_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
RHIPIDURA RUFIFRONS.
Rufous-fronted Fantail.
_Muscicapa rufifrons_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl., p. 1.—Vieill. 2nde
Edit. du Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., tom. xxi. p. 465.—Bonn.
et Vieill. Ency. Méth. Orn., part ii. p. 809.
_Orange-rumped Flycatcher_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 13.
_Rufous-fronted Flycatcher_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl., vol. ii. p.
220.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. x. p. 373.—Lath. Gen. Hist.,
vol. vi. p. 213.
_Rhipidura rufifrons_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
248.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 199.
_Bur-ril_, Aborigines of New South Wales.
The Rufous-fronted Fantail is one of the most beautiful and one of the
oldest known members of the group to which it belongs, having been
originally described by Latham in his “Index Ornithologicus,” and
included in the works of nearly every subsequent writer on Ornithology.
In Mr. Caley’s short but valuable “Notes on the Birds of New South
Wales,” he says, “This bird appears to me to be a rare one, at least I
do not recollect having ever seen any other specimen than the present. I
met with it on the 15th of October 1807, at Cardunny, a place about ten
miles to the north-east of Paramatta. It is a thick brush (or
underwood), and is the resort of the _great Bat_.” The fact of the
colony having at that early date been but little explored will readily
account for Caley’s opinion of the rarity of this bird; but had he
visited the thick brushes of Illawarra, the Liverpool range and the
Hunter, he would have found that those situations are its natural
habitat, and that it is there to be met with in considerable numbers.
Although many of its habits closely resemble those of the _Rhipidura
albiscapa_, they are, as the greater length of its legs would indicate,
far more terrestrial; it runs over the ground and the fallen logs of
trees with great facility; while thus engaged, and particularly when
approached by an intruder, it constantly spreads and displays its
beautiful tail, and evinces a great degree of restlessness. It is always
found in the most secluded parts of the forest, no portion of which
appears to be too dense for its abode.
I never met with it in Van Diemen’s Land, or on the islands in Bass’s
Straits, neither do I recollect having seen it in South Australia; and
it has not been found in Western Australia, or on the north coast, in
which latter locality it is represented by the _Rhipidura Dryas_.
I had no opportunity of observing it during the breeding-season, but
frequently encountered its deserted little cup-shaped nests, which bore
a general resemblance to that of the _R. albiscapa_, figured on the
preceding plate.
The sexes are precisely alike in colour; and their only outward
difference consists in the somewhat smaller size of the female.
Forehead rusty red, continuing over the eye; crown of the head, back of
the neck, upper part of the back and wings olive-brown; lower part of
the back, tail-coverts, and the basal portions of the tail rusty red;
remainder of the tail blackish brown, obscurely tipped with light grey;
the shafts of the tail-feathers for nearly half their length from the
base light rusty red; throat and centre of the abdomen white;
ear-coverts dark brown; chest black, the feathers of the lower part
edged with white; flanks and under tail-coverts light fawn-colour; eyes,
bill and feet brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
[Illustration:
RHIPIDURA ISURA: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
RHIPIDURA ISURA, _Gould_.
Northern Fantail.
_Rhipidura isura_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 174.
This species is an inhabitant of the north and north-west coasts of
Australia, in which localities specimens have been procured by His
Excellency Governor Grey and by Mr. Gilbert, the latter of whom states
that it is abundant in all parts of the Cobourg Peninsula, and that it
is to be met with in every variety of situation; that it is usually seen
in pairs, and that it secludes itself during the heat of the day amidst
the dense thickets of mangroves.
A nest found by Mr. Gilbert in the early part of November appeared to
have been recently inhabited by young birds; it was placed in the centre
of three upright twigs of a species of _Banksia_, and was formed of
narrow strips of bark, firmly bound together on the outside with cobwebs
and vegetable fibres; it was very cup-like in shape, about two inches
and a half in height, one inch and three-quarters in diameter, and
three-quarters of an inch in depth.
The stomach is tolerably muscular, and the food consists of insects of
various kinds and their larvæ.
All the upper surface dull brown; wings and tail darker brown, the outer
feather of the latter on each side margined externally and largely
tipped with white, the next having a large irregular spot of white at
the tip, and the next with a minute line of white near the tip; chin and
under surface buffy white, with an indication of a dark brown band
across the chest; bill and feet black.
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.
[Illustration: