Generic characters.
Bill very small and short, swollen at the sides; nostrils basal, oblong and protected by an operculum; at the base of the bill a few fine hairs; wings moderately long, first quill very short; the first, third, fourth and fifth equal and the longest; tail short and square; tarsi moderate; toes rather short, adapted for clinging; the hinder and the middle toes equal in length.
The members of this genus are the smallest birds of the Australian fauna. I have described two species, one inhabiting New South Wales and the other Port Essington; and had I characterized the bird of this form inhabiting Western Australia as distinct, I should most likely not have been in error, as it is probable that when the subject has been more fully investigated it will prove to be so.
| 152. Smicrornis brevirostris, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 103. |
| 153. Smicrornis flavescens, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 104. |
Family SYLVIADÆ, Vig.
Subfamily SAXICOLINÆ, Bonap.
Genus Erythrodryas, Gould.
Generic characters.
As in Petroïca, but with the bill shorter and more flattened at the base, where it is beset with a number of fine hairs which curve forward and overhang the nostrils; wings shorter and more rounded; first and second primaries much shorter than the rest; the fifth the longest; tarsi shorter; toes more lengthened; lateral toes nearly even; claws much sharper and more curved.
The members of the genus Erythrodryas are much more delicate in structure than the Petroïcæ, have their feeble bill strongly beset with bristles, and are more arboreal in their habits; their usual places of resort being the innermost recesses of the forest, where, in a state of quiet seclusion, they flit about in search of insects; the true Petroïcæ, on the other hand, frequent open plains, are more bold and vigorous, and possess a structure which adapts them for the ground over which they pass like the Saxicolæ.