P 0 R PH Y R 1 0 MELANOTUS, Temm.
B l a c k - b a c k e d l ’o r p h y r io .
Pofghpv) mi l m ft • T n m \l nrd^iiVy-iiifi Liil inni ,70 1—Less. TraitS. d’Om., p. 533.—Shaw, Gen.
Blar.k-karJ;cd (lallimle, Lath.
pprX'i of Port I ssiiigton.
’Land and the greater part .of the continent of
.Australia .wherever •-iiiMtj.ius „unable tcgyffifhabits occur, such as mars^efe’-lagcgorjdothed with sedge and
rushes, and thcABKliligf rivers. On cornering specimens from Van Diemen’s Land, South Australia
and Port^S u iJ^< gTferirl-them ttgififfar in size: .those Iroip'-lhisfipif- and last-mentioned localities being
smaller than' evainples pmeirtiqd 'j ^ S outb Australia jsandtNew South Wales: Mr. Gilbert’s notes algo
i,nil,.ate SilillPKmSi- in 5M"RahilwtiilAhi Port Winaiiui lmi{ hut l un» lnctuiec# in believe this to be
liicivl^tlicS-efuljasf a differencein-the naturi^nl rh^jfti ilitv mil thp'Jujid oj ugetation.
■ I and rhe .Porphyrio melanotus is very, abun^^op;-the hanks of the Derwent aboyeBridge-
« in r nunmrthi J im ir hir a n inilcmlflug 1 icnceston ; Paisa found it on the lagoons between Kangaroo
AMBl n. every part iiftthefisland wherever fa v o ^ b le loialilies 'ocenr, ; Early
-in^tiu- iinirning uidon the approach p f evading, it sallies fdctu search of food, which con-
I S iS ofsiiiiil anckvagigus vegetable substances^ «pans with g re# fed lity, and reaffiy avails
itself ’ of -tbifmpwer on the approach of angnteuder, making f o ^ ^ thickest covert a n d ,t te i^ n g i tw i th
am tj„K fin ... inpfh aim ill e manner offKejMoorhen (Gallbmla ehloropus) o f Europh; its flight is also
very sundae toithat S the Moo^henjand h k a jh a t bird it resorts to this ®gj®^j>rogression only when
h a rd^ r e s s e d .^ ^N e iv Squtf Wales it inhabit'siTOecisdy thfggpie kind o f^ p a .o n s as those described
5f@v e,Wd\ i s ; to^be-found in'the lagoons at IUawarra and,whcrever the vegetation affords it a-sufficient
shelteE-T^fX«1 becomes domesticated, and may he allowed to roam at large in the garden or inclosure
fear o f its ,wandering awpy ; I saw twolhsbjnging 'to the Hon. Henry Hh&tt, Ajde-de-Camp to His
Excellency C a p t a in ^ John F r s n ^ iQ M ^ tb e Governor,' Government Gtjtden at Hobart Town; and
;i^ r ien a ,* '(^ o rc ^ ’~BcVn.-tt,'Esq., mf/gydnev, informs seen domesticated in a ponltryyard
was in'the habit o f roosting upon the rods, o f aheijfc and was very fjfod of perching on some parrot-
c ^ ^ f cm e n t lO n s a f a § a t the ® ^ ^ ^ b l y seizes maize, or any.y^tobfe-i.ta^roda eating,,in the palm
'ofcthe.fjmt, holding i t u ft fjft manner i^^t-bedfcvouj:ed.| aftei£iv^Am#^®r some time he never saw it
take,food in any other. manner, and the owner assured him that it never did.
found thiffihj[d tolerably abundant at Port • is iu g tp ^ o i^ i s di-witer lake near Point Smith,
ip'which®®® thick clumps of mangroves w h r f e g r i^ ^ a s 0 far as his observation extended, this was the
only part of the Peninsula imwb^iilft-was to ljjp m nd, a n d - in d e e ^ » & C shot a specimen, it was on-
known t£ th e residents, who believed they had explored every p artoK th e Peninsula adjacent to the sboreB
of &B W b o u r. He remarked that it appeatgd H ^ ^ ^ j t ® to.tiie mangroves, and to perch on their
topmost branches, and that w h e n -d is tW l^ ^ o u n te d above th e ||p s of the ttps-andflew off for several
hundred yards.
The sexes do not differ in ^ g !& r a j|$ u t the female is somewhat smaller than h am a te , and the young
have the naked space on the, qrowp not a<l bnffht as m the adulf-
’ Cheeks, back " ? * ¥ * head, centre of; S ubdoipkn. and thighs sooty black; back o f the neck, breast and
flanks rich deep jindigd-blnehack, wings a n jja i l deep shining black, the primaries-with a wash o f indigo-
, bias on their outer webs; -under tail-coverts p u ^ h j } f p | .e 8 'b l i g h t orange-redj ftontal plate, bill, legs
and feet red.
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.