OCR Text |
Show 384 MR. B. P. RAMSAY ON BIRDS FROM QUEENSLAND. [Jlllie 11, and encircles the whole of the eye, is of a bright indigo-blue in the living bird, and gives it a very curious and remarkable appearance ; this fact, added to the unproportionably long hind toe and nail, may, in some degree, help to decide to which genus the bird really belongs, or form sufficient grounds for the foundation of a new genus. If such be deemed the case, I beg to propose the generic term Ophryzone, on account of these peculiarities. In one of m y specimens, said to be the male, the chin is white, while in the female it is black ; the upper tail-coverts are black, and the under white, in both sexes. The female, perhaps a young bird, has the feathers of the white collar tipped with black, and is only faintly marked with white on the lower part of the back and rump. In this specimen the black of the ear-coverts is joined with the band on the breast at the shoulders. 16. MACH^RIRHYNCHUS FLAVIVENTER. Spalding was fortunate enough to obtain three specimens of this beautiful bird-a pair of adults and their yoang one. The female differs only in having the under surface paler, the back olive-brown, and the throat and under wing-coverts white. The young is similar in plumage to the adults; but in it the yellow markings are almost white. Male and female. Total length 5 inches; bill from the angle of the mouth 0*8, from forehead 0*65, breadth 0*35, height 0*15; wing 2*3 ; tail 2*15 ; tarsi 0*5. This species frequents the densest parts of the brushes. The specimens were obtained thirty-five miles inland, and were the only individuals seen, although the place was frequently revisited. 17. PCECILODRYAS SUPERCILIOSA. Found tolerably plentiful as far south as Cleveland Bay. I have also received specimens from Port Denison. 18. EOPSALTRIA AUSTRALIS. The specimens of the yellow-breasted Robins obtained at Rockingham Bay differ slightly from the E. australis of New South Wales in the browner tint of the upper surface, in the deeper yellow of the breast, upper tail-coverts, and rump, and in having a longer and much stouter bill, and are probably of a distinct species. Specimen from Eockingham Bay. _ ^T^IS W^' Bill, from angle of the mouth 0*75 in. 0*65 in. Bill, from forehead 0*65 , 0*55 Bill, width at base 0*25 0*2 Bill, height at base 0*2 0*15 Wing, from flexure 3*3 3*05 Tail 2*6 2*4 Tarsi 0*8 0*75 One specimen from Rockingham Bay has the inner webs cf the |