HEMIPODIUS SCINTILLANS, Gould.
Sparkling Hemipode.
Hemipodius scintillans, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p. 62.
This very beautiful species of Hemipode is an inhabitant of the Houtman’s Abrolhos, a group of islands so called lying off the western coast of Australia, and is tolerably abundant on two of them named East and West Wallaby Islands, where it is principally met with among the limestone crags.
In its general appearance and the style of its markings it much resembles the Hemipodius varius, but on comparison will be found to be but little more than half the size of that species; independently of which, the colouring is much lighter, more varied and sparkling, the white margins of the back-feathers more numerous and conspicuous, and the markings of the throat and breast of a crescentic instead of an elongated form.
Nothing whatever is known of its habits and economy, but they doubtless closely resemble those of the other species of the genus.
The whole of the upper surface is light chestnut-red, each feather crossed by broad bars of brownish black and margined with grey, within which are two narrow lines of black and white; wing-coverts and tertiaries light chestnut-red, crossed by irregular zigzag bars of black, the interspaces of the outer margins greyish white; chin and sides of the face white, with a narrow crescent-shaped mark of brown at the tip of each feather; sides of the chest chestnut, each feather tipped with white, within which is an indistinct mark of deep black; chest and under surface pale buffy white, the feathers of the chest with a row of dark grey spots on each margin, giving that part a speckled appearance; primaries brown, narrowly edged with white; irides reddish yellow; bill greenish grey, darkest on the culmen and becoming ashy grey beneath; legs and feet orange-yellow.
The figures are of the natural size.