A I Se er Saat eee

SPHECOTHERES FLAVIVENTRIS, Gouia.

Yellow-bellied Sphecotheres.

Sphecotheres flaviventris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., 1849, p. 111.

 

By the discovery of another species of this form on the north-eastern coast of Australia, we know that the
fauna of that country is graced by at least two well-defined species of the genus, namely the §. Australis
and the present bird, which may always be distinguished from its near ally by the beautiful jonquil-yellow
of its under surface. Mr. MacGillivray informs me that it is a very common bird in the neighbourhood of
Cape York, where he daily observed it either in pairs or in small parties of three or four individuals, which
were generally very shy and difficult of approach. It frequents the open forest land in company with the
Tropidorhynchus argenticeps, and resorts to the branches for its food, which consists of fruit of various
kinds, such as figs, &c. His specimens were procured by keeping himself carefully concealed beneath one
of its favourite feeding trees and watching until an opportunity offered of getting a shot. He once saw
several nests which he had no doubt belonged to this species, nearly all of which were built among the top-
most branches of very large gum-trees, which he could not induce the natives to attempt to climb; a de-
serted nest was however within reach, being placed on an overhanging branch not more than twenty feet
from the ground; it measured about a foot in diameter, and was composed of small sticks lined with finer
ones. As is the case with the other members of the genus, the sexes offer a marked difference in colour.

The male has the crown of the head and cheeks glossy black ; orbits, and a narrow space leading to the
nostrils naked, and of a light buffy yellow, or flesh-colour ; all the upper surface, wing-coverts, outer webs
of the secondaries, and a patch on either side of the chest, olive-green; chin, chest, abdomen and flanks
beautiful yellow ; vent and under tail-coverts white; primaries and inner webs of secondaries black, edged
with grey; tail black, the external web and the apical half of the internal web of the outer feather on each
side white; the apical half of the second feather on each side white; the next, or third, on each side with
a large spot of white at the tip; bill black; feet flesh-colour.

The female is striated on the head with brown and whitish; has the upper surface olive-brown ; the wing-
feathers narrowly edged with greenish grey; the under surface white, with a conspicuous stripe of brown
down the centre of each feather; and the vent and under tail-coverts white, without striz.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.