45, tail 35, tarsus 19. 
Eigured. Female collected at Normanton, Queensland, on the 29th ofApril, 1914. 
Winter. In the winter the sexes are alike. 
I added this form to the Australian List in January, 1927, in the Emu, 
Vol. XXVI., pt. in., p. 223. Admiral H. Lynes, who has monographed this 
genus, drew my attention to birds in my collection at Tring which I had 
treated as sub-species of Cisticola exilis. 
125 
