Part 28

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

ACANTHIZA PYRRHOPYGIA, Gould. Red-rumped Acanthiza.

Acanthiza pyrrhopygia, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., 1847.

This species differs from the Acanthizæ Diemenensis, pusilla, Ewingii, and apicalis, in having a shorter and more robust bill, and in the greater depth of the red colouring on the rump and upper tail-coverts; it also differs from the three former in having the tail tipped with white, in which respect it assimilates to the A. apicalis and A. uropygialis, to the former of which it is most nearly allied.

I discovered this species in the Belts of the Murray, where it inhabits the small shrubby trees; upon first seeing it, I at once perceived that it was a distinct species by the red colouring of the rump, which showed very conspicuously at the distance of several yards, and also by the peculiarity of its note. In its actions it very closely assimilates to the other members of the genus, being an alert and quick little bird, carrying its tail above the level of the back, and showing the red colouring of the coverts to the greatest advantage. I succeeded in killing both sexes, and found that they exhibit no outward difference, and are only to be distinguished with certainty by dissection.

All the upper surface and wings olive-brown, the feathers of the forehead margined with buff; wings brown with pale edges; throat white, each feather margined with black; abdomen whitish; flanks pale buff; upper tail-coverts rufous; tail olive, crossed by a broad band of black, and tipped on the outer webs with pale olive, on the inner webs with white; bill blackish brown, under mandible somewhat lighter; feet brown; irides reddish brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA INORNATA: Gould.

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

ACANTHIZA INORNATA, Gould. Plain-coloured Acanthiza.

Acanthiza inornata, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 171.

Djo-b̏ul-djo-b̏ul, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

Although neither elegant in form nor characterized by any beauty of plumage, the present little bird demands as much of our attention as any other species of the group. Its true habitat seems to be the south-western parts of Australia, for it is numerously dispersed over the colony of Swan River; it is equally abundant at King George’s Sound; and as I killed specimens on the small low islands at the mouths of Spencer’s and St. Vincent’s Gulfs, it is most probable that its range extends all along the coast between those localities. Independently of its plainer colouring, the truncated form of its tail serves at once to distinguish it from the Acanthiza apicalis, with which it is often seen in company; unlike the latter bird however it does not erect its tail, but carries it in a line with the body.

Its note is a little feeble song somewhat resembling that of the Maluri. It feeds solely on minute insects of various kinds, in searching for which it assumes the usual clinging and prying positions of other insectivorous birds which seek their food among the leaves and branches of shrubs and trees.

It breeds in November; the nest, which is of a domed form, being placed in some low shrub, often in that of the jam-wood, and composed of grasses lined with a few feathers.

The eggs are five in number, and of a white colour, slightly tinged with greenish grey; they measure seven and a half lines long by five and a half lines broad.

No visible difference is observable in the outward appearance of the sexes.

All the upper surface, wings and tail olive-brown; primaries dark brown; tail crossed by a broad band of brownish black; all the under surface light buff; irides greenish white; bill and feet black.

The figures are those of a male and a female of the natural size.

ACANTHIZA NANA: Vig. & Horsf.

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

ACANTHIZA NANA, Vig. & Horsf. Little Acanthiza.

Dwarf Warbler, var. A.? Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 134. No. 161.

Acanthiza nana, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 226.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 283.

This little bird, which is very generally distributed over the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia, inhabits the extremities of the branches of the various trees, without, so far as I could observe, evincing a partiality for any particular kind; the Casuarinæ on the banks of creeks, the Eucalypti of the plains, and the belts of Banksiæ being equally resorted to by it. Insects of various orders constitute its sole food, and in the capture of these it exhibited many lively and varied actions, which strongly reminded me of those of the Regulus cristatus of our own island: that, like its near allies, it may occasionally resort to the ground for food, I think very likely, yet I do not recollect having seen it in such situations.

The nest is a neat domed structure with a small entrance near the top, and is composed of fine grasses; its site varies according to circumstances, but is generally among the smaller branches of the trees. The number and colour of its eggs are at present unknown.

As its name implies, and as will be seen on reference to the Plate, the Acanthiza nana is one of the more diminutive, although not the least of the Australian birds.

There is no outward difference by which the sexes can be distinguished, neither do they undergo any seasonal change, nor is there any great variation in the colouring of the young and the adult.