Part 35

Pe-dil̈-me-dung, Aborigines of Western Australia.

Thunder Bird, Colonists of New South Wales.

It would seem that the whole extent of the southern coast of Australia is inhabited by the present species, for on comparing adult males from New South Wales, South Australia and Swan River, I find that they do not differ in any respect; the apical half of the tail is blackish brown in all, and the colouring of the under surface of the richest yellow. It is rather abundantly dispersed over the forests of Eucalypti and the belts of Acaciæ, among the flowering branches of which latter tribe of trees the male displays himself to the greatest advantage, and shows off his rich yellow breast as if desirous of outvieing the beautiful blossoms with which he is surrounded.

The stomach is very muscular, and its principal food consists of insects of various genera, which are sought for and captured both among the flowers and leaves as well as on the ground.

It is generally met with in pairs, but the males are more shy than the females. It flies in short and sudden starts, and seldom mounts far above the tops of the trees.

The voice of the male is a single note seven or eight times repeated, and terminating with a sharp higher note much resembling the smack of a whip; that of the female is very different, being a series of running half-notes, forming a rather plaintive tune.

Mr. Gilbert mentions that it is sparingly dispersed throughout the Swan River colony, but is more abundant in the best-watered districts, such as Perth and Fremantle.

I did not succeed in finding the nest of this species, but was informed that it breeds in September and October, and lays three or four eggs, ten and a half lines long by eight lines broad, with a ground-colour of brownish buff, sparingly streaked and spotted with reddish brown and bluish grey, the latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell.

The male has the crown of the head, lores, line beneath the eye, ear-coverts, and a crescent-shaped mark from the latter across the breast deep black; throat, within the black, white; back of the neck, a narrow line down each side of the chest behind the black crescent, and all the under surface gamboge-yellow; back and upper tail-coverts yellowish olive; wing-coverts blackish brown, margined with yellowish olive; primaries and secondaries blackish brown, margined with greyish olive; basal half of the tail grey, apical half blackish brown tipped with grey; irides dark brown; bill black; legs and feet blackish grey.

The female has the whole of the upper surface and tail greyish brown; primaries and secondaries brown, margined with grey; throat pale brown freckled with white; remainder of the under surface pale brown, passing into deep buff on the abdomen.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA GLAUCURA: Gould.

J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp. ]

PACHYCEPHALA GLAUCURA, Gould. Grey-tailed Pachycephala.

Pachycephala glaucura, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., March 25, 1845.

Pe-dil̈-me-dung, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

Although the present bird is very nearly allied to the P. gutturalis, it may be readily distinguished from that species by its larger size, by its shorter and more robust bill, by the uniform grey colouring of its tail, and by the lighter and more washy tint of the yellow of the under surface. Van Diemen’s Land and the islands in Bass’s Straits are the only countries in which it has yet been discovered, and where it takes the place of the P. gutturalis, which latter species appears to be exclusively confined to the Australian continent.

The P. glaucura frequents the vast forests of Eucalypti that cover the greater part of Van Diemen’s Land, and although it is rather thinly dispersed, is to be met with in every variety of situation, the crowns of the hills and the deep and most secluded gulleys being alike visited by it. It frequently descends to the ground in search of insects, but the leafy branches of the trees, particularly those of a low growth, are the situations to which it gives the preference.

The adult male, like most other birds of attractive plumage, is of a shy disposition; hence there is much more difficulty in obtaining a glimpse of it in the woods, than of the sombre-coloured and comparatively tame female, or even of the young males of the year, which during this period wear a similar kind of livery to that of the latter.

The actions of this species are somewhat peculiar, and unlike those of most other insectivorous birds: it pries about the leafy branches of the trees, and leaps from twig to twig in the most agile manner possible, making all the while a most scrutinizing search for insects, particularly coleoptera. When the male exposes himself, as he occasionally does, on some bare twig, the rich yellow of his plumage, offering a strong contrast to the green of the surrounding foliage, renders him a conspicuous and doubtless highly attractive object to his sombre-coloured mate, who generally accompanies him. Males in colour like those represented on the accompanying Plate seldom associate together, their recluse disposition leading them not only to avoid each other’s society, but also that of all other birds. It sometimes resorts to the gardens and shrubberies of the settlers, but much less frequently than might be supposed, when we consider that the neighbouring forests are its natural place of abode.

The voice of the Grey-tailed Pachycephala is a loud whistling call of a single note several times repeated, and by which the presence of the male is often detected when it would otherwise be passed by unnoticed. I was unsuccessful in my search for its nest, and the eggs are still a desideratum to my cabinet. I shot the young in various stages of plumage, and found them to differ so much that a more, than ordinarily minute description is necessary, in order that those who may not have an opportunity of seeing the bird in its native country may not be misled respecting it. Soon after leaving the nest the ground-colour of the entire plumage is grey, washed or stained as it were, both on the upper and under surface, with rusty or chestnut-red; this gradually gives place to a uniform olive-brown above and pale brown beneath, which being precisely the colouring of the adult females, the young birds in this stage and the old females are not to be distinguished from each other.

The adult male has the crown of the head, lores, space beneath the eye and a broad crescent-shaped mark from the latter across the breast deep black; throat, within the black, white; back of the neck, a narrow line down each side of the chest behind the black crescent and the under surface yellow; back and wing-coverts yellowish olive; wings dark slate-colour margined with grey; tail entirely grey; under tail-coverts white, or very slightly washed with yellow; irides reddish brown; bill black; feet dark brown.

The Plate represents two males and a female of the natural size, on one of the common Acacias of Van Diemen’s Land.

PACHYCEPHALA MELANURA: Gould.

J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp. ]

PACHYCEPHALA MELANURA, Gould. Black-tailed Pachycephala.

Pachycephala melanura, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 134.

The Pachycephala melanura is a native of the northern coasts of Australia, where it was procured by B. Bynoe, Esq., during the surveying voyage of H.M.S. the Beagle. It may be readily distinguished from the P. gutturalis and P. glaucura by the jet-black colouring of the tail, which organ is also shorter and more square than that of any other species, by its much longer bill, and by the colouring of the back of the neck and the under surface being richer than that of either of those above-named. I have not yet seen a female of this fine species, wanting which I have figured two males in different positions.