The female differs from the male in being somewhat less in size, and those I collected had the nostrils, eyelash and basal portion of the bill orange instead of black, as in the male; still I am not fully satisfied that this orange colouring may not indicate immaturity, and that the fully adult female may not have these, as in her mate. Crown of the head, external edge of the wings, rump and tail-feathers olive; back olive-brown; all the under surface greyish white, each feather having a longitudinal mark of brown down the centre; under tail-coverts lighter; on each side of the neck a lengthened tuft of rich yellow feathers; eye black, surrounded in the male by a narrow black eyelash except for a third of the space, behind which is yellow; feet purplish brown; bill black. The figures are of the natural size. [Illustration: PTILOTIS PLUMULUS: _Gould_. _J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._ ] PTILOTIS PLUMULUS, _Gould_. Plumed Ptilotis. _Ptilotis plumulus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., November 10, 1840. The double tuft of black and yellow feathers situated on the sides of the neck suggested the name of _plumulus_ for this species, whose range of habitat appears to be confined to the western portions of Australia, specimens never having been seen in any of the numerous collections from the southern or from the north-west coast: had it advanced so far to the eastward as the Belts of the Murray, in all probability I should have discovered it, while investigating that region. In size it is rather less than _Ptilotis ornatus_, and, independently of the accessory black tuft on the sides of the neck, the breast is of a more delicate and paler colour, with the feathers much more faintly marked with brown down the centre. All the specimens I have were collected in the district of York, about 60 miles eastward of Swan River, where it inhabits the white-gum forests, resorting to the tops of the highest trees, and is seldom to be seen on the ground. Its note is much varied, consisting of a loud shrill shake, somewhat resembling the sportman’s pea-whistle, continued without intermission for a great length of time. When disturbed it flits among the branches with a quick darting flight; while at other times, like the Miners (genus _Myzantha_), it soars from tree to tree with the most graceful and easy movement. Its small, elegant, cup-shaped nest is suspended from a slender horizontal branch, frequently so close to the ground as to be reached by the hand; it is formed of dried grasses lined with soft cotton-like buds of flowers. The breeding-season continues from October to January; the eggs being two in number, ten lines long by seven lines broad, of a pale salmon colour, with a zone of a deeper tint at the larger end, and the whole freckled with minute spots of a still darker hue. The stomach is diminutive and slightly muscular, the food consisting of insects and honey.