COLLURICINCLA BRUNNEA, Gould.
Brown Colluricincla.

Colluricincla brunnea, Gould in Proc. of Zool. soc., Part VIII. p, 164.
Men-e-loo-roo, Aborigines of Port Essington.

 

Tus bird is abundantly dispersed over the Cobourg Peninsula, and is to be met with in all the forests in
the immediate neighbourhood of Port Essington, in which distant locality it represents the Codluricincla
harmonica of New South Wales, the Colluricincla Selbii of Van Diemen’s Land, and the Colluricinela rufiventris
of Western Australia. As might be expected, its habits and manners are very similar to those of the other
species of the genus, consequently the description of those of Colluricincla harmonica is equally descriptive
of those of Colluricincla brunnea.

A nest of this bird found on the 2nd of February was built in the upper part of a hollow stump, and
was outwardly formed of narrow strips of the bark of the M7elaleuca and lined with fine twigs. The eggs
are of a pearly bluish white, spotted and blotched with markings of olive-brown and grey, the latter colour
appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell; their medium length is one inch and two lines by ten lines
in breadth.

It is a larger and more robust species than either C. harmonica or C. rufiventris, the bill is shorter and

much stouter, and the colouring is of a uniform light brown; even the primaries and tail-feathers are of

the same hue.

All the upper surface pale brown ; primaries and tail the same, but somewhat lighter ; all the under sur-
face brownish white, becoming almost pure white on the vent and under tail-coverts ; thighs greyish brown ;
bill black ; feet blackish brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.