Bill shorter than the head, dilated at the base, compressed laterally towards the tip; culmen sharp and advancing upon the forehead; nostrils lateral, large, oval, and covered by an operculum; rictus destitute of bristles; wings short, round, the fourth quill the longest, the third, fifth, sixth and seventh equal; tail rather short and round; tarsi moderately long, defended anteriorly with indistinct scales; hind-toe rather long, with a long claw; lateral toes uneven, the outer one the shortest.
This group comprises two species, one inhabiting Van Diemen’s Land, the other Southern and Western Australia; they are terrestrial in their habits, but occasionally perch on the smaller branches of the trees.
| 223. Calamanthus fuliginosus | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 70. |
| 224. Calamanthus campestris, Gould | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 71. |
Genus Chthonicola, Gould.
Generic characters.
Bill short, gradually descending from the base; the upper mandible slightly notched at the tip, compressed laterally; tomia curving inwards; wings concave; the first primary very short, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth nearly equal and the longest; tail slightly concave, and all the feathers of an equal length; tarsi moderately long; toes short, the hinder toe somewhat longer than the middle one; front claws more curved than in the genus Anthus.
The single species known of this genus combines in a remarkable manner the outward appearance, habits and manners of the Acanthizæ and Anthi, but is, I believe, more nearly allied to the former than to the latter.
| 225. Chthonicola minima | [Vol. II. ] Pl. 72. |
- Sylvia sagittata, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. vii. p. 136?
Rather widely dispersed over the grassy flats of New South Wales, and constructs a domed nest in a depression of the ground like the true Sylviæ.