GERYGONE LAVIGASTER, Gowa.

Bufl-breasted Gerygone.

Gerygone levigaster, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 133.

 

Mr. Gizserr killed several specimens of this little bird on the Cobourg Peninsula, and on the islands in
Van Diemen’s Gulf, and sometimes observed a solitary individual among the mangroves near the settlement
of Port Essington. He states that it has a very pleasing but weak piping note, and occasionally utters a
number of notes in slow succession, but not so much lengthened as those of the Gerygone culicivorus of
Swan River; like that bird it hovers up and down the smaller branches of the trees and creeps about the
thickets. It is very tame, and scarcely ever flies from the tree upon the approach of an intruder, but sits
turning its little head about from side to side until the hand is almost upon it, when it merely hops upon
another branch and again quietly looks about, apparently quite unconcerned.

The stomach is tolerably muscular, and the food consists of small insects, principally of the soft-winged
kinds.

A narrow obscure line, commencing at the nostrils and passing over the eye, yellowish white; all the
upper surface rusty brown ; primaries brown, margined with lighter brown ; tail whitish at the base,
gradually deepening into nearly black, the lateral feather largely, and the remainder, except the two middle
ones, slightly tipped with white ; all the under surface white, slightly washed with ellen irides light
reddish brown ; bill olive-brown; base of lower mandible light ash-grey ; feet dark greenish grey.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

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