ascending and curving downwards to the tip; _nostrils_ basal, lateral,
open, and seated in a broad swollen cere; _wings_ rather long, pointed,
first primary very long, the second the longest; _tail_ long and much
graduated; _tarsi_ moderate and covered with minute scales; _toes_
slender, the outer toe much longer than the inner one.
The only known species of this form is strictly gregarious, assembles in
vast flocks, and is admirably adapted for plains and downs covered with
grasses, upon the seeds of which it entirely subsists.
405. Melopsittacus undulatus Vol. V. Pl. 44.
In all probability this bird is universally dispersed over the whole of
the interior of Australia, since independently of its previously known
range from Swan River on the west to New South Wales on the east, Mr.
Gilbert observed it in every part of the country between Moreton Bay and
the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Genus NYMPHICUS, _Wagl._
As of _Melopsittacus_, there is only one species known of this genus. It
is strictly Australian, and will doubtless hereafter be found to be
universally distributed over that vast country; it is equally adapted
for the plains, and the two birds are frequently found associated.
406. Nymphicus Novæ-Hollandiæ Vol. V. Pl. 45.
There are two distinct varieties of this species, one having a much
darker colouring than the other.
Genus PEZOPORUS, _Ill._
Of this terrestrial form but one species is known, which is very
generally distributed over the temperate portions of Australia, the
islands in Bass’s Straits and Van Diemen’s Land. The eggs are laid on
the bare ground.
407. Pezoporus formosus Vol. V. Pl. 46.
Genus LATHAMUS, _Less._
Of this form only a single species is known to exist in Australia, and
that species had been assigned to a different genus by almost every
recent writer on ornithology, Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield placing it in
their genus _Nanodes_, Wagler in his genus _Euphema_, &c.; subsequently
M. Lesson made it the type of his genus _Lathamus_, giving it at the
same time the specific appellation of _rubrifrons_, which must of course
give place to that of _discolor_, long before applied to it by Latham.
Having had ample opportunities of observing this bird in a state of
nature, I concur in the propriety of M. Lesson’s views in separating it
into a distinct genus; at the same time I must remark that in its
habits, nidification, food and whole economy, it is most closely allied
to the _Trichoglossi_ or honey-eating Parrakeets, and in no degree
related to the _Euphemæ_.
408. Lathamus discolor Vol. V. Pl. 47.
Genus TRICHOGLOSSUS, _Vig. & Horsf._
The arboreal group of _Trichoglossi_ or honey-eating Lorikeets, if not
so numerous in species as the grass-feeding Parrakeets, are individually
much more abundant and are more universally dispersed, being found in
every part of the country yet visited; several species inhabit New South
Wales: only one has yet been found in Western Australia. Other members
of the genus are found in New Guinea and the Moluccas, but Australia is
the great nursery for the birds of this form.
In their structure, habits and mode of nidification, and in their
economy, no two groups of the same family can be more widely different
than the _Trichoglossi_ and the _Platycerci_; the pencilled tongue,
diminutive stomach, thick skin, tough flesh, and fœtid odour of the
former presenting a decided contrast to the simple tongue, capacious
crop and stomach, thin skin, delicate flesh and freedom from odour of
the latter; besides which the _Trichoglossi_ possess a strong _os
furcatorium_, which organ is wanting in the _Platycerci_; hence while
the _Trichoglossi_ are powerful, swift and arrow-like in their flight,
the _Platycerci_ are feeble, pass through the air in a succession of
undulations near the ground, and never fly to any great distance. The
mode in which the two groups approach and alight upon and quit the trees
is also remarkably different; the _Trichoglossi_ dashing among and
alighting upon the branches simultaneously, and with the utmost
rapidity, and quitting them in like manner, leaving the deafening sound
of their thousand voices echoing through the woods; while the
_Platycerci_ rise to the branches after their undulating flight and
leave them again in the like quiet manner, no sound being heard but
their inward piping note.
The eggs of the _Trichoglossi_ are from two to four in number.
409. Trichoglossus Swainsonii, _Jard. & Selb._ Vol. V. Pl. 48.
410. Trichoglossus rubritorquis, _Vig. & Vol. V. Pl. 49.
Horsf._
“Procured at Port Molle on the north-east coast, previously only
found at Port Essington.”—J. M’Gillivray.
411. Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus. Vol. V. Pl. 50.
412. Trichoglossus versicolor, _Vig._ Vol. V. Pl. 51.
413. Trichoglossus concinnus. Vol. V. Pl. 52.
414. Trichoglossus porphyrocephalus, _Diet._ Vol. V. Pl. 53.
415. Trichoglossus pusillus. Vol. V. Pl. 54.
Order RASORES, _Ill._
Family COLUMBIDÆ, _Leach_.
The members of this important family are distributed over every portion
of the globe, in no part of which are they more numerous than in
Australia, since that country is inhabited by no less than twenty-one
species, which, like its _Psittacidæ_, comprise several well-marked and
distinct genera, and appear to be naturally divided into two great
groups, the one arboreal, the other terrestrial; the _Ptilinopi_,
_Carpophagæ_ and _Lopholaimus_, with their expansive gullets and broad
hand-like feet forming part of the former, and the _Phaps_, _Geophaps_
and _Geopeliæ_ the latter. The _Ptilinopi_ and other allied forms are,
in consequence of the peculiar character of the vegetation, confined,
without a single exception, to the eastern and northern parts of the
country.
The species of the genus _Phaps_, a form which I believe to be confined
to Australia, are more widely dispersed than those of any other section
of the family, being universally distributed over the entire country
from north to south and from east to west; even the parched deserts of
the interior are visited by them if a supply of water be within reach of
their evening flight, which is performed with the most extraordinary
rapidity and power.
Genus PTILINOPUS, _Swains._
The species of this genus, the most brilliant and highly-coloured of the
_Columbidæ_, range over Australia, New Guinea, Malacca, Celebes, and
Polynesia; two of the three Australian species are I believe confined to
that country.
416. Ptilinopus Swainsonii, _Gould_ Vol. V. Pl. 55.
417. Ptilinopus Ewingii, _Gould_ Vol. V. Pl. 56.
418. Ptilinopus superbus Vol. V. Pl. 57.
_Ptilinopus superbus_, Steph. cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol.
xiv. p. 279.
Genus CARPOPHAGA, _Selby_.
The species of this genus are widely dispersed over Australia, New
Guinea, Malacca, Celebes and Polynesia. Strictly arboreal in their
habits and feeding entirely upon fruits, berries and seeds, they
frequent the towering fig-trees when their fruit is ripe, and the lofty
palms for the sake of their large round seeds. I have frequently
observed large flocks moving about from one part of the forest to
another, consequently they may be considered a gregarious race; their
short tarsi and dilated feet are ill-adapted for the ground, and I have
never seen them descend from the trees, not even for water.
419. Carpophaga magnifica Vol. V. Pl. 58.
420. Carpophaga leucomela Vol. V. Pl. 59.
421. Carpophaga luctuosa Vol. V. Pl. 60.
Genus LOPHOLAIMUS, _G. R. Gray_.
The single species of this genus is strictly a fruit-eating Pigeon, and
is confined, so far as we yet know, to the brushes of New South Wales,
where it moves about in large flocks and feeds upon the wild figs and
other fruits and berries which the trees of the brushes afford.
422. Lopholaimus Antarcticus Vol. V. Pl. 61.
A noble bird ornamented with a large occipital crest.
Genus CHALCOPHAPS, _Gould_.
Generic characters.
“_Bill_ slender, moderate and straight, the tip vaulted and rather
arched; _nostrils_ lateral, membranous and swollen, with the opening in
the middle of the bill; _wings_ long, second and third primaries nearly
equal and the longest; _tail_ moderate and much rounded; _tarsi_ rather
shorter than the middle toe, robust and covered with transverse scales;
_toes_ long, the lateral and the hind-toes nearly as long as the outer;
_claws_ moderate and curved.”—Gray and Mitchell’s Genera of Birds, Art.
GOURINÆ.
A genus of Brush Pigeons, the members of which seek their food on the
ground and live on the fallen seeds and berries they find there. Two
species inhabit Australia, one of which is confined to the eastern and
the other to the northern coast; other species are found in Java,
Sumatra, and on the continent of India, the whole forming a group well
worthy of investigation by the scientific ornithologist.
423. Chalcophaps chrysochlora Vol. V. Pl. 62.
The bird of this form inhabiting the country in the neighbourhood of
Port Essington differs from those inhabiting New South Wales in the much
greater length of the mandibles, and is altogether a much finer bird:
consequently I am induced to believe that it is distinct from its
southern prototype; I would therefore provisionally name it—
424. Chalcophaps longirostris.
I have not figured it, inasmuch as the colouring is similar, but more
brilliant, and has the bands across the rump more distinct than in _C.
chrysochlora_.
Genus LEUCOSARCIA, _Gould_.
Generic characters.
_Bill_ lengthened, almost cylindrical, fleshy for two-thirds of its
length from the base; _nostrils_ lateral and covered by an oval swollen
operculum; _wings_ very short and concave; _tail_ short; _tarsi_
lengthened and defended in front by large distinct scuta; _toes_ rather
short, hind-toe situated high upon the tarsus.
A genus proposed by me for the reception of the Wonga-Wonga Pigeon of
the Australian Brushes, a bird having many peculiar habits, but which,
being mainly terrestrial, lead it to frequent the ground in the midst of
the dense forests, where it moves about in pairs, feeding upon seeds and
berries. Its flesh being remarkably white and extremely delicate, it is
one of the best birds for the table inhabiting Australia, or indeed any
other country.
The colour of the flesh suggested the generic term I have assigned to
it.
425. Leucosarcia picata Vol. V. Pl. 63.
Genus PHAPS, _Selby_.
The members of this genus, generally known by the name of Bronze-wings,
form an excellent viand for the settlers, and one of the greatest boons
bestowed upon the explorer, since they not only furnish him with a
supply of nutritious food, but direct him by their straight and
arrow-like evening flight to the situations where he may find water,
that element without which man cannot exist.
426. Phaps chalcoptera.
Peristera chalcoptera Vol. V. Pl. 64.
427. Phaps elegans.
Peristera elegans Vol. V. Pl. 65.
428. Phaps histrionica.
Peristera histrionica, _Gould_ Vol. V. Pl. 66.
“This beautiful pigeon,” says Captain Sturt, “is an inhabitant of the
interior. It lays its eggs in February, depositing them under any low
bush in the middle of the open plains. In the end of March and the
beginning of April they collect in large flocks and live on the seed of
the rice-grass, which the natives also collect for food. During the
short period this harvest lasts the flavour of this pigeon is most
delicious, but at other times it is indifferent. It flies to water at
sunset, but like the Bronze-wing only wets the bill. It is astonishing
indeed that so small a quantity as a bare mouthful should be sufficient
to quench its thirst in the burning deserts it inhabits. It left us in
the beginning of May, and I think migrated to the N.E., for the further
we went to the westward the fewer did we see of it.”
Mr. Gilbert observed this species in vast flocks on the plains in
latitude 19° S.
Genus GEOPHAPS, _Gould_.
Generic characters.
_Bill_ very short and robust; _eyes_ surrounded with a bare skin;
_wings_ very short and rounded; _tertiaries_ long, and broad at their
ends; _tarsi_ moderately long; _toes_ shorter than the tarsus, the inner
toe rather the longest.
The members of this genus are peculiar to Australia; are more
terrestrial in their habits than any other form of pigeons inhabiting
that country; incubate on the ground; squat like the partridges when
their haunts are intruded upon; inhabit the plains and open downs; have
white pectoral muscles; are excellent food for man; run with great
rapidity; fly swiftly for short distances; and when disturbed either
perch on the larger branches, on which they squat lengthwise, or descend
to the ground and run off after the manner of the true _Gallinaceæ_.
429. Geophaps scripta Vol. V. Pl. 67.
430. Geophaps Smithii Vol. V. Pl. 68.
431. Geophaps plumifera, _Gould_ Vol. V. Pl. 69.
“Lat. 17° 30′, March 6. I was fortunate enough to kill for the first
time _Geophaps plumifera_, a species hitherto only known from a single
specimen sent home by Mr. Bynoe of H.M.S. Beagle. The irides are bright
orange, the naked skin before and surrounding the eyes bright crimson;
the bill dark greenish grey; the scales of the legs and toes greenish
grey; skin between the scales light ashy grey. Its flight and actions on
the ground are precisely similar to those of the other species of the
genus. I only saw the specimen I killed, but afterwards learned that one
of my companions had seen a flock rise precisely like _Geophaps
scripta_.”—_Gilbert’s Journal._
“It was on the return of my party from the eastern extremity of Cooper’s
Creek,” says Captain Sturt, “that we first saw and procured specimens of
this beautiful little bird. Its locality was entirely confined to about
thirty miles along the banks of the creek in question; it was generally
perched on some rock fully exposed to the sun’s rays, and evidently
taking a pleasure in basking in the tremendous heat. It was very wild
and took wing on hearing the least noise, but its flight was short and
rapid. In the afternoon this little pigeon was seen running in the grass
on the creek side, and could hardly be distinguished from a quail. It
never perched on the trees; when it dropped after rising from the
ground, it could seldom be flushed again, but ran with such speed
through the grass as to elude our search.”
Genus OCYPHAPS, _Gould_.
Generic characters.
_Head_ furnished with a lengthened occipital crest; _wings_ rather
short, the third primary gradually narrowed to a point; _tail_ rather
long and much rounded; _tarsi_ as long as the middle toe; the inner
_toe_ shorter than the outer.
A genus consisting of a single species whose natural habitat is the
basin of the interior of Australia, over the vast expanse of which its
long pointed wings enable it to pass at pleasure from one district to
another whenever a scarcity of food prompts it so to do: although mainly
terrestrial in its habits, it is more frequently seen on the trees than
the members of the genus _Phaps_; its food consists of small seeds and
berries.
432. Ocyphaps Lophotes Vol. V. Pl. 70.
Genus PETROPHASSA, _Gould_.
Generic characters.
As in _Ocyphaps_, but with the wings shorter, more rounded and destitute
of the bronzy lustre; and with a more rounded tail.
So little is known respecting the single species of this Australian
genus that I am unable to say more than that it inhabits rocky
situations near the sea-coast.
433. Petrophassa albipennis, _Gould_ Vol. V. Pl. 71.
Genus GEOPELIA, _Swains._
A form of Ground Doves very generally distributed over the Indian
Islands and Australia, and of which three or four species are peculiar
to the latter country; grassy hills, flats and extensive plains are the
situations these birds affect, consequently in Australia they are almost
exclusively confined to the interior; they pass over the ground in a
quiet and peaceful manner; and when disturbed fly to some neighbouring
tree, descend again almost immediately and search about for the minute
seeds of annuals and other plants, upon which they principally subsist.
434. Geopelia humeralis Vol. V. Pl. 72.
435. Geopelia tranquilla, _Gould_ Vol. V. Pl. 73.
436. Geopelia placida, _Gould_.
Inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Essington, is much smaller than _G.
tranquilla_, but in colour and marking is precisely similar to that
species.
437. Geopelia cuneata Vol. V. Pl. 74.
“All that we read or imagine of the softness and innocence of the dove,”
says Captain Sturt, “is realized in this beautiful and delicate bird; it
is common on the Murray and the Darling, and was met with in various
parts of the interior. Two remained with us at the Depôt in latitude 39°
40′, longitude 142°, during a great part of the winter, and on one
occasion roosted on the tent-ropes near the fire. Its note is
exceedingly plaintive, similar to, but softer than, that of the
turtle-dove of Europe.”
Genus MACROPYGIA, _Swains._
A genus the members of which are distributed over India, Java, New
Guinea, Ceram, the Moluccas, Australia, &c. Only one species, _M.
Phasianella_, has yet been found in the last-mentioned country, but
others may be discovered when its eastern and northern parts have been
more fully explored.
438. Macropygia Phasianella Vol. V. Pl. 75.
The interior of the dense brushes are the favourite haunts of this bird,
but it occasionally resorts to the crowns of the low hills and the open
glades of the forest, where it searches for its food on the ground; on
being disturbed it flies to the branches of the nearest tree, spreading
out its broad tail at the moment of alighting.
Genus DIDUNCULUS, _Peale_.
Since I drew and described this most anomalous form, under the name
assigned to it by Sir William Jardine, two important facts have been
ascertained respecting it, viz. that it is identical with the bird
described by Mr. Titian Peale of America under the name of _Didunculus_,
and that the Samoan Islands and not Australia is its true habitat.
Didunculus strigirostris.
439. Gnathodon strigirostris, _Jard._ Vol. V. Pl. 76.
Family MEGAPODIDÆ, _G. R. Gray_.
The genera _Talegalla_, _Leipoa_ and _Megapodius_ form part of a great
family of birds inhabiting Australia, New Guinea, Celebes, and the
Philippine Islands, whose habits and economy are most singular and
differ from those of every other group of birds which now exists upon
the surface of our globe. In their structure they are most nearly allied
to the _Gallinaceæ_, while in some of their actions and in their mode of
flight they much resemble the _Rallidæ_; the small size of their brain,
coupled with the extraordinary means employed for the incubation of
their eggs, indicates an extremely low degree of organization.
The three species of the family inhabiting Australia, although referable
to three distinct genera, have many habits in common, particularly in
their mode of nidification—each and all depositing their eggs in mounds
of earth and leaves, which, becoming heated either by the fermentation
of the vegetable matter, or by the sun’s rays, form a kind of natural
hatching-apparatus, from which the young at length emerge fully
feathered, and capable of sustaining life by their own unaided efforts.
Genus TALEGALLA, _Less._
440. Talegalla Lathami Vol. V. Pl. 77.
Inhabits all the brushes and scrubby forests of the eastern parts of
Australia. Mr. M’Gillivray informs me, in a letter lately received from
him, dated on board H.M.S. “Rattlesnake,” February 6th, 1848, “At Port
Molle I shot in the brushes both _Megapodius_ and _Talegalla_,” which
proves that the range of the latter bird is much greater than I have
stated.
Genus LEIPOA, _Gould_.
Generic characters.
_Bill_ nearly as long as the head, slender, swollen at the base; _tomia_
undulating, and curving downwards; _nostrils_ large, oblong, defended by
an operculum and placed in the centre of a groove; _head_ sub-crested;
_wings_ large, round and concave; the first five primaries equal and
longest; tertiaries nearly as long as the primaries; _tail_ round and
composed of fourteen feathers; _tarsi_ moderately robust, scutellated in
front, posteriorly defended with round scales; _toes_ somewhat short;
the lateral toes nearly equal in length.
441. Leipoa ocellata, _Gould_ Vol. V. Pl. 78.
Since I wrote my account of this bird, it has been found to be
abundantly dispersed over all parts of the Murray Scrub in South
Australia.
The following highly interesting account has been forwarded to me by His
Excellency Captain Sir George Grey, being the result of his observations
of the bird made while Governor of South Australia:—
“Government House, Adelaide, December 12th, 1842.
“MY DEAR MR. GOULD,
“I have lately returned from the Murray, where I have been studying
the habits and manners of the _Leipoa ocellata_, which is very
plentiful in the sandy districts of the Scrub. The eyes of the living
bird are of a bright, light hazel; its legs and feet dark brown, but
not so dark as shown in your Plate; whilst the bare parts on the head
and face are of a very delicate and clear blue. The gizzard is very
large and muscular; the inner coats peculiarly horny and hard. Its
food consists chiefly of insects, such as _Phasmidæ_ and a species of
_Cimex_; it also feeds on the seeds of various shrubs. The entire
lungs and intestines of the one which I dissected were full of
_Tænioïdes_. I have never seen any other animal infested with them to
anything like the same extent, and yet the bird was perfectly healthy.
It possesses the power of running with extraordinary rapidity; it
roosts at night on trees, and never flies if it can avoid so
doing;—the male bird weighs about four pounds and a half.
“The mounds they construct are from 12 to 13 yards in circumference at
the base, and from 2 to 3 feet in height; the general form being that
of a dome. The sand and grass are sometimes scraped up for a distance
of from 15 to 16 feet from its outer edge.
“The mound appears to be constructed as follows: a nearly circular
hole of about 18 inches in diameter, is scratched in the ground to the
depth of 7 or 8 inches, and filled with dead leaves, dead grass and
similar materials; and a large mass of the same substances is placed
all round it upon the ground. Over this first layer a large mound of
sand, mixed with dried grass, &c., is thrown, and finally the whole
assumes the form of a dome, as I have before stated.
“When an egg is to be deposited, the top is laid open, and a hole
scraped in its centre to within 2 or 3 inches of the bottom of the
layer of dead leaves. The egg is placed in the sand just at the edge
of the hole, in a vertical position, with the smaller end downwards.
The sand is then thrown in again, and the mound left in its original
form. The egg which has been thus deposited is therefore completely
surrounded and enveloped in soft sand, having from 4 to 6 inches of
sand between the lower end of the egg and the layer of dead leaves.
When a second egg is laid it is deposited in precisely the same plane
as the first, but at the opposite side of the hole before alluded to.
When a third egg is laid it is placed in the same plane as the others,
but, as it were, at the third corner of a square. When the fourth egg
is laid, it is still placed in the same plane; but in the fourth
corner of the square, or rather of the lozenge, the figure being of
this form, ⁘; the next four eggs in succession are placed in the
interstices, but always in the same plane, so that at last there is a
circle of eight eggs all standing upright in the sand with several
inches of sand intervening between each. The male bird assists the
female in opening and covering up the mound; and provided the birds
are not themselves disturbed, the female continues to lay in the same
mound, even after it has been several times robbed. The natives say
that the females lay an egg every day.