Part 41

POËPHILA CINCTA: Gould.

J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp. ]

POËPHILA CINCTA, Gould. Banded Grass Finch.

Amadina cincta, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 105.

This species is tolerably abundant on the Liverpool Plains, and the open country to the northward towards the interior. It occurs so rarely on the sea side of the ranges, that I only once met with it during my sojourn in New South Wales. It is doubtless a native of the great basin of the interior, where, like the P. acuticauda and P. personata, it frequents those parts of the open plains which abound in grasses, upon the seeds of which and other plants it mostly subsists. The range of this species is entirely unknown; I have never seen a specimen except from the localities above mentioned.

Crown of the head and back of the neck grey; ear-coverts and sides of the neck silvery grey; throat and lores black; back, chest and abdomen chestnut-brown; wings the same, but darker; lower part of the body surrounded by a black band; tail-coverts white; tail black; bill black; irides reddish brown; eyelash blackish brown; feet pink-red.

The female differs from her mate by all her markings being much more obscurely defined.

The figure is that of a male of the natural size.

DONACOLA CASTANEOTHORAX: Gould.

J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp. ]

DONACOLA CASTANEOTHORAX, Gould. Chestnut-breasted Finch.

Amadina castaneothorax, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

Judging from the extreme rarity of this species in European collections, its true locality can scarcely as yet have been visited by naturalists. I observed several specimens in the Museum at Sydney; these, as well as those I possess, were obtained at Moreton Bay; the productions of which part of Australia are less known than might have been expected, considering how long it has been colonized. I had not the good fortune to meet with this bird in a state of nature, but I have been informed that it frequents reed-beds on the banks of rivers and lagoons, and that it much resembles the Bearded Tit (Calamophila biarmicus) of Europe, in the alertness with which it passes up and down the upright stems of the reeds, from the lower part to the very top, a habit for which the lengthened and curved form of its claws seems well adapted.

The sexes appear to differ but little in colouring; in some individuals, however, the cheeks and throat are black instead of brown, a character doubtless dependent on age or season.

I have not as yet seen this bird from the northern or western coast.

Crown of the head and back of the neck grey, the centre of each feather being brown; cheeks, throat and ear-coverts blackish brown in some specimens, each feather slightly tipped with pale buff; upper surface and wings reddish brown; upper tail-coverts orange; tail brown, margined with paler brown; across the chest a broad band of pale chestnut, bounded below by a line of black, which gradually widens towards the flanks, along which it is continued for some distance; the remainder of the feathers on this part white, with a spot of blackish brown at the extremity of each; abdomen white; thighs black; under tail-coverts white, with a spot of blackish brown at the extremity of each; bill black; feet brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

DONACOLA PECTORALIS: Gould

J. Gould and H. C. Richter del^t. C. Hullmandel Imp. ]

DONACOLA PECTORALIS, Gould. White-breasted Finch.

Amadina pectoralis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 127.

For two beautiful specimens of this entirely new Finch I am indebted to E. Dring, Esq., of the Beagle, who procured them on the north-west coast of Australia: no notes of their habits or economy having been forwarded with the specimens, I am unable to give any particulars respecting them.

In structure and in the general disposition of its markings, the White-breasted Finch offers a considerable resemblance to the Donacola castaneothorax of the eastern coast, and in all probability they are analogues of each other, in accordance with a law which appears very generally to prevail among the birds of Australia; each great division of this vast country having its own peculiar species.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface and wings delicate greyish brown; the tips of the wing-coverts very minutely spotted with white; tail blackish brown; throat and ear-coverts glossy blackish purple; chest crossed by a band of feathers, black at the base, largely tipped with white; abdomen and under tail-coverts vinous grey; flanks ornamented with a few feathers similar to those crossing the breast; bill bluish horn-colour; feet flesh-colour.

The figures in the Plate are of the natural size, and are supposed to represent the two sexes; the principal figure the male.

DONACOLA FLAVIPRYMNA: Gould.

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

DONACOLA FLAVIPRYMNA, Gould. Yellow-rumped Finch.