Part 22

Its food consists of insects of various kinds, and like many insectivorous birds, I believe it seldom if ever drinks, not even during the greatest droughts.

The sexes present no visible difference in their plumage.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail brown; lower part of the rump and upper tail-coverts chestnut-red; all but the two centre tail-feathers crossed near the tip with a broad band of black, beyond which the tips are greyish white; line over the eye and all the under surface greyish white, each feather of the latter with a line of black down the centre, except on the middle of the abdomen bill dark brown; irides buffy white; legs flesh-brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

HYLACOLA CAUTA: Gould.

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

HYLACOLA CAUTA, Gould. Cautious Wren.

Hylacola cauta, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 135.

The only locality in which I have seen this species is the great scrub clothing the banks of the river Murray in South Australia, where it was not uncommon, but so excessively shy that I obtained a single specimen only during my stay in the district. Its timidity being so great, and its natural habitat the more dense parts of the scrub, it is a species which must for a long time be exceedingly scarce in our collections. The individual killed was fired at within a few yards of where I stood, it being impossible to sight it at a greater distance.

With the exception of its being even more shy, its whole habits and economy appeared to be very similar to those of the preceding species (H. pyrrhopygia). It carries its tail perfectly erect, and hops over the ground and threads the bushes with the greatest alacrity; generally keeping among the more dense parts of the low bushes, and only exposing itself on the outermost twigs when desirous of pouring forth its song, which is sweet and harmonious, and by which its presence is more frequently detected than by any other means.

I could neither find the nest and eggs myself nor obtain any information respecting them; but I have no doubt that when discovered the nest will be found to be of a domed form, with a small hole for an entrance, and the eggs very similar to those of the Maluri. In size the H. cauta is rather less than the H. pyrrhopygia, has the markings of the under surface much bolder, and the chestnut-coloured mark on the rump of a much deeper tint.

Line from the base of the upper mandible along the side of the face and over the eye white; above this a narrow line of black; crown of the head and all the upper surface brown; upper and under tail-coverts bright chestnut; wing-coverts brown, edged with brownish white; primaries brown, with the outer web white at the base, forming a conspicuous spot in the centre of the wing; tail blackish brown, tipped with white; throat striated with black and white, produced by each feather being black down the centre and fringed with white; flanks mottled brown and white; abdomen white; hill dark brown; irides buffy white; feet flesh-brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA MAGNA: Gould.

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

CYSTICOLA MAGNA, Gould. Cysticola campestris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p. 20.

I am indebted to the kindness of Hugh E. Strickland, Esq., for the loan of a fine example of this bird for the purpose of figuring in the present work. It is one of the largest species of the group, and hence I have assigned to it the distinctive appellation of magna. Nothing whatever is known of its habits and manners, but we may reasonably infer that they are very similar to those of its congeners. The precise locality it inhabits is also unknown; Mr. Strickland having obtained it from a general collection of Australian birds, without the situation in which it had been procured being attached to it.

Head rusty red; back and wing-coverts brownish grey; all the feathers of the upper surface with a broad stripe of dark brown down the centre; wings blackish brown, the primaries margined externally with rusty red and the secondaries edged all round with brownish grey; tail reddish brown, all but the two centre feathers with a large spot of black near the tip; all the under surface pale buff.

The Plate represents the bird of the natural size.

CYSTICOLA EXILIS.

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

CYSTICOLA EXILIS. Exile Warbler.

Exile Warbler, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 136.

Malurus exilis, Lath. MSS. Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 223.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 279.

This species appears to have been first noticed by Latham in the seventh volume of his “General History of Birds” under the title of Exile Warbler, and to have been subsequently placed in the genus Cysticola by Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield while engaged in naming the collection of Australian birds in the possession of the Linnean Society. Its natural habitat is New South Wales and South Australia, in both of which colonies I observed it to be abundantly dispersed among the thick beds of grasses which clothe the valleys and open plains. I have never received it from either of the other colonies, all of which, however, are inhabited by nearly allied species. It is very retiring in its habits, generally creeping about among the grasses, and will almost admit of being trodden upon before it will rise and take wing; during the months of spring the male becomes somewhat bolder, and early in the morning will frequently perch on the highest of the grasses and pour forth a pretty but feeble song, resembling that of the Maluri. As some confusion existed respecting the sexes of the various species of this genus, I was particular in dissecting all the individuals I shot, and I can therefore state with certainty that the plumage of both sexes of this species is perfectly similar and that the only outward difference between them consists in the female being somewhat smaller than her mate.

I was not able to discover the nest and eggs of this little bird, which doubtless breeds among the grasses, and builds a dome-shaped nest similar to that of its European ally.

Crown of the head, back, wing-coverts, scapularies and tail-feathers brownish black, each feather narrowly margined with buff; sides and back of the neck and all the under surface sandy buff, fading into white on the throat and centre of the abdomen; bill and feet flesh-brown.

The figure represents the bird of the natural size.