258. Chlamydera maculata, G o u l d ................................................................................................................... Vol. IV. PI. 8
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 question as to the nidification of Chlamydera is now settled by Mr. C. Coxen 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.”
259. Chlamydera nuchalis . . . . . . . ■ . . . Vol IV PI 9
“ 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 2£ feet long, 14- foot wide a t either end. I t was not until my next visit to Port Essington that I thought
this anything b ut 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 (jChlamydera 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 P t i l o n o r h y n c h u s , Kuhl.
260. Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus, K u h l ............................................... y 0l IV PI 10
That this bird continues its singular habits under the diadvantages 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 had hoped would have bred, as for the last two
months they have been constantly engaged in constructing bowers, which I find are built Tor 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 feathers erect, and run round 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 round 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 when 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.
261. Ptilonorhynchus Smithii, Vtg. % H o r s f ............................................................................................... Vol. jy_ pj
Genus S e r ic u l u s , Swains.
A single species only of this form has yet been discovered.
262. Sericulus c h r y s o c e p h a lu s .................................................................................................................. - • • • • • • ¡r¡ ¡\j¡i|. ji y y . pjtij. 1l 2z.
Seriatim magmrostrie, 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 p art of Australia is the only locality in which this bird has yet been found.
Family ?
Subfamily ORIOLINjE, G. R . Gray.
Genus O r io l u s , Linn.
Typical Orioles are widely cKtribnted over Karoo,:, 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 p a rt of the country is
so nearly allied to the O viridis, that a description alone will be sufficient
263. Oriolus viridis, Gould . .......................................................... y Qj j y p j
264. Oriolus affinis, Gould.
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.
265. Oriolus flavovinctus . . . ............................................................................... y 0j j y pj
Genus S p h e c o t h e r e s , 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.
266. Sphecotheres Australis, Swains. . .............................................................................. y 0j j y p j lg
Turdus maxillaris, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. v. p. 129 ?
Nothing whatever is known of the nidification of this b ird ; in all probability it will prove to be very similar to
that of the Orioles.
Family-----
Genus C o r c o r a x , 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.
267. Corcorax l e u c o p t e r u s .......................................................................................................................... j y pj 1 «
Family —------ ?
Genus S t r u t h id e a , 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.
268. Struthidea cinerea, Gould . . . . . . . . . . . . y 0i, jy . pi. 17
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 eo-gs of Struthidea
cinerea. I disturbed the bird several times from a rosewood-tree growing in a small patch of scrub, and felt assured