PARDALOTUS MELANOCEPHALUS, Gould.
Black-headed Pardalote.
Pardalotus melanocephalus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., p art v. p. 149 ; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.
I h a v e received numerous examples of this species from Moreton Bay, where it probably takes the place of
the P . striatus, from which it is distinguished by the black colouring o f its head and by its thicker bill,
but to which it is very nearly allied, as well as to the P . uropygialis; it is in fact directly intermediate
between the two, having the black head of the latter without the yellow colouring o f the rump. There
is no external difference in the sexes.
Nothing whatever is known of its history.
Crown o f the head, lores and ear-coverts black; over each eye a stripe commencing at the nostrils, the
anterior half of which is orange, and the posterior white; sides o f the face and neck white ; back o f the
neck and back olive-grey; upper tail-coverts brownish buff; tail black, each feather tipped with white ;
wings blackish brown, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh primaries white; secondaries edged and
tipped with white ; one of the wing-coverts broadly margined on the inner web with white, forming an oblique
line across the shoulder; spurious wing tipped with crimson; line down the centre o f the throat, the
breast and middle o f the abdomen bright yellow; vent and under tail-coverts buff; bill black; feet brown.
The figures are of the natural size.