_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
CINCLORAMPHUS CRURALIS.
Brown Cincloramphus.
_Megalurus cruralis_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 228.
_Cincloramphus cruralis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p.
150; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.
As there are two, if not three, species of this very singular genus
inhabiting the southern portion of Australia, which bear a great
resemblance to each other, it becomes necessary to state that the bird
represented in the accompanying Plate is the one commonly seen during
the months of spring and summer in all the open districts of New South
Wales, in which country it arrives in August, and after performing the
task of incubation, departs again in January or February. Open downs,
grassy flats and fields of corn are its favourite places of resort. It
is certainly one of the most animated of the Australian birds. Had I not
visited Australia and personally studied its habits, my credulity would
have been severely taxed upon being informed that the two birds here
figured represent the male and female of the same species, many genera
having been instituted upon much slighter grounds of difference; I had
abundant proofs, however, that such is really the case, having seen many
of the nests and eggs with the parent bird in the act of incubation,
during the two seasons I spent in the country. In most of its habits and
in its economy this bird closely assimilates to the Skylark of Europe.
During the early months of spring it trips over the ground in the most
sprightly manner with its tail nearly erect; mounts on the dead limbs of
trees and the fences of enclosures, and runs along them with the
greatest dexterity; at this season of the year also the male may be
frequently seen running beside his diminutive partner, and so busily
engaged in pouring forth his song for her amusement, as to be apparently
unconscious of the presence of any other object. After the female has
chosen the place for her nest, which is always on the ground, the male,
like the Skylark, frequently mounts in the air with a tremulous motion
of the wings, and after cheering her with his animated song, descends
again to the ground or skims off to a neighbouring tree, and incessantly
pours forth his voluble and not unpleasing notes.
I found it very abundant in all the Upper Hunter districts, as well as
in all the surrounding country, both to the north and south: I killed
numerous examples of both sexes, but not one male with the throat and
under surface black, like specimens I have seen from Port Philip and
South Australia, and which I consider to be specifically distinct.
The male has the entire plumage brown, each feather margined with
brownish white; a large patch of dark brown on the centre of the
abdomen; bill, inside of the mouth and tongue black; irides hazel; feet
flesh-brown.
The female is similar in colour, but the feathers being more broadly
margined with brownish white gives her a paler hue than her mate; the
under surface is also much lighter, and the patch in the centre of the
abdomen is much smaller.
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.
[Illustration:
CINCLORAMPHUS CANTILLANS: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]
CINCLORAMPHUS CANTILLANS, _Gould_.
Black-breasted Cincloramphus.
_Cincloramphus cantatoris_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p.
135.
_Ye-jȕl-lup_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.
_Sky-Lark_ of the Colonists.
I consider it necessary to state that the figures in the accompanying
Plate are taken from specimens killed at Port Philip in South Australia,
and I have a specimen procured at Port Essington which is precisely
similar. They all differ from _C. cruralis_ in their smaller size and in
their darker colouring, a character which is confined to the male sex,
and which is, I believe, strictly a summer livery. At Swan River the
individuals are still smaller, and like the _C. cruralis_ are never so
black on the breast as the bird here figured; shall we not then be
justified in considering this again as distinct? The term _cantillans_
was applied to a specimen in the winter dress, when neither the breast
nor bill is black, otherwise a more appropriate appellation might have
been applied.