Family PARADISEIDÆ, G. R. Gray.

I certainly consider the accounts I have given of the extraordinary habits of the Chlamyderæ and Ptilonorhynchi as some of the most valuable and interesting portions of my work, and however incredible they may appear I am happy to say they have been fully confirmed by other observers.

Genus Chlamydera, Gould.

Generic characters.

Bill moderate, culmen elevated, and arched to the tip which is emarginated, compressed on the sides; gonys slightly advancing upwards; nostrils basal, lateral, exposed, rounded, and pierced in a membrane; wings long and pointed, first primary short, second primary shorter than the third and fourth, which are equal, and the longest; tail long and slightly rounded; tarsi robust, defended anteriorly with broad scuta; toes long and strong; outer toe longer than the inner, hind-toe long and robust; claws long, curved, and acute.

Inhabits South Australia, New South Wales, and according to Mr. Gilbert’s Journal of his overland journey to Port Essington, the intertropical regions of the east coast.

In one of Mr. Gilbert’s many interesting letters received since the account above referred to was printed, he says, “the questions as to the nidification of Chlamydera is now settled by Mr. C. Coxon having found a nest in December with three young birds; in form it was very similar to that of the common Thrush of Europe, being of a cup-shape, constructed of dried sticks with a slight lining of feathers, and fine grass, and was placed among the smaller branches of an Acacia overhanging a pool of water.”

“I found matter for conjecture,” says Captain Stokes, “in noticing a number of twigs with their ends stuck in the ground, which was strewed over with shells, and their tops brought together so as to form a small bower; this was 2½ feet long, 1½ feet wide at either end. it was not until my next visit to Port Essington that I thought this anything but some Australian mother’s toy to amuse her child; there I was asked, one day, to go and see the ‘birds’ playhouse,’ when I immediately recognised the same kind of construction I had seen at the Victoria River; the bird (Chlamydera nuchalis of Mr. Gould’s work) was amusing itself by flying backwards and forwards, taking a shell alternately from each side, and carrying it through the archway in its mouth.”—Discoveries in Australia, vol. ii, p. 97.

Genus Ptilonorhynchus, Kuhl.

That this bird continues its singular habits under the disadvantages of captivity, I learn from the following passage in a letter lately received from Mr. Strange of Sydney.

“My aviary is now tenanted by a pair of Satin Birds, which I hoped would have bred, as for the last two months they have been constantly engaged in constructing bowers, which I find are built for the express purpose of courting the female in. Both sexes assist in their erection, but the male is the principal workman. At times the male will chase the female all over the aviary, then go to the bower, pick up a gay feather or a large leaf, utter a curious kind of noise, set all his feather erect, and run around the bower, into which at length the female proceeds, when he becomes so excited that his eyes appear ready to start from his head, and he continues opening first one wing and then the other, uttering a low whistling note, and like the common Cock, seems to be picking up something from the ground, until at last the female goes gently towards him, when, after two turns around her, he suddenly makes a dash and the scene ends.” This pair of birds was sent to England by Mr. Strange for the Earl of Derby, and had they not unfortunately died from cold while rounding Cape Horn, they would doubtless have continued their singular habits in his lordship’s magnificent aviary at Knowsley.

The habitat of this species appears to be confined to the south-eastern part of New South Wales, for it has not as yet been found in any other portion of the country.

Genus Sericulus, Swains.

A single species only of this form has yet been discovered.

• Sericulus magnirostris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 145; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV. Young.

The brushes of the south-eastern part of Australia is the only locality in which this bird has yet been found.

Family ——?

Subfamily ORIOLINÆ, G. R. Gray.

Genus Oriolus, Linn.

Typical Orioles are widely distributed over Europe, Africa, Asia, the Indian Islands and Australia, but none have yet been discovered in Polynesia or America.

Three species inhabit Australia, two of which are figured; the third from the northern part of the country is so nearly allied to the O. viridis, that a description alone will be sufficient.

Inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Essington, and only differs from the preceding species in having a shorter wing, a much larger bill, and the white spots at the tip of the lateral tail-feathers much smaller.

Genus Sphecotheres, Vieill.

Australia presents us with a single species of this genus; others inhabit New Guinea and the neighbouring islands; but as yet we have no evidence of the form occurring on the continent of India.

• Turdus maxillaris, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. v. p. 129?

Nothing whatever is known of the nidification of this bird; in all probability it will prove to be very similar to that of the Orioles.

Family ——?

Genus Corcorax, Less.

A genus containing only one species which possesses many singular habits; its actions among the branches, its mode of progression over the ground, and its nidification, being equally remarkable.

Family ——?

Genus Struthidea, Gould.

Generic characters.

Bill shorter than the head, robust, swollen, arched above, deeper than broad; gonys angular; nostrils basal, lateral, round and open; wings moderate, round, first primary short, the fourth and fifth the longest; secondaries long and broad; tarsi scutellated in front, plain behind; toes long and strong, the outer one longer than the inner one; claws strong, compressed and much curved.

The only known species of this form is confined to the interior of the southern and eastern parts of Australia, where it inhabits stony ridges, and is mostly observed on the Callitris.

In my account of this species, I have stated that its actions are very similar to those of the Corcorax leucopterus, and the following extract from Mr. Gilbert’s Journal of his overland journey to Port Essington shows that the two birds assimilate still more closely in their nidification:—

“Oct. 19.—Strolled about in search of novelties, and was amply repaid by finding the eggs of Struthidea cinerea. I disturbed the bird several times from a rosewood-tree growing in a small patch of scrub, and felt assured it had a nest, but could only find one, which I considered to be that of a Grallina; determined, if possible, to solve the difficulty, I lay down at a short distance within full view of the tree, and was not a little surprised at seeing the bird take possession of, as I believed, the Grallina’s nest; I immediately climbed the tree and found four eggs, the medium length of which was one inch and a quarter by seven-eighths of an inch in breadth; their colour was white, with blotches, principally at the larger end, of reddish brown, purplish grey and greenish grey; some of the blotches appearing as if they had been laid on with a soft brush. From the appearance of the nest I should say it was an old one of a Grallina, but it contained a much greater quantity of grass for a lining than I ever observed in the nest of that bird; if this be not the case, then the nests of the two birds are precisely similar, being like a great basin made of mud, and placed on a horizontal branch.

“Oct. 21.—In the evening I again met with the Struthidea, which I disturbed from a nest like the one above described, and from the new appearance of the structure I am inclined to believe it to be constructed by the bird itself, although it does so closely resemble that of Grallina, especially as in this case the nest was placed in a situation far from water, and there were no Grallinæ in the neighbourhood. This nest, like the last, had a very thick lining of fine grass, and appeared as if just finished for the reception of the eggs.”

There is no doubt that the nests above described by Mr. Gilbert were those of Struthidea; those of Corcorax and Grallina are precisely similar; and it is somewhat singular that three birds differing so much in structure should build the same kind of mud nests.

Family CORVIDÆ, Leach.

Genus Corvus, Linn.

It is exceedingly interesting to trace the range of the members of this genus or the true Crows; not so much on account of their wide distribution, as from the circumstance of the form being non-existent in some countries which appear admirably adapted for their well-being; thus while the species are widely distributed over the whole of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, the Indian Islands and Australia, none are to be found in South America, Polynesia or New Zealand.

This is the only species that has yet been discovered in Australia.

Family ——?

Genus Neomorpha, Gould.

This form is strictly Polynesian, and the species confined to New Zealand.

Genus Pomatorhinus, Horsf.

The members of this genus range from India throughout all the islands to Australia, but are not found in Africa or Polynesia; three species are comprised in the fauna of Australia.

Much diversity of opinion exists among ornithologists as to the place this group should occupy in the general system; by most writers they have been placed with the Meliphagidæ, but having had ample opportunities of observing the Australian species in a state of nature, I am enabled to affirm that they do not assimilate in any degree with those birds either in their habits, actions, economy or nidification, in all which particulars they differ from every group of birds that has come under my notice.

• Turdus frivolus, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. v. p. 127?

Family MELIPHAGIDÆ, Vig.

By far the greater and most prominent portion of the botany of Australia consisting of only two or three genera of trees—the Eucalypti, Banksiæ, &c.—we should naturally expect its ornithology to comprise some great groups of birds destined to dwell thereon, and such we find to be the case, the true Honey-eaters and the Honey-feeding Parrakeets being remarkably numerous; the former tribe of birds comprise no less than fifty-eight species, which appear to be naturally divided into several groups, each characterized by some modification of structure: although the whole are truly insectivorous, the pollen and the honey in the flower-cups of the Eucalypti are largely partaken of, and for procuring which their lengthened tongue terminating in filaments assuming the form of a brush is most admirably adapted, combined with which is a remarkably narrow gape and an incapacious stomach.

Australia is the great nursery of this tribe of birds, but a few species are found in New Guinea and some of the Polynesian islands.

Genus Meliphaga, Vig. & Horsf.

No example of this genus has yet been discovered in the northern or intertropical regions of Australia, all the species known being confined to the southern parts of the continent, the islands in Bass’s Straits and Van Diemen’s Land. The members of this group feed principally upon the pollen and honey of the flower-cups, but occasionally upon insects; in disposition they are tame and familiar; and they frequent the Banksiæ in preference to other trees.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and the young assume the adult plumage at an early period of their existence.

• Certhia pyrrhoptera, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. iv. p. 197?

Genus Glyciphila, Swains.

The members of this genus resort to higher trees than the Meliphaga, are more shy in disposition, possess considerable powers of flight, and partake more exclusively of insect food. Of the four Australian species, two, G. fulvifrons and G. albifrons, inhabit the southern parts of the country, the G. fasciata the northern portion, and the little G. ocularis is universally distributed over the country, and if I mistake not, is also found in New Guinea and Timor.

The young of G. fulvifrons and G. albifrons differ considerably from the adult in their markings.

• Certhia melanops, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. iv. p. 173?

The species of this group are not only more numerous than those of any other division of the Meliphagidæ, but they also comprise some of the most beautiful and gaily-coloured members of the family. Nearly all the species are either prettily marked about the face, or have the ear-coverts largely developed and characterized by a colouring different from that of the other parts of the plumage. The Eucalypti and Acaciæ are the trees upon which they are usually found; the species with olive-green backs, such as P. flavigula and P. leucotis, frequent the dwarf or thickly-leaved kinds, the foliage of which assimilates in colour to that of their plumage; the more gaily-attired species with bright yellow cheeks and ear-coverts, such as P. ornatus and P. plumulus, are most frequently found among the flowering Acaciæ; some species, particularly P. penicillata, descend from the trees and seek Coleoptera and other insects on the ground; the Casuarinæ are the favourite trees of P. sonorus and P. versicolor; while the P. chrysotis, P. chrysops and P. fusca are almost entirely confined to the brushes and seek their food among the Eucalypti, the hanging festoons of Tecoma and other beautiful brush creepers. The members of this group are principally Australian, but I believe that some species inhabit New Guinea; they mainly subsist upon insects, to which berries are sometimes added.

The sexes are alike in plumage, but the females are smaller than the males, and the young assume the adult livery from the nest.

• Ptilotis Lewinii, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 326?

Genus Plectorhyncha, Gould.

Generic characters.

Bill shorter than the head, slightly arched, very pointed, almost conical and acute; nostrils basal and partly covered by an operculum; an obsolete notch near the tip of the upper mandible; wings moderate, the first feather short, the third and fourth the longest; tail moderate and square; tarsi strong; hind-toe and claw long, powerful and longer than the middle toe and claw; lateral toes unequal; the outer one the longest, and united to the middle one nearly to the first joint.

Of this singular form only one species has yet been discovered. It inhabits the plains of the eastern portion of Australia, where it dwells among the Eucalypti and Acaciæ; and is a very noisy garrulous bird.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and the young assume the adult plumage at a very early age.

Genus Xanthomyza, Swains.

Of this genus only one species is known.

The habitat of this bird appears to be confined to the south-eastern portion of Australia. It generally frequents the highest branches of the lofty Eucalypti, both of the brushes and of the plains, but is most abundant in the districts near the coast. In its disposition it is bold and extremely pugnacious.

The sexes are alike in plumage, and but little difference is observable between nestling and adult birds.

The nests I saw were round and cup-shaped, and were mostly placed in the fork of a tree.

Genus Melicophila, Gould.

Generic characters.

Bill as long as the head, gradually curving downwards from the base, nearly cylindrical and very pointed; nostrils basal and covered with an operculum; wings rather lengthened, the first primary short, the third the longest; tail moderately long, and nearly square; tarsi long and stout.

A genus containing only a single species, which so far as we yet know is confined to Southern and Western Australia.

Possesses many singular habits, and differs from most other species of the Meliphagidæ in the totally different colouring of the sexes; as well as in assembling in vast flocks, which continue soaring about during the greater portion of the day. I was not aware until after my drawing was made that this bird has a small fleshy appendage beneath the eye of an ashy-grey colour, which is invisible in a dried skin. The nest and eggs are said to be very similar to those of Petroïca multicolor, and to be placed in similar situations.

Genus Entomophila, Gould.

Generic characters.

Bill nearly as long as the head, somewhat broad at the base, becoming compressed and pointed at the apex; tomia of the upper mandible arched and slightly notched at the tip; nostrils basal, oval, pierced in a membrane and protected by an operculum; wings rather long, first quill spurious, the second nearly as long as the third, which is the longest; tail short and nearly square; tarsi short and rather feeble; hind-toe short and stout; lateral toes unequal, the inner one being rather the shortest.

The pointed wings of the examples of this bird I had seen prior to my visit to Australia, led me to infer that its habits were more aërial than those of the other members of the family, and such proved to be the case; for while the greater number of the latter cling to and creep about the branches, the present bird flies about the trees, captures insects on the wing, and during flight displays the beautiful yellow of its wings and the white markings of its tail to the greatest advantage.

Its frail cup-shaped nest is sometimes suspended among the drooping leaves of the Acacia pendula.

I fear I have committed an error in referring the birds from the north coast (E. albogularis and E. rufogularis) to the present genus, for upon further consideration I believe they will prove to be sufficiently different from every other form yet characterized to justify their being separated into a distinct genus.

Genus Acanthogenys, Gould.

Generic characters.

Bill as long as the head, compressed, slightly arched, acute at the tip; the edges of the upper mandible notched near the tip, and delicately serrated; nostrils sub-basal; from the base of the mandibles a naked stripe runs below the eyes, and below this the cheeks are covered with stiff spines; wings moderate, the first quill-feather very short, third, fourth and fifth equal and the longest; tail moderate, nearly equal; feet robust, hind-toe strong and longer than the middle one, outer toe united at its base to the middle toe; claws hooked.

The genus Acanthogenys, of which only one species is known, is a form intermediate in size and in structure between the smaller Honey-eaters (Meliphagæ, Ptiloti, &c.) on the one hand, and the larger kinds (Anthochæræ) on the other.

This species is widely distributed over the interior of the southern portion of Australia, from east to west; the sexes are alike in plumage, and the young are very similar, but are destitute of the spines on the cheek, which are scarcely assumed during the first year. The Banksiæ are the trees mostly frequented by this bird, the presence of which is indicative of sterile sandy districts.

Genus Anthochæra, Vig. & Horsf.

A genus peculiarly Australian, three species of which are exclusively confined to the southern or extra-tropical parts of the country, and one to Van Diemen’s Land.

These four birds might with propriety be separated into two genera, those with auricular appendages, A. inauris and A. carunculata, having many characters differing from those of A. mellivora and A. lunulata.

Genus Tropidorhynchus, Vig. & Horsf.

The law of representation in Australia is chiefly confined to the species inhabiting the eastern and western coasts, but with the members of this genus it takes the opposite direction, or north and south, for more singular and perfect representatives of each other cannot be found than are the T. corniculatus and T. citreogularis of the south-eastern parts of the country, the T. argenticeps and T. sordidus of the north-western. Extra Australian species inhabit New Guinea and the neighbouring countries.

Inhabits the Cobourg Peninsula, and is precisely similar to T. citreogularis, but is smaller in all its admeasurements except in the bill, which is more developed.

Genus Acanthorhynchus, Gould.

Bill elongated, slender and acute, compressed on the sides; tomia incurved; culmen acute and elevated; nostrils basal, elongated, and covered with an operculum; wings moderate in size and semi-rotund; first and fifth primaries equal; the third and fourth nearly equal in length, and the longest; tail moderate in size and slightly forked; tarsi lengthened and strong; middle toe long and robust, external toe exceeding the inner one in length.

This genus, like many others of the family, may be regarded as strictly Australian: it comprises two, if not three, well-marked species, each of which is confined to a particular part of the country; the A. tenuirostris dwelling in the eastern, and the A. superciliosus in the western districts: both inhabit countries precisely in the same degree of latitude, and form beautiful representatives of each other. Van Diemen’s Land is the native habitat of the species I have named A. dubius, which, as will be seen, I had made synonymous with A. tenuirostris, but which I am now inclined to consider distinct, an opinion in which Mr. Blyth coincides.

Genus Myzomela, Vig. & Horsf.

Five well-marked species of this genus are distributed over Australia; numerous others are found in New Guinea and the neighbouring islands; the form also occurs in the Polynesian Islands, but is not found in Van Diemen’s Land.

Genus Entomyza, Swains.

Two species of this well-defined genus are comprised in the Australian fauna, one of which inhabits the south-eastern parts of the country, or New South Wales; the other, which so far as we yet know is strictly confined to the north-eastern coast, is very plentiful at Port Essington and in the neighbouring districts.

The form appears to be confined to Australia, for I have never seen it from any other country.

This bird has the habit—a somewhat remarkable one among the Honey-eaters—of selecting the nest of Pomatorhinus temporalis for the reception of its eggs.

Genus Melithreptus, Vieill.

No one group of birds is more universally distributed over Australia than the Melithrepti, for their range extends from Van Diemen’s Land on the south to the most northern part of the continent; and they are equally numerous from east to west, each part of country being inhabited by a species peculiarly its own. The Eucalypti are the trees upon which they are almost exclusively found. I believe the form is unknown out of Australia.

• Certhia agilis, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. iv. p. 204.

During the progress of this work three additional species of this genus have been discovered, one in the interior of New South Wales, the second at Swan River, and the third on the north-west coast; consequently it is a genus the members of which are widely distributed over nearly every part of Australia.

Family ——?

Genus Zosterops, Vig. & Horsf.

Three well-defined species of this genus inhabit the continent of Australia and Van Diemen’s Land; two are found on Norfolk Island, and numerous others inhabit the Indian Islands and the continent of India even to the Himalaya Mountains.

In placing this group next to the Honey-eaters, I have been influenced by their approximation to those birds in some of their habits: they also exhibit a further degree of affinity in the form and structure of their nest, but not in the colouring of their eggs, which are always blue in colour.

Family CUCULIDÆ, Leach.

The family Cuculidæ is very fairly represented in Australia, since we there find species belonging to the greater number of the Old World genera, and one, Scythrops, which has not hitherto, I believe, been found elsewhere. With the exception of Centropus and Eudynamys, they, like their prototypes, are parasitic in their nidification, and depend upon other birds for the hatching of their eggs and the feeding of their offspring.

Genus Cuculus, Linn.

Since my description of this species was printed I have seen specimens from India, with the name of Cuculus micropterus attached to them: should this name have been published prior to the one I have assigned to it, my name must sink into a synonym.

This species, which inhabits the north-western coast, differs from C. insperatus in being of a much smaller size and in the whole of the plumage being of a browner hue.

The members of this genus are distributed over most parts of the Old World; two species occur in Australia.

• Sylvia versicolor, Lath. in Lambert’s Drawings.

Genus Scythrops, Lath.

The only known species of this remarkable form inhabits the eastern parts of Australia, and according to information derived from the notes made by Mr. Gilbert during Dr. Leichardt’s Expedition, extends its range northward from thence to within the tropics.

I have recently had a young specimen presented to me by Lady Dowling, one of two taken from a branch of a tree while being fed by birds not of its own species, an important fact as showing the parasitic habits of the bird.

Genus Eudynamys, Vig. & Horsf.

One species only of this form inhabits Australia; others are found in the Indian Islands and on the continent of India.

Genus Centropus, Ill.

On reference to my account of the Centropus Phasianus, it will be seen I have stated that some variation exists in the form of the bill in specimens from different localities, intimated a belief of there being more than one species, and remarked that should such prove to be the case, the term macrourus might be applied to the Port Essington birds, and melanurus to those from the north-west coast; and these names are provisionally given until future research has proved whether they be or be not distinct.

Family CERTHIADÆ, Vig.

Genus Climacteris, Temm.

Several species of this well-defined and singular group of Australian birds have lately been discovered; two out of the six now known are all that had been described prior to the publication of the present work. With the exception of Van Diemen’s Land and the Cobourg Peninsula, every colony is inhabited by one or other of the following species:—

• Certhia leucophæa, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 182.

Genus Orthonyx, Temm.

Much difference of opinion has arisen among ornithologists respecting the situation of this bird in the natural system, and as to what genus it is most nearly allied; I regret to say that not having seen much of it in its native wilds, I am unable to clear up these disputed points. The form is strictly Australian, and the single species known is confined to the south-eastern part of the country.

M. Jules Verreaux, who has written a highly interesting account of this bird, states that it is strictly terrestrial, and scratches among the detritus and fallen leaves for its food, throwing back the earth like the Gallinaceæ. It never climbs, as was formerly supposed, but runs over fallen trunks of trees;—is rather solitary in its habits, seldom more than two being seen together. Its often-repeated cry of cri-cri-cri-crite betrays its presence, when its native haunts, the most retired parts of the forest, are visited. Its chief food consists of insects, their larvæ, and woodbugs. It builds a large domed nest, of slender mosses; the entrance being by a lateral hole near the bottom. The eggs are white and disproportionately large. The situation of the nest is the side of a slanting rock or large stone, the entrance-hole being level with the surface.—Revue Zoologique, July 1847.

Genus Ptiloris, Swains.

In placing this beautiful bird near the Climacteres, I am influenced in the first place by the great similarity of its structure, and in the next by the account I have received of its actions in a state of nature; I allude more particularly to its mode of ascending the trees, which precisely resembles that of the Certhiæ. One species only of this form is found in Australia, but many allied genera, Promerops, &c., inhabit New Guinea and the neighbouring islands.

That the range of this species extends from the eastern parts of Australia to within the tropics, is proved by Mr. Gilbert’s having once seen it near the Gulf of Carpentaria during his last Expedition.

Genus Sittella, Swains.

The Sittella chrysoptera was the only species of this Australian form known to previous writers; to this has been added one from Southern and Western Australia, another from Moreton Bay, and a third from the north coast.

The form does not exist in Van Diemen’s Land.

Family PSITTACIDÆ, Leach.

No one group of birds gives to Australia so tropical and foreign an air as the numerous species of this great family, by which it is tenanted, each and all of which are individually very abundant. Immense flocks of white Cockatoos may be seen perched among the green foliage of the Eucalypti; the brilliant scarlet breasts of the Rose-hills blaze forth from the yellow-flowering Acaciæ; the Trichoglossi or Honey-eating Parrakeets enliven the flowering branches of the larger Eucalypti with their beauty and their lively actions; the little Grass Parrakeets frequent the plains of the interior and render these solitary spots a world of animation; nay, the very towns, particularly Hobart Town and Adelaide, are constantly visited by flights of this beautiful tribe of birds, which traverse the streets with arrow-like swiftness, and chase each other precisely after the manner the Swifts are seen to do in our own islands. In the public roads of Van Diemen’s Land the beautiful Platycerci may be constantly seen in small companies, performing precisely the same offices as the Sparrow in England. I have also seen flocks of from fifty to a hundred, like tame pigeons, at the barn-doors in the farm-yards of the settlers, to which they descend for the refuse grain thrown out with the straw by the threshers. As might naturally be expected, the agriculturist is often sadly annoyed by the destruction certain species effect among his newly-sown and ripening corn, particularly where the land has been recently cleared and is adjacent to the brushes. Fifty-five well-defined species of this great family are described and figured in the present work. They appear to constitute four great groups, each comprising several genera, nearly the whole of which are strictly and peculiarly Australian; for instance, neither Calyptorhynchus, Platycercus, Euphema, Psephotus, Melopsittacus, or Nymphicus have been found in any other country; and whether we consider the elegance of their forms or the beauty of their plumage, they may vie with the members of this extensive family from any part of the world.

Genus Cacatua, Briss.

Australia, the Molucca and Philippine Islands and New Guinea are the great nurseries of the members of this genus. They incubate in holes of trees or in rocks, and lay two eggs.

There are evidently several varieties or races of this species in Australia, each possessing a modification in the form of the bill doubtless given for some specific purpose; the Van Diemen’s Land bird is the largest, and has the upper mandible attenuated, while the Port Essington bird is altogether smaller, and has a much more arched bill.

This species ranges over all the southern portions of Australia between the 20th and 30th degrees of S. latitude. I have never seen a specimen from the north, and I believe it does not inhabit that part of the country; its true habitat appears to be the interior, for it is never found near the coast.

This species has been found on the north coast, and was observed by Captain Sturt at the Depôt in Central Australia; we may hence infer that its range extends over all the intermediate country.

This fine bird, which is strictly Australian, is distributed over all parts of the interior of the country, and is as abundant in the north as it is in the south; it was also observed by Captain Sturt at the Depôt.

The specimens from the north are of a larger size and have the orbits more denuded than those from the south.

Genus Licmetis, Wagl.

The two species forming the genus Licmetis are not only confined to Australia, but, so far as we yet know, to the southern portions of that continent; one inhabits the western and the other the eastern part of the country. Their singularly formed bill being admirably adapted for procuring their food on the ground, they are more terrestrial in their habits than the other members of the family.

• Licmetis pastinator, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 175.

Lores scarlet; general plumage white; the base of the feathers of the head and front of the neck scarlet, showing through and giving those parts a stained appearance; the basal half of the inner webs of the primaries, the inner webs of all the other feathers of the wing, and the inner webs of the tail-feathers beautiful brimstone-yellow; naked space round the eye greenish blue; irides light brown; bill white; feet dull olive-grey.

Inhabits Western Australia.

Differs from L. nasicus in being of a much larger size; but the colouring being similar, I have not thought it necessary to figure it.

Genus Nestor, Wagl.

Of this genus two species are known, one of which was exclusively confined to Phillip Island, and the other inhabits New Zealand; they are evidently the remains of a race, all the other members of which are probably extinct.

The few examples of this species that may exist in captivity are all that survive, none remaining on Phillip Island, their native habitat.

Genus Calyptorhynchus, Vig. & Horsf.

The Calyptorhynchi are strictly arboreal, and are evidently formed to live upon the seeds of the Banksiæ, Eucalypti, and other trees peculiar to the country they inhabit; they diversify their food by occasionally devouring large caterpillars; as they mostly move about in small companies of from four to six in number they can scarcely be considered gregarious. Their flight is rather powerful, but at the same time laboured and heavy; and their voice is a low crying call, totally different from the harsh screaming notes of the Cacatuæ. Each division of the country, from the north coast of the continent to Van Diemen’s Land, is inhabited by its own peculiar species.

I have never seen a member of this genus from any other country than Australia, but I have heard that an extraordinary Parrot, said to be larger than any at present in our collections, inhabits New Guinea, and which, from the description given of it, will probably be of this form. The Calyptorhynchi lay from two to four eggs in the holes of trees.

Inhabits the north coast, where it represents the C. Banksii of the eastern and the C. naso of the western coasts.

This species, which is confined to Western Australia, is rendered conspicuous by the small size of its crest, and by its bill being nearly as large as that of C. macrorhynchus, while its wings are much shorter than those of that species.

• Banksianus Australis, Less. Traité d’Orn. p. 180, Atlas, pl. 18, fig. 2, fem.

Inhabits the south-eastern parts of the continent, and differs from all the others in its smaller size, the gibbose form of its bill, and in the paucity of its crest.

Confined, I believe, to New South Wales, and South Australia?

The true habitat of this species is Van Diemen’s Land, but I have lately received a specimen from Port Lincoln, which proves that its range extends to South Australia. It is distinguished from C. funereus by its much smaller size, and by the uniformity of the yellow colouring of the tail.

Inhabits Western Australia, and is distinguished by its small size and by the white marks on the tail.

Genus Callocephalon, Less.

Of this form only a single species is known.

Inhabits the southern coast of Australia and Van Diemen’s Land.

Genus Polytelis, Wagl.

This genus comprises two species, both of which are peculiar to the southern portions of Australia. They have many characters common to, and resemble in appearance, the Palæorni of India.

Genus Aprosmictus, Gould.

Generic characters.

As in Platycercus, but the bill more feeble; cere and nostrils covered with fine hair-like feathers; wings longer and less concave; tail more square; tarsi shorter and toes longer than in that genus.

Two, if not three species of this form inhabit Australia, and others are found in New Guinea and the neighbouring islands. They are distinguished from the Platycerci by the possession of a well-developed os furcatorium, a bone which is entirely wanting in the members of that genus; in their habits they are mainly arboreal, and in their disposition are morose and sullen.

This species appears to be confined to New South Wales.

The red-winged Parrakeets from the north coast are nearly a fourth smaller than those inhabiting the Liverpool plains and similar districts of the south coast; are they varieties of each other or distinct species?

Genus Platycercus, Vig.

In my opinion the New Zealand birds that have been placed in this genus are not true Platycerci, all the known species of which are confined to Australia; they comprise fourteen species which appear to be naturally divisible into minor groups, to which generic appellations may hereafter be given; for instance the P. semitorquatus, P. Baueri, P. Barnardi, &c. form one; the P. Adelaidiæ, P. Pennantii, P. flaveolus, P. flaviventris, &c. form another; P. eximius, P. splendidus, P. icterotis, &c. form a third; and P. pileatus a fourth.

The members of this and the two next genera lay from seven to ten eggs in the holes of trees.

Genus Psephotus, Gould.

Generic characters.

As in Euphema, but the cere, in which the nostrils are placed, more swollen or developed; wings rather short and the tail much lengthened; the lateral feathers short and not so regularly graduated; feet more adapted for terrestrial progression.

All the members of this genus are confined to Australia, and hold an intermediate station between the Platycerci on the one hand and the Euphemæ on the other. They pass much of their time on the ground, where the principal part of their food is procured; inhabit the interior rather than the country near the coast, and are adapted for the open plains, where they often assemble in vast flocks.

I have figured four species, and I have seen a drawing in the possession of Mr. Brown, made by Ferdinand Bauer from a bird said to have been found near the Gulf of Carpentaria, which will probably form a fifth.

This species differs from all the other members of the genus, as well as from those of the allied genera, in the pointed form of the tips of its primaries.