_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
ACANTHIZA NANA, _Vig. & Horsf._
Little Acanthiza.
_Dwarf Warbler_, var. A.? Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 134. No. 161.
_Acanthiza nana_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
226.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. i. p. 283.
This little bird, which is very generally distributed over the colonies
of New South Wales and South Australia, inhabits the extremities of the
branches of the various trees, without, so far as I could observe,
evincing a partiality for any particular kind; the _Casuarinæ_ on the
banks of creeks, the _Eucalypti_ of the plains, and the belts of
_Banksiæ_ being equally resorted to by it. Insects of various orders
constitute its sole food, and in the capture of these it exhibited many
lively and varied actions, which strongly reminded me of those of the
_Regulus cristatus_ of our own island: that, like its near allies, it
may occasionally resort to the ground for food, I think very likely, yet
I do not recollect having seen it in such situations.
The nest is a neat domed structure with a small entrance near the top,
and is composed of fine grasses; its site varies according to
circumstances, but is generally among the smaller branches of the trees.
The number and colour of its eggs are at present unknown.
As its name implies, and as will be seen on reference to the Plate, the
_Acanthiza nana_ is one of the more diminutive, although not the least
of the Australian birds.
There is no outward difference by which the sexes can be distinguished,
neither do they undergo any seasonal change, nor is there any great
variation in the colouring of the young and the adult.
All the upper surface bright olive; tail greyish brown tinged with
olive, and crossed by a broad band of blackish brown; throat and under
surface yellow; irides brown with a very narrow rim of yellowish white;
bill and feet blackish brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
[Illustration:
ACANTHIZA LINEATA: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
ACANTHIZA LINEATA, _Gould_.
Striated Acanthiza.
_Acanthiza lineata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 146; and
in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.
This pretty little species inhabits most of the wooded districts of
South Australia, particularly the gullies among the mountain ranges; it
is also tolerably abundant among the brushes and trees near the brooks
and rivulets of the Liverpool range in New South Wales. It is very
active and animated in its actions, clinging and prying about among the
branches in search of insects in every possible variety of position. It
is a permanent resident in the countries above mentioned, but is not
found in Van Diemen’s Land or Western Australia. Unfortunately I did not
succeed in procuring its nest, but judging from those of the other
members of the genus, it is doubtless of a domed form, with a small hole
near the top for an entrance; and though I have never seen the eggs, it
may be presumed from analogy that they are either purely white, or white
speckled with reddish brown.
Its food consists entirely of insects, which are procured from the
leaves and flowers of the various trees.
The sexes can only be distinguished by dissection, for no perceptible
difference whatever is observable either in their size or the colouring
of their plumage.
This species, the least of the genus to which it belongs, and one of the
most diminutive of the Australian birds, may be thus described:—
Crown of the head brownish olive, with a fine line of white down the
centre of each feather; back and wings greenish olive; tail the same,
crossed by a broad band of brownish black near the tip, beyond which the
extremities are brownish grey; throat and chest grey, tinged with olive,
the margins of the feathers spotted with dark brown, giving these parts
an irregular spotted appearance; bill and feet black; irides brown.
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.
[Illustration: