Crown of the head and back of the neck grey; ear-coverts and sides of the neck silvery grey; throat and lores black; back, chest and abdomen chestnut-brown; wings the same, but darker; lower part of the body surrounded by a black band; tail-coverts white; tail black; bill black; irides reddish brown; eyelash blackish brown; feet pink-red.
The female differs from her mate by all her markings being much more obscurely defined.
The figure is that of a male of the natural size.
DONACOLA CASTANEOTHORAX: Gould.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter delt. C. Hullmandel Imp.
DONACOLA CASTANEOTHORAX, Gould.
Chestnut-breasted Finch.
Amadina castaneothorax, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.
Judging from the extreme rarity of this species in European collections, its true locality can scarcely as yet have been visited by naturalists. I observed several specimens in the Museum at Sydney; these, as well as those I possess, were obtained at Moreton Bay; the productions of which part of Australia are less known than might have been expected, considering how long it has been colonized. I had not the good fortune to meet with this bird in a state of nature, but I have been informed that it frequents reed-beds on the banks of rivers and lagoons, and that it much resembles the Bearded Tit (Calamophila biarmicus) of Europe, in the alertness with which it passes up and down the upright stems of the reeds, from the lower part to the very top, a habit for which the lengthened and curved form of its claws seems well adapted.
The sexes appear to differ but little in colouring; in some individuals, however, the cheeks and throat are black instead of brown, a character doubtless dependent on age or season.
I have not as yet seen this bird from the northern or western coast.