As much diversity occurs in the colouring of the face and throat of this species before it arrives at maturity, I made a point of minutely investigating the subject during my stay in New South Wales, and the following is the result of my observations. When the young, which are generally two in number, leave the nest, the feathers of the body are brown, margined with light grey; this colouring is soon exchanged for one of a uniform grey, except on the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts, which are white, and a mark of black which surrounds the eye and spreads over the ears: the throat and forehead in this stage are lighter than the remainder of the plumage, which is somewhat singular, as in the next change that takes place those parts become of a jet-black; and this colour, I believe, is never afterwards thrown off, but remains a characteristic of the adult state of both sexes, which are at all times so similar in size and colour as not to be distinguished from each other. It breeds in October and the three following months. The nest is often of a triangular form, in consequence of its being made to fit the angle of the fork of the horizontal branch in which it is placed; it is entirely composed of small dead twigs, firmly matted together with a very fine, white, downy substance like cobwebs and a species of _Lichen_, giving the nest the same appearance as the branch upon which it is placed, and rendering it most difficult of detection. In some instances I have found the nest ornamented with the broad, white, mouse-eared Lichen; it is extremely shallow in form, its depth and breadth depending entirely upon that of the fork in which it is built; the largest I have seen did not exceed six inches in diameter. The ground-colour of the eggs, which are almost invariably two in number, varies from wood-brown to asparagus-green, the blotches and spots, which are very generally dispersed over their surface, varying from dull chestnut-brown to light yellowish brown; in some instances they are also sparingly dotted with deep umber-brown; their medium length is thirteen lines, and breadth ten lines. Its note, which is seldom uttered, is a peculiar single purring or jarring sound, repeated several times in succession. The adults have the forehead, sides of the face, ear-coverts and throat jet-black; crown of the head, all the upper surface and wing-coverts delicate grey; primaries black, their outer edges and tips margined with grey; secondaries grey, with their inner webs black; tail grey at the base, gradually passing into black near the extremity, and broadly tipped with white; chest blackish grey, into which the black of the throat gradually passes; lower part of the abdomen pale grey; under tail-coverts white; irides, bill and feet black. The Plate represents an adult male and a young bird of the first year of the natural size. [Illustration: GRAUCALUS MENTALIS: _Vig. & Horsf._