This species is peculiar to Van Diemen’s Land, where it inhabits the
almost impenetrable forests which cover that island, particularly those
of its southern portion. It is I think less numerous than its congener,
the _Pardalotus affinis_, and appears to confine itself more exclusively
to the highest gum-trees than that species. I found it very abundant in
the gulleys under Mount Wellington, and observed it breeding in a hole
in one of the loftiest trees, at about forty feet from the ground; I
afterwards took a perfectly developed white egg from the body of a
female killed on the 5th of October. The weight of this little bird was
rather more than a quarter of an ounce; the stomach was muscular, and
contained the remains of the larvæ of lepidoptera, which with coleoptera
and other insects constitute its food.
It has a simple piping kind of note of two syllables.
In its actions it much resembles the Tits of Europe, creeping and
clinging among the branches in every direction.
The eggs are white and nearly round in form, being seven lines and a
half long and six broad.
The sexes are so much alike in colour, that a separate description is
unnecessary.
Crown of the head and all the upper surface bright olive-green, each
feather obscurely margined with brown; wings brownish black, all the
feathers except the first and second primaries having a conspicuous spot
of pure white near their extremities; tail blackish grey, the extreme
tips of the feathers being white; cheeks and under tail-coverts
yellowish olive; throat and under surface greyish white, passing into
olive on the flanks; irides dark brown; bill brownish black; feet brown.
The figures are of the natural size.
[Illustration:
PARDALOTUS STRIATUS: _Vig. & Horsf._
_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
PARDALOTUS STRIATUS, _Temm._
Striated Pardalote.
_Pardalotus striatus_, Temm. Man., Part I. p. lxv.—Vig. and Horsf. in
Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 237. note.—Gould, Syn. Birds of
Australia, Part II.
_Pipra striata_, Lath. Ind. Orn., p. 558. No. 13.—Gmel. Syst., vol. i.
p. 1003.
_Striped-headed Manakin_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 526. pl.
54.—Id., Supp., p. 188.—Shaw, Zool., vol. x. p. 29. pl.
4.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. vii. p. 237. pl. 109.?
_Pardalotus ornatus_, Temm. Pl. Col. 394. fig. 1.
_Wë-dup-weë-dup_, Aborigines of the lowland, and
_Wë-dee-wë-due_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account