This form is peculiar to Australia, in every portion of which great country, including Van Diemen’s Land, one or other of the species I have figured are to be found; some of them associated in the same district, and even inhabiting the same trees, while in other parts only a single species exists; for instance, the P. punctatus, P. quadragintus and P. affinis inhabit Van Diemen’s Land; on the whole of the southern coast of the continent from east to west P. punctatus and P. striatus are associated; the north coast is the cradle of the species I have called P. uropygialis, and the east coast that of P. melanocephalus, from both of which countries the others are excluded; the true habitat of the beautiful species I have figured and described as P. rubricatus is not yet known.
The seven species of this little group are each individually very numerous, which, together with their general distribution, may enable them to effect some important operation in the economy of nature; their chief food consisting of the larvæ of insects.
| 76. Pardalotus punctatus | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 35. |
| 77. Pardalotus rubricatus, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 36. |
| 78. Pardalotus quadragintus, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 37. |
| 79. Pardalotus striatus | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 38. |
| 80. Pardalotus affinis, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 39. |
| 81. Pardalotus melanocephalus, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 40. |
| 82. Pardalotus uropygialis, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 41. |
Family LANIADÆ, Vig.
Genus Strepera, Less.
Prior to the commencement of the present work only two species of this form (S. graculina and S. Anaphonensis) had been described, and these had been referred to a different genus by almost every author who had occasion to mention them; the older writers assigning them to Corvus, Coracias and Gracula, and the more modern ones to Cracticus and Barita: finding that their structure did not agree with the character of either of those genera, I (in 1837) proposed to make the first-mentioned species the type of a new genus (Coronica), not being aware at the time that this had been done some years before by M. Lesson, whose name, having the priority, is necessarily the one adopted.
My researches in Australia have enabled me to add four other species to the group, three possessing well-defined specific characters, and one, the distinctive markings of which are not so apparent, but which, in my opinion, is equally distinct; the specific characters of some groups of birds are, in fact, so difficult to be determined, both from the similarity of the species and the want of a knowledge of their natural habits, as to cause the naturalist no little trouble and research in properly distinguishing them; and to no group does this remark more strongly apply than to the one under consideration; the ample materials, however, at my command, and the possession of a large number of specimens, the sexes of which have all been ascertained by dissection, and the habits of which have been observed in their native localities, enables me to give as perfect an account of this curious group as any I have yet attempted.
On a careful examination of the members of this genus, it will be perceived that their relationship to the Corvidæ, to which they have been usually assigned, is very remote, their size and colour being, in fact, the only features of resemblance; their whole structure and economy is indeed very different from those of every other bird known, except those of Gymnorhina and Cracticus, with which genera they form a very natural group among the great family of Laniadæ or Shrikes.
All the species yet discovered are not only peculiar to Australia, but are strictly confined to the southern portion of that continent; their range being limited to the country comprised within the 25th and 40th degrees of south latitude; future research may, however, add both to the number of species and to the extent of their range; still their great stronghold is undoubtedly the most southern portion of the Australian continent, the islands of Bass’s Straits and Van Diemen’s Land.
Most of these birds seek their food on or near the ground, sometimes in swampy situations, and even on the sea-shore, at others on the most sterile plains far distant from water; grasshoppers and insects of every order are eaten by them with avidity, and to these grain, seeds and fruits are frequently added; they hop with remarkable agility over the broken surface of the ground, and leap from branch to branch with great alacrity: their flight is feeble and protracted, and they seldom mount high in the air, except for the purpose of crossing a gully, or for passing from one part of the forest to another, and then merely over the tops of the trees; during flight they usually utter a peculiar shrill cry, which is frequently repeated and answered by other birds of the same troop, for they mostly flit about in small companies of from four to six in number, apparently the parents and their offspring of the year. All the species occasionally descend to the cultivated grounds, orchards and gardens of the settlers, and commit considerable havoc among their fruits and grain; in many parts of Australia, particularly in Van Diemen’s Land, they form an article of food, and are considered good and even delicate eating. They usually build open cup-shaped nests as large as that of the Crow, composed of sticks and other coarse materials, lined with grasses or any other suitable substance that may be at hand; the eggs are generally three, but are sometimes four, in number. The sexes are similar in plumage, and the young assume the livery of the adult from the time they leave the nest.