Part 50

GERYGONE CULICIVORUS, Gould. Western Gerygone.

Psilopus culicivorus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 174.

War̈-ryle-bur-dang, Aborigines of the lowlands of Western Australia.

This species is plentifully dispersed over the colony of Swan River in Western Australia, where it inhabits forests, scrubs, and all situations where flowering-trees abound, and where it is seen either in pairs or in small groups of four or five in number. Its food consists wholly of aphides and other small insects, which are captured on the wing or from off the flowers; it sometimes traverses the smaller branches, and even the upright boles of trees, prying about and searching for its prey with the most scrutinizing care. Its powers of flight are rarely exerted for any other purpose than to convey it from shrub to shrub, and for its little sallies in pursuit of insects, much after the manner of the true Flycatchers.

Its notes are very varied, being at one time a singing kind of whistle, and at others a somewhat pleasing and plaintive melody; but it has a singular habit of uttering, when flitting from tree to tree, a succession of notes and half-notes, some of which are harmoniously blended, while others are equally discordant, and resemble a person producing notes at random on an instrument with which he is unacquainted.

It is said by the natives to breed in September and October.

The nest is suspended by the top to the extremity of a branch, and is formed of threads of bark, small spiders’ nests, green moss, &c., all felted together with cobwebs and vegetable fibres, and warmly lined with feathers; it is about eight inches in length, pointed at the top and at the bottom, and about nine inches in circumference in the middle; the entrance is a small round hole, about three inches from the top, with a slight projection immediately above it. I did not succeed in procuring the eggs.

The sexes are alike in plumage.

All the upper surface olive-brown; wings brown margined with olive; two centre tail-feathers brown; the remainder white, crossed by an irregular band of black and tipped with brown, the band upon all but the external feathers so blending with the brown at the tip that the white between merely forms a spot on the inner web; lores blackish brown; line over the eye, throat and chest light grey, passing into buff on the flanks, and into white on the centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts; irides light reddish yellow; bill and feet black.

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

GERYGONE MAGNIROSTRIS: Gould.

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

GERYGONE MAGNIROSTRIS, Gould. Great-billed Gerygone.

Gerygone magnirostris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 133.

Of this species I regret to say but little information has as yet been received; the two examples in my collection are all that have come under my notice, and these were shot by Mr. Gilbert on Greenhill Island near Port Essington, while hovering over the blossoms of the mangroves and engaged in capturing the smaller kinds of insects upon which it feeds, during which occupation he observed that it gave utterance to an extremely weak twittering song: unfortunately he had no further opportunity of making himself acquainted with its habits and manners, which, however, doubtless resemble those of the other members of the genus.

All the upper surface brown; margins of the primaries slightly tinged with olive; tail-feathers crossed near the extremity by an indistinct broad band of brownish black; all the under surface white, tinged with brownish buff; irides light brown; bill olive-brown; the base of the lower mandible pearl-white; feet greenish grey.

The Plate represents male and female of the natural size.

GERYGONE LÆVIGASTER: Gould.

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

GERYGONE LÆVIGASTER, Gould. Buff-breasted Gerygone.

Gerygone lævigaster, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 133.

Mr. Gilbert killed several specimens of this little bird on the Cobourg Peninsula, and on the islands in Van Diemen’s Gulf, and sometimes observed a solitary individual among the mangroves near the settlement of Port Essington. He states that it has a very pleasing but weak piping note, and occasionally utters a number of notes in slow succession, but not so much lengthened as those of the Gerygone culicivorus of Swan River; like that bird it hovers up and down the smaller branches of the trees and creeps about the thickets. It is very tame, and scarcely ever flies from the tree upon the approach of an intruder, but sits turning its little head about from side to side until the hand is almost upon it, when it merely hops upon another branch and again quietly looks about, apparently quite unconcerned.

The stomach is tolerably muscular, and the food consists of small insects, principally of the soft-winged kinds.

A narrow obscure line, commencing at the nostrils and passing over the eye, yellowish white; all the upper surface rusty brown; primaries brown, margined with lighter brown; tail whitish at the base, gradually deepening into nearly black, the lateral feather largely, and the remainder, except the two middle ones, slightly tipped with white; all the under surface white, slightly washed with yellow; irides light reddish brown; bill olive-brown; base of lower mandible light ash-grey; feet dark greenish grey.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

GERYGONE CHLORONOTUS: Gould.

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

GERYGONE CHLORONOTUS, Gould. Green-backed Gerygone.