The male has the whole of the head, body above and beneath, and the tail beautiful deep blue; scapularies, wing-coverts and tertiaries snow-white; primaries brown, with their external edges silvery green; bill black; feet brown; eyes dark brown.
The female has the crown of the head, and all the upper surface and flanks brown; throat and abdomen white, faintly washed with brown; external edges of the primaries and tail pale greenish blue; bill reddish brown.
The Plate represents the male and female of the natural size; the Plant is the Brunonia Australis.
MALURUS MELANOCEPHALUS: Vig. & Horsf.
J. & E. Gould delt. C. Hullmandel Imp.
MALURUS MELANOCEPHALUS, Vig. & Horsf.
Black-headed Wren.
Scarlet-lacked Warbler, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. xiv.
Malurus melanocephalus, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 222.
Malurus Brownii, Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. ii. pl. 72. fig. 1.
In their “Illustrations of Ornithology,” Sir William Jardine and Mr. Selby have in a very laudable manner endeavoured to clear up what they considered some confusion respecting the present and the preceding species, M. Brownii. These gentlemen have, however, fallen into error in considering the two birds as identical, whereas they are, in fact, totally distinct.