FYPJtHUL ATJDA AUSTRALIS .AMateBiemale .
A ves__ P late XXIV.» M ale and F emale.)
Mas.—P. capite nigro-brunneo; gula, gutture, corporisque partibus inferioribus nigris; interscapularibus,
dorsuque subferrugineis brunneo-strigatis; alarum tectricibus minoribus, tectricibusque primariis et
secUndariis sordide fuscis, primariis exceptis, rufo-marginatis; rectricibus duobus intermediis fuscis
rufo-marginatis, ceeteribus nigris. Rostro albo; oculis brunneis; pedibus subcarneis.
Fem.— Supra rufa fusco-strigata; subtus rufo-alba, pectore fusco-maculato.
Longitudo 5 unc.
Megalotis australis, Rep. of Exped. App. page 49, June, 1836.
Colode. Male.—Head and under parts black, the upper and lateral parts of
the former with a strong rusty tin t; interscapulars and back subferrugineous,
tinted with grey and variegated with brown streaks, one streak along the middle
of each feather ; upper tail coverts dark umber-brown faintly tipt with pale
rufous. The lesser wing, coverts, the primary and secondary quill coverts, and
the tertiary quill feathers umber-brown, and, with the exception of the primary
coverts, distinctly edged and tipt with rufous; the primary and secondary
quill feathers dark umber-brown verging to black. Tail, with the exception
of the two middle feathers, black, these are. umber-brown, edged and tipt
with rufous. Bill white, with a livid shade. Eyes dark-brown ; legs and
toes flesh-coloured.
F orm, &c.— Figure and carriage, in some respects, like those of the Larks
( Alaudina;), in others, like those of the Finches (Fringilince), the points of
resemblance, as far as number are concerned, being in favour of the latter.
Body rather robust; head broad and flat above ; bill conical and pointed, the
culmen obtuse and slightly curving from the base, the sides of the upper
mandible convex particularly towards the base, the commissure straight, and
the cutting edges of the under mandible received within those of the upper;
nostrils basilar and concealed by a covering of rigid wiry feathers. Wings
rather long and rounded, when folded they reach over the first two-thirds of
the tail, the first quill rudimentary, the third and fourth the longest and
slightly exceeding the second and fifth, the sixth considerably shorter;
several of the shorter primaries have their points emarginate ; the tertiaries
nearly as long as the primaries. Tail of moderate length and slightly forked.
Tarsus short, moderately robust, and shielded both before and behind ; toes
short and rather slender, the outermost and innermost of equal length, the