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. 83. Strepera graculina Vol. II. Pl. 42. 84. Strepera fuliginosa, _Gould_ Vol. II. Pl. 43. 85. Strepera Arguta, _Gould_ Vol. II. Pl. 44. 86. Strepera Anaphonensis Vol. II. Pl. 45. _Corvus versicolor_, Lath.? 87. Strepera melanoptera, _Gould_. _Strepera melanoptera_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIV. p. 20. All the upper surface, wings, and tail black; under surface brownish black, tinged with grey on the abdomen; under tail-coverts and tips of all but the two centre tail-feathers white; irides yellow; bill and feet black. Total length, 19 inches; _bill_, 2; _wings_, 11; _tail_, 9; _tarsi_, 2⅝. This species inhabits South Australia, and is distinguished from all its congeners by the total absence of any white mark on the wings; in other respects it is so similar to _S. Arguta_, that I have not considered it necessary to give a figure of it. Genus GYMNORHINA, _G. R. Gray_.