^ E I . I T R OE, B U S V I R I ID I S , (Lath J
H- lk.H <irl ua.. . VilUrfll Bltv. Lliift.
J3LURCEDUS VIRIDIS {Laf/>an>)
C a t - l ) i r i l .
Grm GralcU, Lath. Gen. Syn. Siippl, ii. p. 12!) (1801).
Graciila miäis, Lalli. Ind. Orn. Siippl. ii. p. xxviii (1801).—Sliaw, Gon. Zool. vii. p. -17.') (^180!)).
iMnms ei-assirostrk, Payliull, Nova Acta Akad. Upsal. YÜ. p. 282, Taf. 10 (1810).
KiUa virescens, Temm. Tl. Col. ii. pi. 3i)ö (182(;).—Waglcr, Syst. Av., PtUomrhjnchls, sp. .') (1827).
Ptilonorhjnchts smitkii, Vig. & Ilorsf. Trans. Linn. Soc. xv. p. 264 (1827, cx Latham MSS.).—Gray, Gen. 1!. ii.
p. 325 (1S4()).—Gould, B. Austr. iv. pi. 11 (1848).
Ptihrhynclms smithil. Bp. Consp. i. p. 370 (1850).—Sehl. Mus. Bays-Bas, Coraccs, i. p. 117 (18fi7).
Ailm-adus smitliii. Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 213 (1S50).—Gould, Handb. B. Austr. i. p. 44G (lS(i5).
Mlliroidlis crassirostrts, Sclater, Ibis, 18G8, p. 501.—Elliot, Moiiogr. Pavad. pi. xxxxiv. (1873).—liamsay, Broe.
Linn. Soc. N. S. W. ii. p. 187 (1878).
riilonorhjnclms crassirostrts, Gray, Ilaiid-l. B. i. p. 2i)4, no. 43.10 (18(19).
JElaradus viridis, Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Bi it. Mus. vi. p. 385 (18S1).—Ramsay, Tab. List Austr. B. p. 11 (188K).—
North, Nests & Eggs Austr. B. p. 176 (188il).—Id. Kec. Austr. Muä. i. p. Il l (18111).
IN nearly every counlry in tlie world there seems to be some bird nliicli has the name of "Cat-bird"
bestowed upon it. In North America it is a Mocking-ljird, Galcuscoptcs mrulhicnsts, which bcai-s the name,
and ill Australia the present species is known to the colonists by the same title on account of the strange
resemblance of its not e to that of a cat. Structurally and in general a]iiiearance the bird is allied to the
liower-birds, but It has never been known to build a " bower." Mr. Gould says ;—Wh i l e in the district
in which this bird is found, my attention was directed to the acquisition of all the information I coidd obtain
respecting its habits, as I considered it very probable that it might construct a bower similar to that of the
Satin-bird ; but I eould not satl.sfy myself that it docs, nor could I discover its nest or the situation in
which it breeds; it is doubtless, however, among the branches of the trees of the forest in which it lives."
As will he seen below, the nest and eggs are now known, but Mr. North also stated in 1891 that he had
never heard of any " bower " being built by the Australian Cat-birds.
The range of the Cat-bird is given by Mr. North as the coastal ranges of New South AVales and Southern
Queensland. He writes:—"It is particularly ]ilentiful at Cambewarra and the Kangaroo valley, in the
Ilhuvarra district, and is found in favourable localities all through the southern portions of the coast ranges,
becoming scarcer, however, as the boundary of the colony is approached. The rich huslies in the neighbourhood
of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers are also strongholds of this species, and it is also found,
but not so freely disjiersed, in the extreme south of Queensland." Mr. Gould observes :—" So far as our
knowledge extends, this species is only found in New South AVales, where it iiihaliits the luxuriant forests
that extend along the eastern coast between the mountain ranges and the sea ; those oflllawarra, the Hunter,
the Macleay, and the Clarence, and the cedar-brushes of the Liverpool Ilange, being, among many others,
localities in which it may be found : situations suitable to the Regent- and Satin-birds are equally adajited
to the habits of the Cat-bird, and I have not iinfreqiiently seen tliein all three feeding together on the same
t r e e . "
It should he noted that Dr. Ramsay included Victoria and South Australia among the habitats of the
present species; but I presume that tliese countries were inserted by mistake in the 'Table' of Australian
birds, as Mr . North docs not include them in his more recently-given range of the species.
Mr. Gould gives the following account of the habits of the Cat-bird :—" The wild fig and the native
cherry, when in season, alTord an abundant su]iply. So rarely does it take insects that I do not recollect ever
finding any remains in the stomachs of those sjieciniens I dissectcd. In its dis])osition it is neither a shy nor
a wary bird, little caution being required to approach it, either when feeding or w hile quietly perched upon
ihe lofty branches of the trees. It is at such times that its loud, harsh, and e.xtraordinary note is heard; a
note w hich dirters so niuch from that of all other birds that, having been once heard, it can never be
mistaken. In comparing it to the nightly concerts of the domestic cat, I conceive that I am conveying to
my readers a more perfect idea of the note of this species than could be given by pages of description. This
conccrt is performed either by a pair or by several individuals, and nothing more is required than for the