Part 7

The male has the forehead silvery white; a small patch on the wings near the shoulder, under wing-coverts, the flanks and under tail-coverts white; chest and abdomen very rich scarlet, the remainder of the plumage deep black; bill black; feet brown.

The female has the crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail reddish brown; throat white, tinged with brown; chest and centre of the abdomen washed with scarlet; lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; flanks brown; bill blackish brown; feet yellowish brown.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

PETROICA GOODENOVII: Jard. and Selb.

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

PETROICA GOODENOVII, Jard. and Selb. Red-capped Robin.

Muscicapa Goodenovii, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 245.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pl. 8, fig. 2.

Petroica Goodenovii, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., Add., vol. ii.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

Mȅ-ne-gȅ-dang, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

Red-capped Robin of the Colonists.

The red crown and much smaller size of this beautiful Robin at once distinguishes it from every other species of the genus yet discovered. Although not plentiful in any part I have visited, it is very generally distributed over the whole of the southern portion of Australia. I have observed it myself in South Australia and in New South Wales, and Mr. Gilbert killed it in Western Australia, where, however, it is very local, for he only met with it in two spots, one in the York district and the other at Kojonup, about one hundred miles towards the interior from King George’s Sound. I have not yet heard of its being an inhabitant of the northern portion of the country.

I generally observed it either singly or in pairs, and it appeared to give a decided preference to the beds of dry rivulets, and to thinly timbered plains, the dense brushes near the coast never being visited by it; it would seem therefore to be a species peculiar to the interior of the country.

The whole of the actions and economy of this bird so closely assimilate to those of the Petroica multicolor, that it is unnecessary to repeat a description of them here; of its nidification no information has yet been obtained; but in this respect also it doubtless closely resembles the same species.

It possesses a peculiarly sweet and plaintive song, very much like that of the European Robin, but more weak and not so continuous.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds.

The male has the upper surface, neck, upper part of the breast and wings brownish black; wing-coverts and secondaries edged with white, forming a broad stripe along the wings; middle of the outer web of the quills with a narrow white margin; forehead, crown, and lower part of the breast bright scarlet, passing into white on the vent; irides, bill and feet blackish brown; soles of the feet yellow.

The female, as is the case with the females of the other species, differs much from her mate in the colouring of the plumage, which difference will be more clearly perceived in the accompanying illustration than by the most minute description.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PETROICA PHŒNICEA: Gould.

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

PETROICA PHŒNICEA, Gould. Flame-breasted Robin.

Petroica phœnicea, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 105; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

Van Diemen’s Land and the south-eastern portion of the Australian continent constitute the natural habitat of this species; in the former country it is very common, but in New South Wales and South Australia it is not so numerous, and is very local. It is far less arboreal than the Petroica multicolor, giving a decided preference to open wastes and cleared lands rather than to the woods: in many of its actions it much resembles the Wheatears and other true Saxicoline birds, often selecting a large stone, clod of earth or other substance, on which to perch and show off its flame-coloured breast to the greatest advantage. As the season of nidification approaches it retires to the forests for the purpose of breeding, building its cup-shaped nest in the chink of a tree, in the cleft of a rock, or any similar situation. It is a very familiar species, seeking rather than shunning the presence of man, and readily taking up its abode in his gardens, orchards, and other cultivated grounds. It is to be found in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town at all seasons of the year, and I have even taken its nest from a shelving bank in the streets of the town.

Its food consists of insects of various kinds, which are principally procured on the surface of the ground.

It has a pretty cheerful song, uttered somewhat low and inwardly; the male generally sings over or near the female while she is sitting upon her eggs.

The nest, which is thick and warm, is formed of narrow strips and thread-like fibres of soft bark, matted together with cobwebs and sometimes wool, and lined with hair and feathers, or occasionally with fine hair-like grasses. The general colour of the eggs is greenish white, spotted and freckled with purplish and chestnut-brown: much variety occurs in these markings, some assuming the form of large bold irregular spots and blotches, while in others they are merely minute freckles; the eggs are three in number; their medium length nine lines, and breadth seven lines.

I have not yet satisfied myself respecting the changes which this species undergoes, or what time elapses before it assumes the red garb; some individuals certainly breed while in the brown dress, and they may frequently be heard singing while clothed in this sombre-coloured plumage; the Petroica multicolor, on the contrary, would appear to obtain its red breast during the first autumn, as I have a specimen killed on the 8th of February with a fine red breast, while the colouring of the other parts of its plumage is indicative of immaturity.

The male has the crown of the head and all the upper surface sooty grey, except a small white spot across the forehead, a patch of the same colour on the shoulders and the anterior edges of the tertials; primaries and tail-feathers greyish black, except the outer feathers of the latter, which are nearly all white; the second tail-feather on each side is also tinged with white; upper part of the throat sooty grey, the rest of the under surface rich scarlet; under tail-coverts white; irides, bill and feet black.