Part 38

The male has the upper surface dark greyish olive-brown; head dark slate-grey; breast of a lighter grey; lores black; throat rust-red; under surface of the shoulder, centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts sandy buff; irides light brown; bill and feet black.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA SIMPLEX: Gould.

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

PACHYCEPHALA SIMPLEX, Gould. Plain-coloured Pachycephala.

Pachycephala simplex, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 135.

The Pachycephala simplex is a native of the north-western parts of Australia, but does not appear to be very numerous in any locality yet explored; Mr. Gilbert, who discovered it in the neighbourhood of Port Essington, states that it is of a very shy and retiring disposition, and that it is usually met with in pairs hopping and creeping about among the underwood or very thickly-foliaged trees, but may be more frequently seen in thickets situated in the midst of swamps or among the mangroves. In its mode of feeding and in many of its actions it greatly resembles the Flycatchers, but does not like them shake or move the tail. Its voice, which is peculiarly soft and mournful, consists of a single note four times repeated with rather lengthened intervals; this however appears to be its call-note only, for at other times it utters a somewhat pleasing and lengthened song; “but,” says Mr. Gilbert, “I never heard it emit that sharp terminating note, resembling the smack of a whip, which concludes the song of all the other species of the genus.”

The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects and seeds of various kinds.

It appears to breed during the months of December, January and February, for the ovarium of a female killed on the third of the last-mentioned month contained eggs very fully developed, and from the bare state of the breast appeared to have been already engaged in the task of incubation.

All the upper surface brown; under surface brownish white, with a very faint stripe of brown down the centre of each feather; irides light brown; bill and feet black.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PACHYCEPHALA OLIVACEA: Vig. & Horsf.

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

PACHYCEPHALA OLIVACEA, Vig. and Horsf. Olivaceous Pachycephala.

Pachycephala olivacea, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 241.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.

This species, the largest of the genus yet discovered, is a native of Van Diemen’s Land, where it inhabits forests and thick scrubby situations, and is very generally dispersed over the island from north to south; I observed it also on Flinders’ Island in Bass’s Straits, but no instance has come under my notice of its occurrence on the continent of Australia. It is rather recluse in its habits, and were it not for its oft-repeated, loud, sharp, liquid, whistling note, its presence would not often be detected. I usually met with it in the thickest parts of the forests, where it appeared to resort to the ground rather than to the branches, and to frequent gulleys and low swampy situations beneath the branches of the dwarf Eucalypti and other trees, with which its olive colouring so closely assimilated, that it was very difficult to perceive it.

Although I felt assured that the bird was breeding in many parts of the country, and made repeated attempts to discover its nest, I could never succeed in so doing; the eggs are therefore among the desiderata of my cabinet.

But little outward difference is observable in the sexes; the male is rather the largest and has the head of a sooty greyish brown, while the head of the female is olive-brown. The young resemble the female, and assume the adult colouring at an early age.

The stomachs of several specimens dissected were very muscular, and contained the remains of coleoptera and hemiptera mingled in some instances with small stones and seeds.

Crown of the head and ear-coverts dark brown; back, wings and tail chestnut-olive, the chestnut predominating on the back; throat greyish white, each feather tipped with brown; chest, abdomen and under tail-coverts reddish brown; bill black; irides reddish brown; feet mealy reddish brown.

The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.

COLLURICINCLA HARMONICA.

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

COLLURICINCLA HARMONICA. Harmonious Colluricincla.

Turdus harmonicus, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp. p. xli.

Harmonic Thrush, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 182.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 217.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 120.

Grey-headed Thrush, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. v. p. 118.

Collurincla cinerea, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 214.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pi. 71.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 374.—Ib. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 131.—Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 221.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 49.