Page:The Emu volume 4.djvu/146

 124 Campbell, Victorian and Tasinanian Birds. J"™^ ■ ' Lsth Jan. Artamus sordidus (Wood-Swallow). — More difference than might be expected exists between the Tasmanian and the main- land birds. Both the bill and the tarsus of the former are longer slightly, while the outer web of the fourth primary, which in the mainland specimen is, together with the second and third, broadly marked with white, is only slightly edged. The white markings on the tips of the tail feathers are smaller in size, but these possibly, and maybe the' markings on the primaries as well, vary with the age of the specimen. There yet remain several species of which measurements should be sought, and comparisons made with their congeners across the Strait, for with the material available for this article the whole field could not be traversed. Again, further data may throw more light on the instances already cited, as re- liance cannot always be placed on the evidence of one or two skins from one quarter. Whole series are required of specimens, not only from the different districts of Tasmania, but also from^ the several parts of Victoria, or Australia even, where the genus or species is found, before the facts, either for or against new and separate species, can be definitely stated. Field Notes on Some Birds of the Casterton District (Victoria). By (Dr.) E. A. D'Ombrain. The following notes, compiled from observations by Mr. W. M'Lennan and myself, may prove interesting to ornithologists. Any notes concerning the habits of birds must at least be of some value, by reason of the light they throw on the inner life of our avifauna. The district is a very large one, watered by the two rivers, the Glenelg and the Wannon, which unite to form a fine stream close to the town of Casterton, whence it takes a very circuitous course south, to open into the ocean at Nelson, on the southern coast. Amongst the birds to which these notes refer are :— Magpie {Gynmorhina leuconota). — On a table-land about 3 miles from Casterton, a pure albino has been caught, having just left the nest, on two occasions in different seasons, 1902 and 1903. The question arises — Is not each bird from the same parent or parents ? I intend keeping a watch for another this season. The captives are still alive, and are pure albinos, with pink eyes and pale legs and bill, in which is a warm tinge.* neither black nor white can in any sense of the term be called a colour, yet there are phases in the infinitude of gradations between these extremes which may be so called. Black and white are virtually the positive and the negative in a field where light is absorbed or reflected. The intermediate angles of reflection, absorption, or distortion give all the rest. From the author's point of view some problems are, perhaps, more
 * [This suggests a question as to the presence or absence of colour. Though