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PACHYCEPHALA GLAUCURA, Gould.
Grey-tailed Pachycephala.
Pachycephala glaucura, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., March 25, 1845.
Pe-dil-me-dwng, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.
A l t h o u g h the present bird is very nearly allied to the P . gutturalis, it may be readily distinguished from
that species by its larger size, by its shorter and more robust bill, by the uniform grey colouring o f its tail,
and by the lighter and more washy tint of the yellow o f the under surface. Van Diemen’s Land and the
islands in Bass’s Straits are the only countries in which it has yet been discovered, and where it takes
the place o f the P . gutturalis, which latter species appears to be exclusively confined to the Australian
continent.
The P . glaucura frequents the vast forests o f Eucalypti that cover the greater part o f Van Diemen’s Land,
and although it is rather thinly dispersed, is tp be met with in every variety of situation, the crowns o f the
hills and the deep and most secluded gulleys being alike visited by it. It frequently descends to the
ground in search o f insects, but the leafy branches o f the trees, particularly those o f a low growth, are the
situations to which its gives the preference.
The adult male, | | | e most other birds o f attractive plumage, is o f a shy disposition ; hence there is
much more difficulty in obtaining a glimpse of it in the woods, than o f the sombre-coloured and comparatively
tame female, or even of the young males o f the year, which during this period wear a similar kind of
livery to that of the latter.
The actions of this species are somewhat peculiar, and unlike those o f most other insectivorous birds: it
pries about the leafy branches o f the trees, and leaps from twig to twig in the most agile manner possible,
making all the while a most scrutinizing search for insects, particularly coleóptera. When the male exposes
himself, as he occasionally’does, on some bare twig, the rich yellow o f his plumage, offering a strong contrast
to the green of the surrounding foliage, renders him a conspicuous and doubtless highly attractive object
to his sombre-coloured mate, who generally accompanies him. Males in colour like those represented on
the accompanying Plate seldom associate together, their recluse disposition leading them not only to avoid
each other’s society, but also that of all other birds. It sometimes resorts to the gardens and shrubberies
of the settlers, but much less frequently than might be supposed, when we consider that the neighbouring
forests are its natural place o f abode.
The voice of the Grey-tailed Pachycephala is a loud whistling call o f a single note several times repeated,
and by which the presence of the male is often detected when it would otherwise be passed by unnoticed. I
was unsuccessful in my search for its nest, and the eggs are still a desideratum to my cabinet. I shot the
young in various stages o f plumage, and found them to differ so much that a more, than ordinarily minute
description is necessary, in order that those who may not have an opportunity o f seeing the bird in its
native country may not be misled respecting it. Soon after leaving the nest the ground-colour o f the
entire plumage is grey, washed or stained as it were, both on the upper and under surface, with rusty or
cliestnut-red; this gradually gives place to a uniform olive-brown above and pale brown beneath, which
being precisely the colouring of the adult females, the young birds in this stage and the old females are
not to be distinguished from each other.
The adult male has the crown o f the head, lores, space beneath the eye and a broad crescent-shaped
mark from the latter across the breast deep black; throat, within the black, white; back o f the neck, a
narrow line down each side o f the chest behind the black crescent and the under surface yellow; back and
wing-coverts yellowish olive; wings dark slate-colour margined with grey; tail entirely g rey; under ta.il-
coverts white, or very slightly washed with yellow ; irides reddish brown; bill black; feet dark brown.
The Plate represents two males and a female of the natural size, on one o f the common Acacias o f Van
Diemen’s Land.