The Birds of Australia, Vol. 2 of 7

Part 1

THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

JOHN GOULD, F.R.S.,

F.L.S., F.Z.S., M.E.S., F.ETHN.S., F.R.GEOG.S., M. RAY S., HON. MEMB. OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF TURIN, OF THE ROY. ZOOL. SOC. OF IRELAND, OF THE PENZANCE NAT. HIST. SOC., OF THE WORCESTER NAT. HIST. SOC., OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM AND NEWCASTLE NAT. HIST. SOC., OF THE NAT. HIST. SOC. OF DARMSTADT AND OF THE TASMANIAN SOCIETY OF VAN DIEMEN’S LAND, ETC.

IN SEVEN VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 20, BROAD STREET, GOLDEN SQUARE.

1848.

LIST OF PLATES. VOLUME II.

Ægotheles Novæ-Hollandiæ Owlet Nightjar 1

—— leucogaster, Gould White-bellied Owlet Nightjar 2

Podargus humeralis, Vig. & Horsf. Tawny-shouldered Podargus 3

—— Cuvieri, Vig. & Horsf. Cuvier’s Podargus 4

—— Phalænoïdes, Gould Moth-plumaged Podargus 5

—— plumiferus, Gould Plumed Podargus 6

Eurostopodus albogularis White-throated Goat-sucker 7

—— guttatus Spotted Goat-sucker 8

Caprimulgus macrurus, Horsf. Large-tailed Goat-sucker 9

Acanthylis caudacuta Australian Spine-tailed Swallow 10

Cypselus Australis, Gould Australian Swift 11

Atticora leucosternon, Gould White-breasted Swallow 12

Hirundo neoxena, Gould Welcome Swallow 13

Collocalia arborea Tree Martin 14

—— Ariel, Gould Fairy Martin 15

Merops ornatus, Lath. Australian Bee-eater 16

Eurystomus Australis, Swains. Australian Roller 17

Dacelo gigantea Great Brown Kingfisher 18

Part 2

—— Leachii, Vig. & Horsf. Leach’s Kingfisher 19

—— cervina, Gould Fawn-breasted Kingfisher 20

Halcyon sanctus, Vig. & Horsf. Sacred Halcyon 21

—— pyrrhopygia, Gould Red-backed Halcyon 22

—— sordidus, Gould Sordid Halcyon 23

—— MacLeayii, Jard. & Selb. MacLeay’s Halcyon 24

Alcyone azurea Azure Kingfisher 25

—— pusilla Little Kingfisher 26

Artamus sordidus Wood Swallow 27

—— minor, Vieill. Little Wood Swallow 28

—— cinereus, Vieill. Grey-breasted Wood Swallow 29

—— albiventris, Gould White-vented Wood Swallow 30

—— personatus, Gould Masked Wood Swallow 31

—— superciliosus, Gould White-eyebrowed Wood Swallow 32

—— leucopygialis, Gould White-rumped Wood Swallow 33

Dicæum hirundinaceum Swallow Dicæum 34

Pardalotus punctatus Spotted Pardalote 35

—— rubricatus, Gould Red-lored Pardalote 36

—— quadragintus, Gould Forty-spotted Pardalote 37

—— striatus Striated Pardalote 38

—— affinis, Gould Allied Pardalote 39

—— melanocephalus, Gould Black-headed Pardalote 40

—— uropygialis, Gould Yellow-rumped Pardalote 41

Strepera graculina Great Crow-Shrike 42

—— fuliginosa, Gould Sooty Crow-Shrike 43

—— arguta, Gould Hill Crow-Shrike 44

—— Anaphonensis Grey Crow-Shrike 45

Gymnorhina Tibicen Piping Crow-Shrike 46

Part 3

—— leuconota, Gould White-backed Crow-Shrike 47

—— organicum, Gould Tasmanian Crow-Shrike 48

Cracticus nigrogularis, Gould Black-throated Crow-Shrike 49

—— picatus, Gould Pied Crow-Shrike 50

—— argenteus, Gould Silvery-backed Butcher-Bird 51

—— destructor Butcher-Bird 52

Cracticus Quoyii Quoy’s Crow-Shrike 53

Grallina Australis Pied Grallina 54

Graucalus melanops Black-faced Graucalus 55

—— mentalis, Vig. & Horsf. Varied Graucalus 56

—— hypoleucus, Gould White-bellied Graucalus 57

—— Swainsonii, Gould Swainson’s Graucalus 58

Pteropodocys Phasianella, Gould Ground Graucalus 59

Campephaga Jardinii, Gould Jardine’s Campephaga 60

—— Karu Northern Campephaga 61

—— leucomela, Vig. & Horsf. Black and White Campephaga 62

—— humeralis, Gould White-shouldered Campephaga 63

Pachycephala gutturalis Guttural Pachycephala 64

—— glaucura, Gould Grey-tailed Pachycephala 65

—— melanura, Gould Black-tailed Pachycephala 66

—— pectoralis Banded Thick-head 67

—— falcata, Gould Lunated Pachycephala 68

—— Lanoïdes, Gould Shrike-like Pachycephala 69

—— rufogularis, Gould Red-throated Pachycephala 70

—— Gilbertii, Gould Gilbert’s Pachycephala 71

—— simplex, Gould Plain-coloured Pachycephala 72

—— olivacea, Vig. & Horsf. Olivaceous Pachycephala 73

Colluricincla harmonica Harmonious Colluricincla 74

Part 4

—— rufiventris, Gould Buff-bellied Colluricincla 75

—— brunnea, Gould Brown Colluricincla 76

—— Selbii, Jard. Selby’s Colluricincla 77

—— parvula, Gould Little Colluricincla 78

Falcunculus frontatus Frontal Shrike-Tit 79

—— leucogaster, Gould White-bellied Shrike-Tit 80

Oreoïca gutturalis Crested Oreoïca 81

Dicrurus bracteatus, Gould Spangled Drongo 82

Rhipidura albiscapa, Gould White-shafted Fantail 83

—— rufifrons Rufous-fronted Fantail 84

—— isura, Gould Northern Fantail 85

—— Motacilloïdes, Vig. & Horsf. Black Fantailed Flycatcher 86

Seïsura inquieta Restless Flycatcher 87

Piezorhynchus nitidus, Gould Blue Shining Flycatcher 88

Myïagra plumbea, Vig. & Horsf. Plumbeous Flycatcher 89

—— concinna, Gould Pretty Flycatcher 90

—— nitida, Gould Shining Flycatcher 91

—— latirostris, Gould Broad-billed Flycatcher 92

Micrœca macroptera Great-winged Micrœca 93

—— flavigaster, Gould Yellow-bellied Micrœca 94

Monarcha carinata Carinated Flycatcher 95

—— trivirgata Black-fronted Flycatcher 96

Gerygone albogularis, Gould White-throated Gerygone 97

—— fuscus, Gould Fuscous Gerygone 98

—— culicivorus, Gould Western Gerygone 99

—— magnirostris, Gould Great-billed Gerygone 100

—— lævigaster, Gould Buff-breasted Gerygone 101

—— chloronotus, Gould Green-backed Gerygone 102

Part 5

Smicrornis brevirostris, Gould Short-billed Smicrornis 103

—— flavescens, Gould Yellow-tinted Smicrornis 104

ÆGOTHELES NOVÆ-HOLLANDIÆ: Vig. et Horsf.

J. & E. Gould del. C. Hullmandel Imp. ]

ÆGOTHELES NOVÆ-HOLLANDIÆ, Vig. and Horsf. Owlet Nightjar.

Crested Goat-sucker, Phill. Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 270.

Caprimulgus Novæ-Hollandiæ, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 588.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 265.—Ib. Man., t. i. p. 412.—Vieill. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., t. x. p. 234.

—— cristatus, Shaw in White’s Voy., pl. in p. 241.

New Holland Goat-sucker, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 261.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 170.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 341.

Bristled Goat-sucker, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 342.

Caprimulgus vittatus, Ib. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lviii.

Banded Goat-sucker, Ib. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 262, pl. 136.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 152, pl. 17.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 342, pl. cxv.

Ægotheles Novæ-Hollandiæ, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 197.—De la Fresn. in Guerin, Mag. de Zool. 1838, p. 21, pl. 82.

—— lunulatus, Jard. and Selby, Ill. Orn., vol. iii. pl. 149.

—— Australis, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 338.

—— cristatus, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, p. 7.

Little Mawepawk, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land. Teringing, Aborigines of the coast of New South Wales.

This very interesting little Nightjar is subject to great variation in the colour and markings of its plumage, a circumstance which has tended to produce much confusion, and greatly to increase the list of synonyms.

It possesses a great range of habitat, being found in every part of Van Diemen’s Land, and throughout the southern portion of Australia, from Swan River on the western coast to Moreton Bay on the eastern; time, and the continued exploration of that vast country, can alone determine how far it may be found to the northward: it is a stationary species, inhabiting alike the densest brushes near the coast, and the more thinly-wooded districts of the interior.

While rambling in the Australian forests I had the good fortune to meet with more than an ordinary number of specimens of this curious bird. I also procured its eggs, and considerable information respecting its habits and actions, which differ most remarkably from those of the true Caprimulgidæ, and on the other hand assimilate so closely to the smaller Owls, particularly those comprised in the genus Athene, as to form as perfect an analogical representative of that group of birds as can possibly be imagined, for which reason the English name of Owlet Nightjar has been assigned to it.

During the day it resorts to the hollow branches or spouts as they are called, and the holes of the gum-trees, sallying forth as night approaches in quest of insects, particularly the smaller Coleoptera, upon which it chiefly subsists. Its flight is straight, and not characterized by the sudden turns and descents of Caprimulgus. On driving it from its haunts I have sometimes observed it to fly direct to a similar hole in another tree, but more frequently to alight on a neighbouring branch, perching across and never parallel to it. When assailed in its retreat it emits a loud hissing noise, and has the same stooping motion of the head observable in the Owls; it also resembles that tribe of birds in its erect carriage, the manner in which it sets out the feathers round the ears and neck, and in the power it possesses of turning the head in every direction, even over the back, a habit it is constantly practising. A pair I had for some time in captivity were frequently leaping to the top of the cage, and had a singular mode of running or shuffling backwards to one corner of it.

While traversing the woods, the usual mode of ascertaining its presence is by tapping with a stone or a tomahawk at the base of the hollow trees, when the little inmate, as represented in the upper figure of our Plate, will almost invariably ascend to the outlet and peep over to ascertain the cause of disturbance. If the tree be lofty or its hole inaccessible, it will frequently retire again to its hiding-place, and there remain until the annoyance be repeated, when it flies off to a place of greater security. In these holes, without forming any nest, it deposits its eggs, which are four or five in number, perfectly white, nearly round, and about one inch and a line in length and eleven lines in breadth. At least two broods are reared by each pair of birds during the year. I have known the young to be taken in Van Diemen’s Land in October, and in New South Wales I have procured eggs in January.

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