RHIPIDURA ISURA, _Gould_. Northern Fantail. _Rhipidura isura_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 174. This species is an inhabitant of the north and north-west coasts of Australia, in which localities specimens have been procured by His Excellency Governor Grey and by Mr. Gilbert, the latter of whom states that it is abundant in all parts of the Cobourg Peninsula, and that it is to be met with in every variety of situation; that it is usually seen in pairs, and that it secludes itself during the heat of the day amidst the dense thickets of mangroves. A nest found by Mr. Gilbert in the early part of November appeared to have been recently inhabited by young birds; it was placed in the centre of three upright twigs of a species of _Banksia_, and was formed of narrow strips of bark, firmly bound together on the outside with cobwebs and vegetable fibres; it was very cup-like in shape, about two inches and a half in height, one inch and three-quarters in diameter, and three-quarters of an inch in depth. The stomach is tolerably muscular, and the food consists of insects of various kinds and their larvæ. All the upper surface dull brown; wings and tail darker brown, the outer feather of the latter on each side margined externally and largely tipped with white, the next having a large irregular spot of white at the tip, and the next with a minute line of white near the tip; chin and under surface buffy white, with an indication of a dark brown band across the chest; bill and feet black. The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size. [Illustration: RHIPIDURA MOTACILLOÏDES: _Vig. & Horsf._ _J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._ ] RHIPIDURA MOTACILLOÏDES, _Vig. and Horsf._ Black Fantailed Flycatcher. _Rhipidura Motacilloïdes_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 248. _Wil̈-la-ring_, Aborigines of the lowland, and _Jiẗ-te-jiẗ-te_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western Australia. _Wagtail Flycatcher_, of the Colonists of Swan River. With the exception of Van Diemen’s Land, this bird has been found in every part of Australia yet visited by Europeans. A slight difference is observable in the size of the specimens from different localities, those from New South Wales being the largest and those from Port Essington the least: the latter may hereafter prove to be specifically distinct.