_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
CAMPEPHAGA LEUCOMELA, _Vig. and Horsf._
Black and White Campephaga.
_Campephaga leucomela_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
215.
This species, which frequents the brushes of the eastern parts of New
South Wales between the river Hunter and Moreton Bay, differs from the
_Campephaga Karu_ in its much greater size, in the rufous colouring of
the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts, in the more
uniform grey colouring of the breast, and in the barring of this part
being much less conspicuous. I have had examples of this species in my
collection for many years, but was not fortunate enough to see it alive
during my visit to Australia. Mr. Strange has also sent me a pair which
he had shot in the scrubs on the banks of the Clarence. Its nest and
eggs, and any information of its habits, are desiderata to me.
The sexes, as in the other species, differ considerably from each other;
they may be thus described:—
The male has the head, back, wings and tail deep glossy black;
wing-coverts largely tipped and the secondaries broadly margined with
white; the two outer tail-feathers tipped with white, the external one
also narrowly margined on the outer web with the same hue; rump and
upper tail-coverts very dark grey; line over the eye snow-white; under
surface greyish white, gradually passing into rufous on the abdomen and
under tail-coverts, and indistinctly rayed with dark grey; bill, feet
and irides black.
The young male is brown where the male is black; has the wings not so
conspicuously marked with white; the under surface washed with rufous
and conspicuously rayed with brown; and the under tail-coverts deep
rufous.
The figures represent an adult male and young male of the natural size.
[Illustration:
CAMPEPHAGA HUMERALIS: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
CAMPEPHAGA HUMERALIS, _Gould_.
White-shouldered Campephaga.
_Ceblepyris humeralis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 143;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.
_Goö-mul-cül-long_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.
This bird occurs in considerable numbers throughout the whole of the
southern portion of Australia during the months of summer; it is
strictly migratory, arriving in the month of September, when insects are
most plentiful, and having performed the task of reproduction departs
again northwards in the months of January and February. It is a most
animated, lively and spirited bird, constantly singing a loud and pretty
song while actively engaged in pursuit of insects, which it either
captures on the wing, among the branches or on the ground. It commences
breeding soon after its arrival, constructing a shallow round nest of
small pieces of bark, short dead twigs and grasses interwoven with fine
vegetable fibres, cobwebs, white moss, &c., and sometimes a few grasses
and fine fibrous roots by way of lining; it is usually placed in the
fork of a horizontal dead branch of the apple- and gum-trees, and is not
easily seen from below. During the early part of the breeding-season the
male frequently chases the female from tree to tree, pouring forth his
song all the while. The eggs, which are generally two, but sometimes
three in number, differ very considerably in colour, some being of a
light green blotched all over with wood-brown, while others have a
lighter ground so largely blotched with chestnut-brown as nearly to
cover the entire surface of the shell, and I have seen some of an almost
uniform greyish green; their medium length is nine and a half lines and
breadth seven and a half lines.
The above is a detail of what I myself observed of the bird in New South
Wales. In his Notes from Western Australia, Mr. Gilbert says, “This bird
is a migratory summer visitant to this part of the country, where it
arrives about the beginning of September, after which it is to be met
with in considerable numbers among the mountains of the interior, but is
very rarely seen in the lowland districts.
“Its powers of flight are considerable, and when excited during the
breeding-season the males become very pugnacious, and not only attack
each other in the most desperate manner, but also assault much larger
birds that may approach the nest. Its usual flight is even, steady and
graceful, and while flying from tree to tree it gives utterance to its
sweet and agreeable song, which at times is so like the full, swelling,
shaking note of the Canary, that it might easily be mistaken for the
song of that bird. It is a remarkably shy bird, especially the females,
which are so seldom seen that I was at first inclined to think they were
much less numerous than the other sex, but this I afterwards found was
not the case; their favourite haunts are thickly wooded places and the
most secluded spots. The nest is so diminutive that it is very difficult
to detect it, and so shallow in form that it is quite surprising the
eggs do not roll out when the branch is shaken by the wind. I am told
that they generally build in the Raspberry-Jam-tree, but the nests I
discovered were placed on a horizontal dead branch of a Eucalyptus; they
were formed of grasses and contained two eggs. It breeds in the latter
part of September and the beginning of October.” Mr. Gilbert
subsequently met with the bird at Port Essington, where also it appears
to be migratory, for not a single individual was to be seen from the
early part of November to the month of March; females and young birds
were very abundant on his arrival in July, but he only met with one old
male during his residence in the colony, a period of eight months.
The stomach is muscular, and the food consists of insects of various
kinds and their larvæ.
The sexes differ considerably in colour, as will be seen in the
accompanying Plate and the following description:—
The male has the forehead, crown of the head, back of the neck and upper
part of the back glossy greenish black; shoulders and upper wing-coverts
pure white, forming an oblique line along the wing; the remainder of the
wing dull black, with the secondaries slightly margined and tipped with
white; lower part of the back and rump grey; tail dull black, the two
outer feathers on each side largely tipped with white; throat, chest and
all the under surface white; bill and feet black; irides nearly black.
The female has all the upper surface, wings and tail brown; wing-coverts
and secondaries margined with buff; throat and all the under surface
buffy white, with the sides and front of the breast speckled with brown;
irides very dark brown; upper mandible and tip of the lower dark reddish
brown; basal portion of the latter saffron-yellow; legs and feet dark
greyish black, slightly tinged with lead-colour.
The figures represent the two sexes of the size of life.
[Illustration: