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<The Emu. 


A Quarterly Magazine to popularize the Study and Protection 
of Native Birds. 


m2 @- 


Official Organ of the ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


{ A. J. CAMPBELL, Col. Mem. B.0.U. 
\ CHARLES BARRETT. 


Editors 


Welbourne : 
WALKER, MAY & C@., PRINTERS, 25 MACKILLOR STREET. 
LONDON AGENT : 
R. H. PORTER, 7 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W. 
IQII. 


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ii) 


CONTENTS OF VOL. X—1910-11. 


Agriculturists, For, 140. 

Albatross, The Carter, 301. 

Agricultural Gazette of New South 
Wales, The, 345. 

Amytornis gigantuva v. A. macrura, 


341. 

Arbor and Bird Day in South Aus- 
tralia, I41. 

Avicultural Society’s Awards, 140. 

Annotations, 337. 

Articles Received, 352. 

Australian Birds, New, 342. 

Australian Land-Birds, Distribution 
of, 342. 

Barrier Range, The Region of the, 
16, 88. 

Bird and Animal Remains from King 
Island, Bass Strait, 62. 

Bird Day, 290. 

Bird Drama, A, 51. 

Bird-Life on Sandy Creek, Riverina, 
INESAVViene lS. 

Bird-Life on the Kermadec Islands, 2. 

Bird Notes from Cunninghame, 136. 

Bird Observers’ Club, 72, 145, 302, 

Bird Protection, 142. 

Birds and Poison Baits, 352. 

Bird’s Nest in Sheep’s Wool, 299. 

Birds New to Tasmania, 53. 

Birds-of-Paradise, Notes on, 141. 

Birds of Lord Howe and Norfolk 
Islands, The, 58. 

Birds of North-West Australia, 103. 

Birds of the Blackalls, 205. 

Birds of the Cardwell and Herbert 
River Districts (N.Q.), 233. 

Birds of the East Murchison, W.A., 70. 

Birds of the Tanami Goldfields, 75. 

Birds Seen around _Inglenook, 
Merriman’s Creek, South 
Gippsland, 121. 

Birds Seen in and around Broome, 
North-Western Australia, I11. 

Black Swan’s Nest, A, 147. 

Blue Wren of Tasmania, The, 52. 

B.O.C. Minutes, 77. 

Bower-Bird, Additional Notes on 
the Tooth-billed (Scenopeetes 
dentirostris), of North Queens- 
land; 8. 

Bower-Bird, The Satin, 50. 

British Ornithologist in Australia, 


140. 
Broome Hill, W.A., Field Notes 
from, 294. 


Capricorn Group, Birds Identified 
on the, 195, 304. 

Capricorn Group, Expedition to the 
Islands of the, 181. 

Caterpillar-eater, White-shouldered, 
(Lalage tricolor), 294. 

Cleveland (Tas.) Notes, 137. 

Cockatoo’s Vocabulary, A, 304. 

Collyriocichla superciliosa, Nest and 
Eggs of, 341. 

Coloured Figure Fund, 148, 351. 

Coot, Tasmanian Notes on 
138. 

Correction, A, 303. 

Correspondence, 70, 30t. 

County Bird Book, Another, 75. 

Crow-Shrike, Description of a New, 


the, 


34- 

Cuckoo, Foster-Parent of Fan-tailed, 
202. 

Cuckoo Notes, 134. 

Curious Clutch, 49. 

Curious Nests, 343. 

Death Trap, A, 148. 

Defence of Oology, A, 54. 

Description of two New Nests and 
Eggs from North-West Aus- 
tralia, 132. 

Descriptions of New Eggs, 339. 

Destruction of Birds, 45. 

Egg Collecting, 351. 

Emu-Wren, Mallee, 
330. : 

Ephthianura, Description of a New, 
Zoe 

Erratum, 139. 

Expedition to the Islands of the 
Capricorn Group, I8t. 

Explanation, An, 148. 

Extension of Locality, 303. 

Field-Wren, Nest and Eggs of the 

Rock, 293. 

Protection in 

States, 344. 

Gerygone cinevascens, Description of 
the Nest and Eggs of, 341. 

Goshawk, Description of a New, 249. 

Gould Bird League, The, 75. 

Great Barrier Reef, Along the, 216. 

Ground-Lark’s Nest on Highway, 
) ? 

“Handbook of the Birds of Tas- 
mania,” 74. 

“ Handlist of the Birds of Austral- 
asia,’’ Additions to the, 57. 


Notes on the, 


Game the United 


iv 


Hawks, Notes on, 247. 


Honey-eater, Helmeted  (Piilotis 
cassidix), 37. 
\ Honey-eater, White-eared (Pitilotis | 


leucotis), 49. 
Incubation and Fledgling Periods in 
Birds, 140. 
In Memoriam, 78. 

Kimberley, North-West Australia, 
Field Notes on the Birds of, 258. 
Lorikeet, Description of a New 

Queensland, 204. 
Magazines, &c., From, 58, 140, 299, 
342. 
“Magpies ’’ (Gymnorhina), The Pug- 
nacity of, 49. 
Meliphagide and Melitose, 52. 
Native Cat and Herons, 293. 
New Sub-species, 303. 
New York Zoological 
Journal of the, 342. 
New Zealand Bird Notes, 60. 
Notes and Notices, 74, 147, 


Bile 
Nomenclature of 


Society, 


303, 
“ Handlist of the 


Birds of Australia,’’ Altera- 
tions in the, 317. 

Obituary, 76. 

(Estrelata leucoptera, Further Re- 


marks on the Finding of the 
Nest and Egg of, 253. 

Ornithological Congress, Fifth Inter- 
national, 148. 

Ornithological Field Research, 351. 

Outer’s Book, The, 342. 

Pachycephala meridionalis, Eggs of, 
49. 

Pardalote, Nesting Site of, 

Pardalotes, Notes on, 113. 

Parrot, A New Australian, 147. 

Parrot Pets, Wild, 13'5. 

Pelicans, Destruction of, 344. 

Penguin, Notes on the Crested 
(Catarrhactes chrysocome), 41. 

Penguin, The Little, 137. 

Petrel, Description of the Nest and 
Egg of the White-winged, 252. 


340. 


Petreca phenicea Breeding in Gipps- | 


land, 340. 
Philippine Birds, The, 342. 
Podargus Call, Production of, 246, 303. 
Podictpes, Prolific, 136. 
Prior Name, 303. 
Publications Received, 353. 
Reed-Warblers in Tasmania, 351. 


Regent-Bird (Sericulus  melinus), 
Notes on the, 44. 

Reviews — “‘ Ornithologists at Wa- 
runda Creek,’ 64; ‘A His- 


tory of the Birds of Kent,” 


| Scrub-Bird, 


Contents of Vol. X.—1910-11. 


65; ‘‘A Handbook of the 
Birds of Tasmania and _ its 
Dependencies,” 66:; “The 
Subantarctic Islands of New 
Zealand,” 67; ‘‘A Mono- 
graph of the Petrels (Order 
Tubinares),? e043) eee 
Fauna of Cheshire,” 144; 
“The Birds of Dumfries- 
shire,’’ 299 ; “‘ Life of William 
MacGillivray,” 300; “ Pro- 
tected Native Birds of South 
Australia,’ 346; “ Foreign 
Birds for Cage and Aviary,” 
347; ‘‘An Australian Bird 
Book,” 348. 

Rhipidura phasiana, Note on, 1. 

Robin, Flame-breasted, 50, 340. 

Robin, Plumage of the Female Pink- 
breasted, 292. 

Robin, The Dusky (Petreca vittata), 
127. 

Rostvatula australis, 

Limit of, 138. 

Australasian 

Union, 

Minutes, 


The Southern 


Royal Ornithologists’ 
Brisbane Session — 
149 ; Financial 
Statement, 152; Address by 
the State Governor, 165 ; 
Exhibits, 167 ; Outings, 169 ; 
Lectures in Brisbane, 174 ; 
Provincial Visits, T7Ots 
President’s Address, 178. 
Australasian Ornithologists’ 
Union, List of Members, 355. 
Royal Letters, Copies of, 248. 
Royal Thanks, 75. 
Scrub-Bird, Noisy, 304. 
Rufous  (Aévichornis 
vufescens), The Haunt of the, 
ROU he 
Sericornes, Victorian, 35. 
Sharpe, The latemor AROS race 
South Australian Ornithological 
Association, 74, 146, 303, 350. 
Stint, Sharp-tailed, in Tasmania, 51. 
Stirling Ranges, W.A., In the, 305. 
Stray Feathers, 49, 134, 292, 340. 
Swamp-Hawks (Circus gouldt), 135. 
Swift, White-rumped (Mzicropus 
pacificus), 50. 
Swifts, Flight of, 340. 
Tambourine Mountain, Trip to, 212. 
Trinomials v. Binomials, 148. 
Tunnel District, Tasmania, Trip to 
the, 304. 
Western Australian Birds, 58, 299. 
White-bellied Sea-Eagle, 134. 
Wood-Swallow and Cuckoo, 134. 
Wood-Swallows, Movement of, 135. 


Royal 


Iilustvations in Vol. X., 1910-191T. 


FELUS FRATTON Sal Nt sVOL2 (7X. 


Rhipidura phasiana = 
Sunday Island: view from the crater rim .. : 


Half-fledged Young Masked Gannet (Sula yan Meyer 
Island ; Half- Sees Young Phaéthon erubescens, sere 
Island 


Red-tailed Tropic-Bird (Phatthon spiberene: on egg in eee 
place, Sunday Island; Nest of Sunday Island Petrel 
(CEstrelata neglecta), Sunday Island 


CEstrelata neglecta on Nest, Meyer Island ; 
(Estrelata neglecta, Meyer Island 


(coloured) 


renee in dave 


manna ”’ 
Island, 


Tufted Honey-eaters (Ptilotis auvicomis) feeding upon “ 
exuded by Grey Gum (Eucalypt), Nelson 
Hawkesbury River.. ot oe 


Skuas (Megalestvis antarctica) at carcass of seal 
R. Bowdler Sharpe - 
Certificate of Gould League of Bird- Lovers. 


Three Species of Leaves most frequently used by the Tooth- 
billed Bower-Bird in Play-grounds 


Eleven other Species of Leaves used by the Tooth- billed Se 
Bird in Play-grounds 3 


Wild Lorikeets (Tvichoglossus A AeRONanBios bene fed on 

syrup sh oe 

Nest and Eggs (covered and a aie of Peace -NOUV@- 
hollandieé .. 


Group of White-capped Noddies’ (Micranous lewucoc opis) Nests, 
Capricorn Islands 


Home of the Jacana (Hydralector Paes oe 
Reef- 


Coral Reef Formation, where numerous birds—Terns, 
Herons, Waders, &c.—feed at low tide, off Mast-Head 
Island 

Scene on Mast-Head Island 


Pisonia Forest, Mast-Head Island .. 


Sea-Eagle’s 
Island 


Strand on Mast-Head land: eter Pinan rigs (Sterna 
anestheta) land before entering undergrowth to nest, &c. 


Nest of the Barred-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis) ; 
Black Oyster-catcher’s (H@matopus unicolor) Nest 


White Reef-Heron’s 
Young 


Eyry and woe Seis lewcogaster, Erskine 


(Demiegretta sacra) Nest in Pandanus tree 


(white phase) of Reef-Heron (Demiegretta 
Brown-winged Tern (Steryna anestheta) 


SaCYa) ; 


Nest of White-capped Noddy (Micranous leucocapillus) 


plate 1 
plate ii 


plate iii 


plate iv 
plate v 
plate vi 
plate vii 
plate viii 
plate ix 
plate x 
plate xi 
plate xii 
plate xi 


plate xiv 


plate xv 
plate xvi 
plate xvii 


plate xviii 
plate xix 


plate xx 
plate xxi 


plate xxii 
plate xxiii 


vi Illustrations in Vol. X., 1910-1911. 


Silver Gull’s (Larus nove-hollandie) Nest at foot of Sheoak 


(Casuavina) sapling mM, en Siete Ven) Plate tec 
Wedge-tailed Petrel (Puffinus sphenurus) .. ; 20) wD LebeNsesana 
Raine Island, at northern end of Great Barrier Reef, showing 

Brooding Gannets (Sula cyanops and S. leucogaster) ei) platejeeava 
Brown Gannet (‘‘ Booby’’) (Sula leucogastey) and Young ; 

Masked Gannet (Sula cvanops) on Nest re .. plate xxvii 
Red-legged Gannet (Sula piscatvix) on Nest; Young Lesser 

Frigate-Birds (Fregata ariel) Ms ae .. plate xxviii 


Creek Scene: Home of White-breasted Honey-eater (Glycyphila 
fasciata), also of Tawny Grass-Bird (Megalurus galactotes) 
and Red-backed Wren sets ae along the 
grassy margin a Sh ... » (plate axexates 
Mangrove Creek: Home of White-tailed Robin (Pecilodryas 
pulverulenta), Shining Flycatcher (Prezorhynchus nitidus), 
and Brown-tailed Flycatcher (Micraca brunneicauda) .. plate xxx 


Sandstone Country : Home of Lavender-flanked Wren (Malurus 
dulcis), Brown-breasted Shrike-Thrush (Collyriocichla 


woodwardt), and Rock-Pigeon (Petrophassa albipennis) .. plate xxxi 
Egg-mound of Scrub-Fowl (Megapodius tumulus) a 2. plate sac 
Nest of Rainbow Pitta (Pitta ivis) .. o e's .. plate soca 


Fallen Tree: Nesting Sites of Crimson Finches (Neochmia 
phaeton) ; Play-ground of Great Bower-Bird (Chlamy- 


dodeva nuchalis) .. as He te .. plate xxxiv 
Masses No. 1 and No. 2—Portions of scrub débris frequented by 

Atrichornis ae ae ots a .. plate xxxv 
Site where Atvichornis Nest was found (16/10/10)  .. plate sexsqval 
Nest in situ of Rufous Scrub-Bird (Atrvichornis vufescens) .. plate xxxvil 
Play-ground of Lyre-Bird (Menura superba) As .. plate xxxvill 
Nest of Lyre-Bird (Menura superba) but ae . .. plate xx 
His Majesty King George V. (Co-Patron R.A.O.U.) .. Bis plate xl 


Her Majesty Queen Mary (Co-Patron R.A.O.U.) ig 5 plate xli 


Vol. X.]_ JULY, 1910. 


® @ © ® 


he Emu — 
TS 


A Quarterly Magazine to popularize the Study and Protection 
of Native Birds. 


os. > oe 


OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


‘ . J. CAMPBELL, Col. Mem. B.0.U Seeencl's 
CHARLES BARRETT. SOTA 1) 

: Welbourne : os 

‘ i AUG “40m | 

ee WALKER, MAY & CO., PRINTERS, 25 MACKILLOP STREET. 

3 LONDON AGENT: 

R. H. PORTER, 7 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, 


Editor: 


1910. 


[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] 


NOTES ON THE REGENT-BIRD (SERICULUS WELINOS. By. P, Aw 


FROM MAGAZINES, &C.—Western Australian Birds, 58; The Birds of Lord Howe 


‘NOTES AND NOTICES : 3 ¢ i ‘ f a 4 


41% % 


CONTENTS - JULY, 1910. 


(The author of each ele is responsible for the facts recorded therein, ‘a any ae 
deductions he may draw.) j 


NOTE ON RHIPIDURA PHASIANA, DE _ VIS. By Gregory M. — 
Mathews, F.L.S., &c. - - - - - - rb ey ei 

BIRD-LIFE ON THE KERMADEC ISLANDS. We eG Te ae 
Zealand - “ ‘i : ‘ 


THE REGION OF THE BARRIER RANGE. AN OOLOGIST’S Hourpay. ny f 
By (Dr.) W. Macgillivray, Broken Hill, N.S.W. Part I. - 16 


_ DESCRIPTION OF A NEW CROW-SHRIKE, Sy J W. Mellor, gi 


A.0.U., Adelaide - e i ‘ 
VICTORIAN SERICORNES. By A. G. Campbell, Romeeal Victoria - - 


THE HELMETED HONEY-EATER (PTILOTIS CASSIDIX). pee a E. a 
Wilson and L. G. Chandler - 2 Ss z 3 


NOTES ON THE CRESTED PENGUIN (CAT ARR ECTS PER YSOceeay 
By E. Brooke Nicholls, Melbourne - - E : M 


Gilbert, Sydney - -- - : 2 : 
DESTRUCTION OF Birps. By J. W. Mellor, A.O.U., Fuiham, S.A~ 


STRAY FEATHERS.—A Curious Clutch, 49; -The Pugnacity of ‘ Magpies” 
(Gymmorhina), 49; White-eared Honey-eater (Ptilotis leucotis), 49; Eggs of Pachy- 
cephala meridionalis, 49; Flame-breasted Robin, 50; The Satin Bower-Bird, 50; 
White-rumped Swift (Micropus pacificus), 50; A Bird Drama, 51; Sharp-tailed Wises 
Stint in Tasmania, 51 ; Meliphagide and Melitose, 52; The Blue Wren of Tasmania, == 


Additional Notes, 52; Birds New to Tasmania, 53. 
A DEFENCE OF OOLOGY me ic - - - = : = 
ADDITIONS TO THE “ HANDLIST OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALASIA ue 


and Norfolk Folanils, 58; New Zealand Bird Notes, 60; A Collection of Sub-fossil 
Bird and Animals Remains from King Island, Bass Strait, 62. 7 


REVIEWS - . S E 5 : " 3 s y i Sed 
CORRESPONDENCE - : 5 E 2 i f Pe 
BIRD OBSERVERS’ CLUB - - - - : 3 CO a 
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION - Lita 


IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - : L ec v M aes eae 
IN MEMORIAM - ~ - = 4 - 2 3 rs S we ; 


ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

. Articles (technical papers should if possible be type-written) and 

communications intended for publication, also books and publications for — 

notice, should be addressed to the Editors, Zhe Emu, c/o MR. A. ses 
CAMPBELL, Custom-House, Melbourne. 


} MSS. of general articles should reach the idiears at least six reeks) 
prior to the issue of the number for which they are intended. 


Occasionally, when funds permit, it is intended to issue Coloured 
ae of hitherto unfigured Australian Birds. Voluntary subscriptions to 
“ COLOURED FIGURE FUND” are courteously invited from members. 


The price of The Emu to non-members is 4/= per copy. — Extra 
copies may be had by members at half-price. 


THe Emu, Vol. X PLATE @ 


J. G. Keulemans, del Witherby & ce 


H Gronvold , lith 


\ 


RHIPIDURA PHASIANA . 
( WHITE - FRONTED FANTALL ). 


a 


The Emu | 


Official Organ of the Australasian Ornithologists’ Gnion. 


“ Birds of a feather.” 


ViOns ox Ist JULY 1910: [PARTS : 


Note on Rhipidura phasiana, De Vis. 
By GREGORY M. MATHEWS, F.L.S., &c. 


Rhipidura phasiana, De Vis, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland, i., p. 158 (1884) ; 
Rams., Add. to Tab, List Austr. Birds (1891) ; Math., Handl. B. 
Austr., p. 65, No. 477 (1908). 

THE type of this bird was collected near the mouth of the 
Norman River by Mr. Kendall Broadbent. It belongs to the 
eroup of R. albiscapa and XK. prezssz, but differs in its pale ochreous- 
ashy colouration, the head being nearly of the same ash colour 
as the back. There is no black collar on the fore-neck, which is 
light ashy-grey, and the rest of the under surface is fawn-buff of 
about the same tint as in &. alozscapa. The principal difference 
in &. phastana seems to be in the much greater cxtent of the 
white spotting on the wing coverts, which form two rows of 
white spots in the likeness of bands, the spots in 2. albzscapa 
being rounded and terminal. In #&. phaszana the primary 
coverts are also tipped with white. 

The following description is taken from the typical specimen, 
which Mr. De Vis has kindly allowed to be brought to England 
by Mr..D. Le Souef, C.M.Z.S. :—‘ General colour above ashy- 
brown, with an ochreous tinge; the wing coverts dusky-brown, 
with large white spots at the ends; primary coverts dusky- 
brown, fringed with white; quills dusky-brown, the innermost 
secondaries edged with white; upper tail coverts and central 
tail feathers dull ashy-brown, with dusky cross-bars under certain 
lights; remainder of tail feathers dusky-brown, with white 
shafts and a considerable amount of white towards the ends, 
which are also white, the outermost feather being white for 
nearly the whole length, with the base dark brown; crown of 
the head somewhat darker ashy than the back, with a slight 
evidence of a pale ochreous collar on the nape; lores con- 
spicuous, with a faintly indicated white eyebrow ; feathers 
below the eye and ear coverts dusky ash colour; cheeks and 
throat white, followed by a shade of ashy-grey on the fore-neck ; 
remainder of under surface from the fore-neck downwards pale 
isabelline-buff.” 

This bird looks like an immature one. If so, what is it the 


{ 


Emu 
ist July 


2 Matuews, Nolte on Rhipidura phasiana. 
immature of? How many species have been discovered? 
Perhaps some of our brother ornithologists can tell us more. 
Our artist has given us an excellent plate, but the wing 
coverts should be dusky-brown, not grey. 
Mr. D. Le Souéf (Amu, iii, p. 54, 1903) has described the 
nest and eggs of this species. 


Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 
By Tom IREDALE, NEW ZEALAND. 


IN 1907 an expedition was organized in New Zealand for the 
purpose of making collections in every branch of natural 
history, and otherwise observing data of use to any of the 
sciences, on Raoul or Sunday Island, the chief island of the 
Kermadec Group. 

This group, situated to the north-east of New Zealand, is 
politically a part of the Dominion, and biologically is included 
in the New Zealand region. Its geographical position invited 
investigation, but its inaccessibility had hitherto defied any who 
may have cast longing eyes upon it. Though discovered as 
long ago as 1788, it had remained practically unexplored, 
and nothing was known of the lower forms of life existing 
thereon. 

In 1854 Sunday Island was surveyed by H.M.S. Herald, to 
which vessel was attached John Macgillivray, as naturalist. The 
botanical collection he made was almost immediately reported 
upon by Sir J. D. Hooker, and important deductions drawn 
from it. His collections of the fauna deposited in the British 
Museum were, however, never worked out, and whatever notes 
he handed in with them were overlooked, which is a matter for 
regret, as Macgillivray was a keen bird observer. In or about 
1870 Dr. Graeffe, a naturalist in the employ of the Godeffroys, 
visited the island, but records of whatever collections he made, 
save a few land snails, do not appear to have been published. 

In 1887 the group was annexed to New Zealand, and Mr. T. 
F. Cheeseman, of the Auckland Museum, accompanied the 
Government steamer. He made a botanical survey of Sunday 
Island, and also took notes concerning the birds. At the end 
of his paper, “ On the Flora of the Kermadec Islands,” published 
in the Zvransactions of the New Zealand Institute for 1887, 
he added a list of birds, with short notes. In the same 
periodical for 1890 he published a more exhaustive article, “On 
the Birds of the Kermadec Islands.” This latter was written 
as aresult of further information, with bird skins and eggs, 
received from the settlers on Sunday Island. About the same 
time he handed to Captain F. W. Hutton a collection of Petrels 
for study; the results were published in the Proceedings of the 


THE Emu, Vo/. X. 


PLATE 


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Vol. x. | 
Jj 


kexe IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 3 
Zoological Society of London for 1891. That paper drew 
attention to the peculiarities existing among the Petrels that 
bred on the surface of the ground on Sunday Island. He 
endeavoured to differentiate three species, but later withdrew his 
views in favour of varieties only. As Buller recently still 
maintained the three species, I anticipated that the best 
work in bird observation would be done in settling this 
question. 

Before proceeding further, a sketch of the extent of the group 
must be introduced, as it is due to the imperfect knowledge of 
the situation of the islets that much of the confusion regarding 
the last-mentioned birds has arisen. Sunday Island (previously 
known as Raoul Island) is the northernmost of the group, the 
largest and only habitable one. It is about 600 miles south of 
Tonga, 600 miles north-east of New Zealand, and 600 miles east 
of Norfolk Island. Sixty miles south of Sunday is Macauley 
Island, a grass-covered plateau, circular in shape and about a 
mile in diameter. Twenty-five miles to the south of Macauley 
are Curtis Islands—small, rocky, volcanic islets—whilst 50 miles 
yet further south is L’Esperance, a mere rock, the southern- 
most of the chain. Sunday Island is roughly triangular in 
shape, being the summit of a volcano of large size. The crater 
is about a mile and a quarter in diameter, and to the north-west 
and south-west run two high spurs. The whole of the island is 
densely bush-covered, the bush consisting of various trees, 
whilst tree-ferns and palms sometimes predominate. Asa rule 
very little undergrowth was met with, though in some places the 
ferns grow so high as to make progress very difficult. Though 
of so small a size, travelling was so slow that camping-out was 
the order of the day. Off the north-east corner of Sunday 
Island lie a few islets known as the Herald Islets. Though 
insignificant in themselves, they claim especial attention from the 
ornithologist, as some birds which do not resort to the main 
island breed thereon. The largest, Meyer Island, is only about 
three-quarters of a mile distant from the north coast. Unfor- 
tunately, however, there was no place on that coast where our 
boat could be beached, and we had to come from the West Bay, 
a distance of 12 miles. Moreover, this was only practicable 
when a light east wind was blowing, and, consequently, our visits 
were very occasional and hurried. 

In this paper I intend to treat only of the habits of the birds 
as observed during the year 1908. I landed on the 3Ist 
December, 1907, and stayed until the 11th of November, 1908. 
Thus the very best time for bird observing, as regards nesting 
habits was, unfortunately, not enjoyed. The bird-life consists 
mainly of sea-birds, which resort to the island to breed ; many 
of these are well-known tropical species, whilst others of the 
Petrel order have not yet been discovered breeding elsewhere. 


4 IREDALE, Bird Life on the Keyrmadec Islands. [ ae 
Land-birds are few in species, and only one (doubtful) 
species is claimed as endemic to the Kermadec Islands. 

The Tui (Prosthemadera nove-zealandi@) is very abundant, 
and, as it has practically no enemies, it must be increasing 
rapidly. It differs in no way from the mainland bird, but has 
lost its voice. To make up for this loss it endeavours to produce 
musical sounds all the year round. Its peculiar attempts to sing 
have been recorded by New Zealand writers, but they have 
always credited it with producing as well striking and melodious 
notes. Its clear bell-note is well known to all New Zealand 
observers. This note was only heard on two occasions, whilst, 
though I believe each bird honestly endeavoured to bring out 
some striking notes, none ever succeeded. At the commence- 
ment of the breeding season a pleasing little trill is developed to 
round off its efforts, but this attainment only lasts about a month. 
Another feature I have not previously seen noted was its night 
singing. All the year round on moonlight nights odd birds 
would be heard attempting to sing ; and as one bird apparently 
fell asleep again another would carry on the tale. During the 
winter months I noted they disliked the wet weather. When- 
ever a shower broke they became silent, and as long as it con- 
tinued the wood was hushed, save that now and then one broke 
the silence by venturing a plaintive appeal against the rain. As 
soon as it stopped, however, the bush was once more clamorous 
with their grotesque attempts at song. Their inquisitiveness 
was especially noticeable when travelling through the bush. 
Upon a stoppage being made a bird would appear and closely 
inspect the intruder ; another would fly up, and, having satisfied 
itself, would retire, its place being taken by a new-comer. Some- 
times as many as half a dozen would all silently criticise the 
stranger, coming within a few feet to obtain a good view. The 
breeding season was watched with interest, and, though probably 
nothing new was noted, the results of different observers are 
usually worth recording. The first bird was noted collecting 
twigs on the 9th of September, and a full clutch of eggs noted 
in this nest on the 27th. Some birds must have commenced 
much earlier, as a young bird was seen out of the nest on the 
1oth of October. The time of incubation was ascertained to be 
fourteen days, but the time of feathering was not obtained, owing 
to our departure from the island. In the only easily accessible 
nest the young were thirteen days old at that time. 

The nest was placed near the top of a poutukava sapling or 
branch; as these were never of much thickness, and often very 
slight, it was not an easy matter to investigate the nests. Many 
of them were 30 feet high and at the end of leaning branches, 
so that less than half the nests seen were looked into. One 
feature of interest in their nest-building operations was the 
occurrence, in the early portion of the season, of empty nests. 


Vol. X. 


“hee IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 5 
A bird was noted building and when the nest was completed it 
never received eggs. This occurred so often that it became 
noticeable. As these nests were usually substantial, well built, 
and perfectly finished structures, it was surmised that the birds 
commenced early and completed operations before the hen was 
ready to lay. This supposition was supported by later on 
finding makeshift nests. One of these was such a shallow 
dish of twigs with a lining of moss that had it been found in 
New Zealand it would scarcely have been credited toa Tui. 
The other extreme was a nest built up almost a foot with stout 
twigs, at the top of which was placed a well-formed deep cup 
lined with dried grasses and goat hair. 

The number of eggs was usually four, only one clutch of five 
being met with, though some complete clutches of three were 
noted. The colouration of the eggs varied, as did also the 
shape and size. The ground colour was usually white, and many 
examples were seen unspotted ; some eggs were suffused with 
pinkish-brown, and the markings, of a red-brown, were usually 
spots congregated at the large end; the eggs in one clutch of 
three were, however, streaked with dark brown, and the ground 
colour in this clutch was a lightish brown. 

The New Zealand Kingfisher (Halcyon vagans) was the only 
other land-bird occurring in numbers. Contrary to what I have 
noted about the Tui, this bird appears to have developed noisier 
habits. At any rate it was constantly heard, and when wet its 
shrill notes as it caught a worm or spider were especially 
frequent. From New Zealand literature I had understood it to 
be a silent bird, only uttering its unmusical notes during the 
breeding season. At this time it developed more notes, but at 
no time of the year could be said to be silent. 

Another point of contrast afforded by this bird to the Tui was 
its extraordinary shyness. Though never interfered with, it was 
always unapproachable, whereas the Tui always invited itself to 
inspect every item of interest. Its nesting operations were not 
. observed in detail, as its chief months were probably November 
and December. It had commenced its breeding song at the 
end of October, and young were seen flying at the end of 
January. 

As there are no fresh-water fish, this bird has had to content its 
appetite with less tasty food. It now lives quite happily upon 
worms, spiders, flies, with now and then a rat. For a rare 
delicacy it will go to the sea-shore and catch small crabs or 
prawns. 

On Meyer Island there still breeds in numbers a Parrakeet 
of the genus Cyanorhamphus. Whether it has ever bred on 
Sunday Island in recent years I cannot say, though the 
probability is to the contrary. A few birds are occasionally 
heard in the autumn on Sunday Island, but they do not appear 


Emu 
ist July 


6 IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 
to stay. On Macauley Island a Parrakeet also occurs in fair 
numbers. The specific identity of these two birds is still a 
matter of uncertainty. Salvadori, working through the Parrots, 
came across the specimen collected by Magillivray, and upon it 
founded a species, cyanurus. This specimen is marked “ Raoul _ 
Island,’ so apparently was collected on either that or Meyer 
Island. In 1906, in the “Supplement to the Birds of New 
Zealand,’ Sir Walter Buller referred the Meyer Island bird to 
Salvadori’s species, but at the same time expressed the opinion 
that the Macauley Island bird could not be separated from nove- 
zealandie. One of the chief features of cyanurus is its large size, 
and this is shared by the Macauley Island birds. Consequently 
more study of longer series is necessary before the matter can 
be said to be settled. I know nothing of their breeding habits, 
as I was never on Meyer Island during their breeding season. 
On Macauley Island two nests were found on 12th November, 
one with five, the other with two eggs. 

The Long-tailed Cuckoo (Urodynamis taztenszs) was met 
with in every month of the year. Apparently birds are driven 
to the island when migrating in spring and autumn and 
remain there. Being semi-nocturnal in habit, they are rarely 
observed unless first heard. It would seem that little is known 
of the seasonal changes of plumage this bird undergoes. Sir 
Walter Buller noted that the Kermadec-killed birds he had 
handled had reddish-coloured breasts, and was unable to account 
for this peculiarity. Later he obtained a bird from Stewart 
Island of similar colouration. I think that a series of birds 
killed at various dates and places would show the reddish 
colouration to be a phase of the young state. 

A Harrier (Czvcus gouldi (?) ) appeared at the end of March and 
made havoc with the young Wideawakes (Terns). Most of the 
old birds had left the island, and the young had to shift for them- 
selves. Though unmolested, this bird was unapproachable, and 
its specific identity was not established. After the Wideawakes 
had gone this bird mostly seemed to live upon the young of the 
Petrel breeding on the surface of the ground on Meyer Island. 
As April advanced many of these Harriers were observed, some- 
times as many as half a dozen being noted on the wing at once. 
As the young of the Meyer Island Petrel flew so did the Harriers 
decrease, and by the end of August they had disappeared. One 
was, however, noted at the end of October. 

Upon the lakes in the crater could almost always be seen 
three or four Ducks. These were identified as Axas superciliosa 
(Grey or Black Duck). Though noted all the year, no young 
ones were seen. Sometimes they were seen on the lagoon in the 
West Bay, and upon being flushed immediately flew over the 
crater ridge. 

This lagoon was favoured as a living-place by numbers of the 


Vol. X. 


Ford IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 7 
Spotless Crake (Porzana plumbea). These little birds were rarely 
seen, though constantly heard. A dead bird was picked up on the 
north coast, whilst a few lived in the crater. As they were also 
seen on Meyer Island, they were well distributed. During 
October the note of this bird was rarely heard, and on the 
5th November a young bird, recently hatched, was caught. 
Perhaps the bird is silent during the sitting season. 

The Pectoral Rail (Ra/lus philippinensis) has been recorded. I 
think the single bird seen must have been a straggler, as nothing 
was heard or seen like it during my stay. 

Before leaving the land-birds I wish to note some other 
birds previously recorded from the group which I did not 
meet with. The White-eye (Zosterops caerulescens) was not 
noted, and. .certainly, it, is not..a. resident, It is said? to 
appear some autumns after heavy weather from the south- 
west. We had no such weather. The Ground-Lark (Anthus 
nove-zealandt@) was reported as not uncommon on Macauley 
Island in 1887. I did not see any specimens, and I doubt 
if any are still resident there. It is interesting to record 
that three birds acclimatized in New Zealand have reached 
the island and firmly established themselves. These are the 
European Song-Thrush, Blackbird, and Starling. In these 
species unaccountable habits have developed, such as extreme 
shyness. Though never subjected to man’s persecution, they 
are all unapproachable, and it was surmised that this fear was 
due to their constant bullying by the Kingfisher and Tui. 

During the time I was on the island waders were rarely met 
with, and it is evident that Sunday Island is a long way from 
any line of regular migration. The birds noticed were usually 
solitary or in very small flocks. The largest number noted 
together on Sunday Island was seven, but a flock of thirteen 
was seen on Macauley Island. A remarkable (to me) feature of 
these chance waders was their extrerne shyness. I had antici- 
pated that, having undergone a trying flight, thay would arrive 
exhausted and tame, and therefore easily procurable. Instead, 
I found that, owing to the exposed nature of the beach, I was 
rarely able to stalk them, and can only record those actually 
procured. 

The Lesser Golden Plover (Charadrius dominicus) was noted 
during September and October, but the total number of birds 
seen only amounted to twelve. With them was another bird, 
unrecognized and unprocured. They haunted the sea-shore of 
Denham Bay, and, having arrived after a sou’-wester, did not 
seem to have any idea as to leaving. First noted the last week 
in September, they were still on the beach on 11th November. 
The bulk of the flock of thirteen seen on Macauley Island 
belonged to this species. 

The Oriental Dottrel (Ochthodromus veredus) was obtained on 


Emu 
ist July 


8 IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 
the West Bay shore towards the end of April ; only a solitary 
bird was observed at that time. On Meyer Island the next day 
a few birds, apparently of the same species, were seen, and they - 
were also noted on 20th May at the same place. They were to 
shy to allow approach to make identification certain. . 

A pair of Whimbrel (Mumenzus vartegatus) were noted on the 
north coast the last week of September, and one was obtained. 
The following day three similar birds were seen on the west 
coast, but none was procured. A small, solitary Stint was 
walked up to and shot the last week of October. It proved to 
be Heteropygia acuminata. A few days later another solitary 
Sandpiper was observed and missed in the crater. It was a 
much larger bird than the last mentioned. 

The Barred-rumped Godwit (Lzmosa nove-zealandi@), which 
occurs in New Zealand in countless numbers, does not pass close 
to this island, as it was not observed, though previously recorded 
on hearsay evidence only. 

Of most interest to New Zealanders were the sea-birds, which 
breed upon the islands in large numbers. Four species of Terns, 
none of which otherwise occur in the New Zealand region, were 
regular visitors for breeding purposes. 

The Sooty Tern (Sterna fuliginosa) is the most abundant, 
a large colony breeding on the level beach on the West Bay. 
A few bred on the rocks at the north-west point, and a 
small colony also visited Meyer Island. On 31st December, 
1907, the majority were engaged in rearing young, though 
some were still sitting on eggs. Indeed, fresh eggs were 
collected from the plot farmed by the settlers. As the first 
eggs had been obtained on the 2nd November, this gives 
exactly two months during which fresh eggs were procurable. 
It would be interesting to correlate the various dates upon 
which this widely-spread species commences incubation in its 
diverse breeding localities. The beginning of February saw the 
earliest of the young birds on the wing, though eggs were 
still being sat upon by late comers. Of all birds I have ever 
observed or read about, these dislike wet weather the most. 
Owing to this failing, the young birds often perish in great 
numbers. At the first drop of rain the whole colony rise and 
fly away to sea, leaving either their eggs or young to the mercy 
of the weather.* If the rain persists, they stay away until it is 
finished, and in the meanwhile the young ones, unless well 
grown and strong, perish. I saw the effect of such weather 
early in February. Two wet days caused the death of many 
newly-hatched young and the desertion of all the eggs at that 
time being sat upon. The old birds commenced to leave 
the island the middle of March, and by the end of the following 


*Mr. A. J. Campbell records a similar instance regarding Noddy Terns (Amous 
stolidus)—‘** Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds,” p. 853. 


Vol. X. 


Soh IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kevmadec Islands. fe) 
month all the young had also gone. A couple of birds were 
heard on the 2nd of May; from the 8th to the 14th many 
birds were heard passing the island in the evening, and it was 
surmised that these might be birds bred on the southern islands 
of the group passing north. From the latter date until the 31st 
July we heard nothing whatever of these birds. Then an odd 
bird was heard calling at night ; succeeding nights they were 
heard in increasing numbers. None were seen until the 20th of 
August, when a large flock was noted at dusk, away out over 
the bay. Every evening after this they were seen, and shortly 
afterwards settled at night on the beach, flying away just before 
sunrise and not returning until evening again. On the 18th Sep- 
tember they were for the first time noted flying over the bay all 
day, and by the end of that month they circled above their 
proposed nesting sites all through the day. This continued 
throughout October, until on the last day they remained on the 
ground during the day. I expected they would lay in a day or 
two, but on the 2nd November rain set in, and every bird 
departed, and for two days whilst the rain persisted the bay was 
deserted. The third day a few birds returned, and then the 
bulk came back, but there never seemed to be the same numbers 
as before the wet weather. The first eggs were seen on the oth 
November, and the next morning still only a very few. On the 
morning of the 11th a couple of hundred were noted, and in the 
afternoon several hundred were collected by the sailors for food. 
Two days later, on Curtis Island, eggs were very abundant. 
Though the White Tern (Gygzs alba, Sparrm.) breeds on Sunday 
Island I was unable to note anything regarding its habits while 
engaged in incubation. The first birds to arrive in the spring 
came early in October, but no eggs had been found when we 
had to leave on the 11th November. Only a few pairs breed on 
the island, chiefly on the south coast. Few of the other two 
species of Noddies bred, and they principally resorted to Meyer 
Island. 

White-capped Noddy (A@zcranous leucocapillus) did not breed 
on the main island at all, Meyer Island and one of the other 
islets being their only stations. On 29th February the Meyer 
Island colony was visited, and a few fully-feathered young 
were noted sitting in their huge nests in the short trees. No 
other notes relating to the breeding habits of this bird were 
obtained. 

Grey Noddy (Procelsterna cinerea) bred very sparingly at 
each end of Denham Bay, but the nesting places were almost 
inaccessible. As far as was observed, they make no pretence at 
a nest, simply laying their eggs on a bare crevice of a rock. 
On 20th February many flying young were observed on Meyer 
Island, where a fair-sized colony bred. The birds were there 
observed: in fair numbers on 3rd August, but no eggs were 


Emu 
ist July 


Io IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 
noted. On 12th November at Macauley Island, and on the 
13th at Curtis Island, hard-set eggs were seen. 

In the “ Supplement to the Birds of New Zealand ” the Noddy 
Tern (Anous stolidus) is included, on the ground that Cheeseman 
reported it as breeding on the Kermadecs. This is an error, as 
reference to the quotation given immediately shows. This bird 
was not seen at Sunday Island, and it is pretty certain it does 
not breed there. 

The Red-tailed Tropic-Bird from the Kermadecs has been 
previously recorded under the specific title of rubrzcauda, Bodd. 
Rothschild has separated a bird under the name ervadescens, and 
this is the bird that bred on the Kermadec group. A striking 
characteristic is the bright pink colouration of the upper and 
lower parts, which in rabricauda are snowy-white. As the bird 
floated in the sunshine the pink gleam was very lovely, and to 
some degree its loveliness compensated for the harsh nature of 
its cries. The long red tail feathers seem to be the delight of 
its life; it passes most of its time in displaying these to the best 
advantage to its neighbour, who, in turn, endeavours to surpass 
it, each accompanying its evolutions with hoarse cries. The bird 
even moults these feathers one at a time, and is consequently 
never without one. If when sitting it is approached, and both 
tail feathers are pulled out, it will sulk until the feathers have 
crown. It is a most erratic breeder, but I was unable to observe 
the time of incubation. On 4th January eggs were fresh as well 
as hard-set, whilst one young one was already hatched. A young 
bird, fully feathered, was picked up on the beach the first week 
of April, and then in the last week fresh eggs were seen. I do 
not think the young would have been reared even if they 
were hatched out of these eggs. No birds were noted during 
June or July, but the beginning of August once more saw them 
back in their stations. The birds nested on grassy ledges on 
the sea-cliffs all round the coast. The down of the young varied 
from pale dove-grey to pure white. 

The Masked Gannets (Sza cyanops) bred in numbers on one 
of the outlying islets, hence known to the settlers as Gannet 
Island. A couple of pairs had also bred on Meyer Island, but 
none were present on Sunday Island, A young bird was noted 
half-fledged on Meyer Island on 29th February, and the same 
bird flew when approached on 23rd April. On the 12th 
November birds were observed sitting on fresh eggs on Macauley 
Island, and the following day on Curtis Island. As far as was 
observed no nest was made, a slight hollow being selected to do 
duty, and the egg laid therein. In one case four eggs were seen 
ina nest, and two were noted more often than one. 

The Challenger passed between Macauley and Sunday Islands 
soing north, and records that in Kermadec waters were observed 
species of Albatrosses and Petrels, the Cape Pigeon being 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


Half-fledged young Phaéthon erubescens, Sunday Island. 


FROM PHOTOS, BY TOM IREDALE, N,Z. 


ee eos 


i 


Ww 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


Red-tailed Tropic-Bird (Phaéthon erubescens) on egg in nesting-place, 
Sunday Island. 


Nest of Sunday Island Petrel (Gstrelata neglecta), Sunday Island. 


FROM PHOTOS. BY TOM IREDALE, N.Z. 


or IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. II 


IgI0 


especially noted as certainly identified. In 1887 Cheeseman 
also saw the same birds on the sea around Sunday Island, and 
surmised that the Albatross bred on the outlying islets. The 
latitude to a great extent precludes the possibility, and very 
rarely are Albatrosses seen in Sunday Island waters. Nothing 
was seen to support any such idea, and the only record I have is 
that of a Wandering Albatross (Déomedea exulans) which had 
been washed up previous to our arrival, but whose remains still 
persisted on the Denham Bay beach. The Cape Pigeon, with 
its characteristic colouration, was not noted near Sunday Island, 
neither did I see it on the outward or homeward trip. 

The White-faced Storm-Petrel (Pelagodroma marina) has 
been recorded as breeding upon the group, but we did not find 
its nesting place. I met with two specimens washed up in 
October, and one, being perfectly fresh, was dissected, and proved 
to be a female, in which the eggs were of large size. It is 
therefore extremely probable that it does breed on some of the 
outlying islets. 

Two species of Puffinus commonly bred, one on both Sunday 
and Meyer Islands, the other on Meyer Island alone. The 
former bird was the Wedge-tailed Petrel (P. chlororhynchus). 
It was recorded by Cheeseman as carnezpes, Gould, at the same 
time as he noted chlororhynchus from one young specimen. 
From specimens sent to him by Cheeseman, Hutton, in 1891, 
showed that only chlororhynchus occurred. Hutton, however, 
recorded fenuzrostris, Temm., from one skin received. This 
latter I believe to have been a bird washed up during the 
winter months. I did not see any bird which could have been 
that species, but still it could have been easily overlooked had it 
bred among the large colonies of chlororhynchus that existed. 
P. chlororhynchus arrives at the island about the middle of 
October, the earliest bird I observed being handled on the 18th. 
They frequent the north and east coasts in immense numbers, 
fewer colonies existing on the south coast, whilst very few birds 
bred in the West Bay, though on the north-west promontory they 
were very numerous. They were altogether absent from the 
crater. Hard-set eggs were noted on the 4th January, and the 
young were generally flying about the middle of May. About 
nightfall they come in from the sea, usually silently. After dark 
they fly overhead for a short time, calling to one another in a 
most mournful tone. This call suggests the idea of much 
misery, and is very weird. The bird’s chief characteristic, as 
noted by myself, was its extreme quarrelsomeness. Its pugnacity 
was featured by extraordinary vindictiveness, and, moreover, it 
seemed ever ready for a fight. Its quarrels commenced with a 
question asked in alow tone; the answer came in the same 
one ; then its voice was raised each time until it ended in a high 
shriek, and then the snarling and biting commenced. As a 


Emu 
ist July 


12 IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 
matter of fact the noise when two or three quarrels were in 
progress was beyond the powers of description. Naturally this 
fighting disposition did not conduce to the examination of many 
nesting-holes. The birds’ long, hooked bills were sufficient to 
draw blood even when the hand was heavily gloved, and their 
tenacity caused a nasty tear. ‘heir burrows were long, often 
over 3 feet in length, and winding. The down of the young 
was dark grey. These downy young possessed the nature of 
the adult, and their note was very querulous. When half-grown 
they are left to shift for themselves, and consequently many 
perish. 

Of a different nature was the little white-breasted Allied 
Petrel (Puffinus assimilts), which came in large numbers to 
Meyer Island alone to breed. It arrived about the beginning of 
May, an odd bird being heard passing overhead at nightfall the 
last week in April. The note of this bird has not the melancholy 
sound of the preceding ; it is a short guttural cry, with a peculiar 
finish, which can to some degree be imitated by a human being 
by a deep indrawing of the breath. This peculiar sound was 
also present in the cry of the previous bird, but not so pro- 
nounced. It isa gentle bird, which does not seem to possess 
the nature of its ally. On 3rd August, as it did not breed on 
the main island, Meyer Island was visited, and a number of 
holes were examined. Fresh eggs were found, hard-set eggs 
predominated, and three downy young were noted. However, 
in some holes two birds with no egg were observed. The 
holes were short, being from 1 to 2 feet in length. The downy 
young has been carefully described by Sir Walter Buller. 
In A. J. Campbell’s “ Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds,” p. 
879, I note the following :—‘ Gould received two beautiful 
snow-white eggs of the Allied Petrel from Macgillivray. They 
were collected on Royal Island (wherever that island is situated) 
in July, 1854. .[? Rossel Island, Louisiades, June, 1844.— 
E.A.P.]” The island referred to is Raoul, more commonly 
known in recent years as Sunday Island, and the date is correct. 
All Macgillivray’s specimens were labelled “ Raoul,’ whether 
collected on the main island or the outlying islets. 

The Petrels of the genus (strelata, I find, are called the 
Dove-like Fulmars. This describes them very well. They have 
very gentle habits, and are meek in expression like a Dove. 
Two burrowing species of this genus bred on Sunday Island— 
C2. cervicalis, Salv., and G?. nigripennts, Rothsch. The former, 
technically known as the Black-capped Petrel, though sometimes 
called the Sunday Island Petrel, is, I believe, the handsomest bird 
ofthe genus. It has not yet been found breeding elsewhere, and it 
breeds only very sparingly on the island. it was estimated that 
less than 500 pairs were breeding, and that little increase is being 
made, owing to the ravages of wild cats. Scattered colonies exist 


Emu, Vo/. X. 


PLATE V. 


Young in down, Cstrelata neglecta, Meyer Island 


FROM PHOTOS. BY TOM IREDALE, N.Z. 


Vol. X. 3 . er : 4 : 
‘ene IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 13 


all over the island, but in no case are these of any extent, and 
none, as far as was known, exist on the outlying islets. The 
account given by Cheeseman of the breeding habits of this bird 
requires modification. That account was drawn up very shortly 
after the bird was discovered. As stated above, it is not solitary ; 
the colonies are always placed on the ridges, and it would be a 
very exceptional bird that burrowed at the base of a tree-fern. 
It does not arrive until October, and leaves in May. A downy 
young one was examined on 29th March; it was of a beautiful 
dove-grey, with white on the breast. Fully-fledged young were 
noted as early as 3rd May. 

The second burrowing (@strelata was formerly recorded as 
. cooki2, but, though a close ally, is perfectly distinct, and was 
separated by Rothschild under the name xzzgrzpennzs. It breeds 
more numerously than the preceding species on Sunday Island, 
whilst colonies exist on the outlying islets, as well as Macauley 
and Curtis Islands. This is a most lovely and gentle little 
bird, never biting hard when handled. On 4th January a 
colony was examined, and fresh eggs were numerous, very few 
being hard-set, whilst in many holes birds, but no eggs, were 
found. On 29th February downy young were noted, and these 
were miniatures of those of cervzca/zs, though the adult plumage 
of these two species is very different. 

Most interest was evinced in the species of G¥strelata reported 
from the Kermadecs as breeding on the surface of the ground, 
and not burrowing, as is usual with members of that genus. 

Cheeseman, in 1890, recorded three species—wmzol/7s, Gould, as 
breeding in the summer on Sunday Island ; sf. zxdet., as breed- 
ing in the winter on Meyer Island; and xeg~ecta, Schlegel, as 
having been previously recorded. 

In 1893 Hutton wrote on the Petrels of the Kermadecs, and 
then allowed three species. He showed that the bird Cheese- 
man recorded as sollzs, Gould, on Buller’s identification was 
neglecta, Schlegel; added p/ilzppz, Gray, and introduced a new 
species, lewcophrys. Their habits he was not certain about, and, 
endeavouring to obtain fresh information, obtained such that in 
1904 he reduced the three species to varieties. However, to his 
three varieties he accorded such distinct habits as to make 
doubtful the reduction. Consequently Buller, in 1906, in the 
“ Supplement to the Birds of New Zealand,” still maintained as 
valid three species, but with this difference: he retained wo//zs, 
philippe, and neglecta, including /eucophrys as a synonym of the 
last-named. In the work quoted Buller strangely introduces 
under the three names habits at variance with his authorities, 
thus quoting under phzlzppz_ Hutton’s account of 1893, although 
in 1904 Hutton, from later information, had retracted that 
account. 

It will be seen from the foregoing rough sketch that the 


< OF jis ee \ Emu 
I4 IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. ist Fee 


complexity of the situation appeared to afford much scope for 
investigation. It is too long a story to introduce in this place, 
so I will only deal with the habits of the birds as observed. 
The colouration of the birds varies immensely, and it is due to 
this variability that much of the confusion has arisen. More- 
over, whilst Sunday Island is the resort during the summer 
months of many thousands of birds, only about half a dozen 
pairs breed on Meyer Island. During winter, however, Meyer 
Island is covered with birds, whilst none are found on Sunday 
Island. The darkest birds have the whole of the plumage of a 
dark black-grey—these are birds Hutton called phzleppz, Gray ; 
the lightest have the head and all the under parts pure white— 
Hutton separated this as J/eucophrys. Between these two 
extremes every phase of plumage exists ; the dark birds breed 
with the light ones as well as with dark birds. They bred on 
the high parts of the island as well as the low parts. Though 
tested in every manner that could be thought of, nothing that 
could be used as a separating test was found. Necessarily it 
devolved upon me to include all the birds under megdecta, as 
Hutton had previously done, but without any well-marked 
varieties. Hence all the following notes refer to birds of any 
style of colouration. 

On Sunday Island, on 4th January, fresh eggs and hard-set 
eggs predominated, though some well-grown downy young were 
seen. The latest egg noticed was one just hatching on goth 
February, at which time there were young ones showing wing 
and tail feathers. The earliest bird to be seen ready to fly was 
on the 29th March, whilst very few birds were seen in the middle 
of May. The first birds to arrive back at Sunday Island were 
observed on 30th July, whilst the first one settled on the ground 
was handled on 30th August. These immediately built nests, 
but no eggs were seen until the 28th October. The surface- 
breeding habit showed up this peculiarity, which may be general 
among the burrowing species. 

At the end of September all the earlier birds had completed 
their nests, and left the island, to which they did not return 
until well in October, when they sorted up the nests, and soon 
after laid their eggs. From the 23rd to 25th September I made 
a tour round the island for the purpose of noting the colouration 
of the birds. A very large number of nests were built, and their 
size surprised me. The majority were decently put together, 
and some were really pretentious structures, whilst few were 
very scanty. 

The nests were placed among fern, without any other shelter, 
some even in the open; mostly, however, they were situated 
under the aerial roots of the poutukava or under the shelter of 
fallen trees. A favourite site was at the base of a tree-fern, but 
any place was selected save in a hole. Some even selected flat 


ape IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. mS 


places on leaning trees, one being noted about 20 feet up a 
tree. Large nests were noted as follows :—Among ferns, well- 
formed cup, composed of dead leaves and long straws. Nest 
among fern, well-formed cup made of small dead twigs and dead 
leaves. Nest among ferns and cherry-pie, well-formed cup of 
dried grasses, twigs, and dead leaves, with green leaves and a piece 
of green cherry-pie twined round. Very large nest under shelter 
of fallen tree-fern was composed of dead leaves, moss, and nikau 
leaflets, whilst another nest close by was also very large, and 
made up entirely of dead slug-eaten leaves. A very large nest, 
situated entirely in the open, was composed of dead fern-stalks, 
twigs, and nikau leaflets. The manner of making these nests 
was studied, and the procedure adopted was found to a great 
extent to be identical. The site is selected apparently without 
reference to its nest-building suitability. The bird sits on its 
nest and picks up all the straws it fancies, and gravely throws 
them behind it, first on one side and then the other. Having 
selected all suitable, it moves forward, repeating the process, and 
straying as far as a yard from its nesting place. Whilst watch- 
ing this performance one wonders if the bird will ever get a 
nest together, as after a couple of hours it seems no nearer. 
However, as previously shown, it makes an extensive nest. 
The only case in which no nest was made was when the 
location was under a fallen tree-fern, and no materials at all 
were handy. As many of the birds nest in situations from 
which they cannot readily rise, they climb trees in order to get 
a take-off. They climb by means of their bill and claws, with a 
constant flapping of the wings. This is the method most of the 
young have to adopt to take their first flight. 

Whilst, as stated, these birds leave Sunday Island at the 
middle of May and do not return until the end of July, during 
that time Meyer Island is crowded with birds. These birds, in 
habits, size, and colouration, as also in their cries, cannot be 
separated from the Sunday Island birds. Having such a small 
extent of land, they are much more crowded, and, materials being 
unavailable, nests are less in size or absent. Furthermore, only 
scrubby trees existing, more nests are placed out in the open. 
The earliest date we were able to visit Meyer Island was 29th 
February, and we then found that birds were already there, but 
only about 20 per cent. had laid eggs. On 20th May young 
birds in all stages were observed, though still a: few eggs 
were noted. On 3rd August almost all the young had flown. 

In conclusion, I wish to tender my sincere thanks to all the 
other members of the expedition, Messrs. W. R. B. Oliver, S. R. 
Oliver, W. L. Waliace, and C. E. Warden, who, whatever their 
occupation might be, never missed an opportunity of informing 
me of any item of interest, or obtaining specimens. I particularly 
wish here to publicly recognize the aid of the settlers on the 


~ Emu 
ist July 


16 IREDALE, Bird Life on the Kermadec Islands. 
island, Messrs. Roy and King Bell, who whole-heartedly put 
themselves at our service, and it is due to their knowledge of 
the avifauna of their native isle that so much fresh information 
has been received. Had it not been for their help I should not 
have been able to write so confidently as I have done regarding 
the bird-life of the Kermadecs. 


The Region of the Barrier Range. 
AN OOLOGIST’S HOLIDAY. 
By (Dr.) W. MACGILLIVRAY, BROKEN HILL, N.S.W. 
PART, 


DURING a nine years’ residence at Broken Hill, which may be 
regarded as the capital of south-western New South Wales, I 
have made frequent excursions into the surrounding country, in 
order to further my knowledge of its avifauna. I propose in 
the following notes to give an account of an excursion made 
during September and October, 1909, in company of Mr. W. 
M‘Lennan and a party of more or less interested friends on 
health or pleasure bent. Dr. Dobbyn (who has been my 
companion on many previous trips), Mr. J. M‘Lennan, Mark 
Welsh (in charge of horses and culinary arrangements), my own 
son (aged 10 years), and his boy cousin, Barney Mackay. 

I had planned to work several of the creeks which run out of 
the Barrier Range and through the open country between 
Broken Hill and a permanent camping place on Wyalla Lake, 
about 100 miles to the north, in scrub country, and then to 
return by a different route, so as to include other creeks, the 
whole trip to occupy one month. Our means of locomotion 
was a large express waggon, built for the back country 
roads, and drawn by four horses. Winter rains had been fairly 
good for a district in which desert conditions usually prevail, 
and a fairly good growth of herbage along all the creeks | 
rendered it unnecessary for us to carry chaff or make a home- 
stead every day to procure feed for the horses. On two previous 
occasions our range of movement had been greatly restricted on 
this account. 

Long before breakfast time on the 11th September we were 
crossing Stephens Creek, about 9 miles from the city, at a 
point just above the reservoir, from which the city water supply 
is drawn. This creek—and the description applies to most 
creeks in the district—is shallow and sandy, bordered with 
eucalypts and some other trees and shrubs. Our way led us 
through a patch of porcupine-grass, which was devoid of bird 
life; further on Tricoloured and Orange-fronted Chats 
(Ephthianura tricolor and E. aurifrons) and a few White- 


Wok: =X: 


cc MAcGILLIvRAy, The Region of the Barriey Range. 17 
winged Wrens (M/alurus) were disturbed from the blue-bush by 
the wayside. Our road was now skirting the Barrier Range, 
through blue- and salt-bush country, with occasional turpentine- 
bushes, whose buds had not yet opened. Mulga begins at the 
foot of the hills and spreads over them. Occasional pairs of 
Black-faced Wood-Swallows (Artamus melanops) were seen. 
This species, unlike the Masked (A. personatus) or White- 
browed (dA. superczliosus), is neither migratory nor gregarious, 
and is very local in its habits, being seen always either in pairs, 
or, after the nesting season, in families. It thus tends to form 
local variations, a condition not possible with the other species 
mentioned, which migrate regularly from north to south to a 
greater or less extent, according to food supply, and never 
permanently inhabit any one locality. We soon arrived at 
Nulcowinna Station, situate on the creek of the same name, 
about 30 miles from Broken Hill, stopping only long enough to 
inquire our way for the next day’s journey. 

Proceeding up the creek about 3 miles, we camped and had 
lunch. Water-pools still remained along the sandy bed ; the 
gums looked fresh and green, but the feed did not tempt us 
to keep our horses here too long. Yellow-throated Miners 
(Myzantha flavigula), Spiny-cheeked Honey-eaters (Acanthochera 
rufigularzs), and “Greenies” (Pézlotzs pentcillata) were busy among 
the gums, and enlivened the creekside with their varied notes. 
The Red-tipped Pardalote (Pardalctus ornatus) was heard on 
every side, and the coo-cooing of the Little Dove (Geopelia 
cuneata) came from further down the creek. This species and 
the Ground-Dove (G. ¢vanguzl/a) are about equally distributed 
along all the creeks throughout western New South Wales. 
Both are ground feeders (on seeds of eucalypts, grasses, and 
herbage), and never feed away from the protecting shelter of 
the creek timber. Their seasonal movements are guided mainly 
by the water supply. Barney Mackay soon found a Yellow- 
throated Miner’s (AZyzantha flavigula) nest, built in a small 
gum, about 15 feet from the ground; three eggs were in the 
nest. From an adjoining acacia a Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps 
lophotes) flew, revealing her frail platform, on which two eggs 
could plainly be seen from beneath. Two Bare-eyed Cockatoos 
(Cacatua gymnopis) flew screeching from a gum-tree, a 
hollow in which, about 30 feet from the ground, with tell-tale 
down adhering to the entrance, contained one egg, resting at 
the bottom on decayed woody material. Only a few yards 
further on four Galah’s (Cacatua roseccapilla) eggs, in a leaf-lined 
hollow, about 35 feet from the ground, were chipping. A 
Boobook Owl (WVzzox boobook) hurriedly left another gum. The 
hollow being deep down in the tree, it was passed by. A 
pair of Galahs had a hollow neatly lined and ready for eggs. 
Two old nests of Ocyphaps lophotes were noted in an acacia and, 


18 MacciLiivray, The Region of the Barner Range. te 


a gum-tree respectively. The broods were reared earlier in the 
season. ‘These birds sometimes nest in the late winter months, 
I have taken fledged young in July, and again autumn rain 
often results in eggs being laid in April and May. A Bronze- 
wing (Phaps chalcoptera) rose from the ground, where it had 
been feeding, and went clattering through the trees. The two 
next hollows examined contained well-feathered young of the 
Mallee Parrakeet (Barnardius barnardt). These Parrakeets are 
early spring breeders, and throughout our trip most of the 
nesting hollows examined contained young. In a hollow of 
another tree, at a height of 15 feet, were found three fresh eggs 
of the Galah, resting on a leafy bed. Next two half-grown 
Mallee Parrakeets and a rotten egg in a hollow, at a height of 
30 feet. A female of the same species sitting on two incubating 
eggs had to be removed before they were revealed ; this hollow 
was only 6 feet from the ground. A little further on a Galah 
was sitting on four hard-set eggs in a hollow at a height of 
20 feet from the ground. M‘Lennan climbed to a Short-billed 
Crow’s (Corvus bennetti) nest at a height of 4o feet up in 
one of the gums, and took five fresh eggs. This is an 
average clutch, although six and even seven eggs are some- 
times laid. The birds lay early—namely, in August—so that 
nearly all of the nests examined by our party contained young 
birds or heavily incubated eggs. Not many Crows nest along 
the creek, as they mostly prefer the mulga on the hills, the 
leopard trees (Flindersia maculosa), or larger neelia (Acacia 
vigens) in the flat scrub. A tree from which a good outlook 
can be obtained is generally selected. They are wary birds, 
flying from the nest before one can closely approach it. The 
call is very distinct from that of the Raven (Covone australzs), 
being a harsher and shorter “ Gahr.” 

A few yards more tramping along the sandy bed brought 
us to the nest of a Little Eagle (Wisaétus morphnozdes), situate 
in a gum-tree. The nest had been partly blown out of position 
by a storm, and built up again to a height of 2 feet. The leaf- 
lined cavity contained a pair of fresh eggs. From this point 
onwards for about 2 miles the effects of a terrific storm of wind - 
and hail which had crossed the creek about three weeks 
previously were manifest. Many trees were torn to pieces, 
only trunk and main limbs remaining, and nearly all had lost a 
number of their branches; many large limbs were found fully 
100 yards from where they had been broken off. The bark on 
the western sides of the trunks and limbs bore evidence of the 
size and velocity of the hailstones, being bruised, pitted, and 
scarred to a remarkable extent. We could not help noticing 
the scarcity of birds along this portion of the creek. No doubt 
these wind-storms do much good to the trees by pruning off the 
dead and decaying branches and cleaning the limbs of hanging . 


Vol. X. 


is Macairtivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 19 
strips of bark, which shelter destructive insects. But they 
are responsible for the destruction of large numbers of nests, 
eggs, and young of many birds, especially of species like the 
Honey-eaters, which build more or less pensile nests. 

Another Short-billed Crow’s nest, high up, as usual, contained 
four hard-set eggs, which were not taken. Two hollows in 
separate trees each contained three Galah’s eggs. A pair of 
Cockatoo-Parrakeets (Calopsittacus nove-hollandi@), passed us, 
coming from the north, the first evidence of that migratory 
movement from north to south which takes place every 
year in the spring to a greater or lesser extent. The birds 
drop off to breed wherever there is promise of a plentiful 
supply of seed for the rearing of their young. Occasionally, 
in the northern parts of this district, after good autumn 
or late summer rains, nesting takes place in April or May. 
In a tall tree in the next bend of the creek, well known 
to us from previous visits, was found the nest of a pair of 
Black-breasted Buzzards (Gypotctinta melanosterna), occupied 
for the third year in succession. The nest, a large, flat struc- 
ture of sticks lined with green gum-leaves, was placed on a 
horizontal fork near the top of the tree, and M‘Lennan, who is 
a skilful and careful climber, had to brace the limb to a more 
horizontal one with the climbing rope, and secure himself to the 
end of it, before venturing out to the nest. There was only one 
egg, which was left until next day in hopes of an addition. 
The female, soaring above us, did not seem so fine a bird as the 
one in possession during our other visits to this nest. We con- 
cluded that the old female had been killed, probably poisoned, 
and that the male had found anew mate. A hollow in the same 
tree, occupied on both our previous visits by a pair of Bare-. 
eyed Cockatoos (Cacatua gymmnopts), this year was found to 
contain a clutch (four) of the eggs of this species. A steep and 
sheltered sandy bank opposite to the Buzzards’ tree, usually a 
favourite nesting place of the Black-and-White Swallow 
(Cheramaca leucosternum) and Red-backed Kingfisher (Halcyon 
pyrrhopygius), was now untenanted by either species. A soft, 
sandy bank, such as this, is usually preferred for a nesting site by 
the Black-and-White Swallow. A bank may be occupied by 
several pairs, not because it is the habit of these Swallows to nest 
in company, but that the site is a favourable one; just as many 
nest singly in small washaways, or at long intervals along the 
same gully or washaway. I have seen the nests of these birds 
in small water ruts with a bank not more than a foot in height. 
Five pure white eggs form a clutch. 

As the grass and herbage is not very good along this creek, 
we did not find the Bare-eyed Cockatoos, Galahs, and other 
species nesting so freely as usual, so that lack of interest, 
together with a feeling of weariness in limbs long unused 


Emu 
ist July 


20 MACGILLIvRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. 
to such exercise, compelled us to return to camp by a 
rapid march across country, delayed only by a search for 
aboriginal stone relics on a sand-bank which has evidently 
been a favourite camping-place of old time. After tea we 
were soon abed and asleep. The morning broke fine and 
clear ; breakfast was soon over, and a start made to investigate 
the creek back towards the station. A pair of Little Eagles 
(Nisaétus morphnoides) had a nest ready for occupation in a tree 
near our camp. A Mallee Parrakeet’s hollow contained two 
young birds in down. Young birds were seen in a Raven’s 
nest. A “Greenie’s” pendulous nest, just completed among 
the leaves of a gum, was seen, not far from a Yellow- 
throated Miner’s (Myzantha flavigula) nest containing three 
eggs. Another Little Eagle was flushed, and flapped 
slowly away from a nest high up, as usual, to which she 
had evidently been putting the finishing touches. Two magni- 
ficent Black Falcons (Falco snbniger) were disturbed from 
their roosting-place in a eucalypt, and glided away through the 
trees. On the wing these birds appear to be the largest of our 
Falcons. More Miners’ nests, and a Grallina (Grallina picata) 
sitting on its mud nest, led us on to a Goshawk’s (Astur 
fasciatus) small platform-like structure, to which the bird 
returned when M‘Lennan was half-way up to it. She soon 
quitted when she caught sight of the intruder. The nest was 
almost finished. A pair of Allied Kites (Wzluus affinis) were 
soaring over the tree-tops, their dark bodies and swallow tails 
silhouetted against the clear sky, and their keen eyes watching 
every movement of the humans below. A Whistling Eagle 
(Haliastur sphenurus) was busy renewing an old home; these. 
nests are,as arule, securely built on a substantial limb at a 
good height from the ground, and are re-lined with green leaves 
year after year. In a tree near by a Little Eagle had nearly 
finished a nest. Unlike the Whistling Eagle, this species has 
little chance of re-occupying an old nest, as the site usually 
chosen—a slender limb at the top of a tree—does not tend to 
its survival from year to year in a region where winds are high 
and frequent. A Galah’s nesting hollow, containing three hard- 
set eggs, was our turning point. M‘Lennan, cutting across a 
salt-bush flat, on the opposite side to the rest of party, found, in 
a blue-bush, a nest of the White-winged Wren (Malurus leucop- 
terus) built almost wholly of sheep’s wool and containing four 
eggs. In other bushes were two more nests, nearly completed. 
One was composed of sheep’s wool, the other of dry grass and 
wool, lined with woolly seeding plants and rabbit fur. All the 
nests were placed at the tops of bushes in fairly conspicuous 
positions. M‘Lennan also found a Crested Pigeon’s (Ocyphaps 
lophotes) nest with two eggs in an outlying acacia. 

After a flying visit to the Buzzard’s nest, and an early lunch,’ 


Vol. X. 


iro MacaILiivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. Zyl 
we made a start on the road again. The trap having to make 
a detour, crossing and recrossing the creek, in order to. pick up 
the Gardiner’s Creek track, M‘Lennan and I cut across to it by 
a more direct route through the salt-bush, to look up the White- 
winged Wrens. Nearly every crab-hole, with its surrounding 
blue-bushes, was in possession of a family of these little birds. 
The tiny grey females, as they fly and skip along the ground 
from bush to bush, look almost like mice, and are in marked 
contrast to the fussy little male, resplendent in coat of dark 
blue and silver, as he shows himself occasionally on the top of a 
bush with a great pretence of guarding the line of retreat. 
Only the woolly outlines of several nests were found by us, and 
we soon joined the main party. Our objective now was a well 
on Gardiner’s Creek, 20 miles in a W.N.W. direction. The 
country was at first hilly, thinly timbered with mulga (Acacia 
aneura) and turpentine-bush and patches of blue-bush. The 
herbage was good, and wild flowers were plentiful. The 
rumbling of our trap frequently disturbed Orange-fronted 
Chats (Ephthianura aurifrons) and Tricoloured Chats (Z&. 
tricolor) from the bushes. They flew along the road in front of 
us from bush to bush, and then circled out and let us pass on to 
put up others in the same way. A Spotted Harrier (Circus 
assimilis) was beating the ground parallel with, but not too near, 
our track, on the look-out for prey ; its widely-stretched grey 
wings, with their black tips, made it easily recognizable. 

The strident note of the Brown Song-Lark (C7xclorhamphus 
cruralts) was heard ever and anon, and the male bird was seen, 
as he descended and perched on the top of a bush, with uplifted 
tail, to utter a warning “ Wez-weet ” to his wary mate. There are 
many flowering shrubs on these hills, which furnish a generous 
diet to the smaller insectivorous birds, notably Lyvemophila 
alternifolia and E. dutton?. When about 5 miles from our 
destination the trap met with an accident, and the breakage 
took some time to fix up. After proceeding carefully for a few 
hundred yards on a rough road the trap gave way again, and we 
had to leave it. Packing the horses with bedding and food, we 
tramped in single file to the well, which we found just after 
dark. A fire was soon lit and the billy on the boil. Daylight 
revealed the fact that about two tons of dead rabbits had not 
long before been cleaned out of the receiving tank from which 
we drew our water. Before breakfast next morning the two 
boys and myself took the billy down the creek to look for a 
soak in the sand, and were lucky enough to find a small pool of 
good water about half a mile from our camp. The feed on the 
creek flats around the camp was very luxuriant, but, despite 
this and the fact that they were hobbled, three of our horses had 
strayed away. After breakfast one of our number saddled the 
remaining horse and went in search of the others. The rest. of 


22 MACGILLIVRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. Pear 


the party, excepting myself and the two boys, returned to the 
trap, where a forge was improvised in a washaway, and the turn- 
table heated and straightened, tomahawks serving the purpose 
both of anvil and hammers. Going down the creek, Bare-eyed 
Cockatoos and Galahs flew from every tree. The Rufous Song- 
Lark (Cinclorhamphus rufescens) was heard on every side. The 
wonderful growth on these flats of annual salt-bush, marsh- 
mallow, yellow everlastings, and milk-thistle, especially where 
sheltered by the tobacco-bush scrub, affords these Larks good 
cover for nesting and an abundant supply of insect food. 
Many Babblers’ (Pomatorhinus superciliosus) nests were seen 
among the trees and in the tobacco-bush, and Barney soon 
found one containing eggs. Like most of its family, this 
Babbler lays five eggs for a clutch, and often breeds very early 
in the season, even in June, although August is the regular 
laying month. Yellow-throated Miners (7yzantha flavigula), 
“Greenies” (Péz/otis penzcellata), and Singing Honey-eaters 
(Pitilotis sonora) are here in numbers, the flowering tobacco-bush 
affording an unlimited supply of honey and insect food. 

We found a nest of Barnardius barnardi in a hollow in a 
eucalypt. Whistling Eagles were seen preparing their nests, 
and several pairs of Little Eagles and Allied Kites were also 
noticed among the trees or flying overhead. The liquid notes 
of the Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater (Acanthochera rufigularis) 
came from all parts of the scrub. We attempted to penetrate the 
bushes, but soon gave up, as the scrub was too dense and 
unproductive. We skirted the creek for half a mile on the east 
side, finding two good waterholes, and then got through to the 
west side on a cattle pad. Barney had a good climb after a 
Black-backed Magpie’s (Gymunorhina tibicen) nest, and was 
rewarded with a nicely marked clutch of four eggs. This is the 
usual clutch for G. ¢2bzcen in this district. 

We skirted the scrub for some distance, and then made our 
way back to camp, where the rest of the party soon joined us. 
After lunch we started up the creek. A Whistling Eagle was 
lining her nest in a tree at the back of the camp, and we 
watched her taking the leaves from the tops of the trees and 
carrying them in her claws to the nest. A Boobook Owl (Wznox 
boobook) was flushed from an empty hollow, and then a Bare- 
eyed Cockatoo (Cacatua gymnopis) emerged from another, and 
flew screaming away. A Hawk flew from a nest at the top 
of a gum-tree, and was soon followed by another from a smaller 
nest in a lower fork. They proved to be a fine pair of Grey 
Falcons (Falco hypoleucus). M‘Lennan was soon climbing to the 
higher nest, from which the female, somewhat larger than the 
male, had flown. The nest was placed in the upright fork of a 
thin limb, 60 feet from the ground ; it was about 18 inches in 
diameter, loosely built of sticks and lined with wool, and con- 


os alec MacaILLivray, The Region of the Barriey Range: 23 


1910 


tained three eggs. The birds sailed uneasily round the tree, 
but made no attempt to molest the climber. After a further 
tramp over a dry stretch of creek, we came to a clear pool, and 
noted fox and Emu tracks on the damp sand. In an old, 
rugged tree near by a Kestrel (Cerchnets cenchroides) had her 
clutch of five eggs, a Cockatoo coming from a second hollow. 
Two more Bare-eyed Cockatoos’ nests were found, each contain- 
ing eggs. A Boobook Owl vacated a hollow, in which two 
eggs were seen. The “feed” along the creek had now almost 
reached the vanishing point, and there was a corresponding 
scarcity of bird life. It was useless to proceed further, so we 
turned back, cutting off a large bend in the creek. On the way 
we heard a horse-bell jingling, and, two of us going in search, 
the wanderers were brought back and short-hobbled on the 
green feed again. Next morning Barney was out before break- 
fast, among the small gums near the camp, and soon reported 
the finding of two nests of the Mallee Parrakeet, one with a 
complete clutch of five eggs on the point of hatching, and the 
other with two eggs only. One of those curious sand lizards 
(Gymnodactylus milusiz) paid our breakfast table a visit, and 
was allowed to walk about in its peculiar, stilty way. Two of 
us went out with the horses to bring in the trap, while the 
others walked over the flats down the creek to where we com- 
menced on the previous day. A Kestrel flew from a hollow in 
alarge gum. Higher up in the same tree a Whistling Eagle 
was re-lining an old nest, under which a Yellow-rumped Tit 
(Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) had her home. A ’possum was seen 
sleeping the day away in still another limb. In the next tree a 
Little Eagle was building and a Grallina was sitting on eggs; a 
Boobook Owl flew from one of the tree’s hollow limbs, and in 
another hollow a Cockatoo had her clutch of three eggs. Ina 
small eucalypt near at hand was a compactly-built nest of the 
White-browed Babbler, with an incomplete clutch of three eggs. 
A Little Nightjar (#gotheles nove-hollandie) flitted away from 
her leaf-lined hollow, in which she had not yet laid. These 
interesting little birds are common throughout this country, and 
their “ Churr-churring ” note is frequently heard at night; they 
nest during September and October, laying four, or, very rarely, 
five eggs. Usually the eggs are pure white, but sometimes 
possess indistinct spots or markings, which in some form a zone 
at the larger end. A small colony of the Purple-backed Wren 
(Malurus assimil7s) was disturbed searching for smaller insect 
forms among the undergrowth along the creek bank. In a 
hollow tree nearly opposite the camp a Bare-eyed Cockatoo’s 
nest contained four eggs. Theusualclutchis three. In another 
tree a Kestrel had just completed laying her clutch of five eggs, 
which I find to be the normal clutch, though six eggs are some- 
times laid. Kestrels usually choose a large, open hollow, and 


2 ; 5 E 
24 MAcGILLIvRaAy, The Region of the Barrier Range. ee ple 


lay their eggs on the bare earthy material natural to such 
places. 

We returned to camp, had an early lunch, and made a start, 
crossing the creek on the main Euriowie road; for about five 
miles this led us through hilly country, bearing evidences of the 
tin and copper prospector. All these hills, really the foot-hills 
of the Barrier Range, were just now gay with golden yellow 
“billy buttons” and everlastings of several kinds, yellow and 
white, and every watercourse was lined with great bunches of 
blue-bells. We watered the horses at a rapidly-drying waterhole 
a quarter of a mile off the road; its position was sufficiently 
indicated by hovering and screeching flocks of Bare-eyed 
Cockatoos and Galahs. The birds were squabbling to find 
room at the water’s edge. Grain-eating birds cannot go 
long in a dry land like this without water. A mile 
further on we crossed a creek and pulled up to examine 
a Whistling Eagle’s nest, newly lined and ready for eggs. 
A Red-tipped Pardalote (Pardalotus ornatus) had a_nestful 
of young in a small hole in a tree, and near by five young 
Mallee Parrakeets were approaching the time when they would 
be able to leave the warm shelter of the hollow to find the use 
of their wings. A few miles further along the road we crossed 
the Caloola Creek. At the crossing a Raven’s (Corone australis) 
nest was examined ; it contained four newly-hatched young and 
one chipping egg. Five eggs is a normal clutch for this species, 
and, as incubation commences when the first egg is laid, the 
young are of different sizes. When hatched they are blind ; skin 
yellowish, mostly bare, but with dirty-grey down on humeral, 
femoral, and dorsal feather-tracts ; the eyes open on the fifth or 
sixth day, and are pale grey, which colour gets darker as the 
bird grows, but does not turn white until the birds are 13 months 
old. The skin of the nestling gradually darkens to a greenish- 
yellow, and there is then a gradual change to blackish-brown. 
This change takes place first on the feather-tracts. The gape 
is bright pink, and bill of a leaden hue at first, darkening with 
age. The young are fed on caterpillars, young grasshoppers, 
and other insects. During one drought season, when dead 
sheep were plentiful, the young Ravens apparently were fed 
upon dipterous larvze, and the stench which assailed our nostrils 
when the crops were opened did not tempt us to pursue our 
investigations further in that direction. 

It was part of my plan to follow this creek up from this point. 
The road along the bank, however, was not one on which to 
trust our damaged trap, so we drove on to Euriowie township, 
picked up the White Cliffs coach road, which ran in our direc- 
tion, and followed it to within 3 miles of Sturt’s Meadows 
Station, where we camped for the night. Before tea M‘Lennan 
and I followed the creek back until darkness forced us to return: 


ek Macaitiivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 25 
‘However, we found a Kestrel, Boobook Owl, and Galah nesting 
in hollows in the old gum. Five fresh eggs of the Mallee 
Parrakeet were found in another hollow—the only fresh full 
clutch of this species found during the trip. Two nests (each 
with two eggs) of the Bare-eyed Cockatoo were located in 
separate trees, and as it grew dark we disturbed a Kestrel and 
another Cockatoo from the same tree, but did not trouble to 
climb. 

Next morning, 15th September, M‘Lennan and _I started 
‘before the trap to follow the creek to the station. The flats all 
along it were in splendid condition. Annual salt-bush, milk- 
thistles, spinach, and wild oats were luxuriant, but out from the 
creek, where the grass should grow, there was little of anything 
permanent. A few hot northerlies will soon put an end to the 
succulent herbage. This is a result of winter rains; earlier 
autumn rains would have brought on a more permanent herbage. 
The birds seemed to know that it was to be a short season, and 
were all nesting in a hurry, the grain-eaters to hatch out when 
the seeds ripened, the insect-eaters when they could be sure of a 
plentiful supply of food for their nestlings. The proportion of 
full clutches and clutches of more than what may be regarded 
as the normal number was greater this year than when condi- 
tions were not so favourable. The loud and pleasing sound of 
the Rufous Song-Lark was heard all along the creek; they 
were only mating, and the male bird sang when making his 
short flight from the ground with rapidly vibrating wings, 
either to curve downwards again on to the top of a bush or to 
perch high up on a gum and there continue his song. We often 
flushed these birds from thick undergrowth, where they were 
feeding mostly on insects. The other species (cruralzs) is a 
bird of the open country, never being found along the creek flats 
or in scrub. 

We found nests of two species of Cockatoo and of the 
Many-coloured Parrakeet (Psephotus multicolor), containing fully 
fledged young. These Parrakeets frequent the creeksides, and 
also the box flats in the scrub country throughout the district ; 
they are usually seen in pairs, or families after the breeding 
season ; they never flock like the Red-rumped Grass-Parrakeet 
(P. hematonotus), vrhich is not found nearer than Menindie, on 
the Darling, apparently its northern limit in this direction. 
Nearing the station we found that the trees had been cut out, 
and the growing saplings do not encourage bird-life. A Spotted 
Harrier flew from them, however, and a nest, lined and ready for 
eggs, was located in a small gum. Rejoining the trap, we drove 
up to the station, which was uninhabited, the overseer being 
away attending the shearing at another station belonging to 
the same owners. Some 20 years or more ago this station 
carried 40,000 sheep, now 10,000 hardly find a living on its bare 


26 MAcGILLIvRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. ee 


plains ; the rabbits and drought on an overstocked run brought 
about this result, and this applies to every part of the district. 
After replenishing our water-bag with rain water, we took the 
wrong track, going off at an angle to the right through hilly 
country, which became stony and gravelly and more open as we 
got away from the creek. The wild-flowers won our admiration. 
Many peas grew alongside the track; yellow, violet, and 
brownish-yellow flowers were gathered. Some areas were 
golden and sweet-scented with the yellow everlasting ; other 
parts looked as though covered with a mantle of snow, so thickly 
did a brilliantly white everlasting bloom. Where a watercourse 
ran to the creek was a flat on which the old man salt-bush grew. 
We noted many Tricoloured and Orange-fronted Chats and 
Purple-backed Wrens (Malurus asstmilis). On the ironstone 
gravel a pair of Dottrels (Peltohyas australis) used all their 
wiles to lead us away from three chicks in hiding among the 
stones and scant herbage. Fourteen miles from the station we 
came to an old coach change, consisting of two fine dams and an 
old shed. The horses were watered and the billy was boiling 
when the coach came rattling along. After lunch M‘Lennan 
and I went off to inspect a black oak (Casuarina) creek which 
runs parallel with the road and half a mile from it. A Babbler’s 
(P. superciliosus) nest with one young bird was our first find. 
Then came a Bell-Bird’s (Oveotca cristata) nest with three 
chipping eggs, and many old nests of Babblers and of a Wood- 
Swallow (Artamus melanops) were noted. Tricoloured Chats and 
Singing and Spiny-cheeked Honey-eaters were numerous ; for. 
the vegetation was good, and there was an abundance of water 
in gravelly-bedded holes all along the creek. In a small gum 
a hollow contained a family of “ Blue-Bonnets” (Psephotus 
aanthorrhous) clamouring for food. Several Spotted Harriers 
were searching the adjoining plain, and a pair of Grey Falcons 
had taken possession of an old Wedge-tailed Eagle’s nest in a 
leopard tree (Fdindersia maculosa), but had not yet laid. The 
day was windy, as are so many days here, and numbers of 
Masked and Black-faced Wood-Swallows and Tricoloured Chats 
were feeding on the insects sheltering on the lee side of 
every bush and shrub. In a stunted gum a Galah (Cacatua 
rosewcapilla) had five eggs in an advanced stage of incubation. 
Four eggs I regard as a full clutch, though many nests only 
contain three. We tramped back to camp through the salt- 
bush, noting many old camp fire-places of the blacks by the way, 
with grinding stones and flint chippings scattered about. We 
flushed a Brown Song-Lark (Czuclorhamphus cruralts) from her 
nest in a depression scraped out beside a salt-bush. The nest 
was composed of rootlets of fine grasses, the egg cavity measur- 
ing 3 inches in diameter by 2 inches in depth. There were 
three eggs. In the old shed at the coach stage a Whiteface 


Vol. X. | 


gro MACGILLIVRAY, The Region of the Barriey Range. 27 
(Xerophila leucopsis) was feeding a nestful of young. We started 
back to Sturt’s Meadows, disturbing many Dottrels on the 
gravelly country, both adults and young in all stages. We 
called at the station and made use of the telephone to com- 
municate with Broken Hill and Langawirra Station, then drove 
down to the creek to camp. A pair of Grey Falcons (Falco 
hypoleucus) had a nest in the first tree we came to below the 
house ; in a hollow of the same tree were two eggs of the Bare- 
eyed Cockatoo. The Falcon’s nest was on a thin limb at the 
very top of the tree. Four more Cockatoos’ nests, containing 
eggs, were located in trees within a stone’s throw of our camp, 
and a clutch (three) of Galah’s was taken from an adjacent tree. 

Early on the morning of 16th September M‘Lennan climbed 
to the Falcon’s nest; the birds sailed anxiously round, but made 
no attempt to defend their home. The nest was a large one, 
lined with wool, and contained four slightly incubated eggs. It 
was 80 feet from the ground. No sound was uttered by the 
birds. With M‘Lennan I started down the creek afoot, the 
trap going on to camp at Stone Hut, a boundary rider’s hut 16 
miles further on. Two Cockatoos’ nests and eggs were noted, 
and the burrow of the Black-and-White Swallow was dug out. 
A bird was found sheltering in it, the day being cold, windy, and 
cloudy. One very often finds three or four birds in a burrow on 
such a day. Nests of the Crow (Corvus bennett?) and Kestrel 
were also observed. A watercourse here runs into the creek, 
and had beendammed. Around this the herbage was very rank, 
trefoil growing 2 feet in height, with other plants of equal pro- 
portions. The wild poppies were the finest we had met with 
anywhere. On some of the bunches I counted more than 30 
blooms, individual blooms being 2 inches in diameter; these 
and the yellow everlastings, growing up through the other 
herbage, made the whole flat like a garden, which was brightened 
by numbers of Tricoloured Chats and enlivened by the song of 
Rufous Larks. Upon the left bank of the creek a little group 
of acacia was searched for nests of the White-browed Babbler ; 
many old ones were found before a bird flew from one which 
contained eight eggs, three fresh eggs having been laid in a 
nest already occupied by a full clutch of five old, dried ones. I 
followed a branch creek, leaving M‘Lennan to pursue the main 
channel, and located many nests of Cockatoos. M‘Lennan 
climbed to a Raven’s nest containing young, and found a White- 
browed Babbler’s nest, with two young ones, in an “old man” 
salt-bush. On a rocky face forming one bank of the creek a 
colony of Fairy Martins (Petrochelidon ariel) were busily engaged 
in constructing their retort-shaped nests, most of which were 
unfinished. An old Black-and-White Swallow’s nesting-hole, 
where the bank had broken away to the nesting cavity, was in 
possession of a pair of Whitefaces. In another burrow two 


Emu - 
ist. July 


28 MACGILLIVRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. 
Black-and-White Swallows were sheltering from the wind. A 
Kingfisher had just finished its tunnel and nesting chamber. 
The tunnel. is rarely more than a foot in length, and slopes 
slightly upwards ; the nesting chamber is commodious, and the 
eggs, usually five, are placed on the soft earth of the floor. Eggs 
are usually laid from the middle of September until the end of 
October, rarely earlier, but later if spring rains ensure a suffi- 
ciency of food for the young. These birds feed on all kinds of 
insects, lizards, and small snakes; these are more plentiful 
during a good season, but never scarce. Many Ravens’ nests 
were passed by ; most contained young. 

We tramped wearily along the creek, where the timber had 
all been cut out, and came to a good waterhole, where we 
lunched. The timber now improved. A Cockatoo’s nest (three 
eggs) was found, then another 25 feet up (four eggs). Two feet 
from this hollow, in the same tree, three young Mallee Parrakeets 
were snugly ensconced. A Boobook Owl flushed from an empty 
hollow of the same tree, on the top of which a Whistling Eagle 
was renewing an old nest. One Cockatoo’s egg was found in a 
spout, and a Tree-Swallow (Petrochelidon nigricans) in another 
spout had three eggs. Jim M‘Lennan here met us, having 
ridden back from camp with two horses. We scorned the 
proffered assistance, and tramped on, to find a Cockatoo’s nest 
in the next tree and to flush a Goshawk (Astur fasciatus) from 
a nest which she was just completing. Soon after we met the 
other members of the party, who reported. having found nests of 
the Grallina, Cockatoo, Miner, Magpie, and Kestrel. M‘Lennan 
and I had some tea, rode on in the trap for about 2 miles, then 
took to the creek again, accompanied by Dr. Dobbyn. Cocka- 
toos were here in large flocks; Rufous Song-Larks and Chats 
were also plentiful. A Whistling Eagle’s nest contained two 
rather small eggs. Wecame to a part of the creek which had 
been visited by the hail and wind storm whose effects were so 
marked on Yalcowinna Creek. Here, though the bed of the 
creek and the bank on the lee side were strewn with branches 
and limbs, and many trees only stood as bare trunks, the marks 
of the hail were not so deep on the bark. A tragedy of the 
storm was revealed to us; a large limb had fallen across 
another, and firmly wedged between them were all the tail 
feathers of a Kestrel. Many Cockatoos’ nests were noted after 
we had passed the path of the storm, and we soon arrived at 
Stone Hut: The occupant was away at the shearing. We found 
the team unyoked. A nest of the Little Falcon (Falco lunulatus) 
was shown us in a tall tree directly below the hut. It was on 
the topmost branch. After a short rest. M‘Lennan and I 
followed the creek until darkness turned us back to camp. 

Next, morning M‘Lennan climbed to the Falcon’s nest, only 
to find that it was just ready for eggs. Breakfast over, we made. 


Vol. X. 


iro MACcGILLIVRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. 29 
a quick march to where we left off the night before. Kingfishers 
were seen and heard, and the beginnings of many burrows found 
whenever the banks were favourable. A Whistling Eagle was 
resting on her nest (ready for eggs), and a foot away, ina hollow, 
a Cockatoo was incubating. Several other Cockatoos’ nests 
were located in stunted gums out from the creek ; none was 
more than 10 or 12 feet from the ground, and in some the eggs 
were hatching. We came to an old masonry dam, beside which 
were the remains of a well and a horse-whim all overgrown with 
tobacco-bush (WVecotzana glauca) and an acacia. Down the 
well were numbers of old Fairy Martins’ nests. A Raven had 
her nest of nearly fully fledged young in a tall gum at the dam, 
and a Little Eagle was disturbed from a newly finished nest. A 
few yards further on three Cockatoos flew from separate hollows 
in the one tree, at the foot of which, in a small. bush, a Black- 
and-White Fantail (A/zpzdura tricolor) was sitting peacefully on 
three eggs. Along this part of the creek were many more 
Cockatoos’ nests, containing eggs in various stages of incubation ; 
Mallee Parrakeets’ with young birds and unfinished Kingfishers’ 
burrows were also noted. Kestrels had just commenced laying. 
I went out to a patch of dead saplings on the plain, amongst 
which were many Masked Wood-Swallows and Tricoloured 
Chats, with an occasional family of Purple-backed Wrens. 
These Wrens usually frequent scrub or undergrowth, and are 
never found in open salt-bush country such as the White-winged 
species favours. A large Wedge-tailed Eagle’s (Uroaétus audax) 
nest, 12 feet up in a stunted gum, showed signs of earlier 
occupation. A long tramp across a bare plain, on which were 
seen occasional evidences of old aboriginal camp-fires, and I 
struck the creek to search the sand for M‘Lennan’s tracks. Not 
finding them, I turned back, and soon met him. We went very 
little further, as the creek was without water, and birds in this 
country do not wander far from water. We took a short cut 
back across flats covered with annual salt-bush and stunted wild 
oats. The crab-holes were still moist, and we admired a very 
fine purple pea growing around them in the moist soil. A 
similar pea, but with harder leafage, grows on the dry, stony 
hills. The little white everlasting was also here in large patches, 
and there were other daisy-like flowers about the crab-holes. 
After lunch and a short rest, we all went across the horse 
paddock to a broad gully in which marsh-mallow, trefoil, and 
spinach was growing very rankly.. Tricoloured Chats, Rufous 
Song-Larks, and Purple-backed Wrens were abundant, the latter 
in the old man salt-bush, with which the gully was freely dotted, 
A solitary White-eyed Duck (Myroca australis) on a dam 
flew off on our approach, and two Wedgebills (Sphenostoma 
cristatum) were dislodged from a bushy acacia. These birds 
usually frequent small bushy trees in the gullies or watercourses, 


30 MacaiLiivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. Pees 


or clumps which grow off the main creeks, along which they are 
never found. In their habits, situations they frequent, and 
mode of flying they are readily distinguished from the Oreoica, 
the only other crested bird of about the same size in this 
district. In flying, the Wedgebill, like the Babbler, makes a 
few wing-strokes and then sails along on extended pinions, the 
flight not being sustained for any distance. They do not feed 
on the ground like the Oreoica, nor are they ever found in the 
mulga scrub. The song is loud, pleasing, and continued ; it is 
often given forth while the bird is perched on the top of a low 
bush. 

After an early breakfast, on 18th September, we struck camp, 
and, crossing the creek, cut across the flats in a north-easterly 
direction for Fowler's Gap. Several pairs of Black-breasted 
Plovers (Zontfer tricolor) were passed, and one pair of Dottrels 
(Peltohyas australzs), on ironstone gravel, as usual. One old 
man kangaroo (Macropus rufus) was seen. The season for this 
marsupial has wisely been closed for two years, for they were 
getting very scarce. It seems a pity that the dainty little 
yellow-footed rock wallaby, one of the most ornamental of our 
native animals, is not protected for all time, as it has been so 
wantonly shot by “sports” that one has to go far back into 
the hills to find it. When about to cross the creek, some 3 miles 
above Fowler’s Gap Hotel, a male Little Falcon flew round, 
leading us to imagine a nest at hand. The horses were un- 
harnessed and watered, and the Falcon’s nest was at length 
found, on the topmost bough of the tallest tree on the creek. 
After a risky climb, three eggs were taken from the nest, which 
was exactly 90 feet from the ground. The two birds hovered 
round the tree, the male uttering his shrill cry and making 
occasional swoops towards the climber. The nest was 
loosely constructed of sticks and lined with fine, soft bark. 

After lunch we struck the main road, just ahead of a camel 
“train” going in our direction. Another “ train,’ coming in 
with wool, was met soon afterwards. At Sandy Creek Bore we 
stopped to water the horses at the well, just in time to avoid 
delay, as two large mobs of Queensland horses were approaching 
on their way to a southern sale-yard. We now entered upon 
sandy country, more scrubby in character, but the scrub was 
very open ; it consisted of turpentine-bush, blue- and salt-bush. 
White-winged Wrens and Tricoloured Chats were plentiful, 
and a few Orange-fronted Chats, the “ Salt-bush Canary” of 
bushmen, were seen. The sand proved to be heavy pulling, 
and all but the boys walked through the scrubby country on 
either side of the road. Many White-winged Wrens and Red- 
capped Robins (Petraca goodenoviz) were disturbed. Dr. Dobbyn 
found a nest (three eggs) of the Tricoloured Chat, built into the 
top of a blue-bush. The nest was built of fine rootlets and 


Vol. X. MacciLLivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. at 


1910 


twigs, and lined with soft, woolly grasses, the egg cavity measuring 
134 inches in diameter by 1% inches in depth. Another nest 
contained three young. Kingfishers were seen several times. 
Crows (mostly the Short-billed species) had their nests in the 
Casuarine. 

We made our camp near a large, open swamp, on which were 
afew Ducks. The country we had walked through has been a 
deep, loose sandy soil, drifted into hillocks and ridges in places, 
and supporting a perennial vegetation of salt-bush, blue-bush, 
and turpentine. The herbage was very good, and comprised a 
number of flowering annuals ; the deep sandy soil seems to suit 
them. Scorpions and ground-dwelling spiders were numerous, 
and lizard tracks were everywhere on the soft sand. There were 
many Tricoloured and Orange-fronted Chats and Brown Song- 
Larks. The Orange-fronted Chat keeps more to the open salt- 
bush country than does the Tricoloured, which is often met with 
along the watercourses, where the herbage is taller and grows 
more closely, and amongst the rank growth and scrub on the 
creek flats. This year the Tricoloured Chat was everywhere 
more numerous than its congener. The White-fronted Chat 
usually winters here when the other two species have gone north, 
but goes south before the spring months. 

In the evening M‘Lennan and I walked across the end of 
the open swamp, through some prickly bushes, over a sand-ridge 
on the other side, to another swamp. This was surrounded by 
box, in which were many Miners, Grallinas, White-plumed 
Honey-eaters, Magpies, and other birds. Crossing a larger 
sand-ridge, evidently, from the stone remains, an old camping- 
place of the aborigines, we came to a deep, box-encircled swamp, 
on which Ducks were numerous. On the return journey we 
flushed a Brown Song-Lark from the spinach, to find a nest 
with three young. On reaching camp a nest and two eggs of 
the Orange-fronted Chat (Z. aurzfrons) were reported in a blue- 
bush near by. 

We were about early next morning. M‘Lennan, going 
through the sandy country back from the camp, found a White- 
winged Wren’s nest built in a blue-bush, and composed of fine 
grasses and wool ; it contained four eggs, at an advanced stage 
of incubation. A nest of the Tricoloured Chat with three 
eggs, and one of &. aurifrons with three young birds, were 
found. The feathers were just sprouting on the nestlings of 
£. aurifrons—colour brown ; eyes not open; gape orange, with 
two black spots on either side of the tongue, like the young of 
E. tricolor. i 

We made an early start for Bancannia, where we received 
our mail at the hotel and posted some letters on the coach. 
Our way from here led us across the lake, dry at the present 
time, through some stunted box scrub, in which were many 


32 Maccituivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. (eee 


“Budgerigars”  (Melopsittacus undulatus) prospecting for. 
hollows in which to nest. We skirted a sand-hill for a few miles, 
and came to Wyalla Lake, a large sheet of water surrounded by 
box trees, with many dead and living trees in the water and a 
fair growth of “ lignum” where the watercourses ran into it. There 
were a few Ducks and Swans on the water, but no shore birds. 
Hundreds of Native-Hens (A/ecrotribonyx) ran among the lignum. 
M‘Lennan and I walked round the lake, to get an idea of the 
place for a permanent camp and collecting ground. We found 
many White-browed Babblers and Miners, and flushed a Pink 
Cockatoo or Wee-juggler (Cacatua leadbeateri) from an old dead 
box not 50 yards from the margin of the lake; three eggs were 
in the hollow. The box was in flower, and had attracted 
numbers of White-plumed Honey-eaters (P¢zlotzs penzczllata) and 
Miners to the feast of insects and honey. Cockatoo-Parrakeets 
(Calopstttacus nove-hollandieé), in small flocks and pairs, and 
“ Budgerigars ” were chattering and squabbling among the trees. 
The Cockatoo-Parrakeets we had been meeting since leaving 
Gardiner’s Creek, flying south in small flocks and pairs. A few. 
White-rumped Wood-Swallows (Artamus leucogaster) had mated, 
but were not nesting; and although some of the Ducks were 
in pairs there was no general nesting of these birds—they 
seemed to be waiting for a good rain and flooded condition of 
the country. This year the aquatic birds seemed to be fewer 
than usual throughout the district ; it is probable that the 
heavy rains and flooded country along the Murray are 
responsible for this. Wading through an arm of the lake, 
we came to a fencers’ camp, over which several Kites and 
Whistling Eagles were hovering. In the afternoon we returned 
to this arm and waded among the lignum and dead timber. 
growing in the water. No birds were breeding*in the lignum, 
except an occasional Pigeon (Ocyphaps), although the loud song 
of the Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus australis) and the plaintive: 
pipings of the little Grass-Bird (Wegalurus gramineus) came 
from many of the bushes. In the dead timber standing in the 
water two nests of the Galah were found, and several of the 
Cockatoo-Parrakeet. None of the latter had complete clutches, 
nesting having only just commenced, Many of the nests were 
situated in small stumps and often at water-level. The Pied 
Honey-eater (Certhionyx variagatus) was noted here, feeding in. 
the blossoming box and lignum, but occasionally flying out to 
the surrounding sand-ridges to visit the flowering turpentine and 
honeysuckle trees (EHremophila longifolia). This Honey-eater 
is very shy, and we had great difficulty in getting near. 
enough to procure specimens. It is also very quick on the 
wing. It flies, singing, into the air from the top of a tree, and 
suddenly drops, always turning over backward in its descent. 
M‘Lennan and I, after arranging with the others to camp near 


Vol. X. 


Be MacaILLivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 33 
our old spot on the open swamp, walked across country in that 
direction. ! 

At the end of the lake we disturbed several large flocks of 
Cockatoos from the ground, where they were feeding on the 
seeds of the annual salt-bush, just ripening at the time on the 
plants. Our way took us at first over loose, sandy country, 
in which there was little bird-life, save for a few Chats, Brown 
Song-Larks, and Whitefaces, and an occasional Swift-flying 
Turnix (Zurnix velox). A box channel running to the lake was 
followed for some distance, but yielded little of interest, as there 
was no water. “ Budgerigars” were, however, numerous in the 
box, and seemed to be preparing nesting-hollows. Leaving the 
creek, we crossed bare, open country, and came to a large lake, 
on the shore of which were numbers of Black-tailed Native-Hens 
(Microtribonyx ventralis), and a few Ducks on the water. On 
reaching camp in time for lunch, Dr. Dobbyn reported having 
found a nest of Ephthianura tricolor, with three eggs, and a family 
of young White-winged Wrens near by. M‘Lennan and I started 
out again in the afternoon, making our way through the blue-bush 
to the south. Wrens (Malurus leucopterus) were numerous ; 
one family of JZ. assimlis was observed. A nest of the former 
species in a blue-bush was not quite finished ; it was composed 
of sheep’s wool. I climbed to the nest of a Short-billed Crow 
(Corvus bennetti) in a black oak ; it was small, not much larger 
than a Magpie’s nest, built of sticks and lined with fine bark, 
feathers, and a little sheep’s wool. There were two eggs and a 
newly-hatched nestling. The eyes were not open ; skin yellow, 
with a little down along the ulnar borders of the wing, the 
femoral and dorsal pteryle; the gape was pink. M‘Lennan 
meanwhile examined another nest in an adjacent tree, finding 
three young birds and two addled eggs. Fossicking among 
the box bordering a swamp, M‘Lennan found, in a hollow 
stump, a nest of Acanthiza uropygtalis containing four eggs—a 
larger clutch and larger eggs than we had previously taken. 
The nest was made of fine bark and lined with rabbit fur and 
feathers. Two more Crows’ nests were observed. We got back 
to camp just ahead of the others, who brought a nest and three 
eggs of &. aurifrons, taken from a small prickly bush. After 
dark, boughs were cut for bedding from a few box-trees near 
by. A nest of the Singing Honey-eater (Péilotis sonora) was 
found as the boughs were being stripped. It was composed of 
rootlets, silk from the cocoons of larve of the butterfly Belenois 
fiava, which were in all the trees, and horse-hair. The lining 
material was camel-hair. Next morning four of us made an early 
start across the lower end of the open swamp to a sand-ridge, 
beyond which was a large swamp with prickly bushes growing 
to the water’s edge. On the way a female Brown Song-Lark 
was flushed from a nest in spinach-covered ground (three fresh 


[ Emu 
ist July 


34 MacaILiivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 
eggs). On the big swamp thousands of Microtribonyx were 
running in all directions. They were not nesting, and many 
seemed to be moulting. A few Black-throated Grebes (Podicipes 
nove-hollandie) and Pink-eared Ducks (Malacorhynchus mem- 
branaceus) were on the swamp. All the surrounding sand- 
hills were littered with traces of aboriginal camps—circles of 
stones and burned earth and charcoal, flints and grinders. 

Several Whistling Eagles were sailing over and around the 
swamp, and also a pair of Harriers (C. gou/dt), the first that I have 
noted up this way. I went off to the right over a sand-hill into 
country covered with scattered shrubby bushes. A nest of the . 
Black-faced Wood-Swallow (A. melanops) was found about 
4 feet from the ground, in a small, stunted tree; it contained 
three eggs. Later I met our camp-keeper out after the horses ; 
he told me that he had found two Tricoloured Chats’ nests, each 
containing three young birds, and a nest of the Brown Song- 
Lark with three eggs. M‘Lennan turned up with a seven clutch 
of Short-billed Crow’s eggs; he also brought the lining of the 
nest, which consisted of the silk of the trap-door spider, which I 
kept for Dr. Pulleine, of Adelaide, who is interested in such 
things. 

We packed up and went on past Fowler’s Gap to the old dam 
and well on Caloola Creek, where we camped. Searching the 
scrubby flat along the creek we found Black Honey-eaters 
(Myzomela nigra) and Pied Honey-eaters (Certhionyx variagatus) 
busy feeding onthe blossoms of the honeysuckle-tree (Lremophila 
longifolia) and of the tobacco-bush (Vicotiana glauca), in company 
with “ Greenies” and Miners. Tricoloured Chats were dodging 
about the herbage and fallen, dead acacias, and every now and 
then a Rufous Song-Lark would rise, singing, from the ground, 
to some more commanding perch, where the alarm note would 
be given to the brooding female to steal away. 


Description of a New Crow-Shrike. 
By J. W. MELLor, A.O.U., ADELAIDE. 


PLUMAGE uniform dusky-brown or brownish-black, somewhat 
darker on the wings and tail. Four outer feathers on each side of 
tail broadly tipped with white, while on the two centre feathers the 
white is all but absent ; under tail coverts white. 

Wings.—Basal portion of inner web of primaries white, showing 
a large patch of white when the wing is extended; the outer web’ 
of primaries black, edged with greyish-white, the primaries and 
secondaries being slightly tipped with white. 

Irides bright yellow. Legs, feet, and bill black. 

Total length, 20 inches; tarsi, 3 inches; bill, 3? inches in length 
by i inch deep, forming a strong instrument for securing food, 
which consjsts chiefly of insects. 


Vol. X. 3 
1910 


MELLOR, Description of a New Crow-Shrike. 35 

The female is so similar in colouration that dissection is necessary 
to determine the sex. 

.On account of the general dusky-brown appearance of the 
plumage, I propose the name of Brown Crow-Shrike (Strepera 
fusca), as suggested by the South Australian Ornithological Associa- 
tion at a meeting held on 12th May, 1905. 

The descriptions are taken from birds collected by me on Eyre 
Peninsula during a trip in October, 1899, and again while con- 
ducting the scientific expedition during the ninth congress of the 
Australasian Ornithologists’ Union, at Warunda Creek, Central 
Eyre Peninsula, in October, 1909. On both occasions I was 
accompanied by Capt. S. A. White, of the Reedbeds, near Adelaide, 
who also secured specimens. The birds on both occasions were 
seen principally in the timbered country, where their notes rang 
out clearly in the frosty mornings. 

The birds resemble mostly Stvepera plumbea of Western Australia, 
but are more dusky-coloured in general appearance, and show a 
greater amount of white in the wing. 

Locality.—Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. 

The nest is similar to the general class of Stvepera nests, composed 
of sticks, lined inside with finer fibrous substance, which makes a 
neat cup-shaped hollow. 

The eggs are three in number. A clutch taken at ‘ Kapinka,”’ 
Stokes, in the Koppio Ranges, in Central Eyre Peninsula, on 
15th September, 1898 (now in my collection), may be described 
as follows :—General ground colour light creamy-brown, much 
lighter in appearance than the eggs in general of the Strzpera 
family ; the markings are fine spots of light brown and purplish- 
brown, the latter spots appearing as if beneath the surface of the 
shell, the markings being more numerous at the larger end. Eggs 
elongated in shape, and tapering gradually towards the smaller end. 
Texture of the shell moderately fine, with a somewhat glossy 
surface. Dimensions in inches :—(1) 1.70 x 1.18, (2) 1.62 x 1.12, 
fet. 52 X 1.02. 


Victorian Sericornes. 
By A. G. CAMPBELL, POMONAL, VICTORIA. 
(Read before the Bird Observers’ Club, 14th April, 1910.) 


Mr. Gregory M. Mathews, in a recent letter to me, wished for some 
reliable observations on two Victorian species of Sericornes—S. 
fronialis and S. osculans. 

The Australian Museum authorities, it appears, have recently 
stated that the two species are but one, and represent, one the 
mature, and the other the immature stage. With this I cannot 
agree. There has to my mind always been an obscurity in the 
genus, and for this reason I have been collecting data and material 
for some years and from various parts of the State. I will now 
state this much, however—that is, that I believe that there are two 


[ Emu 
ast July - 


36 CAMPBELL, Victorian Sericornes. 
species—one of browner plumage, inhabiting only the mountainous 
portions of the State ; and the other a common species, being found 
throughout in the more open country. 

When specimens are examined they tally exactly with those 
described by John Gould as S. frontalis and S. osculans respectively. 
That illustrious naturalist had eyes for a specific difference which 
others of later day have been dull to see. It is this—S. oscwlans, 
he states, has an obscure dark subterminal band to the outer 
feathers of the tail. Note the adjective ‘‘ obscure,” for the word 
exactly describes the character. On spreading out the tail feathers 
between the fingers the dark band may be distinguished, particularly 
on the inner webs of the outer feathers. Now there is one specimen 
of Sericornis that never shows this character, and it is the bird 
obtained from what constitutes the Lyre-Bird country—the deep 
mountain recesses of Dandenong and Healesville Ranges, of 
Macedon, Upper Yarra, and Baw Baw, and of like localities in the 
Alps and in Gippsland. This is, I take it, S. frontalis of Gould. 
The difference in the two species is a nice one, but reliable. I may 
add that the following simple key is also to be relied upon :— 

Head and back rich brown colour, similar to rump and tail. 

S. frontalis. 
Head and back olive colour, not like rump, which is brown. 

S. osculans. 

The following is the key to the whole of the genus in Australia * :— 
I.—General colour grey ; lores white; throat rufous in male. 

S. brunnea. 
11.—General colour brownish; lores black, slaty, or tawny. 


A.—Shoulder feathers edged white ; lores black (male), or slaty 
(female). 
1. White tips to outer tail feathers and dark subterminal 
band. 
(a.) Forehead black ; throat white, barely spotted. 
S. levigasira. 
(b.) Forehead brown, like crown; throat thickly 


spotted. nes S. maculata. 
2. No white to outer tail feathers; tail band obscure or 
absent. 


(a.) Obscure subterminal band on outer tail feathers ; 
head and back olive, dissimilar to rump. 
Upper throat white; abdomen whitish ; flanks 
brown ; legs light brown. S. osculans. 
Upper throat speckled like lower; abdomen and 
flanks olive; legs dark brown, S. humilis. 
(b.) No dark subterminal band on tail. 
Broad black crescent on lower throat; wing, 
2.4 inches. S. gutturalis.t 


* For localities see Mathews’ ‘‘ Handlist,” Suppl. Zyzz, vol. vii. 
+ = Oreoscopus gutturalts. 


eS CAMPBELL, Victorian Sericornes. 37 
No black crescent ; head and back rich brown, 
like rump. 
Wing, 2.35 inches. S. frontalis. 
: Wing more than 2.4 inches. S. minimus. 
- B.—No white on wing feathers. 

(a.) Throat yellow ; lores black (male), or slaty (female) ; 
wing 2.7 inches. S. citreogularis. 

(0.) Throat brownish; lores tawny ; wing 2.2 inches. 
S. magnirostris. 


The Helmeted Honey-eater (Ptilotis cassidix). 
By F. E. WILSON AND..L. G. CHANDLER. 
(Read before the Bird Observers .Club, 27th January, 1910.) 


AS so little is known concerning the habits of the rare and 
beautiful Helmeted Honey-eater (Pézlotzs cassidix), the follow- 
ing notes, collected during the past two seasons, may be 
of interest. The habitat of this species is the eastern portion of 
Victoria, possibly extending into the southernmost corner of 
New South Wales. Our notes have been gathered in the 
Beaconsfield district, 30 miles east of Melbourne, where 
several pairs of birds have taken up their quarters. The 
locality has many creeks, and dense scrubs of tea-tree, sword- 
grass, prickly acacia, &c., with tall white gums (Luwcalyftus) 
spreading their branches above. 

The Helmeted Honey-eater somewhat resembles the Yellow- 
tufted Honey-eater (Péz/otis melanops), but is about half an inch 
longer, and may be easily distinguished by the line of upright, 
bristling, golden feathers which adorn the head. It has a 
variety of notes, two of which are monosyllabic. After using 
the monosyllabic notes, the head is jerked upwards and_ the: 
tail slightly raised. One of the notes, generally uttered when 
the bird is flying from tree to tree, closely resembles the 
familiar note of the White-naped Honey-eater (Melsthreptus 
atricapillus).* Another may be translated as “Churl, churl, 
churl, churl;” while the nesting note, which is the most beautiful 
of all, and which is usually uttered when the bird is. sitting at 
the side of the nest, may be rendered thus—“ Jor, jor, jor, jor, 
jor, jiree, jiree, jiree, jiree,” the “jiree” portion being a semitone 
higher. During the nesting season these Honey-eaters are 
extremely savage, and vigorously attack other birds that come 
near them. Harmonious Shrike-Thrushes (Collyriocechla har- 
monica), White-shouldered Caterpillar-catchers (Lalage tricolor), 
and Coachwhip-Birds (Psophodes crepitans) all find it safer 
to keep at a respectful distance from P. casszdix. Helmeted 


* Scientific names according to Mathews’ ‘‘ Handlist.” 


Emu 
List July 


38 WILSON AND CHANDLER, The Helmeted Honey-eater. 
Honey-eaters are gregarious; two or three pairs inhabit each 
locality, and usually all nest in an area of a few hundréd square 
yards. . 

On one occasion when engaged making observations on the 
Helmeted Honey-eaters, a native bear or koala, with a young 
one on its back, was seen in the lower limbs of a big gum-tree. 
The old bear, not liking the look of us, ascended to a thin limb 
near the top of the tree. The young one set up a dismal 
howling, and at once five Helmeted Honey-eaters hurried to the 
scene and commenced darting round the marsupials and calling 
out excitedly—a proceeding which they kept up till the baby 
koala became quiet. 

During the breeding season these Honey-eaters keep almost 
exclusively to an insectivorous diet; only once, in the depth 
of winter, have we seen them gathering nectar. Beetles, 
flies, caterpillars, small spiders, &c. all form part of 
the larder; occasionally small moths are eaten. We 
have been fortunate in finding nests containing young in 
different stages, as follows :—One day old: Blind and naked, 
the flesh being a peculiar shade of orange pink, gape 
creamy-yellow, small white dots marking where wing and 
tail quills would shortly appear. Six days old: Gape creamy- 
yellow, irides pale brown. The quills on the top of the 
head were not yet broken. A line of feathers down the 
centre of the back dusky-greyish colour; thighs were sparsely 
covered at the base with long unbroken quills, others just 
broken forming a dusky-greyish patch behind the shoulders ; 
on each side of the rump a small clump of yellowish feathers. 
Tail quills short and just breaking, the upper ones being black 
and the lower yellow. The primaries and secondaries, pro- 
truding about 4 -inch, of a dusky-greyish colour, with faint olive- 
green edgings. Lines of feathers starting from a patch under 
the throat, and continuing down each side of the chest and 
abdomen, of a rich sulphur-yellow colour. Legs and feet bluish- 
erey. 

The favourite nesting site isa low bush growing from the 
bank of a creek and hanging over the water. One nest was 
observed in the centre of a dense patch of scrub, 80 yards from 
the nearest water. Sometimes the nest is suspended near the 
margin of a little billabong, and in nine cases out of ten it 
is placed either in the common prickly tea-tree (Leptospermum 
scoparium) or the bottle-brush (Cad/¢stemon pityotdes). Other 
plants which are occasionally selected as nesting sites are the 
native aster (Olearta (Aster) stellulata, var. lyrata), the dog- 
wood (Helichrysum ferrugineum) the prickly acacia (Acacza 
verticillata), and the native hop (Goodenza ovata). The nest 
is usually placed at a height varying from 4 to 6 feet from 
the ground or water as the case may be, but one or two 


Nol. X. | WILSON AND CHANDLER, The Helmeted Honey-eater. 39 


1910 


instances have been noted in which the elevation was 15 feet. 
The nest is commenced with two or three spider cocoons ; pieces 
of dry grass and fine bark, or possibly rootlets, are added 
gradually. A nest was observed just started, only three spider 
cocoons having been placed in position. On being visited 
exactly a week later the nest was found to be complete and to 
contain two eggs. The bird was sitting. The materials used 
in the construction of the outer portion of the nest are many and 
varied, but the general base consists of dry grass, fine rootlets, 
and shreds of bark. Sometimes the bark is placed very loosely 
around the outside, being fastened in position with spiders’ web. 
Skeleton gum-leaves, dead gum-leaves, feathers, pieces of news- 
paper, green moss, fine twigs, &c., are also used, and the 
exterior of the nest is always decorated with spiders’ cocoons of 
various tints—white, green, and gold. The material used for 
lining also varies. In one locality the seeding heads of a species 
of grass (Gramine@) are commonly present, mixed with rabbit 
fur or a few feathers. One nest was found lined wholly with 
fowls’ feathers, which must have been brought from some con- 
siderable distance. The lining may consist solely of very fine 
red bark, collected from the frayed trunks of the gums (Eucalyptus 
obliqua). In another locality nests are very often lined with a 
thick pad of the fur of the koala (Phascolarctus cinereus). The 
leaf-buds of the tea-tree (Leptospermum scopartum) and the hairy 
seeds of the clematis (C/ematzs aristata) are also used. One pair 
of birds under observation always used as lining material the 
green leaves of the native raspberry (Rudus parvtfolzus), which, 
on drying, curl up, and make a far from comfortable interior. 
The nest may be bulky or of medium size, the larger ones being 
generally those constructed earlier in the season, when the 
weather is colder. The egg cavities of some are deeper than 
others, a difference of one inch having been noticed. 

The bulk of the building work is done after sundown, and, 
presumably, in the early morning (although we have not had an 
opportunity to verify this), when the materials used are as a 
rule most pliable. One mild summer evening early in Decem- 
ber, at half-past seven, a bird was seen hard at work on the 
construction of her nest. She first stripped spiders’ cocoons 
from the green leaves of a gum-tree close by. When this 
material had been added to the structure, the bird flew off toa 
dead tree and collected some spider web from one of the top 
limbs, returning almost immediately. Between each load she 
found time to refresh herself with some insect, usually caught 
on the wing. The male, perched in a neighbouring gum-tree, 
kept his eye open for enemies, and from time to time made 
short sallies in different directions. The breeding season was 
found to extend from the middle of September to the end of 
December, but most of the nests observed were built during 


40 WILSON AND CHANDLER, The Helmeted Honey-eater. rte 


October and November. In all cases observed by us two eggs 
have constituted the clutch. They vary much both in size and 
markings, the smallest clutch noted measuring (@)0.84 x 0.63 inch, 
(6) 0.84 x 0.63 inch, and the largest (with which there was a 
Cuckoo’s egg) (2) 0.98 x 0.68, (4) 0.96 x 0.66. Some eggs are 
almost devoid of markings, others are beautifully zoned with 
large reddish-brown blotches, and others again sparsely blotched 
all over. On five occasions this season (1909) we have found 
an egg of the Pallid Cuckoo (Cauculus tnornatus) placed with the 
Honey-eater’s eggs, and once a young Pallid Cuckoo was 
observed being fed by a pair of P. casstdzx. The Cuckoos’ eggs 
are deposited in the nest before the foster-parent has laid. We 
were greatly surprised one afternoon to find two nests which 
had been deserted. One nest contained two fresh eggs and the 
other one. An examination disclosed in one of the pair of eggs 
two dents and a small hole, and in the single egg two dents, 
one at each end. A heavy wind, during which the birds would 
have to cling very tightly to the nest, may have caused the 
damage. 

When sitting the Helmeted Honey-eater is very tame. 
Frequently we have stood a couple of feet away, and even 
touched them, without the birds betraying the slightest trace of 
fear. 

In the case of the first pair of birds observed with young, the 
male took no part whatever in feeding the nestlings, but always 
accompanied the female on Her trips to and from the nest. The 
female, after having delivered her beakful of food, would fly 
to a limb near by and preen herself before setting out on 
her insect-hunting again. After the first visit eleven minutes 
elapsed before her return, and the following trip occupied 
eleven and a half minutes. Many visits were made during 
our stay by the nest, but the intervals were practically- 
the same. On New Year's Day, 1910, when the weather 
was exceptionally hot, a nest was found with a bird sitting. 
On 8th January another nest was discovered containing two 
chicks about six days old. We were attracted to the nest 
by the actions of the parent birds, and by a squeaking 
noise, which at first we thought to be that of a young 
Pallid Cuckoo, as it was almost an exact representation of 
the familiar note of this species. On her arrival at the nest 
the female fed the young with a fly. Both parent birds then 
flew away, but in five minutes the female returned with a fresh 
supply of food. After feeding the young she remained at the 
nest, holding her head close down to the young ones, for six 
minutes. Then the male arrived, and his mate immediately 
left. He also departed after having fed the young. The nest 
was observed for over an hour, and this procedure was not 
varied, 


Vol. X. 
1910 _ 


NicHo.ts, Notes on the Crested Penguin. 4I 


Notes on the Crested Penguin (Catarrhactes: 
Sa chrysocome). 

By E. BROOKE NICHOLLS, MELBOURNE. 

(Read before the Bird Observers Club, 18th May, 1910.) 


In the April (1910) issue of Zhe Emu, Mr. H. Stuart’ Dove 
described ‘“ How the Penguin Fishes.” He notes “the deliberate 
movements of the wings when the bird is under water,’ and also 
the way in which the legs and feet are used as a helm or rudder. 
Again he mentions how “the light blue of the back shows 
up in the sunlight” when the bird is on the water. I have 
made similar observations in regard to the Crested Penguin 
(Catarrhactes chrysocome). This bird, although a stranger to Aus- 
tralian waters, has been scen occasionally on our shores. Last 
year Mr. Conigrave recorded it from Rottnest Island, Western 
Australia. In February, 1910,a specimen made its appearance on 
the beach at Lorne. When first seen by the members of a cray- 
fishing party it was on the rocks at the water’s edge. It was in 
a plump and thriving condition, and evidently none the worse 
for its long journey from New Zealand. After watching it for 
some time, the members of the party decided to let the Penguin 
remain where it was. On returning to camp, where the billy 
was. boiling for afternoon tea, they found that the bird had 
followed them over some hundreds of yards of rocks and sand, 
so they promptly put it in a “tucker” bag, and carried it home 
to “Erskine House.” The Penguin was domiciled in a large 
sea-bath, about 20 yards square, and there it lived for six weeks. 

For the first fortnight the captive was very savage, and spent 
most of its time in the dark recesses of a bathing-box, where it 
underwent a complete moult. During this period it would not 
enter the water, and when thrown in quickly came out again. 
The moult finished with the head, and some of the discarded 
crest feathers measured as much as 4 inches in length. After 
the moult the Penguin looked a handsome bird, and the colour 
of the new crest was bright sulphur-yellow. The bird had no 
power of erecting this crest, but at times, when teased, ‘the 
feathers of the head showed up slightly. When seen in the 
bright sunlight the plumage on the upper surface appeared of a 
- dull leaden colour, but immediately upon the bird entering the 
water the feathers began to glisten, and assumed a rich royal 
blue tint, as observed by Mr. Dove in the case of the Little 
Penguin (Eudyptula minor). This change in colour is due to 
an iridescence reflected by the oil which the skin begins to 
secrete upon the bird entering the water. The oil-glands of 
Penguins are, I believe, far larger than in any other class of 
birds. In the Little Penguin they are shaped like a “jelly bean” 
lolly, and measure about three-quarters of an inch in length. 
After our Penguin had been swimming for some time, I noticed 


[ Emu 
ist July 


42 NIcHo.its, Notes on the Crested Penguin. 
an oily track left in the water. On the surface the legs and 
feet of the bird only are used for paddling; under the water they 
are stretched out straight behind, and act as a rudder for side 
to side, sinking, and rising movements. The skin on the under 
surface of the feet is dark coloured. When the bird is swimming 
beneath the water, with feet outstretched, this dark under surface 
is uppermost, and so matches with the rest of the dark dorsal 
plumage. While in the water the white breast and abdomen of 
the bird are seldom seen, being only exposed when the Penguin 
lays over on one side and leisurely scratches its head with its 
foot, as it quietly floats on the surface. 

The Penguin at Lorne soon became a favourite with the 
visitors, and was christened “ Billy.” He became so tame that 
the children used to take him up in their arms and carry him 
from place to place. He would eat raw meat, but was mostly 
fed upon fishes. Sometimes these were the little mountain 
minnows (Ga/axias), caught in the streams of Lorne. But more 
often sea fish were given. On several occasions the local 
fishermen drew their nets on the beach, and live fish were 
secured and liberated in the sea-bath. Then “Billy” and the 
onlookers had an exciting time. The turns and twists of the 
bird were wonderful, but, as Mr. Dove has remarked, there was 
no appearance of violent action. The rate of speed was very 
rapid, but the movements of the wing-flappers gave no true 
indication of this. They were used in a leisurely, deliberate 
manner, and at times, as the bird sped onwards, were poised 
and held motionless for a few seconds, exactly in the same way 
as those of a swiftly-flying Mutton-Bird. In fact, the whole 
action of the bird whilst swimming is best described as flying 
under water. Some of the fish liberated in the bath were sea 
salmon-trout, 10 to 14 inches in length. These “Billy” did 
not attempt to touch, but he pursued them round and round in 
a curious, half-frightened manner. Two smaller fish, however, 
each about 6 inches long, he drove at with his beak, striking 
them on the body and stunning them; afterwards they were 
promptly swallowed. We were disappointed in the swallowing 
capacity of the bird. A 6-inch fish was the most he was able to 
manage at one gulp. From “ Billy's” size and appearance we 
fully expected to see a 12-inch salmon-trout taken with ease ; 
but these larger fish had to be cut in pieces. A curious fact is 
that Penguins can see small objects floating on the surface only 
when beneath them, and, when searching for the food we threw 
him, “ Billy” always dived, and, seeing the morsel floating on 
the water, shot up to the surface and secured it. A piece of 
fish might be thrown to him, and although he heard it splash 
within a foot or two of his body, and searched about, he never 
once saw the food until he had dived and got beneath it. 

When coming out of the bath, “ Billy” made use of some 


Vol. X. 
1910 


NIcHOLLs, Notes on the Crested Penguin: A3 
steps, but he had to get up about 12 inches on to a landing, 
and this he accomplished by a spring. I never saw him breach 
out of the water and land upright, as is the practice of the King 
and Emperor Penguins. At times I assisted him with a straw 
broom. The end was placed in the water, and “Billy” would 
scramble on to it to be lifted high and dry. This performance 
was always greeted with cheers from the visitors, and a more 
laughable spectacle than the Penguin perched serenely on the 
broom it would be hard to imagine. “Billy’s” fondness for 
fresh water was curious. For hours at a time he would stand 
under a running tap, but his greatest delight was to accompany 
the bathers to the shower-bath. He soon got to know the sound 
of the falling water, and no matter how many times a day the 
bath was used “Billy” was always there. The greater the 
force of the shower the better he liked it, and from time to time 
he would stretch himself full length on the floor, shuffling and 
“squawking” with pleasure as the water splashed upon him. 
When taken down to the sea “ Billy,’ contrary to expectation, 
refused to enter the water, but made off “home” across the 
sands as fast as his little pattering feet would carry him. He 
usually walked one foot after another, but when wishing to 
quicken his pace would hop along. Eventually he became so 
tame that he would follow like a dog, and his quaint mode of 
progression and method of jumping up and down flights of steps 
and stairs were a source of much amusement. 

One morning “ Billy” followed some bathers to the beach, a 
distance of about half a mile from the house. He made stren- 
uous efforts to keep up with the party going across the loose 
sand, but, finding himself being left behind, uttered such loud 
“squawks” of distress that he had to be carried. On reaching 
the bathing site the members of the party donned their bathing 
attire and made for the open ocean, with “ Billy” following. A 
heavy surf was running, and as we entered the water “ Billy” 
paused. Wading further and further out we called to him, and he 
made an attempt to follow, but was swept off his feet and 
washed ashore by the foaming water, which was not more than 
8 or 9 inches deep. At length, after being knocked down 
and buffeted by several successive waves he managed to struggle 
into water about a foot deep, and then, swimming swiftly, shot 
like an arrow towards us. Once in the breakers the bird had all 
the best of it, and we dived and chased after him through the 
waves as one might romp with a dog ashore. Tiring of the 
sport, “ Billy” commenced to dive and hunt for fish, and 
gradually went out to sea. We called to him by name, and, 
turning his head, he answered once or twice with a loud “ squawk,” 
but kept paddling oceanwards all the time. He had suddenly 
realized that he was once again in the open ocean, and not 
confined by the four cemented walls of a bath. Late in the 


Emu 
Ist July 


44 NicHo.tts, Notes on the Crested Penguin. 
afternoon I went down to the beach to see if, by any chance, 
he had returned, but the sea had called to him and he had 
obeyed. No doubt upon some lonely rock- bound island of Bass 
Strait he has found a home. 


Notes on the Regent-Bird (Sericulus melinus). 
BY P..A. GILBERT,, oY DNEY. 


AT Ourimbah, during October and November, 1909, in the 
company of Mr. H. Keane, a few observations were recorded, 
during our days in the scrub, on the habits of Regent-Birds 
(Sericulus melinus) found breeding. 

3rd October, 1909. —Several pairs of Regent-Birds were seen 
flying to and fro in search of food, and probably on the look-out 
for a nesting site. They were observed feeding peacefully upon 
the berries of vines. The brilliant orange-yellow and sheeny 
black plumage of the male was in marked contrast to the sombre 
verdure of the undergrowth, as the sun’s rays fell upon him 
whenever the foliage above permitted. The female, being more 
secretive in her movements, invariably kept well within the 
undergrowth. 

4th ” October, 1909.—The birds were again seen, the males, 
owing to their conspicuous plumage, most frequently. 

Our next visit to the same locality was on 13th November, 
1909. I watched a female Regent-Bird fly into a thick clump 
of vine, and saw the leaves moving awhile as she hopped through. 
I decided to clamber into the vines above and investigate, while 
my friend, Mr. H. Keane, kept watch on the outskirts. My 
efforts were rewarded by a nest containing two incubated eggs. 
The nest was built in a tree densely covered with vines (V2¢zs), 
at an altitude of from 40 to 50 feet. The nest was constructed 
of fine dry sticks placed on a scanty foundation of coarser ones, 
the whole structure being secreted in a mass of the tangled vine, 
which afforded ample support. 

14th November.—One male bird was seen on the wing, but 
not in proximity to the brooding female. 

15th November.—Several female birds were observed, but, 
owing to the density of the vegetation, it was not ascertainable 
whether they were nesting. No males. I found another nest, 
placed much higher than the one containing eggs, but in crowth 
less dense : height took the place of seclusion. This nest was 
the temporary “habitation of two nestlings, apparently about 
eight or nine days old, and covered with a dull greyish down. I 
noted that they sat in ‘the nest with their heads pointing south, 
and, as I had watched the parent bird fly in several times from 


Vi Sep. @ 


Ric GILBERT, Notes on the Regent-Bird. 45 
a southern peripheral point, I concluded that they were wont to 
look for their guardian in that direction. 
_ Previous to nidification, Regent-Birds are to be seen in pairs 
around QOurimbah, but once incubation has commenced the 
male seems to retreat, leaving that function entirely to the 
female. Neither does the male seem to participate in nurturing 
the young. His brilliant plumage would, no doubt, betray the 
whereabouts of the female and her nestlings, whereas the female’s 
plumage harmonizes with her surroundings, and that, together 
with her shy habits, enables her to move about obscurely. 
Although I have no evidence myself, nor have I seen it 
stated elsewhere, still I have reasons for believing that the 
female Regent-Bird alone constructs the nest. On the Cambe- 
warra Mountain I had under observation two female Satin 
Bower-Birds (Péilonorhynchus violaceus) which were building. 
One was closely watched for several days, and in no instance 
did I see the male assisting in the construction of the nest, or 
even observe him in the immediate vicinity until the work was 
finished. It seems reasonable to suppose that the nidificating 
habits of the Satin Bower-Bird are similar to those of the Regent- 
Bird as regards the female alone building the nest. 


Destruction of Birds. 
BY J..W:.MeELtLor, A.O.U., FULHAM,: S.A, 


I HAVE received from Mr. Edward Millen, of Rosemount, 
Dawlish, South Devon, and once a resident of Echunga and 
Port Elliot, a letter relative to the destruction of birds for 
plumage and ornamental purposes, and also a copy of an issue 
of The Journal of the Royal Society of Aris containing a report 
of a lecture delivered by Mr. James Buckland on the same 
subject. 
Mr. Millen writes :— 


“From long residence in South Australia I know (who there does not ?) 
that you are the friend and protector of birds. But I should not have sent 
the Journal had it only referred to that which is going on in the West 
Indies, Venezuela, United States of America, &c. Australia does not 
escape the destroyer, and before long, perhaps—no one can say—some 
‘undesirable immigrants’ will land in South Australia bent on the destruc- 
tion of as many of its plumage birds as possible. M. Rostand’s play, 
“Chantecler,’ has given an impetus to the wearing of feathers in women’s 
hats, which are now more than ever ‘ decorated’ (?) or trimmed with large 
masses of them of all lengths and colours. It is not uncommon to see whole 
birds stuffed and doing service as hat ‘ornaments’ (?). What a shock it 
would be to a South Australian to see the wings of the Magpie used for 
mourning wear, or the pretty wing of the ‘Jack’ for gayer occasions! 
And what a gem-like ornament the stuffed skin of the Blue Wren would be, 
not to mention numerous other useful birds found in the Sunny South. 


46 MELLOR, Destruction of Birds. Ean 
ist July 


These, I know, are on the protected list ; but Mr. Buckland shows in his 
address that destroyers have no regard for protective law. I therefore 
venture to send the /owrvma/, on the principle of ‘ forwarned forearmed.’” 


Mr. Buckland, the promoter of the Plumage Bill, in his 
address before the Royal Society of Arts, gives some astonishing 
facts and figures, all of which have been compiled from diplo- 
matic, consular, and other official records. J/uter alia, he says 
that, if birds are undisturbed in their wild state, a sufficient 
number of young are reared to balance the decrease caused by 
old age, epidemics, storms, famine, predatory foes, and other 
natural causes, and maintain the species in strength and 
efficiency. If, on the contrary, the birds are prevented from 
breeding for one season alone, the species is weakened, and, if 
this continues, the extermination of that species is only a matter 
of time. Now, the majority of the feathers used in millinery, 
and certainly all the high-priced ones, are taken from the body 
of the bird during the breeding season. There are two reasons 
why this must needs be so. In the first place ornamental 
feathers are profitable goods only when rich in the brilliancy 
and abundance begotten of sexual selection—in other words, 
when the bird has mated, or when it is about to mate. At all 
other times the feathers lack lustre, smoothness, and elasticity, and 
are moulted in that condition, and are, therefore, of little value 
for trade purposes. In the second place, with the majority of 
species it is when the birds are breeding that the one favourable 
opportunity of killing them arises, as they then return from 
abroad, and annually journey to an ancestral breeding-ground, 
and this is the plume-hunter’s opportunity. It is doubly his 
opportunity, for then most of a bird’s natural fear of man 
disappears under the stress of providing for and protecting its 
young. This is why the annual gathering of plumes is 
immeasurably the most destructive of all destructive agencies 
now operating against bird-life. It is a harvest of death, because 
it is reaped at the sowing of life. 

Regarding “aigrettes” or “ospreys,” it is stated that, in 
Venezuela alone, in 1898, no fewer than 1,538,738 White Herons 
were killed, and in 1908 the ranks had become so depleted that 
only 42,986 ozs. of feathers could be collected. As it requires 
six birds to produce an ounce, 257,916 were slaughtered. This 
does not include the young birds left to starve and die in the 
nests. Thirty years ago it is estimated that 3,000,000 White 
Herons inhabited Florida, and to-day these birds are said to be 
comparatively rare. In Venezuela the majestic Jabiru or 
Giant Stork is falling a victim to fashion, as there is a growing 
demand during the last ten years for the large quills of the wing 
and tail. Inthe London plume sale alone there were catalogued 
28,250 of these quills, which would need a very large number of 
birds to produce. Venezuela does a large export business in 


Vol. X. MELLOR, Destruction of Birds. 47 


1910 


plumes, and is one of the greatest bird destruction countries, 
where firms are located that do nothing else but equip parties 
to go out hunting, and purchase plumes and feathers for the 
market. The “Consular Report” for 1908 shows that from one 
place alone, Ciudad Bolivar, there were exported 10,612 lbs. of 
feathers and plumes, in addition to the plumes of the White 
Heron, being nearly 5 tons of feathers from one port in one 
year, for the whims of woman’s fashion. 

Until recent years nothing was known of the domestic affairs 
of the American Flamingo, which is the most brilliant in 
plumage of all large birds, until their nesting haunts were 
discovered in 1904 by Mr. F. M. Chapman, in one of the outer 
Bahama Islands, where the birds were in large masses. But no 
sooner did Mr. Chapman let the world know of his find than the 
plume-hunters were there, and nearly exterminated the birds for 
their brilliant feathers, but, happily, before they were quite 
swept off the face of the earth Mr. Chapman secured protection 
for the Flamingoes. 

No better instance of the destruction of species for the 
millinery market can be given, says Mr. Buckland, than the 
massacre of the shore-birds of the Atlantic coast of the United 
States of America. Twenty-five years ago the shore-birds 
swarmed all down this coast in incredible numbers, but to-day 
only a few scattered colonies survive, being rigidly guarded by 
wardens. A few years ago immense flocks of water-fowl 
populated the lake region of Southern Oregon, and teemed 
along the Pacific Coast, but to-day these waters are almost 
depopulated, as hundreds of tons of Ducks have been killed each 
year merely for the green wing feathers ; the bodies are thrown 
away. White Herons, Swans, Geese, Pelicans, Ibises, and hosts of 
other species were slaughtered for fashion. The largest breeding- 
grounds of the Grebe, whose silvery breast feathers are prized 
by women for ornamentation, were on Lakes Klamath and Tule, 
and during the last six or seven years there were between 20 
and 30 camps of professional killers and skinners stationed 
along the lakes ; men were engaged solely in killing Grebes ; the 
skins were collected in waggons three times a week. This 
continued until the Government, at the instance of the Oregon 
Audubon Society, in the spring of 1908, had Lakes Klamath, 
Harney, and Malheur set aside as bird reservations. On 31st 
May, 1909, the State Warden of Lake Malheur Reservation 
reported that “very few Grebes are nesting in the reserve this 
year—mute testimony of the inroads of previous market 
hunting.” 

Mr. Bryan, in his report to the United States Government 
regarding the destruction of birds carried on among the low 
coral islands in the North Pacific by Japanese plume-hunters, 
says that in the short space of six years they had exterminated 


Emu 
ist’ July 


48 ME LLOoR, Destruction of Birds. 
one of the largest Albatross colonies in these waters. During 
Mr. Bryan’s inspection the hunters had only secured 13 
specimens of the Albatross, but he estimated that they had then 
40,000 Terns’ skins ready for shipment, that being the second 
shipment for the season. A Tokio firm fitted out a ship at 
Yokohama and dispatched her to Lisiansky Island. There were 
87 killers, skinners, &c., on board, and before they could be 
stopped by the American Revenue Service steamer 7hetzs they 
had collected 335 cases of plumage, representing 300,000 birds. 
In 1908 the skins of about 50,000 Terns were sent from this 
locality to the London market, and the United States Govern- 
ment at last made overtures of a pressing nature to the Japanese 
Government, which stated that it would do its best to prevent 
the depredations, but the work being carried on largely by lawless 
marauders rendered the task a hard one. | 

The extermination of Birds-of-Paradise of all species within a 
comparatively brief period may be regarded as certain. Messrs. 
Walter Goodfellow and Chas. B. Horsburgh journeyed lately to 
New Guinea, and give some valuable notes.. No fewer than 
20,000 skins, Mr. Goodfellow estimates, are exported from 
North and West Dutch New Guinea annually. The once fairly 
numerous Jobi Bird-of-Paradise is now so scarce that only 90 
skins were obtained in 1906. The gorgeous Red Bird-of- 
Paradise, whose habitat is the Island of Waigiou, has now 
become very rare, young males and females being shot, in 
addition to the full-plumaged males. The Great Bird-of- 
Paradise, found only in the Aru Islands, is also being rapidly 
exterminated. For some years previous to 1907 two Chinese 
plumage-hunters at Humboldt’s Bay, in north-west New Guinea, 
exported every three months 12,000 bird skins, chiefly of the 
Lesser Bird-of-Paradise, whose habitat is in those regions. Mr. 
Horsburgh found Prince Rudolph’s Bird-of-Paradise everywhere 
extremely rare, only three specimens being seen during weeks of 
searching. 

Mr. Buckland shows that the eye of the plume-hunter is on 
our native Australian birds. The Emu is doomed. Recently 
490 of these birds were killed in Queensland ina single “drive,” 
and of these 419 were.smuggled out of Australia and sold in 
the London commercial sale-rooms, on 4th August, 1909. 
The Lyre-Bird (J7enura) is fast disappearing. In 1907 180 
tails were sold at the London feather sales. The handsome 
black and gold Regent-Bird (Serzculus melinus) is, next to the 
Rifle-Bird (Ptzlorhis), the most sought after for its feathers of 
any bird in Australia. It was once found within a_ short 
distance of Port Jackson, but one has to go very far afield 
now to see one. 


Violet ok. ] 


1910 


Stvay Feathers. 49 


Stray Feathers. 


A CuRIoUS CLUTCH.—Mr. H. L. White, Belltrees, N.S.W., 
reports. the finding of a Spotted Pardalote’s (Pardalotus 
punctatus) nest containing three eggs, together with two eggs of 
the Narrow-billed Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcococcyx basalts) and one 
egg of the Bronze-Cuckoo (C. plagosus). 


* * * 


THE PUGNACITY OF “MAGPIES” (GYMNORHINA).—AsS regards 
the pugnacity of the common Magpies (G. /euconota) when nest- 
ing, I rather think such is a natural propensity with these birds. 
I settled at Jackson’s Creek 27th January, 1846. Any time 
between that date and 1850 Magpies “ pegged” youngsters for 
climbing to a nest. The old birds also attacked me. We did 
not molest nests, and there were no children on the three 
stations that adjoined us. On skinning a bird, on one occasion, 
nothing was found in the stomach, thereby indicating it had 
come a good distance without feeding. A bird came back in 
search of its mate, and hung about some little time.—ISAAC 
BATEY. Drouin, 21/4/10. 


* * * 


WHITE-EARED HONEY-EATER (PTILOTIS LEUCOTIS).—Mr. F. 
E. Wilson, A.O.U., recently wrote me on the above, which ap- 
peared in my list of Drouin birds in the last issue of Zhe Emu 
under the name of P. aurzcomzs. Previously, in the same maga- 
zine (vol. vii., page 9), in “ Sunbury Birds of Sixty Years Ago,” 
this bird was referred to as P. aurtcomzs,so Mr. Wilson asked me 
to forward a specimen in the flesh. Having a stuffed one, it was 
sent, when in due course a reply came to the effect that instead 
of being P. auricomis or P. casstdix it was really P. leucotes. 
The manuscript was roughly written, and unfortunately Mr. 
Campbell’s volumes were lent, thus I was not in a position to 
supply technical nomenclature. I take this opportunity of 
correcting a mistake.—ISAAC BATEY. Drouin, 6/5/10. 


6 * * 


EGGS OF PACHYCEPHALA MERIDIONALIS.—Although these 
eggs have been previously described,* the description of the first 
set taken in Victoria may not be out of place :—Clutch two, 
roundish-oval in shape ; texture of shell fine, surface glossy ; 
colour yellowish-white in specimen (a), but much darker in (6), 
speckled all over, more particularly about the larger end, 
with spots of dark umber or brown, and dark-grey spots and 
blotches, which appear as if beneath the surface of the shell ; 
approaching nearest to those of P. pectoralzs. Dimensions in 


* North, ‘‘ Nests and Eggs of Birds,” vol. ii., p. 25. 


Emu 


50 Stvay Feathers. ist July 


inches :—(a) .88 x .65, (0) .87 x .66. Taken by J. A. Ross, A. H. E. 
Mattingley, F. E. Howe, and C. M‘Lennan, at Pine Plains, 
Victoria, 16th September, 1907. 

Nest.—Very like that of P. fectoralts, and built in a small 
Murray pine on a sand-ridge, about 5% feet from ground.— 
F. E. Howe. Canterbury, Victoria. 


FLAME-BREASTED ROBIN.—As regards the Flame-breasted 
Robin (Petraca phenicea), this bird seems to arrive here (the 
Monaro highlands) when the snow is on the ground—z.e., in 
winter ; and it nests with us about October. In the adjacent 
coastal districts I have never seen it, but the Scarlet-breasted 
Robin (P. /eggei) is common in both. I think the Flame- 
breasted never appears to greater advantage than when 
perched on a dead thistle or twig standing up above the snow. 
The brilliant colouring of the breast is then thrown out in strong 
relief—H. V. EDWARDS. Bibbenluke, N.S.W., 8/2/09. 


P.S.—The Pied Robin (P. ficata) is now nesting in this 
vicinity. It appears to place its nest at a much greater elevation 
than most Robins.—H. V. E. 


* * * 


THE SATIN BOWER-BIRD.—Mr. C. F. Cole, in his interesting 
“ Notes on the Satin Bower-Bird (Péz/onorhynchus violaceus), * 
states that the change from the green to blue-black plumage 
takes place in the male birds only. I know of one exception to 
this rule, having found one “ Black Satin-Bird” to be a female. 
This was at Cape Otway, over 40 years ago. We had shota 
few Satin-Birds, all in green plumage but one, in which were 
found eggs. I have not handled Satin Bower-Birds since then. 
In the spring hundreds of Satin Bower-Birds used to come from 
forest country at the back of Cape Otway to flats among the 
sand-dunes to feed on native spinach. In a flock of perhaps a 
hundred there would be only three or four birds with the black- 
blue plumage, The birds were very destructive to peas and 
cabbage plants in the garden.—H. W. Forp. Fitzroy (Vic.), 
20/4/10. 

% ¥ + 


WHITE-RUMPED SWIFT (MICROPUS PACIFICUS).—I have to 
record an appearance of this rare visitor to Tasmania. At 
about 5.30 p.m. on 17th February, the sky being very overcast, 
with a light south-east breeze blowing, I noticed a Swift flying 
from the south. Ina few minutes a fair-sized flock of the birds 
was circling over Launceston. Owing to the fact that many of 


* Emu, vol. ix., p. 237. 


ao | Stray Feathers. 51 
the birds were flying low and not fast, I was able to bring my 
glass to bear with good results. The first bird to come 
within easy range was a Wicropus pacificus. Up to the time the 
birds disappeared to the north-west, 6.30 p.m., I identified 
positively at least 20 as being of this species out of a flock 
of perhaps 100 birds. In all probability the bulk of the birds 
were Spine-tailed Swifts (Chetura caudacuta). I was fortunate 
enough to witness the apparent return southwards of a portion 
of the flock, as previously recorded from Tasmania by Messrs. 
H. C. Thompson and H. Stuart Dove. I say apparent, because 
I was able to watch the return of these birds to join the rest 
after having made an enormous ellipse. The vantage ground on 
which I was standing afforded a very extensive view in all 
directions.— FRANK M. LITTLER. Launceston, 25/2/10. 


* * * 


A BirD DRAMA.—The other day I, with two companions, 
witnessed a pretty drama in bird life. We were on a half- 
completed wheat-stack, standing between two others already 
finished, at about 3.30 p.m.,-when suddenly a flock of 8 or Io 
Spur-winged Plovers (Lodzvanellus lobatus) came sailing round 
the end of the stacks. They wheeled sharp round and down 
past one of the outer stacks on our flank, coming quickly into 
view again and settling in some long, dry grass, about 60 yards 
away. No sooner were they down than, ducking, all crept into 
the long grass, disappearing as though by magic. ‘“ Whissssh!” 
a Black-cheeked Falcon went, not directly over where the 
Plovers were concealed, but a little to one side, about 6 or 8 
feet above ground. Following the Falcon’s flight, we saw it 
perch about 300 yards away on a tall, dry tree. Up stood one 
of the Plovers on “ sentry go,” and was immobile for fully three 
minutes until the Falcon left his perch and sailed away. Then 
the sentry moved. All was quiet for a minute, when, one by 
one, the Plovers rose, and were soon on the wing clamouring to 
announce their victory, or, rather, their craft in evading the 
enemy. I have been a close observer of birds all my life, yet 
have never before seen so interesting an incident as this.—R. 
W. LEGGE. Cullenswood (Tas.), 22/2/10. 


* * * 


SHARP-TAILED STINT IN TASMANIA.—One day last Feb- 
ruary, while wandering, gun in hand, over the great Apsley 
Marsh, which lies at the northern extremity of the Moulting 
Lagoon, on the East Coast, I surprised a small flock of wading 
birds. After a short flight, during which they uttered faint 
twittering, chipping notes, the birds settled, and I killed several. 
On examination they appeared to be Sharp-tailed Stints (Hetero- 


52 Stray Feathers. ae 


pygia acuminata). They were in shape and marking like an im- 
mature Snipe, the bill being about 1 inch or 1% inches long, 
slightly depressed at the end; the legs and feet light green, 
extremely delicate, the former measuring about 4 inches ; head, 
neck, back, and wings soft grey, the wing coverts and tail having 
the faintest olive tinge; the tail delicate and pointed and 
prominent in flight. The birds were frequenting shallow grass- 
grown pools on the marshy wastes, and they did not run like 
a Dottrel, but seemed to stand about and pick here and there. 
I noticed the white breast and front or belly had delicate streaks 
of black, more especially about the thighs and vent; the thighs 
were white, under tail coverts white, and the wings underneath 
delicate black and white, like a Snipe. The local residents 
regarded these birds as rare—ROBT. W. LEGGE. Cullenswood, 
Tas. 


* * * 


MELIPHAGIDZ AND MELITOSE.—On 19th December Dr. J. 
Burton Cleland and myself observed a number of birds feeding 
upon “manna” which was exuding from a large wound in a 
crey gum (Eucalyptus punctata) at Milson Island, Hawkesbury 
River. Among them my colleague identified P#z/otes auricomzis 
(Yellow-tufted Honey-eater), P. chrysops (Yellow-faced Honey- 
eater), P. Zeucotzs (White-eared Honey-eater), MWelzthreptus lunu - 
latus (White-naped MHoney-eater), /. dbrevirostrzs (Brown- 
headed Honey-eater), and Meliphaga phrygia (Warty-faced 
Honey-eater). The birds flew down from the uppermost 
branches of the neighbouring trees, and, clinging to the large 
trunk of the grey gum, licked the yellowish exudation with the 
greatest relish. So eager were they that, as we stood near the 
tree, numbers of them, while looking for a foothold upon the 
tree trunk, fluttered round our heads. A photograph of the 
birds clinging to the tree was taken, but they did not show up 
well against the dark background. A small branch was there- 
fore thrust into a portion of the wound in the tree, and a very 
good photograph of seven specimens of Péz/otzs auricomes, in 
various positions, was obtained. (See plate VI.) The exuda- 
tion from the tree had a very sweet taste, and such exudations * 
are apparently used as a supplementary food by Honey-eaters 
when they have located a tree where a supply is to 
be obtained. The “manna” from the grey gum has been 
proved by Mr. H. G. Smith, F.C.S., of the Sydney Technological 
Museum, to contain as its principal constituent the sugar known 
as raffinose or melitose.—G. P. DARNELL-SMITH. Sydney, 
28/4/10. 


*k *k * 


THE BLUE WREN OF TASMANIA: ADDITIONAL NOTES.— 
The curious tactics adopted by the female A/a/urus in her 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE VI. 


Tufted Honey-eaters (Ptilotis auvicomis) feeding upon ‘‘ Manna’’ exuded 
by Grey Gum (Eucalypt), Nelson Island, Hawkesbury River. 


FROM A PHOTO. BY C. P. DARNELL-SMITH, N.S.W 


Vol. X. 


Sic Stvay Feathers. 53 
endeavours to lure an intruder away from her nest were described 
by me ina paper in 7he Emu.* The same device is occasion- 
ally resorted to by the male. In the Launceston district one 
November day a Wren’s nest was discovered, placed about 3 feet 
from the ground, in a Lepedosperma tussock, and containing four 
young, whose eyes were beginning to open, and upon whose 
bodies could be seen the lines of sprouting feathers. The nest 
was of grasses, lined with rabbit fur, and shaped like a big egg 
with the end sliced off. It was tilted slightly upwards, the usual 
Malurus type of architecture. When we examined the young, 
the male parent, near by, went through some curious antics to 
lure us away, running low along the ground with shoulders 
hunched up and wings trailing, tail bent down like a puppy 
about to be whipped, instead of carried aloft in the usual jaunty 
fashion. The appearance of the little actor when hunched up 
on the ground in this fashion is curiously mouse-like. 

Pugnacity—A\|though the male Blue Wren displays much 
persistence in attacking and driving away others of his sex from 
the neighbourhood of the breeding-ground, yet it is the females 
which exhibit a surprising depth of hatred towards each other. 
When approaching Gould’s country, Eastern Tasmania, one 
summer afternoon, we discerned a small brown ball rolling 
about in the dust by the wayside, and squeaking vociferously. 
My friend, Mr. H. C. Thompson, succeeded in capturing the 
curiosity, which resolved itself, on close inspection, into two 
female Malurz, locked together in an embrace by no means 
affectionate, and digging with their beaks at each other. So 
absorbed were they in their quarrel that they had heard nothing 
of our approach, and two very scared Wrens shook out their 
ruffled plumage and left my friend’s hand hurriedly as soon as 
separated. During the past spring, in a Devonport garden, I 
witnessed a similar spectacle—H. STUART DOVE, F.Z.S. West 
Devonport. 

* * * 


Birps NEw TO TASMANIA.—Of the two following species I 
can find no record of their having been previously found in 
Tasmania :-— 

Strix delicatula, G\d.. may or may not be a sub-species 
of the European S. flammea, Linn. Being a dimorphic form, 
and without being able to satisfy ourselves on the matter of 
their geographical plumages, there is no certainty of its true 
position. Recently it has been raised to the position of a 
species.} As a species its distribution has been known to be 
Australia and New Guineat On 6th May, 1910, Mr. P. J. 


* The Emu, vol. ix., pp. 151-155. 
+ Brit. Mus. H. Birds, i., p. 300. 
+ Mathews, H. Birds, p. 44. 


54 Stray Feathers. [eae 


Nicholls brought a specimen in the flesh into the Tasmanian 
Museum. He found it dead near the back door of the home- 
stead of his property at Richmond, some 16 miles north-east of 
Hobart. For years past it, or its like, had frequented his out- 
houses. It appears to me to be a dark race of the mainland 
Strix delicatula, the vermiculations of the dorsal surface being 
scarcely visible. The tail is pure white, with only a faint tinge 
of pale orange on one portion of the upper surface. Although 
one specimen is alone available for record, the white of the 
under surface of it is so very clear, and the deep brownish-grey 
of the upper surface so devoid of tawny or pale orange, that it 
appeals to me as being an insular form of the mainland species. 
The characteristic feature of this specimen is that it is deep 
brownish-grey, with scarcely any orange upon it, causing it to 
appear sooty on the whole of the upper surface rather than 
tawny or orange. The colour of the legs is creamy and not 
yellow. 

Calopsittacus nove-hollandie, Gm., is the second species. It 
was forwarded to the Tasmanian Museum by Mr. Charles 
Eaton, and collected on the Russell River, North Huon, goth 
March, 1910. Thinking it possible the bird had escaped from 
captivity, I wrote to Mr. Eaton for particulars. In reply I learn 
that the residents have not seen this species, it being quite 
unfamiliar to them. It was shot while upon a dry eucalypt, 
and is in autumn plumage. The Cockatoo-Parrot is migratory 
in both eastern and western Australia. It is possible it overflew 
its normal southern range, and may have been one of a scattered 
flock. I scarcely think that Tasmania was at any time the 
southern portion of its home. 

It is on record* that a flock of Lorikeets ( 7vzchoglossus nove- 
hollandig) has been seen in a district after an absence of 25 
years ; while a flock of Galah Cockatoos (Cacatua rosetcapilla) 
has been seen after 30 years’ absence. Even so, this record, I 
consider, is simply that of an errant bird rather than of one 
that has escaped from its cage-—ROBERT HALL. Hobart, 
6/6/10. 


A Defence of Oology. 


THE following is an abridged account of an article by Milton S. 
Ray, California, which appeared in The Condor, January, 
IQIO :— 

“The first point I wish to take up is: Is oology scientific or 
popular ornithology ? 

“In the opinion of some, perhaps many, the structure and 


* Emu, October, 1903. 


Vol. X. A Defence of Oology. 315, 


1910 


classification of birds is considered the more scientific ; in fact a 
division has been made, terming this ‘scientific ornithology ’ 
and relegating the study of eggs, young, nests and all else to 
another division termed ‘popular ornithology.’ It would seem 
to me that inasmuch as the eggs are produced by the bird’s 
anatomy and hold new life, they are in a sense a part of the 
_ bird’s anatomy, and that, if any such separate classification is to 
be made that birds and eggs should come together rather than 
eges and nests. As further proof, I feel quite sure if some 
bird, a Thrush for instance, of one section produced zxzvarzably 
plain bluish-white eggs and that of another section produced zz- 
variably entirely different eggs, say green heavily blotched with 
brown, I doubt not that the two birds would soon be separated 
even if zo apparent difference could be found in the birds them- 
selves. However, it is not my opinion that any such separation 
of the study of eggs, birds, or nests is necessary, as the gathering 
of all facts in the study of them, in my idea, is scientific and is 
ornithology. Nature has drawn no clear cut lines that I can see, 
and I consider it as zmportant to note that the Cliff Swallow 
constructs its nest of mud as that a hundred specimens of the 
bird show some slight variation in wing measurement. 

“ A prominent ornithologist some time ago informed me that 
he did not consider the geographical variation of species as 
important as most have deemed it, and that all Song Sparrows 
in his collection were simply labelled such, accompanied with 
the usual data. Personally I do not endorse this method, 
believing all differences discernible should be recognized. I also 
believe variation in eggs, or any other scientific fact concerning 
them, important as well, for to me all appear to be but links in 
a great chain. It seems to be the desire of some, however, to 
disconnect these ‘links,’ claiming that the so-called scientific 
ornithology is the more important, as it is a component part of 
the science of life. To me it would seem that equally as much 
of the science of /¢fe can be learned by a close study of the birds’ 
habits, their eggs and nests, as by the study of their structure and 
their classification. 

“ The second point is: Have eggs been scientifically studied or 
described ? 

“T maintain that truly scientific descriptions of eggs, treating 
of their texture, size, shape, and colouration is a part of 
ornithology that has been neglected and offers material for a 
monumental work. Take the eggs of the Brewer Blackbird 
(Euphagus cyanocephalus) for instance. I wish to ask any 
collector familiar with a series, if there are not many specimens 
that one unfamiliar with the species would have difficulty in 
identifying if he depended solely on the written descriptions of 
a writer like Davie for instance, who states that the eggs are 
marked ‘with dark brown . . . . and some with a lighter 


56 A Defence of Oology. gr 


shade. Could anything be more indefinite? Why, this season, 
which I spent at Lake Tahoe, I examined perhaps as many as a 
hundred nests of this bird, mostly with eggs, and I can say 
instead of Davie’s two shades of brown, there are nearer twenty ! 
In fact with the exception of the California Murre (U7rza trozle 
californica) 1 know of no Californian eggs subject to wider 
variation in colour. The markings run through various shades of - 
brown, from light grayish, yellowish, and reddish, to a blackish- 
brown that is almost if not quite black. On some the light 
purplish-gray markings, which are usually sparse and obscure, 
predominate and form another type. I noted several sets 
unmarked except for scrawls and blotches of blackish-brown and 
purplish-gray around the larger end, being not greatly unlike 
some specimens of the Redwing Blackbird I have seen. Others 
again were uniform chocolate-brown with sometimes a blackish 
scrawl or so on them. The ground colour, almost white in 
some, was usually greenish-white, though sometimes a pure 
light green. In shape they varied from almost globular to 
elongate-ovate. 

“My third point is: Why is the study of eggs given such a 
prominent place in bird magazines, and yet so neglected in our 
scientific institutions ? (Of the latter I can only speak of those 
on the coast.) I remember that the Californian Academy of 
Sciences, before the fire, had, in connection with the magnificent 
collection of mounted birds and bird-skins, but one lonely little 
case of eggs containing not more perhaps than would be taken 
by the average collector in a season ; and at the present time, 
in a prominent museum across the bay, I have been informed 
that eggs are deemed of little importance: in other words, are 
considered a mere ‘side-show’ to the collection of birds. To 
me, the fact that two classes of people, the small boy and the 
commercial collector, have brought odium on egg-collecting, 
can in no way detract from its importance ; and neither does the 
fact that eggs are more or less dependent on the birds, inasmuch 
as often the identity of the parents must be determined before 
that of the eggs can be established. I believe it time to sound a 
note of warning, for some time in the future eggs will be given 
their proper place in bird study, and the coast museums should 
have adequate space reserved for their accommodation. In fact, 
I think a Californian museum, equipped with proper cabinets, 
would soon accumulate quite an extensive collection through the 
donations of club members and others, and some day, should 
the interest that has been taken in geographical variation 
extend to eggs, we will not have to send east of the Rockies 
to borrow specimens ; for it is a well-known fact that the finest 
collections of Californian eggs are not where they should be, 
here in California.” 


Vol. X. 


1910 


MaTHEws, Additions to ‘‘ Handlist.”’ 57 


Additions to the “Handlist of the Birds of 


Australasia.” 
(Continued from vol. IX., p. 92.) 


BY GREGORY M. MATHEWS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. 


45A 


7OIA 
709A 
711A 
7344 
744A 
760A 
7634 
7994 


Lophophaps leucogaster, Gould (cf 
Niath> Bull) (BiO:G,, xv pasos 
IQIO) ES me “we Central Australia: 
Podargus_ brachypterus, Gould (cf 
North, Spec. Cat. Aust. Mus., No. ; 
12, vol. ii., p. 340) a ... Western Australia. 


Psephotus cucullatus, North, V2cz. 

Nat., Xxv., p. 176 (1909) iw Northern Lerritory: 
Calamanthus howei, Math., Bull. 

DOG) xxv, p24" (1900) . Wow Plains, Vick 
Acanthiza mathewsi, Hartert, Bull. 

i OC. Xv, Ds O2 (1O1O) Victoria. 
Acanthiza whitlocki, North, Vez. Nat., 

BGVi GD: 55). : Lake Way, W.A. 
aed flaviventris, Ashby, Emu, 

icp 37 (LOrO) Lake Frome, S.A. 


Acanthiza australis, Math. (of. 
Meat pully Bb: Or... oxxv., <p. 34, 


1910) South Australia. 
Amytornis whitei, Math., Bull. BO: Ge \ Coongan River, 

XXV., Pp. 34 (1910) 5, Here N.-W. Australia 
Climacteris wellsi, Grant, Ibis, p. 664, | Clifton Downs, 

(1909) Sete ee 
ee. shortridgei, Grant, lbts, p. \ Rabbit Island, 

663 (1909) .. cali. Veet 
Zosterops balstoni, Grant, ‘Tbis, p. 663, 

(1900) ... Carnarvon, W.A. 
Melithreptus whitlocki, Math., Bull. ) Wilson’s Inlet, 

pC. xxv. p: 24.( 1900) els ONS 
Melithreptus alisteri, Math., Bull. 

Bro: C,, xxv, p- 85, (IQI0) King Island. 
Lacustroica whitei, North, Vez. Nat. 

Vie Wi le3o. (LQIO) s.. Lake Way, W.A. 
Certhionyx Becideqrala Grant, Lbis, 

®. 659 (100d) -.. Carnarvon, W.A. 
Meliornis dichicaensice Math.. Bull. 

MOC. xxv. (LOTO} Ste —  Lasinania. 


HANDLIST.—A useful handlist of “Birds Inhabiting New 
Zealand and those Birds from other Countries that have been 
Observed in New Zealand as Occasional Visitors” has been 
issued by the Dominion Museum, Wellingion. 


58 From Magazines, &c. ee 


From Magazines, &c. 


WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BiRDS.—Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant is 
well known by repute to students of ornithology, and his first 
critical notes on Australian birds are welcomed. 

These notes appear in 7/e /bzs (October, 1909) under the title 
“Ona Collection of Birds from Western Australia, with Field 
Notes by Mr. G.C. Shortridge.” The collection is representative, 
having been made in the South-Western, Central, and Western 
divisions of the State, and was presented to the British Museum. 
by Mr. W. E. Balston. Mr. Ogilvie-Grant has “ discovered ” 
several novelties in the “ Balston collection,” which he has named 
respectively Certhionyx occidentalis, Zosterops shortridget, Z. 
balstont, Climacterts wellsi, Malurus berniert, and Sericornis 
balstonz, a beautiful coloured plate being devoted to the two last- 
mentioned species. 

Some of Mr. Ogilvie-Grant’s novelties—notably Certhzonyx 
and the two Zosterops—have passed through Australian hands, 
but not sufficient difference was detected to warrant separation 
from the accepted species. However, it is anticipated that Mr. 
Gregory M. Mathews will carefully weigh all possible evidence 
before he admits climatic or other variations in form as distinct 
species into his new standard work on “The Coloured Figures 
of the Birds of Australia.” 

Mr. Ogilvie-Grant has suggested an amalgamation himself 
regarding a common species, one of the “ Magpies” or Crow- 
Shrikes. Mr. Shortridge’s field note (p. 670) states that “ The 
Long-billed Magpie (Gywnorhina longzrostris, Milligan) is not 
uncommon on the Gascoyne River, where it takes the place of 
the G. dorsalis, Campbell, of the South-Western and Central 
divisions.” Mr. Ogilvie-Grant proceeds to treat the latter species 
as synonymous with G. /euconota, Gray, of Eastern Australia, 
notwithstanding his critical description of the Western skins does 
not apply to those of the Eastern form. Mr. Ogilvie-Grant also 
does not think it possible to distinguish the Eastern from 
the Western form of the Scarlet-breasted Robins—Petrwca legget 
and P. campbellz. 


* * * 


THE BIRDS OF LORD HOWE AND NORFOLK ISLANDS.— 
In The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 
vol. xxxiv., part 4, 27th October, 1909, Mr. A. F. Basset Hull, 
Sydney, has published an interesting and valuable treatise under 
the foregoing sub-heading. 

There have been many fragments published of the birds of 
Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, but nothing so completely 
written as the treatise under review, which has the advantage of 
being interwoven with the author's own observations. Mr. 
Basset Hull visited Lord Howe Island from the 3rd to the 17th 


Vol. X. 
1910 


From Magazines, &c. 59 
October, 1907, and Norfolk Island from 8th October to 15th 
November, 1908, his primary object being to see the immense 
flocks of Terns and other sea-birds during their breeding season, 
and at the same time to glean some information respecting 
land-birds. 

About 80 species, the majority Australian, are dealt with 
systematically, with references to previous literature, habitat, 
and field observations, while the descriptions and dimensions of 
eges enhance the oological value of the article. Particularly 
interesting are the remarks written under the heading of the 
“Big Hill Mutton-Bird ” of Norfolk Island, whether it is Gstre- 
lata neglecta, Schlegel, or GZ. phillipir, Grey. 

“With every possible deference to the authorities who have 
merged GZ. phillip into C2. neglecta,’ writes Mr. Basset Hull, 
“Tam of opinion that the birds represent two distinct species. 
Further information as to the description and habitat of @. 
neglecta may be anticipated from the investigations of Messrs. 
T. Iredale and party, who spent nearly the whole year 1908 on 
the Kermadecs.”* ; 

The following table of Mr. Basset Hull shows a marked dis- 
similarity of the four kinds of birds, their habits, and_ their 
breeding seasons :— 


. Oh | ie Breeding 

Species. Bird. | Nest. Egg. Sea are 
Lord Howe Uniform in | At end of a igeeee 
Petrel. colour. burrow. July-August. 

Bee lend s 5 2.14 x 1.62 January. 

CE. neglecta |\Very variable| In the open.| 2.44-2.6 x October- 
(Sunday Island).| in colour. | 1.67-1.85. November. 
@. neglecta, var. | OAT Xx ‘ : 
(Meyer Island). . | D Up, ee ee 


There certainly appears to be at least two species or varieties 
of birds—those uniform in colour of Lord Howe and Norfolk 
Islands, which lay in burrows, and those variable in colour of 
the more southerly Kermadecs, which lay in the open, except 
it be that in the case of the birds nesting in the open—the only 
Petrel known to do so, consequently differing from other 
Petrels, that breed in darkness underground—their environment 
may cause the particoloured offspring, similar to the Biblical 
statement of the patriarch of old and the “ ring-straked, speckled, 
and spotted” cattle. 

Mr. Basset Hull’s remarks on the familiar Mutton-Bird 


* The result of Mr. Iredale’s investigations appears in this issue of 7ke Emu, 
pp. 13-15.—Eps. 


Emu 
ist July 


60 From Magazines, &c. 
(Puffinus tenucrostrzs) are also exceedingly interesting, and the 
reader can contrast a “rookery” on Lord Howe Island in a 
beautiful palm-glade, where the interlacing foliage excludes the 
sun’s rays, with a “rookery ” in the open on some grassy island 
in Bass Strait. Of interest, too, is his chapter on the snow-white 
Tern (Gygzs alba), that lays its single egg on the bare bark or 
knot-hole of the limb of a tree. 

Six excellent photo.-reproductions of nests and eggs accom- 


pany the article. 
* * * 


NEw ZEALAND Birp Notes.—Interesting notes on New Zealand 
bird-life may always be looked for in the Nature Study column which 
Mr. James Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S., conducts for the Lyételton 
Times. Ina recent issue Mr. Drummond quotes extensively from 
a letter written by Mr. P. J. O’Regan regarding a visit to the Inan- 
gahua Valley, West Coast. “‘ It is absolutely certain,’. writes Mr. 
O’ Regan, “that our ground birds will disappear in a few years 
unless we have them placed in sanctuaries, preferably some islands 
adjacent to New Zealand. Once, when I was a member of Parlia- 
ment, I tried to have a clause inserted in the Animals Protection 
Act, making it a punishable offence to introduce cats, weasels, and 
similar animals on to any island near the New Zealand coast, but 
my attempt failed, I don’t know why. It is certain that something 
should be done in earnest before it is too late. I do not know if 
there are any ground birds on the Auckland and other southern 
islands ; if not, you ought to get up an agitation to have Wekas, 
Kiwis, and other birds placed there.”’ 

“On this occasion,’ says Mr. Drummond, “ Mr. O’ Regan spent 
three weeks in the Inangahua Valley. He heard a Kiwi only three 
times, and he did not either see or hear a Weka once. Yet these 
birds, until quite recently, were as plentiful as in the days of the 
first settlers. Everybody with whom he discussed the position told 
him that the Weka had disappeared as completely as if the country- 
side had been swept by fire. There is no doubt in his mind as to 
the cause of this extermination. He blames the stoats and weasels, 
which are plentiful in all places, from proximity of settlement to 
the virgin bush, and which destroy the eggs and young birds. Rivers 
are not often insuperable obstacles to the pests, and no locality 
seems to be safe from their ravages. A settler told him that two 
years ago a weasel’s nest, found in the Motupiko Valley, contained 
no fewer than 30 young birds—Tuis, Robins, Sparrows, Tomtits, 
Parrakeets, and others. Things that Mr. O’Regan saw and heard 
of during his holiday lead him to dissent from Mr. Mackenzie's 
statement that the Weka is able to fight the stoat and weasel ; 
he believes that no native bird is immune from the danger the 
presence of these creatures implies. 

‘In recent years, in all parts of the West Coast, there has been 
a notable decrease in the numbers of the Pigeons and the Kakas, 
and Mr, O’Regan is more firmly convinced than ever that this has 


Wolk XX.” 


ee From Magazines, &c. 61 
resulted mainly from the presence of vast flocks of berry-eating 
Starlings, Thrushes, and Blackbirds, which eat the berries even 
before they are ripe, and leave little for the luckless native birds. 
He makes stoats and weasels share the blame in regard to the 
Pigeons and the Kakas, as several bushmen told him that the 
vermin attack the nests of all birds, whether they are in trees or 
on the ground. His observations show that the general decrease 
in numbers does not apply to the ‘ Morepork’ Owl, the King- 
fisher, and the Fantail. The Fantail, indeed, is probably more 
plentiful now than it ever was before. The Tui is holding its own 
fairly well. He saw no Blue Ducks during his visit. He was 
told that this native is still seen in remote mountain streams, but 
he cannot understand how it can combat an enemy which has 
defeated the Weka. He admits that there may be cases in which 
_a Weka, which is a game and powerful fighter, and is accustomed 
to dealing with rats, has successfully fought a weasel, but he points 
out that there is no doubt that, during the past five years, the 
Weka has disappeared from forests where it had flourished for 
years. ‘To anyone who is acquainted with the West Coast as I 
am,’ he says, in concluding this part of his letter, ‘it was a painful 
experience to spend three weeks in the bush without hearing a 
Weka.’” 

In another issue are some excellent notes on the Huia, as follow : 
—" Mr. Gregor M‘Gregor, of Wanganui, knew the Huia in the early 
days of settlement, when this bird was fairly plentiful in parts of 
the Rimutaka, Tararua, and Ruahine Ranges, and was found, in 
fact, over the whole of the country drained by the Manawatu, 
Rangitikei, and Hautapu Rivers. He has seen dozens of Huias 
on occasions when he made his way through the forests. He 
states that they come readily when their whistle is imitated by a 
human being. They have a very acute sense of hearing, and will 
come from a distance of over 100 yards. They do not usually 
fly down, but run or hop along the ground, usually coming down 
the open slope of a hill. He has never seen Huias singly ; they 
have always been in pairs. They are snared, but always on the 
ground, and never on a tree. They are more in evidence on foggy 
or wet days. In the summer time they go high up the ranges ; in 
the winter the snow on the mountain-tops drives them down to 
lower altitudes. There is usually a great deal of rimu, maitai, and 
birch timber in their forest haunts. Many large rimu trees fall 
to the ground and decay, and offer homes to huhu grubs, for which 
the Huias have a marked weakness. At one time, Mr. M‘Gregor 
adds, Huias were very plentiful near Taihape. He feels strongly 
that determined efforts should be made to catch some for liberation 
on the bird sanctuaries. The female lays up to three, four, or five 
eggs in a season, four being quite common, and he is convinced 
that the birds would thrive well on the sanctuaries, where they 
would be protected from all natural enemies, including man—the 
most relentless of all.”’ 

A note on the White-eye (Zosterops cwrulescens) :—‘‘ The White- 


fF Emu 
List July 


62 From Magazines, &c. 
eyes, apparently, made their appearance on the Chatham Islands 
about the same time as they came from Australia to New Zealand. 
Mr. A. Shand, who has lived on the islands for 55 years, states that 
he saw these birds for the first time about a year after his arrival. 
They were strangers to the Chatham Islands Maoris, who were 
greatly interested in the new arrivals. The Hauhau prisoners 
from Poverty Bay, who were placed in custody on the islands in 
1868, caught large numbers of White-eyes for food. The favourite 
method was by the use of eel baskets. These baskets are made with 
a very narrow opening, arranged half-way down the length of the 
basket, the reeds sloping up from one end to the entrance. The 
birds, like the eels, entered the baskets to get the bait, but could 
not find the end of the entrance again, and were captured.”’ 


* * * 


A COLLECTION OF SUB-FOSSIL BIRD AND ANIMAL REMAINS 
FROM KING ISLAND, BASS STRAIT.—In the Memozrs of the 
National Museum, Melbourne, No. 3 (February, 1910), Prof. 
Baldwin Spencer, C.M.G., and Mr. J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., have 
collated some interesting material concerning the species of 
Emu once inhabiting King Island, but now extinct. With the 
assistance of a local resident, Mr. Kershaw, in November, 1908, 
and again in January, 1909, collected a large number of vertebrate 
remains among the sand-dunes of South Point. These 
included many Emu bones. The writers are further indebted 
to the Tasmanian Museum authorities for specimens, and the 
whole collection under notice comprises :— 


1. Sixty-four femora. 

2. Forty-one tibio-tarsi. 

3. Seventy tarso-metatarsi. 

4. Four pelves of which the total length can be measured, and 
parts of sixteen others. 

Parts of six skulls. 

. One pectoral arch. 

Portions of three sterna. 

Fourteen fibule. 

Ribs. 

Vertebral bodies. 

Toe bones. 


These remains were chiefly distributed over the sand-dunes on 
the extreme southern portion of the island. The area covers 
some 300 acres in extent, and the sand is constantly moving 
and sifting out the bones, which then are to be picked up in the 
troughs. Wallaby remains are the most numerous, but mixed 
up with them are parts of Emus, wombats, and dasyures, in a 
fair state of preservation, with here and there portions of 
skeletons of both seals and sheep (these latter are apparently 
later additions). 


— — 
ONO” COSTING 


Vol. ual From Magazines, &c. 63 


1910 


The first Emu remains from King Island were procured by 
Mr. A. G. Campbell, in November, 1902 [see Zhe Emu, vol. tii., 
(1903), p. 113], and were presented to the National Museum. 
They were a thigh-bone and a pelvis, and were found on the 
margin of the Martha Lavinia Lagoon, near the north end of the 
island. They were taken to be small specimens of the Aus- 
tralian mainland species (Dromeus nove-hollandig). The more 
complete series of bones obtained later by the Tasmanian 
Museum enabled Prof. Spencer to definitely describe a new 
species, to which the name of Drom@eus minor was given [see 
Victorian Naturalist, vol. xxiii. (1906), p. 140]. 

In the following table are given the measurments of bones of 
six specimens of Dromcéus nove-hollandie, of the large series of 
the King Island form (LD. minor), and the measurements of the 
one skeleton extant of D. peroni,* the extinct Kangaroo Island 
Emu. In the case of the King Island form three series of 
measurements are given—the minimum, the maximum, and 
those between which lie the great majority of the measure- 
ments — 


— D, nove-hollandia. D. minor. | D. peront. 

mm. mm. mm. 

Skull, length — ... a go-9I 58-62 80 
ee WICH. >... ae 75-76 54-56 66 
emut ss. hi “gal 217-243 140, 150-180, 186 180 
Tibio-tarsus ... 5) 415-446 | 265, 270-320, 363 | 342 
Tarso-metatarsus ee 335-411 216, 220-280, 292 | 290 
Pelvis, length ... Sal 440-442 249-292 340 
», width in front ...| 80-105 64 75 

» width behind ...| 105-113 78-84 2 


It is not, therefore, a matter for surprise, judging by what has 
taken place in insular differentiation of Ratite birds in New 
Guinea and the islands adjacent to the north of Australia, that 
King and Kangaroo Islands, and Tasmaniat as well, should 
each possess its own species of Emu. 

From the large series of remains a diagnosis is then given :— 


DROM-EUS MINOR. 


Size varying considerably, but always much smaller than that 
of D. nove-hollandieé ; not exceeding that of D. peronz, but of 
more robust build. Tibio-tarsus rarely exceeding 330 mm., 
most usually from 270 to 320 mm., in greatest length. Tarso- 
metatarsus rarely exceeding 280 mm., most usually from 220 to 
280 mm., in greatest length. Frontal region of skull decidedly 


*In Paris Museum. 
+ See Zhe Emu, vol. vi. (1907), p. 116. 


2 mn Emu 
64 From Magazines, &c. st 8 


dome-shaped. Length of skull from frontal suture to occiput 
not or only slightly exceeding 60 mm. Greatest width of skull 
not or only slightly exceeding 55 mm. 

Habttat—King Island, Bass Strait. Now extinct. 

It is very interesting to know that the remains of eggs were 
frequently met with, either in small fragments in the loose sand 
or in patches embedded in the firmer soil beneath. In one or 
two instances fully half the shell was found completely flattened 
out and fractured into small fragments, with the surface more 
or less removed by the action of the driving sand. 

The original discovery of an Emu on the islands of Bass 
Strait was made in 1802. In December of that year Baudin, in 
his exploring ships, Géographe, Naturaliste, and Casuarina, 
visited Kangaroo Island, from which they carried three Emus 
alive to Paris. AQ little later four naturalists of the expedition 
were left stranded at Sea Elephant Bay, King Island, while the 
ships stood out to sea, owing to bad weather. They were 
fortunate in reaching a sealers’ camp, the chief man among 
whom, Cowper by name, entertaining the Frenchmen in his 
quarters. An account is published of the naturalists seeing two 
“Casoars” hanging in the larder, and closely questioning 
Cowper, who said he had killed over 300 birds, his dog being 
specially trained for the purpose. It is singular that the 
naturalists did not procure any specimens of the bird, though 
the descriptions accurately fit an Emu. They may have con- 
sidered it identical with the Kangaroo Island bird. It is a 
matter of great regret that in the early days of Australian 
exploration so few specimens of the fauna of these islands were 
preserved. 

This “Memoir” is well illustrated with eight large photo.- 
plates. 


Reviews. 
[‘* Ornithologists at Warunda Creek.”’] 


CAPTAIN S. H. White, of South Australia, has issued, under the 
above title, a neat little d7ochure, which is a pleasantly written 
“Record of the A.O.U.’s Expedition to Eyre Peninsula, October, 
1909, with Notes on Ornithology, Botany, and Entomology.” 
The “ Record” may be taken as supplementary to the official 
report of Mr. Robert Hall, C.M.Z.S., which appeared in The 
Emu, vol. ix., p. 123, and contains an interesting narrative and 
independent bird observations. Capt. White has added the 
Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphus) and the familiar Blue Wren 
(Malurus cyaneus)—its most westerly recorded range—to the 
list of birds, while he holds that the Sztvefera observed was not 
melanoptera. Mr. J. W. Mellor has since described the bird as 
Jusca (see present issue of Zhe Emu, p. 34). 


Vol. X. 


Igo 


Reviews. : 65 

The only thing that offends the artistic eye in the production 
of this little work—a circumstance over which the author had 
apparently no control—is its typographical errors, which are 
too numerous to be excused. Liberties have also been taken 
with technical terms. Why insert hyphens between the generic 
and specific names ? If master printers place important matter 
in the hands of their juniors, they (the printers) can only expect 
to receive adverse criticism. The publication was also worthy 
of better paper, which would have been an advantage to the 
excellent photographs that were freely interspersed throughout 
its pages. A few copies still remain, which may be had at half 
price—3s. 6d.—on application to the author. 


[‘* A History of the Birds of Kent,” by Norman F. Ticehurst. Witherby and Co., 
London. 21s. net. | 


THE author of this handsome volume, which to a British 
ornithologist should prove of much interest, undertook its 
preparation sixteen years ago. His stated reasons for adding 
to the great library of books on British bird-life are the 
importance of Kent from an ornithological point of view and the 
fact that no history of its avifauna as a whole has ever before been 
produced. Two other works of a similar nature have appeared 
since Mr. Ticehurst commenced the task he has now so success- 
fully accomplished, but his book is far from being superfluous 
on that account. 

The history, status, distribution, and migratory movements of 
each species are dealt with in a concise and lucid manner, and, 
reading some of the chapters, one longs for such a history of 
the birds of Victoria or any other State of the Commonwealth. 

The area of Kent is about 1,554 square miles; there is a 
great length of coast-line, and “ nearly all parts of the country 
are enriched by extensive woodland tracts and coppices 
and by park-like lands surrounding ancient country seats.” 
“ Besides being one of the most beautiful counties in England, 
Kent is essentially an agricultural county, and is in parts highly 
cultivated.” Nearly half of the total area of 995,014 acres 
consists of permanent pasture. Yet Kent is one of the finest 
parts of England for the bird observer. Of the 107 species of 
birds which breed regularly in the county, 37 are purely 
summer visitors, and 70 may be found throughout the year. 

The book is excellently printed and bound, but the half-tone 
illustrations, of which there are twenty-four, leave something to 
be desired. The frontispiece, for instance, representing a pair of 
Kentish Plover at their nest, is evidently from a beautiful and 
interesting photograph, to which the reproduction has not done 
full justice. 


ath Emu 
66 Reviews. ist’ July 


[© A Handbook of the Birds of Tasmania and its Dependencies,” by Frank 
Mervyn Littler, F.E.S. (Member of the Australasian Ornithologists’ Union), 
Launceston, Tasmania. Published by the author. 1910. ] 


TuIs handbook is well timed, and will be welcomed by all 
nature students, especially Tasmanians and ornithologists. 

It is royal 8vo size, contains 235 pages, and is a marvel for 
neatness, while its arrangement is excellent. The name of each 
species is given in the vernacular, with the scientific name and 
authorityin brackets; then follow, succinctly written, a description 
of the “ Male,” “ Female,” “ Young,” “ Nest,” “ Eggs,” “ Breeding 
Season,” “Geographical Distribution,’ and last, but not least 
from a popular point of view, “ Observations.” Thus 214 birds, 
including accidental and casual visitors, have been dealt with, in a 
manner calculated to make the book a useful and scientific 
reference, and members of the A.O.U. will congratulate their 
fellow-member accordingly. 

While the author frequently quotes predecessors and con- 
temporaries, which are freely acknowledged, his own store of 
knowledge of Tasmanian birds makes the work more valuable, 
and very little remains for the reviewer to criticise adversely. 
The author drops the Boobook Owl of the mainland out of the 
Tasmanian list, recording only the little Spotted Owl (Wznoxr 
maculata). Under the head of the Raven (Corone australis) Mr. 
Littler states :—“ After an investigation extending over some 
years, and examination of specimens” of Crows so called “ from 
nearly every district in Tasmania, I am forced to the conclusion 
that the Crow (Corvus coronotdes) is non-existent in this island.” 
Another bird off the Tasmanian list! Although the White- 
shouldered Caterpillar-catcher (La/age tricolor) has found its way 
on to the Tasmanian list, Mr. Littler has been unable to discover 
how and when it was recorded. A good place is not given toa 
second yellow-breasted Thickhead (Pachycephala gutturalis), 
notwithstanding two records by field observers. Mr. Littler is- 
of opinion that they may have been P. glaucura only. It would 
be interesting were a Tree-creeper (C/macteris) found in 
Tasmania. “ Although no specimens have been secured, I have 
seen it in the big forests in the north-east of the island,” writes 
Mr. Littler. Whether it be deucophea or scandens, better to 
obtain a specimen for complete identification. The scepticism 
of a person trained in his own subject is not to be condemned. 
Notwithstanding two good field observers reported records of 
the Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon arzel) for Tasmania, Mr. Littler 
affirms :—“I have no personal knowledge of this species in 
Tasmania, nor have Messrs. Arthur Butler, H. C. Thompson, 
H. Stuart Dove, or several other observers from whom I inquired.” 
The list of foster-parents given for the various Cuckoos is 
exceedingly interesting, and includes one or two new records. 
Mr. Littler is again sceptical about the New Zealand Bronze- 


ee Reviews. 67 


Cuckoo (Chalcococcyx luctdus) being accidental. If it can get 
down to Macquarie Island it can surely reach Tasmania. Mr. 
Littler recognizes two species of Brown or Swamp Quail for the 
island—namely, Syva@cus australis and S. diemenensis. As only 
one Albatross, the White-capped (Thalassogeron cautus) breeds 
in Australia, and that in Tasmanian waters (Albatross Island), 
it is remarkable that Mr. Littler has dismissed this fine species 
with such sparse remarks. Regarding the Musk-Duck (Bzzzura 
lobata), Mr. Littler confirms the clutch of eggs as “two or 
three,” a statement that will be a slight shock to some oologists, 
who affirm that this curious Duck lays double these numbers. 

The omissions of the “ Handbook” are indeed few, if any. 
The White-naped Honey-eater (JZelithreptus lunulatus) was 
secured on the Kent Group by the expedition of the Field 
Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 1890, also a variety of Sevicornis 
Jrontalis, Mention also might have been made of the recently 
extinct Emus of Tasmania and King Island. 

The handbook is adorned with 50 beautiful half-tone photo. 
blocks of birds, nests, &c., many of which have, as acknowledged, 
been previously reproduced in The Emu. At the end of the 
volume, in the form of an appendix, is an “Extract from the 
Tasmanian Game Protection Act 1907.” Even ornithologists 
should know enough of the law to keep them out of trouble. 

In conclusion, as the little work has been classically treated 
by the author, so have the printers, Messrs. Walker, May and 
Co. Melbourne, ably done their share. The setting and 
arrangement of the type and printing are artistic, while typo- 
graphical errors are practically 7z/. The book is worth double 
its published price, 4s. 


(‘‘ The Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand.” ] 


THE library of the A.O.U. has been enriched by two hand- 
somely got up volumes, quarto size, which have been presented 
by the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, on “The Sub- 
antarctic Islands of New Zealand.” 

The volumes, which are edited by Dr. Chas. Chilton, are 
mainly the reports on the geo-physics, geology, zoology, and 
botany of the islands lying to the south of New Zealand, based 
chiefly on the observations and collections made during an 
expedition in the Government steamer Azwemoa (Capt. J. 
Bollons), in November, 1907. : 

The scientific members of the expedition numbered 26, and 
were divided—one party landing on Auckland Islands and the 
other party on Campbell Island ; arrangements as to camp-life— 
tents, cook, &c—being somewhat similar to those carried on 
during the Union’s own insular working camp-out expeditions. 
The Ainemoa reached Auckland Islands on the 16th November, 


Emu 


68 Reviews. ist July 


coincidentally well timed, because castaway sailors—survivors 
of the wreck of the Dunxdonald—were found there. 

The scientific articles are preceded by the “ Narrative of the 
Expedition,” “ The Discovery of the Islands,” and “ The History 
of their Scientific Investigation,” all of which are most interest- 
ing reading even from a popular point of view, not to mention 
their historical importance. 

It being beyond the limits of space and the range of the 
reviewers to notice all the valuable and technical articles which 
comprise the two volumes, they will, however, venture some 
remarks on that portion of Mr. E. R. Waite’s article (xxv.) 
dealing with “ Aves.” According to Mr. Waite’s statement, the 
ornithological work was inadequately performed for such an 
important expedition, for the following principal causes :— 
(1) Most of the subjects to be studied had been allotted to 
different specialists of the expedition, whilst arrangements in 
respect of ornithology had fallen through ; (2) it was not until 
after the return to New Zealand that Mr. Waite was deputed to 
write up the birds ; and (3) it was a rule of the expedition that 
“neither birds nor their eggs were to be taken.” Bird protec- 
tion done to the death (of scientific knowledge)! However, 
Mr. Waite has compiled a very able and instructive chapter, 
consisting of an enumeration of species recorded from these 
southern islands, together with his own notes, some of these 
notes being made in February, 1907, when he accompanied His 
Excellency the Governor on his tour, which touched the Snares, 
Aucklands, Campbell, Antipodes, and Chathams. The follow- 
ing Australian species may be mentioned :— 

Zosterops cerulescens (White-eye).—This self-introduced bird 
from Australia to New Zealand now extends its range to 
Auckland, Campbell, and Chatham Islands. 

Catharacta (Megalestris) antarctica (Skua).—This well-known 
marine marauder was found on many of the islands, and through 
the courtesy of the “Institute” (per favour of Dr. C. Chilton), 
the illustration is reproduced of “ Skua Gulls at a carcass of a 
seal” (Plate VII.) 

(strelata lessont (White-headed Petrel).—Mr. Waite found 
this rare Petrel breeding on Disappointment Island, Auckland 
group. 

Majaqueus equinoctial’s (White-chinned Petrel).—This other 
Petrel of Kerguelen fame also appears to nest on Disappointment 
Island, because a decayed specimen was taken from a burrow, 
while several dead birds were observed lying about. 

Daption capensts (Cape Petrel)—Voyagers assert that the 
beautiful “Cape Pigeon” is becoming scarce on the route 
between the Cape and Australia. This bird is said to breed on 
the Western Snares, but Mr. Waite had no opportunity of 
verifying the statement. It was only recently (1904) that the 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE VII, 


Z'N ‘AYNAYSLNVO 4O SLNLILSNI TWoOIHdOSOTIHd AG GANVYO7 ATGNIX yO078 


‘TRIS FO ssBoreD 7e (VI2,0ADIUD siAssaqMsa py) SeNnyS 


A 
P 
Os 
i 
tA 
“ 
y 


~~ 


“3 


ok. | Reviews. 69 


1910 


Scottish expedition discovered the eggs of the Cape Petrel on 
the South Orkneys. 

Prion banksiz (Banks Dove-Petrel).—Mr. Waite writes :—“ On 
the evening of the day on which we pitched our camp on the 
Auckland Islands, we noticed some pale-coloured birds flying 
close to us in the moonlight, but as silently as Owls. Next 
morning we discovered that the whole of the peat along the 
coast-line was riddled with holes, whence proceeded a crooning 
kind of sound.” 

Diomedia exulans (Wandering Albatross). 

D. regia (Royal Albatross). 

D. melanophrys (Black-browed Albatross).—Most descriptive 
accounts are given of these splendid creatures, together with fine 
plates of brooding birds on their nests. 

Phebetria fuliginosa * (Sooty Albatross).—This fine species 
was noticed nesting on the ledges of cliffs on the Aucklands. 
It is also known to breed on the Antipodes and Campbell 
Islands, where Mr. Waite obtained eggs in February. Macquarie 
Island should also be added to the breeding localities in sub- 
antarctic islands. + 

Aptenodytes patagonica (King Penguin)—This large and 
handsome Penguin is of peculiar interest to Australians, as a 
straggler, apparently from Macquarie Island, where immense 
rookeries exist, has been found off the Tasmanian Coast.{ A 
splendid photo. half-tone illustration is given of a remarkable 
Penguin rookery (Catarrhactes pachyrhynchus)—a New Zealand 
species—on the Snares. 

It is astonishing how far south some of the introduced 
European birds were found—Thrushes and Blackbirds on the 
Snares ; nests and eggs of the latter observed on the Aucklands ; 
while House-Sparrows and Starlings are reported as having 
been seen on Campbell Island. 

A useful coloured map of the Antarctic and Subantarctic 
Regions, cleverly drawn by Mr. E. N. D’Oyly, accompanies the 
work. But why did that cartographer insert “ Royal Company’s 
Islands,” seeing they have been officially expunged from the 
charts by the authorities of the Navy,§ an action confirmed by 
Sir E. Shackleton, when he caused the Descovery to explore 
the locality on her last homeward voyage ? 

The whole work—much of it extremely laborious—reflects 
the greatest credit on all concerned, from an_ enlightened 
Government, which authorized the expenditure, to the Govern- 
ment Printer who published it. Thus a scientific national 


* Should this species not be P. cornicozdes, Hutton ?—Eps. 

+ Vide ‘* Nests and Eggs” (Campbell), p. 938.— Eps. 

t RKobert Hall, #2, vol. ix., p. 250. 

§ This was done at the instance of the Council of the A.O.U.—wvde Emu, iv., 


p. 32 (1904) —EDbs. 


70 Reviews. exer 
monument has been left—a reference for all time. No doubt 
the Government of the day will extend the same courtesy to the 
Australasian Ornithologists’ Union, as it hopes to organize an 
expedition (composed of Australian and New Zealand members) 
to explore more ornithologically the romantic southern islands 
of New Zealand, of the avifauna of which, as Mr. Waite has 
informed us, our knowledge is yet “very inadequate.” 


Correspondence. 
BIRDS OF THE EAST MURCHISON, W.A. 
To the Editors of “The Emu.” 


Srrs,—In the April issue of Zhe Emu, Mr, Whitlock, in his 
East Murchison notes, mentions my name in a way which calls 
for some comment on my part. 

With regard to Mr. North’s “ record,’* to some particulars in 
which Mr. Whitlock takes exception, this certainly needs a little 
explanation from me. As to the dates, these, probably owing in 
the first place to carelessness on my part, have got somewhat 
mixed. On 13th June, 1908, I took nest and eggs of Czmclosoma 
marginatum at Wiluna; the nests taken on 30th August and 
Ist September of same year were those of C. castanonotum, and 
were taken about 80 miles east of Kalgoorlie, while on the 
Transcontinental Railway survey, as Mr. Whitlock points out ; 
how I came to mix these up with C. marginatum 1 don't 
know. The “record” also mentions another set of C. margzna- 
tum taken by me on 19oth August, 1906. This is correct, but 
the locality given is wrong. “ Lake Way, W.A.,” should read 
“Me Ida, W.A.” 

The delay in the publication of this “ record” was practically 
all my fault, as Mr. North had repeatedly written to me for the 
particulars about the skin and also for the eggs for description. 
What I take exception to in Mr. Whitlock’s article is his direct 
assumption that I am incapable of taking off a skin well enough 
for descriptive purposes, and that the skin sent by me to Mr. 
North from Wiluna was too mutilated for description. I quite 
agree with Mr. Whitlock in his remarks about the tenderness of 
the skin, but I maintain that the skin [ sent was good enough 
for the purpose for which it was intended. However, Mr. 
Whitlock’s statements are, in my opinion, more excusable than 
those of the editors of Zhe Emu, contained in a footnote to the 
article under discussion ; in this footnote the editors not only 
directly support the assumption that my skin was too mutilated 
for description, but also, without justification, directly accuse 
Mr. North of injustice to another collector. 


* « Records of the Australian Museum,” vol. vii. (1909), pp. 322-324.—EDs. 


Moles Xe Correspondence. 730 


1910 


In his notes on Amytornis gigantura, Mr. Whitlock refers to 
my classing this species with 4. macrurus, and says—“ There is 
no reason for this.” Mr. Whitlock has written me that “0” is 
a misprint for “ore.” Asthis puts a very different complexion 
on things, there is no need for comment. 

As to the soundness of A. gzgantura as a species there seems 
to be some doubt; several specimens from widely different 
localities have been obtained by myself and forwarded to Mr. 
North, with the verdict “ acrurus.’ The matter, however, is 
sub judice, and I hope during the coming season to assist in the 
final settlement of this point.—I am, &c., 


CHAS: G: GIBSON, 
Geological Survey, Kalgoorlie, W.A., 29/5/10. 


[The editors have pleasure in publishing Mr. Gibson’s letter. 
They have no desire to do injustice to anyone, but seek to 
record the scientific facts and history only of Australian birds, 
and in this connection any further notes on Amzytornis 
gigantura or any other species by such a good field observer as 
Mr. Gibson will always be welcome.—EDs. | 


To the Edttors of “The Emu.” 


Strs,—In the account of my recent collecting trip to the East 
Murchison, I find a misprint has crept in. Referring to 
Amytornis gigantura, on p. 203—ninth line from the bottom 
(excluding footnote)—should read “ There is sore reason for 
this.” This error is unlucky, as I wished to convey the 
impression that my mind was an open one on the question of 
the identity or otherwise of A. gzgantura and A. macrurus. 
Also, after re-reading my notes on Czxclosoma marginatum, in 
connection with the female skin collected by Mr. C. G. Gibson 
and forwarded to Mr. A. J. North, I fear I may have conveyed 
the impression that in my opinion Mr. Gibson had not the 
ability to make a good skin. It was simply lack of the necessary 
leisure on his part that was in my mind when I wrote. Having 
had some experience of the amount of work to be accomplished 
by the officers of our Geological Survey Department when 
examining our vast mineral belts, I know how little spare time 
there remains of the short winter’s day when the field-work is 
done. When I have a Czxclosoma to skin I approach the task 
with a mind resigned to a tedious and discouraging operation. 
Despite the most delicate handling, the feathers of the rump 
and flanks will fall out. A Czuclosoma rivals a Dove in this 
respect. But, whatever the condition of Mr. Gibson’s specimen 
may have been, I question if it afforded Mr. North sufficient 
evidence, unaccompanied as it was by a skin of the male, to 
enable him to determine its identity with absolute certainty. 


Emu 


72 Correspondence. Ragas 


Dr. Sharpe founded this species on a single male specimen, 
procured in the north-west of our State (W.A.) C. cennamomeum 
is an interior bird, and, moreover, a species likely to be met with 
around Lake Way. The female of the latter is not strikingly 
distinct from that of C. margznatum. It seems to me, therefore, 
quite a natural thing for Mr. North to take advantage of the 
opportunity presented by the presence in his hands of the two 
males and one female of C. marginatum collected by myself to 
aid him in his description and identification of the female skin 
sent by Mr. Gibson. Ido not blame him for doing so, but I 
think at the same time that an acknowledgment of the fact 
was due either to Mr. H. L. White or myself. 

I take this opportunity, too, of stating that it is rather painful 
to me to have my sexing of the type specimen of Lacustrotca 
whitet questioned by Mr. North, even if indirectly.* After 
skinning and sexing birds for upwards of 30 years, I think I 
may be trusted to distinguish the male from the female, 
especially during the height of the breeding season.—I am, &c., 


F. LAWSON WHITLOCK. 
Young’s Siding, D.R., W.A., 6/6/10. 


Bird Observers’ Club. 


THE quarterly dinner and ordinary meeting of the club were held at the 
Strand Tea Rooms, Collins-street, Melbourne, on 14th April, 1910. There 
was a good attendance. At the conclusion of the dinner, Dr. H. W. Bryant 
was voted to the chair. A report from the Chief Inspector of Vermin, Mr. 
F. E. Allan, regarding the use of poisoned baits in orchards (forwarded by the 
Secretary for Agriculture) was read. Mr. Allan contended that the statement 
that thousands of birds were destroyed annually by means of baits was 
exaggerated, if not entirely without foundation. Mr. D. Le Souéf, C.M.Z.5., 
said the shooting in orchards did more damage than poison. Mr. G. E. 
Shepherd remarked that only Parrots and other birds provided with crops 
were liable to poisoning. Mr. C. F. Cole expressed the same opinion. 
The resignation of Mr. E. J. Christian, of the Kamarooka Estate, was 
received with regret, and it was resolved that he be placed on the list of 
country members. A paper by Mr. A. G. Campbell (Pomonal), dealing 
with the Victorian Ser‘cornes, was read by Mr. A. J. Campbell. The 
author’s contention was that Sericornis frontal’s and S. osculans are really 
distinct species. Several members stated that two distinct types of nest 
were of general occurrence, one type being covered with moss externally, 
the other with bark. Mr. L. G. Chandler exhibited skins of S, /rontalzs, 
and Mr. J. A. Ross eggs of S. fronta/z’s and other species of Serzcornis. 
In the general discussion of the evening, reference was made to recent 
flocking of migratory birds, and to White-bearded Honey-eaters (J7e/zornis 
nove-hollandi@) nesting, as a result of protracted warm weather. Mr. J. 
A. Leach, M.Sc., reported that a dead specimen of Oceanit2s oceanicus had 
been picked up 9 miles from the sea-coast, at Geelong. Instances of Mutton- 
sirds (Short-tailed Petrel) and White-faced Storm-Petrels having been 


© Veet. Nats, XXVie) Ppl 30 


Vol. X. Bird Observers’ Club. We 


1910 


found several miles inland were cited by members. During the evening 
presentations were made to Mr. E. Brooke Nicholls and Mr, A. H. E. 
Mattingley on the occasions of their respective marriages. Mr. J. A. Ross 
made the presentations. In returning thanks, both Mr. Mattingley and Mr. 
Nicholls expressed great pleasure at the manifestation of esteem by fellow- 
members. 

ANNUAL MEETING. 


The annual meeting of the Club were held at the residence of Dr. H. W. 
Bryant, ‘‘ Tarella,’ Toorak, on 18th May, 1g1o. Dr. Bryant presided, and 
there was a full attendance of members. The hon. treasurer, Mr. E. Brooke 
Nicholls, presented the balance-sheet for the past 12 months. It showed 
that, despite a fairly heavy expenditure for the period, there was a satis- 
factory credit balance with which to start the new year. The balance-sheet 
was adopted, the Chairman congratulating the hon. treasurer on the 
manner in which he had handled the Club’s finances. The hon. secretary, 
Mr. Chas. Barrett, gave a verbal report. He said the Club had now been 
established five years, and its record was one of steady progress. Every 
member was a working ornithologist, and to the credit of the Club stood a 
good deal of valuable field work. He suggested, however, that some 
specially qualified members should direct their attention to the study of 
plumage phases, migration, parallelism, and other branches of ornithology 
which are much neglected in Australia. In the discussion which followed, 
Mr. D. Le Souéf, C.M.Z.S., said the study of plumage phases and the food 
of birds was of great importance. Mr. J. A. Ross said that some work was 
now being carried on in regard to plumage phases. Members of the Club 
had no time for serious scientific work. Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc., 
expressed the opinion that osteology and other subjects mentioned 
presented great difficulties to the untrained student. Something might be 
done, however, in regard to economic ornithology, which was almost 
entirely neglected in the Commonwealth. Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, 
C.M.Z.S., said that the most important thing to study was the relation of 
birds to man. The Chairman remarked that specialization in some form 
was a very desirable thing. Mr. E. Brooke Nicholls said the study of 
ornithology had made great advances in Australia of recent years. The 
energies of young students should be diverted from mere collecting, and to 
the study of migration and similar subjects. 

Mr. H. W. Wilson reported that matters in connection with the Gould 
League of Bird Lovers were proceeding satisfactorily, a large number of 
certificates having been sent out. On the motion of Mr. E. Brooke 
Nicholls, seconded by Mr. J. A. Leach, Mr. Donald Macdonald was 
unanimously elected an honorary life member of the Club, in recognition 
of the services he has rendered to the cause of popular bird study. Messrs. 
C. Wilson, O. W. Rosenhain, and J. S. Kitson, and Dr. C. S. Sutton, were 
elected as ordinary members. Mr. Chas. Barrett was re-elected hon. 
secretary, Mr. E. Brooke Nicholls hon. treasurer, and Mr. A. H. E. 
Mattingley member of committee (with the hon. secretary and hon. treasurer). 
The Chairman congratulated members on the continued success of the 
Club. The work done by members, he considered, had not only advanced 
our knowledge of the Australian avifauna, but had been of value to the 
community. Dr. H.W. Bryant read a paper entitled “A Trip to the Mouth 
of the Snowy River.” The nature of the country in the vicinity was 
described and a list of birds observed, with field notes of interest, given. 
Mr. E. B. Nicholls read some notes on the Crested Penguin (Ca¢arrhactes 
chrysocome), and Mr. C. F. Cole contributed a paper on “The External 
Structure of Birds.” Messrs. A. W. Milligan, J. A. Leach, and others took 
part in a discussion regarding the sense of smell in birds. It was the 
general opinion that birds do possess the sense in question to a certain 
degree. The meeting closed with a hearty vote of thanks to the host and 
Mrs. Bryant. 


74 South Australian Ornithological Association; as 


South Australian Ornithological Association. 


THE last meeting of the above-mentioned Association was held at Dr. 
Pulleine’s rooms, North-terrace, Dr. Pulleine presiding. The hon. secretary 
(Mr. J. W. Mellor) directed attention to a copy of the Royal Soctety of Arts 
Journal, which contained a report of an extensive lecture delivered by Mr. J. 
Buckland before the society in London recently. The pith of the subject 
was the appalling destruction of bird life throughout the world for decorative 
millinery, and the necessity of passing on the warning note to the colonies, 
lest an invasion should take place of these fell plume-hunters. It pointed 
out that the new play, “Chantecler,” which is having such a run in London 
is tending to a revival in feather head-dressing for women—in fact, to the 
wearing of entire birds—which was to be deplored. A letter from the 
Commissioner of Police was read, stating that action had been taken 
regarding the catching of Seagulls at Port Adelaide. M.C. Wells, of 
Murray Bridge, was highly commended for his zeal in enforcing the Birds 
Protection Act which was splendidly illustrated by the recent case in his 
district. Capt. White directed attention to a letter received from a resident 
of Kangaroo Island, stating that the writer was watching with much interest 
the attempt to introduce the Mallee-Fow!l on the island to save this quaint 
bird from extinction, and also stating that in his opinion the birds in question 
would, with protection, thrive well on Kangaroo Island. He was sure too 
much could not be done to protect the native birds and animals. Mr. J. H. 
Clark, a visitor, exhibited several sets of eggs of unusual colouration, taken at 
Bendigo (Vic.) and Broken Hill (N.S.W.) Some of these specimens 
completely puzzled oologists. Mr. J. W. Mellor recounted interesting 
observations made during a recent trip on the Murray River, when 32 
species of birds were identified. Mr. A. Crompton stated that he had seen 
Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) in unusual numbers feeding on 
burnt ground, evidently in search of partly roasted banksia nuts. These 
observations had been taken in the Innian Valley district, where he had 
spent his vacation. Capt. White gave interesting observations of bird life 
gathered at the Reedbeds during the month, among which were notes on 
the little Pied Cormorant, its great liking for a small species of crayfish 
which inhabited all fresh-water rivers, creeks, and dams, and did a great 
amount of damage to all canal and water embankments, as well as destroying 
the spawn of fishes, on which they mainly subsist. It was shown that by the 
destruction of these crustacea the Cormorants were doing the agriculturist 
and the fishing industry much good. Several interesting specimens were 
exhibited 


Notes and Notices. 


THE GREAT AUK.—There are a few remaining volumes of Mr. 
Symington Grieve’s excellent work on the “ History, Archzology, 
and Remains” of the recently extinct Great Auk or Garefowl 
(Alca zmpennis), to be had on application to. Mr. James Thin, 
54-56 South Bridge, Edinburgh. Price, ros. 6d. 


“TIANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF TASMANIA.’—Attention is 
directed to a review of this book, page 66. Copies may be 
had on application to the author, Mr. Frank M. Littler, F.E.S., 
Box 114, Post-Office, Launceston, Tasmania. Price 4s., with 
postage extra (postage—Commonwealth 4d., New Zealand 7d., 
elsewhere Is. 3d.) 


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THE Emu, Vo/. X. 


FROM A PHOTO. BY MAULL AND FOX, LONDON, 


Vol. ol Notes and Notices. 75 


1gt0 


ANOTHER County BrrpD Book.—An important work on the 
birds of Dumfriesshire, by Mr. Hugh S. Gladstone, will shortly 
be published by Messrs. Witherby and Co., of High Holborn, 
London. The book will give an exhaustive account of the 
present day status and past history of all the birds of the 
county, and will be illustrated by photographic plates and a 
map. It will be published by subscription, and in a strictly 
limited edition. 


THE GOULD BIRD LEAGUE.—Attention is directed to the 
inset certificate of the Gould Bird League, which was in- 
augurated by the Bird Observers’ Club, Victoria. The certificate 
speaks for itself, and can be obtained by any citizen of the 
Commonwealth of Australia or of the Dominion of New Zea- 
land, on payment of one penny, with postage added (postage, 
(44d. within or 3d. beyond Victoria). Hon. secretary’s address : 
Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc., Education Department, Melbourne. 


RoyAL THANKS.—On the death of His Majesty King 
Edward VII., and the consequent accession of His Majesty 
King George V. (who, with Queen Mary, is a patron of the 
Australasian Ornithologists’ Union), the Council of the Union 
forwarded a congratulatory message to King George on the 
occasion of his accession. The following reply has been received 
from the Private Secretary to Lord Dudley :—‘ The Governor- 
General has been commanded by His Majesty King George the 
Fifth to convey to you his sincere thanks for the loyal and 
congratulatory message which you were good enough to send 
in connection with His Majesty’s accession.” 


THE LATE Dr. R. B. SHUARPE.—The excellent and character- 
istic likeness (Plate VIII.) of this ornithological savant was re- 
ceived too late to accompany the obituary notice which appeared 
in The Emu, vol. ix.,p. 178. It is now quite opportune, if taken 
in conjunction with the following practical suggestion made by 
Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant in Zhe Bulletin of the B.O.C. (No. 
clvii.):—* It is sad to think that, after 38 years of the most faithful 
and unselfish service to the nation, Dr. Sharpe should not have 
been spared for a few years to enjoy his thoroughly well earned 
pension. As it is, his wife and children are left insufficiently 
provided for, and it is greatly to be hoped that some special 
means may be found of obtaining a pension for the family of so 
valuable a public servant.” 


BIRDS OF THE TANAMI GOLDFIELDS.—Mr. M. Symonds 
Clark, Adelaide, has kindly supplied the following informa- 
tion :— 

“T have reviewed a letter, dated 31st March, 1910, from Mr. 


76 Notes and Notices. Reg te 
Lionel C. E. Gee, warden of goldfields at Tanami, in the 


Northern Territory, who says :—‘ I came across a very interesting 
collector, a bird-catcher by business, and whose partner is now in 
England with a consignment of birds. I had a long 
conversation with him “about the birds in this remote part of the 
world. He kindly made out for me the enclosed list of the 
birds he had noticed as occurring in this district, and I send it 
to you, as I am sure your friends of the ornithological society 
will be interested in it.’ 

“T think many of the readers of 7ze Emu will be glad to see 
this list, which I send on to you for publication. On it you will 
see is a note* by Mr. Gee, who takes a great interest in birds, 
and has had opportunities of observing them in many distant 
parts of South Australia and in the Northern Territory. ‘When 
at Arltunga, in the M‘Donnell Ranges, he obtained, with great 
trouble, some living specimens of the Alexandra Parrakeet, 

which he brought to Adelaide and kept until shortly before his 


departure for Tanami.” 


Dromeus nove-hollandie 
Synecus australis 

Turnix velox 

Geopelia cuneata 
fEgialitis melanops 
Ochthrodromus veredus 
Eupodotis australis 
Malacorhynchus membranaceus 
Cirycus assimilis 

Uvoaétus audax 

Milvus affinis 

Falco lunulatus 
Hievacidea berigora 
Cerchneis cenchroides 
Cacatua leadbeateri * 
Calopsittacus nove-hollandia 
Melopsitiacus undulatus 
/Egotheles nove-hollandie 
Halcyon pyrvrhopygius 
Eurostopus argus 
Cuculus tnornatus 
Chalcococcyx (sp. ?) 
Petrochelidon ariel 
Micreca pallida 

Petreca picata 
Smicrornis flavescens 
Rhipidura tricolor 
Coracina vobusta 

Lalage tricolor 


Pomatostomus superciliosus 
Cinclorhamphus cruralis 
Ephthianura tricolor 
Acanthiza (sp. ?) 
Malurus cruentatus 

M. cyanotus 

M. assimilis 

Amytornis striatus (?) 
Artamus personatus 

A. minor 

A. cinereus 
Collyriocichla brunnea 
Grallina picata 
Cracticus picatus 
Pachycephala falcata 

A phelocephala nigricincta 
Sphenostoma cristatum 
Neositta leucoptera 
Diceum hirundinaceum 
Pardalotus rubricatus 
Melithveptus letior 
Myzomela nigra 

Ptilotis keavtlandi 
Mivafra secunda 
Emblema picta 
Teniopygia castanotis 
Corvus coronoides 
Oreoica cristata 
Certhionyx leucomelas 


OBITUARY.—At the Adelaide session of the A.O.U., Mr 
George R. Marriner, F.R.M.S., Curator Public Museum, Wan- 


* The salmon colour pervades this bird all over very strongly, and I think it is a 
different variety to that seen in the south.—L. C. FE. G. 


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Vol. X. . 
Bite Notes and Notices. 77 


ganui, N.Z., was elected a member of the Council to represent 
New Zealand. Unfortunately, Mr. Marriner has since: died. 
He was apparently a strong and healthy young man, with every 
prospect of a long and useful career. He was confined to his 
bed for a month, and during that period had three operations 
for appendicitis and other troubles, and ultimately succumbed 
on 25th February to septic poisoning. The loss of one so 
young and strong has been a great sorrow to his relations, to 
whom the Council, on behalf of the members of the A.O.U., 
desires to offer its sincere condolence. A recent work of Mr. 
Marriner, “The Kea: a New Zealand Problem,” was favourably 
noticed in Zhe Emu (vide vol. viii., pp. 229-231). 


FROM THE MINUTES OF THE B.O.C., 15/12/09 :— 

Mr. G. M. MATHEWS remarked that the two following 
names should be added to his work “ Handlist to the Birds of 
Australasia,” 1908 :— 

On, p. 11 iadd:: 

LOPHOPHAPS LEUCOGASTER, Gould. 

On comparing the white-breasted Lophophaps from Central 
Australia with examples from other parts of Australia, it will 
be found that the former have a much larger bill and thicker 
tarsi. 


On p. 76 add : 


ACANTHIZA AUSTRALIS, North. 

Mr. North, in his book “ Nest and Eggs of the Birds found 
breeding in Australia and Tasmania,’ pointed out the 
differences between this bird and A. reguloides, Vig. & Horsf., 
from New South Wales. Skins in Mr. Mathews’ collection, 
proved that the characters pointed out by Mr. North were 
reliable. 

Mr. MATHEWS added that on p. 5 the following alteration 
should be made :—Dyromeus peroni, Roths., must stand as D. 
parvulus, Gould [| Penny Cyclop., xxill, p. 145 (1842) ]. 

Mr. MATHEWS also described and exhibited an example of 
a new sub-species of Grass-Wren, which he proposed to call 


AMYTORNIS WHITE, sub-sp. n. 

Differs from <A. strzatus, Gould, in being larger in all its 
measurements, the bill being especially large. It is also redder 
on the back and underparts. 

Hab.—Coongan R., North-western Australia. This form is 
named in honour of Mr. H. L. White—A#wlletin B.O.C,, 
No. clvi. 


FROM THE MINUTES OF THE B.O.C., 16/3/10 :— 
Dr. E. HARTERT exhibited examples of a new form of 
Acanthiza, and made the following remarks :— 


Emu 
ist July 


78 Notes and. Notices. 

“When arranging the specimens of Acanthzza in the Tring 
Museum I was struck by the different colouration in a series 
which had been named Acanthiza nana, and it soon became 
evident that two different sub-species were represented. One 
form is characterized by having the upper surface olive-green 
and the under side bright yellow. This bird inhabits New Souta 
Wales, and has been described by Vigors and Horsfield as 
Acanthiza nana. 1 have examined skins from Sydney and 
Parramatta. 

“Tn the other form the upper parts are less green, rather less 
bright, and of a more brownish tint, and the under surface is 
paler and of a more buffy yellow, contrasting with the pale 
rufous-buff throat. This form inhabits Victoria, and I have 
examined skins from Box Hill, Castlemaine, Mulgrave, and 
Springvale in the Tring Museum, and from Saddleworth in 
Mr. Mathews’ collection. I propose to call this new form 


ACANTHIZA NANA MATHEWSI, sub-sp. n., 


in honour of Mr. G. M. Mathews, the author of the most recent 
list of Australian birds. 

“Type in the Tring Museum. <6. No. 76A. Springvale, 
23/10/97, A. G. Campbell coll. 

“Tt may be added that the specimens of Acanthzza in the 
British Museum said to have been collected in Queensland (¢/. 
Cat. Birds B. M., vii., p. 293) were certainly not procured in that 
locality. They were purchased from Cockerell, and the par- 
ticulars on his specimens are always untrustworthy.” —Awdlecen 


BOC, No. clix: 


Important Announcement. 


THE next annual session of the Australasian Ornithologists 
Union will be held at Brisbane during the first week in October. 
Thereafter the usual working expedition (for about 10 days) 
will be made to one or two of the islands of the Great Barrier 
Reef, with Gladstone asa base. The Government of Queens- 
land, through the Under-Secretary, have been good enough to 
intimate that a suitable steamer will be placed at the disposal 
of the expedition. Applications from members intending to 
join the expedition must reach the hon. secretary A.O.U,, 
Mr. H. W. Wilson, 105 Drummond-street, Carlton, Victoria, 


not later than 31st August. 


IN MEMORIAM. 


Ring Gdtward the Seventh. 


Born 9TH Nov., 1841. DreEp 6TH May, 1910. 


ITH KING EDWARD VII. has ended a memorable 


reign. Qur ‘‘ Peacemaker’”’ had the welfare of all 


at heart. We, in the Australian Commonwealth, have 


regrets as deep as any from ‘‘ Dominions beyond the 
Seas,’ or from the heart of the Empire itself, that he 


has passed away. 


That his collections as Sportsman and Naturalist have 


enriched the Empire’s National Museum is a great gain 


to students; but that among his last official acts was a 


reception of Queensland and New Zealand representatives 


makes his memory still more dear to dwellers by the 


Southern Seas. 


To the “‘ Queen Mother’? our deep sympathy is 
due. As “leading lady of the Empire’’ she discouraged 


the cruelty involved in the use of plumes, thus directly 


aiding the bird-Iover’s cause. With her son as Patron 


of the Australasian Ornithologists’ Union may we not 


expect equal help, and (through our sorrow) say 


“God Save the King! ”’ 


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OFFICE- a. RER . 
President : Mr. A. J. a Con. Mem. B.O.U. 


(Mr. J. W. MELLOR. 
*\Mr. ROBERT HALL, C.M.Z.S. 


Hon. Secretary: Mr. H. Ww. WILSON. 
. (/ ° goleete Gardens, Melbourne. Private Kaaree= 105 Drummond Street, 
Carlton, Victoria.) ts : 


Vice-Presidents : 


a, 
Hon. Treasurer: Mr. J. A. ROSS. je og 
ee (Address—Crown Solicitor’s Office, Lonsdale St., Mepouren a. 
Hon. Librarian: Mr. A. H. E. MATTINGLEY, C.M.Z.S. 
_ Press Correspondent: Mr. D. LE SOUEF, C.M.Z.S. 


wy Mr. A. J. CAMPBELL, Cot. Mem. B.O.U. 
Editors rncea Emu vy, CHARLES BARRETT, 


Od lembers of Council: Carr. S. A. WHITE (South Australia), Mr. be 

pens (New South Wales), SURGEON-COLONEL C. S. RYAN (Victoria), 

“W. MILWRAITH (Queensland), Mr. C. PRICE CONIGRAVE, 
F.R.G.S. (Western Australia), New Zealand (vacant), 


OBJECTS, &c.- 


HE objects of the Society are the advancement and popularization 
of the Science of Ornithology, the protection of useful and © 
amental avifauna, and the publication of a magazine called 


‘ss of the Society shall be conducted by a Council, con- 
. *.two Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, — 
4d six members; each office-bearer and member 
at the end of each financial year, but shal 


The Annuai aoc in one or other of the princip 
s of the differes. . %9 be decided at the previous 
ual subscription ot 
n shillings, due on the first o1 . usual exchange 
be added to Foreign, Interstate ana fts, &c.) 


jon. Secretary 
- the Council 


Ad 9 We yee Wiad it Raw a) Deda 


ey 
ac Neh te 
” ri i 


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ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE TOOTH-BILLED BOWER-BIRD (SCENO- 
PAETES DENTIROSTRIS) OF NORTH QUEENSLAND. Sy mer. ie, 
Wm. Jackson, A.O.U., Chatswood, N.S.W. - - - a 


THE REGION OF THE Banos RANGE. AN OOLOGIST’S Houpay. 
By (Dr.) W. Macgillivray, Broken Hill, N.S.W. Part I. - 
ON THE BIRDS OF NORTH-WEST AUSTRALIA. By Grego 
Matthews, F.L.S. M.B.0.U. Part IIl.- — - «io 
BIRDS SEEN IN AND AROUND BROOME, NORTH- WESTERN AUSTRALIA 
_ (ADDITIONAL LIST). aM Alan F. sie alist Vp) ait sis a 
M.B.O.U. - - - 

NOTES ON PARDALOTES. By L. G. Chandler, Malvern, Wie. ita 


BIRD-LIFE ON SANDY CREEK, RIVERINA, ss ke xy Charles 
Gubanyt. Part l.- - - - - : 3 b 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS SEEN AROUND INGLENOOK, MERRIMAN’S 
CREEK, SOUTH GIPPSLAND. By Arthur P. Ingle, A:O.U. - | 


THE DuskY ROBIN (PETRECA VITTATA). By H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S. 


DESCRIPTION OF Two NEW NESTS AND EGGS FROM NORTH-WEST 
AUSTRALIA. By HA. L. White, Scone, N.S.W. - 5. aes 
STRAY FEATHERS.—A Long Way from his Beat, 134; Cuckoo Notes, 1343; Wood- 
Swallow and Cuckoo, 134; Swamp Hawks (Circus Gouldt), 135; Movement of 
Wood-Swallows, 135; Wild Parrot Pets, 135; Prolific Podicipes, 136 5 Bird Notes | 
from Cunninghame, 136; The Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor), 137; Cleveland 


(Tas.) Notes, 137; The Southern Limit of Rostratula australis, Gld,, 138 ; Feeney Ie a 
Notes on the Coot, 138. f 


FROM MAGAZINES, &C.—Avicultural Society’s Awards, 140; Incubation and Fledg- 
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141; Arbor and Bird Day in South Australia, 141; Notes on Birds-of-Paradise r4t. 


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VoL. X.] IstT OCTOBER, Ig10. [PART 2. 


Additional Notes on the Tooth-billed Bower-Bird 
(Scenopeeetes dentirostris)* of North Queensland. 
By SIDNEY Wm. JAcKkson, A.O.U., CHATSwoop, N.S.W. 


TuRNING to the living habits of the Tooth-bill, that of feeding 
naturally presents itself for first consideration. Now, the diet 
of the Tooth-bill is both mixed and rich, and he levies on the 
varied resources of his dense scrub haunts with dainty dis- 
crimination. Molluscs, insects, scrub fruits and berries furnish 
his sylvan fare, as evidenced by the débris in his feeding grounds, 
and (to the careful observer) by the component parts of his excreta 
or the examination of his digestive organs. Probably we may 
regard his most nutritious and favourite food as being the one 
most common to the lush moisture of the northern scrubs— 
namely, scrub molluscs or snails. 

There are not many people who know how great is the 
variety of our scrub snails. The Tooth-bill knows, and fares 
generously. Within and around the borders of many of 
his leaf-strewn play-grounds JI found and collected both 
old and freshly broken remnants of the following land- 
shells, viz. :—Helix franklandiensis, H. semicastanea, H. sheridant, 
H. vwillaris, H. bellenden-kerensis, H. macgillivrayi, and those 
of four other species, which have proved to be new to 
science. Helix macgillivrayt seems to be an especial favourite 
with the bird, as much from its richness as from the fact 
that its rather delicate shell is more easily broken. It is found 
both on the ground and in the trees, and twice at least I saw a 
Tooth-bill holding one in his beak. The shells, evidently broken 
to furnish the bird’s food, were found in great numbers in various 
parts of the scrub (vide Plate I., Emu, vol. ix., July, 1909)—a 
fact which not only proves the bird’s taste for these morsels, 
but also shows that he often goes to one place to prepare 
his food, and sometimes strictly localizes his rubbish-heap of 
broken shells. His cousin, the Spotted Cat-Bird (4luredus 
maculosus), and the Noisy Pitta (Pitta simillima), who are also 
snail-feeders, help to increase the pile. Not only is the shell of 
this mollusc soft and easily broken, but, being also of small 


* See special issue of Zhe Hmu, June, 1909. 


- 


82 Jackson, Notes on Tooth-billed Bower-Bird of N.Q. (fea 3 
size, it is easier for the bird to carry; hence its prevalence ~ 
among the ‘‘middens’’ of this scrub aristocrat. Sometimes 
there is a stone on which the Tooth-bill cracks his shells (vide Emu, 
June, 1909, Plate XXIII.), but not infrequently he makes the 
limb of the tree or stick on which he perches serve his purpose. 
The habits of H. macgillivrayi_make it a fairly easy victim. It isa 
tree-climber, and sometimes may be found in the moist heart of the 
fern growths, such as the big Asplentwm nidus, in the trees. This 
fact was amply proved by Mr. Frizelle and myself when breaking 
our way through the dense foliage in search of the Tooth- 
bills’ nests. During dull or wet weather, therefore, the bird can 
make an easy capture of his favourite prey, as they then move 
about—though as a rule these molluscs do most of their travelling 
by night. On the other hand, I have recorded instances of finding 
them on the move during the day. In company with Mr. E. J. 
Banfield, in the beautiful scrub fringing Mount Cootahl, on Dunk 
Island, Rockingham Bay, I found one at a height of 20 feet from 
the ground on a large parasitical scrub fig-tree (Ficus, sp.) ; and 
on several occasions, in the very rich scrub country then being 
cleared and burnt off for settlement at Atherton, I have found 
as many as 20 dead and charred in the heart of a large half-burnt 
fern growth which had originally been growing in a tree at a height 
of 60 feet or more from the ground. It is likely that, whilst many 
other species hibernate in the ground, these molluscs choose the 
moist recesses of these fern-clumps for that purpose; anyhow, 
their habit costs them dear, for I have several times found them 
dented on both sides as if they had been dropped from the bill 
of their feathered enemies, who carefully fossick them out from 
their hiding-places. 

Scrub Fruit and Berries.—These also ‘‘ contribute to the feast ” 
for our scrub epicures, and of one, known as the scrub apple 
(Ele@odendron, sp.), they are particularly fond. But the tit-bit 
of their vegetarian diet is a berry on which, without exception, 
the birds seemed to feed consistently. These belong to a tree 
known as Nepheliwm, and are carried in a shamrock-shaped or 
trilobed pod containing three seeds, one to each of the divisions. 
The seeds are  coffee-coloured when dry, but black when 
freshly found and damp from the pod, and they are covered with — 
a red skin (vide Emu, June, 1909, p. 258). This skin is, at first 
bursting of the ripened pod, of a yellow colour, which changes to 
red a little later, and it is when they reach that stage that the 
Tooth-bill considers them ripe enough for his meal. The seeds 
are oval in shape, with an average measurement of 0.37 X 0.25 
inch. 

In the special number of The Emu published in June, 1909, 
I mentioned the ‘‘ singing-stick ’’ (very often a vine or branch), 
close to each play-ground, upon which the Tooth-bill perched 
himself and delivered his choice selections of mimicry of the 
sounds and bird-notes of the scrub. On the ground under 
these sticks I mostly found these seeds in great numbers, — 


ee: 


Vol: eT] Jackson, Notes on Tooth-billed Bower-Bird of N.Q. 83 


1910 


but hardly ever within the play-ground itself, for the: bird 
has a great idea of tidiness, and usually keeps his little 
parlour scrupulously clear of litter. I think the conclusion is 
fair that these seeds are cast or vomited when the red skin has 
been digested, rather than passed in the excreta, as they were very 
clean and unmixed with stain or débris, though one must remember 
that if they were passed the heavy rains might have washed them 
clean; still, in this case I favour the theory of the vomit or 
cast common to many birds with the hard portions of their food, 
rather than the passing as excrement. Parallels between the 
habits of bird and beast are of great interest and value when 
engaged in their study, and a very instructive parallel in this 
connection is available in the case of the White Nutmeg-Pigeon 
(Myristicivora spilorrhoa) of the North Queensland coast, which 
feeds on the wild nutmegs (Myristica insipida), and then ejects 
them after the red mace-flavoured outer skin has been digested 
(vide Emu, June, 1909, p. 244). In the crops of the two Tooth- 
bills shot for dissection a number of these black seeds, together 
with the remains of beetles, &c., were found. In one particular 
locality—a scrub-covered hill across the Barron River, and not 
far from our camp—in the numerous play-grounds located in the 
earlier part of November, 1908, I found the black seeds littering 
the ground under the ‘“singing-sticks”’ in great numbers, and in 
company with Mr. Frizelle I examined over twenty of the actual 
play-grounds in that locality, with the result that we found them, 
as in other cases, remarkably clear of the seeds, which were only 
to be found under the “ singing-sticks.” 

Insect Food.—As seen by his predilection for snails, the Tooth- 
bill is not a vegetarian, and he adds variety to his menu by some- 
thing more than an occasional entrée of beetles. In contributing 
the facts which go to make up the life-story of any bird or beast, 
the investigator has necessarily to be minutely careful if he wishes 
to be faithful to his task, and its food is a factor which has no 
small influence in localization, anatomical structure, and general 
characteristics. Hence, to close observation of the actual feeding 
habits and haunts of the Tooth-bill I added careful investigation 
of the crop and excreta. The first two specimens of excreta 
obtained from the first young bird I had at my camp I preserved 
carefully for examination as valuable indications in this direction. 
It was not until lately that I had the necessary leisure for analytical 
examination, but therefrom I have made it clear that many 
forms of Coleoptera, some of which must have run to an inch and 
a half in length, helped to make up the dainty fare of the bird ; 
of this fact the size of the remaining portions of the thoraces of the 
beetles give the best indication. It must in this connection be 
remembered that, as the bird was a nestling, its food had been 
given to it in broken and macerated form; still, in addition to 
the very small seeds of the large parasitical fig-trees (Ficus, sp., 
vide special Emu, June, 1909, Plate XXXVI.), there were present 
portions of elytra, thoraces, antenne, legs, wings, &c., of various 


84 Jackson, Notes on Tooth-billed Bower-Bird of N.Q. ee 


1st Oct. 


insects, amongst which the larger remains of the following ten 
families of Coleoptera were distinguishable on careful analysis of 
the excreta : — Chrysomelide (thorax, elytron, legs); Elateride 
(one large thorax, legs); Carabide (thorax, legs, wings) ; Staphy- 
linide (portion of body); Cleride (three thoraces and elytra) ; 
Cerambycide (part of body, elytra); Scarabeide (portion of 
elytron, legs); Curculionide (thorax, elytra, legs); Forficulide 
(tail end of body); Malacodermide (portion of elytron). In 
addition to these, there were also broken antennz and numerous 
small portions impossible to identify. The Tooth-bill, therefore, 
as an insect, snail, seed, and fruit eater, has a wide and liberal 
taste. 

Leaves used in Play-ground Decorations ——Turning from the 
subject of food to the strikingly marked decorative habit of the 
bird, I wish to place on record some further details as to the singular 
consistency which he displays, not only in the choice of the leaves 
with which he decorates his play-ground, but in his method of 
using them. The play-grounds on the scrub-covered hill across the 
Barron River from our camp were especially typical. They were 
usually very neatly laid out under arching masses of the exasper- 
ating lawyer-palm vines (Calamus moti and C. australis), and con- 
sequently not too easy to examine. Just one word about these 
vines. Most people know the lawyer-vine, but a lawyer-palm 
vine may be an unfamiliar name. Nevertheless, the term is a 
correct one—the vine is both vine and palm, and is classified as 
belonging to the family Palme. Being a Calamus, it has very 
long, sharply-hooked tendrils, and also carries long, palm-like 
leaves (especially Calamus moti), which are studded on the under 
side with formidable spines or thorns. Possibly the Tooth-bill’s 
frequent choice of this thorny retreat follows an instinct for 
secluded security. The leaves chiefly used by these birds here 
were those of Cryptocarya mackinnoniana, and another known 
as Litsea dealbata, already referred to in my previous article 
(vide Emu, June, 1909, pp. 236, 237, 250, 258, 260, 266, and 282). 
Since writing the first general article on the subject of the Tooth- 
bill, I have been able to devote attention to the large collec- 
tion of leaves gathered by myself from the numerous play- 
grounds examined. An old play-ground, or one that had been 
in use for some weeks, was easily distinguished by the great 
number of curled and dried leaves outside its area, which the bird 
had replaced by fresh ones of the same species in his zeal for perfect 
decoration. This was his daily practice, and, of course, the absence 
of the rejected “‘ furnishing’ meant that the tenancy of the play- 
ground had only just begun. Outside these new play-grounds I 
very seldom found the broken remains of snail-shells. During my 
stay in this district I found and examined no fewer than 193 
play-grounds kept in absolutely perfect order. If the number 
were to include all that were found, good, bad, or indifferent, it 
would be somewhere nearer 250. 

I think that some information is needed as to the particular 


7 


Vol. aA Jackson, Notes on Tooth-billed Bower-Bird of N.Q. 85 


Igo 


formation of the bill which gives to the Tooth-billed Bower-Bird 
its right to that name. The accompanying life-size photograph 
of the head of one of these birds gives a clear illustration 
of the three saw-like indentations which are present on each 
side in the bird’s lower mandible, together with the corres- 
ponding serrations which match them in the upper one. It 


must be understood that the serrations in the lower mandible 
are actually in that mandible itself, but in the case of the upper 
one they are really recessed on the sides of the hard palate or roof 
of the bill. The points of the lower serrations fit into the recesses 
of the upper, thus giving the bird a gripping hold and cutting 
edges. Were it not for this fact, a bird so comparatively small 
would not be able to sever the tough and thick stems of the larger 
leaves which he chooses for his bower ornamentation. In the 
plate the serrations of the upper mandible are not shown, because 
in actual fact they are not visible in profile; it is only when a 
specimen is handled that one is able to turn the head into such 
a position that they become visible. 


86 Jackson, Notes on Tooth-billed Bower-Bird of N.Q. Hee 


1st Oct. 


In dealing with the specimens of the leaves collected I have to 
acknowledge the kind help accorded to me by Mr. J. H. Maiden, 
F.L.S., Government Botanist of New South Wales, to whose help 
in classification and naming I am deeply indebted. The collection 
made has more than mere specimen value—it gives some idea 
of the big task which the industrious apprentice in home decoration 
undertook every day in the period immediately prior to nesting. 
Some of the larger and more thickly-stemmed leaves show how 
tough a job the bird had (in spite of its serrated bill) to sever the 
leaf. This is especially noticeable in the case of some of the large 
leaves of the tree Cryptocarya mackinnomana (No. 1 in plate), 
the stems of which are exceptionally thick and tough: the 
stem of one of my specimens measures 0.20 inch in diameter at the 
point of severance. From the collection made I have selected 
a set comprising the 14 species I found used, which will be 
seen in the two accompanying photographs, one of which shows 
the natural. under sides of the leaves, and the other the 
upper sides of three and the under sides of six leaves. It will 
be noticed that the leaves are mostly braced on the under side 
with strong ribs. There is, however, one exception to this rule 
of selection by the bird of strongly-ribbed leaves. This occurred 
in localities where the wild ginger plant (Elettaria scottiana, No. 12) 
was a feature of the scrub growth. The only rib in these long, 
narrow leaves was the central one, extending the whole length, 
and consequently where these leaves were used to carpet the play- 
grounds they were often found considerably curled. Of course, 
in the fierce northern heat all leaves, of whatever sort, would 
eventually curl, but the majority of those chosen would meet the 


bird’s evident craze for tidiness for, at any rate, one day, and — 


I only come to the obvious conclusion that his invariable practice 
of choosing leaves that would not curl readily, so placing them 
upside down that the curling tendency was counteracted, and 
finally rejecting them when they did curl, was the result of an 
instinctive sense of and craving for a well-ordered ornamentation. 
In other words, I consider the bird has a marked esthetic sense, 
and adduce these facts in support of the theory (vide Emu, June, 
1909, pp. 236, 237, and Plate XXIII.) To complete the account 
of my observations on this subject I give illustrations in Plate IX. 
herewith. Thereon will be found, in sets of three, the three species 
of leaves most commonly found in the play-grounds which I 
examined. No. I is Cryptocarya mackinnomana, F. v. M.; 
No. 2 is Litsea dealbata, Nees. ; and No. 3 1s Tarrietia argyrodendron, 
Benth. The illustrations marked A, B, and C show the upper 
sides of these three species, and the other two illustrations of each set 
display their lower surfaces or under sides. The remaining II of 
the 14 species will be found illustrated in Plate X., the under 
sides only being shown. They are as follows :—No. 4, Aleurites 
triloba, Font.; 5, Phaleria neumanni; 6, Cryptocarya (sp.): 
7, Sterculiacee (sp.); 8, Castanospora alphandi, F. v. M.; 
9, Cocculus mooret, F. v. M. (two leaves); 10, Rubiacee (sp.) ; 


OO 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE |X. 


8°9/10 M12 


Three Species of Leaves most frequently used by the Tooth-billed Bower-Bird 
in Play-grounds. 


FROM A PHOTO. BY S. W. JACKSON. 


MY BTA * 


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THE EMuwU, Vol. X. 


PEATE 


Eleven other Species of Leaves used by the Tooth-billed Bower-Bird in Play- 


grounds. 


FROM A PHOTO. BY S, W. JACKSON, 


Velie | JAcKson, Notes on Tooth-billed Bower-Bird of N.Q. 87 


1910 


Ii, Ficus (sp.); 12, Elettanna scottiana, F. v. M.; 13, Croton 
imsularis, Bail.; 14, Stenocarpus sinuatus, Endl. It is to be 
noted that Nos. 4, 9, and 14 were found in use only on two or three 
occasions. 

I should like to add here that, as Mr. Maiden has pointed out 
to me, it is extremely difficult to name trees from leaves only. 
I may also mention that the choice by the bird of leaves of a certain 
structural characteristic is by no means a feature of only one 
locality. My visit to the much more elevated Evelyn scrub on 
the Herberton Range in November, 1g08, was neccessarily a 
hurried one, but I there found the play- grounds very numerous 
and the Tooth-bills using precisely the same species of leaves as 
at a lower elevation in the Tinaroo—in fact, I there collected 
specimens of the leaves of Cryptocarya mackinnoniana and 
Castanospora alphandi, which are also among those used by the 
birds in the latter locality. From the part I visited at Evelyn 
scrub to my Tinaroo camp would be, as the Crow flies, about 
25 miles, over a dense intervening scrub or tropical jungle. It 
would, therefore, appear that the natural instinct of the birds 
to choose a certain class of leaf for play-ground ornamentation 
is not a thing which in any sense is dictated by purely local con- 
ditions. My predictions, as recorded in the special Emu of June, 
1909, that the females would not visit the play-grounds during 
their close breeding season, and that only the males (and few at 
that) would do so, was borne out when I was ranging the scrub in 
mid-December of 1908. The comparative silence of the scrub 
then, after the noisy babble of mimicry and call of the previous 
six weeks, was very striking. During that former period the 
scrub-covered hill not far from the camp, and the dense glades 
surrounding it, re-echoed with the characteristic “‘ chuck’? and 
mimicry of these quaint vocalists as each sat in isolated pride 
on his or her “singing-stick.”’ Yet later, at the time above- 
named (mid-December), when Mr. Frizelle and I again explored 
the area of about five or six acres in the scrub in which, during 
November, we had found over 20 occupied play-grounds, we found 
the latter practically deserted, save by an occasional belated male. 
The birds were no longer low-perched and noisy ; they had betaken 
themselves to high tree-tops and silence, and were consequently 
hard to discover. When nesting they are especially shy, and their 
swift flight, interweaving the dense foliage, gives little chance to 
the observer of sighting them, still less of following them up, save 
where the scrub opens out a little. 

On 8th December, 1908, the silence of the Tooth-bills throughout 
the day had been unusually marked; but at sunset one of them, 
high-perched and at a distance of about 70 yards from the camp, 
started to give a most spirited selection of mimicry. Finally he 
perched himself in a scrub chestnut or bean tree (Castanospermum 
australe), where he was joined by his mate; then one of them 
swooped downwards and away into the dense scrub at the back. 
The remaining one was probably the male, and he certainly gave 


88 Jackson, Notes on Tooth-billed Bower-Bird of N.Q. Emu 


rst. Oct, 


us a full programme—Dollar-Bird (Eurystomus pactficus), Channel- 
bill (Scythrops nove-hollandi@), and several other birds, &c., were 
imitated, and but for watching the performer’s bill move to each 
note one could hardly believe that the calls were not natural instead 
of imitation. It was almost dark before he brought the per- 
formance to an end, finishing with a life-like mimicry of the piercing 
and pulsating noise made by a cicada or locust when captured by 
a bird ; finally he flitted off in the dim light to his night haunt in 
a tree actually overhanging our tent, where he frequently after- 
wards went to roost (vide special Emu, June, 1909, pp. 275 and 
277). In the mornings he had me awake at the first peep of day- 
break in rendering his early morning serenade of mimicry in the 
tree over our tent. We later discovered the nest of this bird 
at the rear of our camp (vide Emu, June, 1909, pp. 276, 277, 
and 279, and also Plates XXXIII., right side photo., and 
XXXVIII.) 

The net result of my observations in this direction, and on all 
occasions, is fairly definite proof that the Tooth-bills (with very 
few exceptions) do not, during the height of the breeding season, 
visit their play-grounds or indulge in mimic vocalization during 
the day, but that after sunset and before sunrise they do so in the 
tree-tops. Once only, on the 27th November, 1908, did I find 
the exception which proves the rule, when I noticed numbers of the 
birds gathered in the tops of the tall dead Johnstone River hard- 
woods (a scrub tree), in a partly cleared patch adjoining the scrub ; 
this was on a hill near Atherton (vide special Emu, June, 1909, 
p. 269). Probably it was a final chorus before starting to nest. 
Apart from the absence of song, the adjacent play-grounds here 
revealed that the nesting time had begun—they were silent, un- 
occupied, and, most significant of all, untidy; and when a Tooth- 
bill lets his play-ground go you may be sure that he has some- 
thing very much more important to attend to. 


The Region of the Barrier Range. 


AN OOLOGIST’S HOLIDAY. 
By (Dr.) W. MAcGILLIVRAY, BROKEN HIL1, N.S.W. 
PArT i 


AT daylight next morning the loud notes of the Rufous Song-Larks 
formed our reveillé, and we were soon all astir, busy with breakfast 
and packing for the last stage to our permanent camp at Langa- 
wirra. M‘Lennan and I made a quick march down to Stone Hut 
to examine the Little Falcon’s nest. The male bird became very 
excited as M‘Lennan ascended the tree. Both birds were sailing 
excitedly round the top of the tree, and when the climber was half- 
way up the male darted past his head, to wheel gracefully back 
again with half-closed wings and a shrill chittering cry. The 
performance was repeated, and, as the nest was approached, some 


Vol. X. 
1910 | 


MacaiLiivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 89 
of the bird’s dives were near enough to just brush the climber. 
M‘Lennan told me—what I could not see from below—that the 
Falcon’s claws were extended when near him. The female flew 
round, but made no attempt to attack. Only one egg was in the 
nest. 

On our way back a wild black cat was put up from the under- 
growth, and went bounding away through a waving mass of yellow 
and white everlastings and scarlet poppies. These cats were met 
on all our rambles. They grow to a larger size than the ordinary 
domestic “‘ Tom,” and kill many birds. 

The road from this point to Langawirra lay for the most part 
over a wide, open plain. For the first few miles the vegetation 
consisted of typical saltbush, intermixed with yellow buttons, 
annual saltbush, and wild oats. The crab-holes were still moist. 
Brown Song-Larks now took the place of the Rufous species, and 
Orange-fronted Chats began to replace the Tricolours. Odd Pipits 
(Anthus australis) were met with, and towards the centre and drier 
part of the plain, where the herbage was scant, bird life was reduced 
to a minimum. A few Pratincoles (Stiltia isabella) favoured 
this area, their fawn-coloured, trim little figures assimilating with 
their surroundings. On being approached they ran ; hard pressed, 
they rose easily, and flapped away on long, swallow-like wings, to 
alight again at no great distance, bob up and down, and resume 
their wanderings on foot in search of young grasshoppers and other 
insects. 

After we had crossed the White Cliffs road the country became 
very barren, many places being bare and wind-swept. Gardiner’s 
Creek came in here on our right, and we entered the scrub, the 
cultivation paddock coming in sight almost immediately. This 
paddock of 300 acres is irrigated naturally by the overflow of 
Gardiner’s Creek, and grows a splendid crop. Wild-flowers were 
plentiful here, and the neelia (Acacia rigens) just coming into 
bloom. A few Black-faced and many Masked Wood-Swallows 
were either perched on the lower bushes or hawking in the air, 
Miners, Spiny-cheeked and Singing Honey-eaters were heard and 
seen in the mulgas. We went on, after calling at the Woolshed, 
to pitch our camp on the edge of the lake below the station. The 
lake, dry since our last visit, 12 months ago, had been replenished 
by the winter rain, but not to its full extent. It is, roughly, horse- 
shoe-shaped, with the station building on a sandy point in the 
concavity of the horseshoe. There is another large lake below 
the Woolshed, into which Gardiner’s Creek empties ; it was now 
full. These lakes are surrounded by box trees, but do not support 
any reeds or rushes, probably because of their frequently drying 
up. When filled to overflowing (which may occur once in Io or 
I5 years), the lakes hold water for three or four years, and this is 
the case with most of the larger lakes in the district. The sur- 
rounding country is mostly sandy, and covered with mulga and 
neelia scrub, with an under-scrub of turpentine and cassia. The 
under-scrub is nearly all dead, however, as a result of overstocking 


go MACGILLIVRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. apie 


and rabbits, and much of the mulga is cut down annually, when 
grass 1s scarce, to feed starving stock. As there is no reproduction 
‘of trees or shrubs, the surface of the ground is deprived of its 
natural shelter, and evaporation and desiccation become greater 
and greater. The whole of the scrub country will, in time, be 
converted into a desert waste of drifting sand. In many parts 
this has already occurred. Going down with the “ billy” for 
water, two Sharp-tailed Stints (Heteropygia acwminata) were seen 
on the mud, with a number of Red-capped Dottrels (4gralitis 
ruficapilla). About half a dozen Silver Gulls (Larus nove- 
hollandie) were also flying over the surface of the water or perched 
on the posts of a partly submerged fence. <A flock of Microtribonyx 
were feeding on the margin below the station, and there were a 
few Ducks on the water, principally Pink-eared (Malacorhynchus 
membranaceus), White-eyed (Nyroca australis), and Grey Teal 
(Nettion gibbertfrons). 

Next day we followed up the box-bordered watercourse which 
fills the lake. Two Miners’ (M. flavigula) nests—one with four 
eggs and the other with three young birds—were our first finds. 
The bag-shaped nest of the Striped Honey-eater (Plectorhynchus 
lanceolatus) hung in the leaves at the end of a long swaying branchlet 
of a box tree. It was constructed almost wholly of sheep’s wool. 
There were no eggs. A Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater was putting 
the finishing touches to her nest. Bell-Birds (Oveoica cristata) were 
calling across the creek. The Oveoica is a plump, sprightly little 
bird, and looks his best, I think, when hopping along the ground 
with erect crest in search of insects and seed. The grey dress is 
eminently protective. A nest was located low down in a ragged 
old turpentine-bush. Two nests of the Masked Wood-Swallow in 
course of construction, and another nest of the Striped Honey- 
eater, with four newly-hatched young birds, were noticed. A 
Goshawk (A. fasciatus) flew from a new, but empty, nest in a box 
tree: 

Out in the open mulga and turpentine the Black Honey-eater 
(Myzomela nigra) was seen, and several Masked Wood-Swallows’ 
nests were found. A nest of the Wood-Swallow (A. personatus) 
contained newly-hatched young, very downy, with black skin, 
eyes not yet open, yellow gape. On a ridge I paused to watch 
the movements of a White-browed Tree-creeper (Climacteris 
superciliosa) as he flitted from tree to tree in search of food. He 
no sooner alighted upon a dead mulga than a pair of Chestnut- 
rumped Tits (Acanthiza uropygialis) set upon him and drove him 
away. In a fork of this mulga, 18 inches from the ground, was 
a split leading to its hollow interior, where the female Acanthiza 
could be seen sitting on her nest, which was found to contain 
three fresh eggs—the usual clutch. The nest was of the flimsiest - 
description—only the slightest roofing and base, ‘all of fine bark 
shreds, the eggs resting on a bedding of rabbit fur. A Red-capped 
Robin’s (P. goodenovit) nest was placed in the fork of a mulga, only 
2 feet from the ground. It was constructed of fine bark and 


Vol. X. 
IgIo 


MACGILLIVRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. OI 
cobwebs, and lined with rabbit fur, and contained two young birds 
- and an addled egg. The feathers of the nestlings were just sprout- 
ing, with down still adhering to the head, wings, thighs, and back, 
and on either side of chest and abdomen; the gape was yellow, 
eyes closed. A hollow stump was the site of a nest of the White- 
face (A phelocephala leucopsis), which held four young birds just 
getting their feathers on the head, on the back in two pteryle, 
and the same on the chest and abdomen. Their eyes were open, 
and the gapes were yellow. Another Tit’s (A. uropygralis) nest 
contained two young birds—skin yellowish, with down on head ; 
one dorsal tract, two on thorax and abdomen; eyes open, gape 
' yellow., A third Tit’s nest, built in a dead mulga, contained three 
eggs resting on a bed of rabbit fur, the nest itself being of fine 
bark. Three more nests of the Red-capped Robin were located 
in the mulga, and Black Honey-eaters were observed building. 
A female Honey-eater was sitting on her little nest on a low, dead 
branch, with head and bill pointed upwards, the colouring and 
posture of the whole group being wonderfully protective. On 
our way down the ridge still another Black Honey-eater was seen 
building in a small bush, and near by, in a fallen dead branch, and 
close to the ground, was the nest (with three eggs) of a Tricoloured 
Chat. 

Next day, the 24th, I went out with Mr. Jackson, the general 
manager of the group of stations of which Langawirra is a unit, 
and Mr. L. Black, the overseer, to the eastern boundary of the 
run, about 40 miles out, where some new tanks and yards were 
being constructed. Mr. Jackson very kindly pulled up whenever 
anything of ornithological interest occurred. A Short-billed Crow’s 
nest in a dead mulga contained young birds; another, in a tall 
casuarina, contained six eggs in an advanced stage of incubation. 
This nest was very small, and was lined with-soft bark. A third 
nest in an adjoining tree contained one young bird, newly hatched, 
and four eggs chipping. In the young birds newly hatched the 
skin is yellow, with two dorsal tufts of down and a little on the 
femoral tracts; rest of the body quite naked. Returning to the 
trap, I discovered a nest of the White-browed Tree-creeper in a 
hollow of a black oak (Casuarina) about 10 feet from the ground. 
It contained three eggs. Our way led us through mulga and 
neelia country, in which Tricoloured Chats, Singing and Spiny- 
cheeked Honey-eaters seemed the commonest birds. A pair of 
Grey Falcons were disturbed from a lonely box in the wilderness 
of mulga. Many Babblers’ nests were seen. An old nest of the 
Wedge-tailed Eagle in a small gum on a rocky hillside was found 
to have been occupied earlier in the year, being now used as a 
feeding platform. The ground round below was littered with the 
remains of rabbits and the skeletons of stump-tailed lizards, 
which are particularly numerous throughout this scrub, and of 
an Amphibolurus which is not so frequent. 

We arrived about noon at the camp of some men engaged in 
building new cattle yards. There we had lunch, and met a trooper 


g2 MacaILLivraAy, The Region of the Barrier Range. a 


engaged in collecting census returns. After visiting two new dams, 
we drove 7 miles through thick scrub to Grassmere station. 

I was astir at daylight next morning, and went for a stroll along 
the gum creek that runs by the house. Many Cockatoos were 
feeding near the house ; Kites and Whistling Eagles were disturbed 
from the gums. The cooing of Peaceful Doves (Geopelia tranquilla) 
and the melodious notes of the Harmonious Thrush (Collyriocincla 
harmonica) sounded at intervals along the creek. We started for 
Cuthawara station through more open mulga and neelia country, 
very poorly supplied with grass or herbage of any sort. The 
nest of a Tree-creeper (C. superciliosa) was found in a casuarina, 
5 feet from the ground; it contained three young birds. Two 
Hooded Robins (P. bicolor) were dodging about in the scrub near 
by, and the Red-capped species was numerous all along the road. 
Where the thick scrub gave place to tall, scattered neelia and 
mulga, Ravens’ nests were frequently noted in the trees. Most 
of the nests contained young birds. Cuthawara Lake at present 
is only a dry depression, but when full it forms an imposing sheet 
of water. On the banks were the remains of the fires of bygone 
generations of aborigines. After lunch we turned back towards 
Langawirra by a different route to inspect a mob of 7,500 sheep, 
which were returning after having been shifted for want of food 
and water last year. The scrub, mostly mulga, with occasional 
clumps of mallee, was here very thick, and intersected at intervals 
by sand-ridges, on which grew black oak (Casuarina) and pines. 
In one of the black oaks was another nest (two young) of 
Climacteris superciliosa. 

Next day we walked past the station and across the water channel 
leading to the lake into a paddock covered with low scrub, mostly 
turpentine and mulga. Malurus assimilis was noted; Singing 
Honey-eaters, Babblers (P. ruficeps), and Spiny-cheeked Honey- 
eaters were frequently disturbed from tree or bush. We crossed 
over to the Cultivation Creek, where we found the steep bank of 
a waterhole taken possession of by Fairy Martins. Many of their 
retort-like nests, finished and unfinished, were being busily attended 
to. In a box was a brood of young Nightjars (4gotheles nove- 
hollandie). Pied Honey-eaters were seen and heard among the 
mistletoe along the creek and out in the turpentine-bushes. This 
is the first year that we have noted their presence. A fairly good 
season here, or a bad one elsewhere, is the probable explanation. 
An Oreoica’s nest was located in a mistletoe clump high up in a 
neelia ; it contained a clutch of three eggs. Black Honey-eaters 
were feeding on the mistletoe flowers, and the loud and musical 
note of the Striped Honey-eater (Plectorhynchus lanceolatus) 
came at intervals from the box trees along the creek. 
M‘Lennan found among the turpentine two nests of the 
Singing Honey-eater, one unfinished and one containing one 
egg, also a_ finished nest of the Spiny-cheeked Honey- 
eater. Kingfishers were commencing to burrow or examine 
favourable banks for a nesting site. A quandong tree (Santalum 


Vol. X. Maccaittivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 93 


1910 


acuminatum), laden with ripe fruit, was admired, and some of its 
fruit sampled. White-fronted Honey-eaters (Glycyphila albifrons) 
were heard in a thicker clump of neelia and black oak on the creek, 
and also the Red-throated Thickhead (Pachycephala gilberti). A 
nest of G. albifrons was built in the top of a broken stump, 2 feet from 
the ground, and contained one young bird, fully feathered. Man 
other pairs were watched, but no more nests were found. Glycyphila 
allifrons we expected to find in fair numbers this year, but were 
disappointed. This species feeds on insects and honey—at this 
time mainly the honey from the mistletoe. The nest, constructed 
of wool and fibrous herbs, is usually placed in a fork of a low bush, 
the turpentine-bush being most often favoured. We found nests, 
however, in all manner of situations—at the tops of high or low 
stumps, in the thick fork of a neelia, or in a bunch of mistletoe. 
I have not known the species to lay more than two eggs at a sitting. 
The ground colour varies as much as that of the Singing Honey- 
eater—from dark salmon to an almost pure white. 

Circling out to the right and round towards the Woolshed, we 
found very little of interest. On a long march to a box flat in 
towards the shearing shed we disturbed a Whistling Eagle from 
her nest, 20 feet up in a box tree. There were two eggs resting on 
a bed of green leaves. We returned to camp round the other side 
of the lake. 

On the following morning four of the party made out across the 
sand-hill at the back, where they were interested for a time in the 
tracks on its surface, and endeavoured to elucidate them. There 
were tracks of mammals, from the fox to the smallest marsupials ; 
of reptiles, from the “‘ goanna’”’ to small lizards and slow worms ; 
of scorpions, leading to the crescentic entrance of burrows, and of 
beetles, caterpillars, and spiders; and lastly, of the early morning 
birds over them all. Out of the sand and through some country 
clothed in stunted scrub. A number of ‘‘ Budgerigars’’ were about 
the box, prospecting for nesting sites. A few White-shouldered 
Caterpillar-eaters were mating. Ina hollow a nest of Climacteris 
picumnus was noted. Entering the real mulga scrub we soon 
came across Chestnut-rumped Tits and Black MHoney-eaters 
(M. nigra). The Tits are always busy in the branches of the 
mulga, searching for scale and small insects, also in the dead scrub 
lying on the ground, and on the ground itself. The Black Honey- 
eaters (M. nigra) were either feeding on the mistletoe or occupied 
with nesting cares. When a turpentine-bush dies, usually from 
being ringbarked by rabbits in the drought, the dead branches 
arch over till the tips touch the ground. It is here that the Black 
Honey-eater usually places its little nest on the convexity of the 
arch, where there is a sufficient fork to fix it to. The nest is com- 
posed of fine twigs, cobwebs, and cottony plants. It has an 
external diameter of 3 inches and an internal of 1? inches, with 
an internal depth of 1 inch. Two eggs constitute the invariable 


clutch. 
Having parted from the others, I strolled quietly through the 


2 . wou E > 
94 MAcGILLivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. ace 


mulga. A pair of Tricoloured Chats, by fussing about, revealed 
their nest, containing three well-feathered young, in the end of 
a fallen dead bush, openly placed. A Tit (A. uropygialis) was 
busy building in a dead stump close by, and a Black Honey-eater 
on the end of a fallen mulga. - Another pair of Tricoloured Chats 
were feeding three young birds that had left the nest. A Red- 
capped Robin’s nest was seen. After an interval I found an 
Oreoica’s nest low down in an old V-shaped turpentine ; it con- 
tained one egg. I then passed through some neelia and larger 
mulga, in which many Black Honey-eaters were feeding on the 
mistletoe, together with a few Singing Honey-eaters and “ Greenies.” 
M‘Lennan later reported having found a Tit’s (A. wopygialis) nest 
containing three eggs; a Many-coloured Parrakeet’s nest, with 
six young birds, sprouting feathers; a nest of the Blue-Bonnet 
(P. xanthorrhous), containing six nearly fledged young ones—both 
nests placed ina hollow box tree. We went through a box flat, 
to find an Owlet Nightjar’s (4#gotheles nove-hollandia@) nest, contain- 
ing downy young, in a leaf-lined hollow. These little birds present 
a curious appearance, as the white down that clothes them when 
they emerge from the shell still adheres to the feather tips until 
they are nearly fledged. In a bracket-shaped hollow of a box, 
low down, an Oreoica had placed her nest. It was occupied by 
three young birds ; feathers just sprouting, eyes open, down per- 
sisting on the forehead and nape and on the single dorsal feather 
tract, also on the humeral and femoral. The anterior cervical 
tract had no down, and divided on the chest and abdomen. 

We made for home, our way leading out of a series of box flats 
on to a sandy open’ ridge covered with grasses and wild-flowers 
(mostly everlastings) and flowering shrubs. We disturbed a 
Brown Song-Lark (C. cruralis) from her nest in the grass (three 
eggs). A Kingfisher (H. pyrrhopygius) was interrupted in his 
efforts to knock the life out of a lizard against a dead limb. He 
was so alarmed at our approach that he dropped the reptile and 
flew to a safer perch, only to see us annex the lizard for our specimen 
jar. These Kingfishers are not so noisy as the Sacred species, 
their only call being a mournful piping note, frequently heard 
during the mating season. 

Next day we made an early start for Coogee Lake, a large body 
of water, about 6 miles in a south-easterly direction from camp. 
We crossed a sand-hill into a large depression bordered on one side, 
at first, by box, and containing a number of dead box stumps along 
its bed. We found ‘* Budgerigars’’ (Melopsittacus undulatus) breed- 
ing for the first time during our trip; most of the nests contained 
only “‘commencing”’ clutches. Many Whitefaces’ nests, with eggs 
or young, were inspected, and a few Pardalotes’ (P. ornatus). The 
flat closed in somewhat as we neared the Coogee road, and we 
found a nestful of young Many-coloured Parrakeets in a hollow 
box. We came to a large box occupied year after year by a pair 
of Pink Cockatoos (C. leadbeateri). Last year this hollow con- 
tained a clutch of four eggs ; this year there were only three. 


—— 


Vol.. X. 


238 MacciLuivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 95 

M‘Lennan returned to us after having made a detour into 
another flat, and reported having disturbed a pair of Bourke 
Parrakeets. I went back with him, leaving the others on the 
straight road to Coogee. We did not find the nest of the Parrakeet. 
These birds are so quiet in their movements, and so protectively 
coloured, that they are difficult to detect. Going through a box 
ridge we flushed a Little Quail (Turnix velox), and in a hollow 
box near at hand found a pair of White-browed Tree-creepers 
building. A Red-capped Robin was also finishing a nest in a box 
sapling. 

At the lake the others were waiting. A few Ducks, mostly 
Anas superciliosa, A. gibberifrons, Aythya australis, and Malaco- 
rhynchus membranaceus, Maned Geese (Chenonetta jubata), and some 
Black Swan were observed on the water. Wading in the marginal 
water were Avocets, Black-fronted Dottrels, and an occasional 
Sharp-tailed Stint. In a dead stump standing in the water a 
Many-coloured Parrakeet (P. multicolor) had her brood of young. 
In the box round the lake-were Miners, Grallinas, Striped and 
White-plumed Honey-eaters, Brown Tree-creepers, and Striated 
Pardalotes. 

We tramped on to strike the Yalcowinna road by a circuitous 
route through box flats and mulga scrub. A nest containing 
young Blue-Bonnets, in a hollow black oak, interested us, as these 
birds showed a near approach to the more eastern Psephotus 
hematorrhous, in having red under tail coverts and the dark red 
wing patch, which, more than anything else, distinguishes P. 
hematorrhous trom P. xanthorrhous. Some of these nestlings. 
however, were much more marked than others. On -account of 
the favourable season, and a plentiful and varied supply of seeds, 
we found both P. xanthorrhous and the Many-coloured Parrakeet 
nesting more freely than on two previous visits. On our return 
to camp the boys had much to show and tell us, they having been 
round the lake and found a colony of Fairy Martins in an old shed, 
a Brown Hawk’s nest and three eggs, and other nests. 

Next day, the 30th, we followed up the water channel entering 
the lake behind the station, but did not find anything of note 
till we crossed an old dam. Here a Nightjar’s nest, with its inter- 
esting nestlings, detained us for a few minutes, before going on to a 
patch of turpentine-bushes where we left a Purple-backed Wren 
building last year. The nest was located about Ioo yards away from 
the old site, openly placed in a small dead bush lying on the ground. 
It was constructed of fine strips of bark and lined with finer shreds 
of bark and rabbit fur, and contained three eggs. In a mulga 
a pair of Babblers (P. rujiceps) had a nest containing young birds. 
Jim M‘Lennan found the pensile nest of a Singing Honey-eater, 
containing two eggs, very light in colour and more spotted than 
usual. The nest was suspended in the small, bushy neelia (Acacia 
rigens). Ona black oak ridge we rested awhile and watched the 
movements of a Tree-creeper (C. swperciliosa), then went on to 
another ridge, where we found a nest of this species in a dead 


96 MacciLLivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. ae 


sandalwood, the hollow being about 4 feet from the ground. The 
base of this nest was composed of dry grasses, a layer of horse 
dung, then the usual thick bed of rabbit fur, on which two eggs 
reposed. The eggs are a good deal smaller than those of the Brown 
Tree-creeper, and more richly coloured. Soon afterwards I took 
two eggs of the Singing Honey-eater—the usual clutch in these 
parts—from a nest in a turpentine-bush. Directing our steps 
homeward, we followed down a strip of mulga, finding a nest of 
Malurus assimilis in a fallen bush, the base of the nest just touching 
the ground. It contained three eggs and one newly-hatched 
chick. 

Next morning, the 1st October, broke dull and windy, and, 
after the usual daylight breakfast, the two M‘Lennans, Dr. Dobbyn, 
and myself started out through a paddock on the eastern side of 
the lake in open mulga country. The herbage was very good. 
Many Miners’ nests were seen in the mulga, in mistletoe clumps, 
mostly containing young birds. Circling round the paddock to 
the right, we were watching a Tree-creeper (A. superciliosa) when 
a male Bourke Parrakeet (N. bourke) rose from where it had been 
feeding on the ground, only to light again in the grass a little 
further on. I followed and waited. The bird flew again, and 
joined a flock of ‘* Budgerigars”’ on the ground. After a consider- 
able time it flew to a mulga, in front of which, in a dead neelia, it 
was joined by a ragged-looking mate from the latter tree, and the 
two flew off together. I went at once to the neelia, and, looking 
into a large crack in a fork, about 4 feet from the ground, found 
that it opened into a hollow about 8 inches in depth, on the earthy 
floor of which were four eggs and one recently hatched young bird, 
the egg-shell still being in the nest. Entering a large box flat, 
a Goshawk (A. fasciatus) flushed from its nest, which was small 
and flat, made of sticks, lined with fresh, green gum leaves, and 
placed, as they often are, on a horizontal fork, at a height of 
30 feet from the ground. It contained a fine clutch of .nearly 
white eggs. A dry lake surrounded by box trees next engaged 
our attention. All round it were traces of the aborigines’ old 
camp fire-places, flint chippings and cores, and other stones. 
Several pairs of ‘‘ Budgerigars’’ were found nesting in the dead 
stumps forming the inner margin to the lake bed. The entrance 
to the nest was usually an old knot-hole, not much exceeding 
14 inches in diameter. The eggs, usually five in number, rested 
on beds of earthy material. Almost on the ground, which had a 
scanty covering of wild spinach, forming a border of oo yards 
or more in width between the dead and the living box, were many 
nests of the Tricoloured Chat ; nearly all contained fresh clutches 
(three eggs). Turning towards camp, we crossed a sand-ridge 
and made our way through a band of box margining another flat, — 
and M‘Lennan dug out the burrow, in the side of a little water- 
course, of a Pardalote (P. rubricatus) ; the nest contained three 
fresh eggs. The nest was cup-shaped, very compact, and con- 
structed entirely of fine strips of bark. Its external diameter was 


ee 


Vol. X. ] 


Pore MAcGILLIVRAY, The Region of the Barrier Range. Q7 
3% inches and height 23 inches ; diameter of egg cavity, 2} inches ; 
depth, 2 inches. The note of the male bird is quite unlike that 
of any other Pardalote with which I am acquainted, consisting as 
it does of a loud, mellow whistle, repeated five times in quick 
succession. It may be heard at a distance, and was more than 
once mistaken by us for the call note of the Barnard Parrakeet. 

Next day we took a more northerly direction, skirting the box 
on the margin of the lake, then out into the mulga, which is pretty 
open here. We saw large flocks of Masked Wood-Swallows 
gathering, after a night’s rest, to go further south. This year 
this species seems to be in greater numbers than usual, there being 
very few of the White-browed species. The Masked Wood- 
Swallows, too, arrived here before we did, probably early in Sep- 
tember, and started building everywhere; but, although we 
found numbers of their nests, completed and in every stage of 
construction, only one contained newly-hatched young. Most 
of the birds seemed to have changed their minds and resumed 
their migratory flight to more southern parts. Our way led us 
through a fairly dry part of the run. Many stump-tailed lizards 
find a living in this country. This was the mating time, as most 
of them were in pairs. They subsist upon green vegetable 
matter, and must, during long droughts, zstivate. 

On the 3rd October all except the camp-keeper went through 
a large dry lake lying two miles west of our camp. Before 
reaching it, however, we found a Nightjar’s (gotheles nove- 
hollandie) nest, containing four downy young ones. These birds 
always hear one coming, and the little rat-like head, with round, 
bright eyes, looking out of a hollow, is the first intimation of a 
nest, which otherwise would be passed by. The birds sit more 
closely when incubating. This really applies to all wild birds 
towards the end of the incubation period. At the back of the 
dry lake was a strip of box, in which we heard a_ Thickhead’s 
(P. rufiventris) loud whistling note. A male Black-capped 
Sittella was seen, and I disturbed the female from her nest on the 
upper limb of a small box tree, only 20 feet from the ground ; 
the nest contained two eggs. 

On a ridge, known to us as the Turquoisine Ridge (for it was 
here, 12 months earlier, that we spent many a delightful moment 
watching a pair of Turquoisine Wrens), two more nests of the 
Black Honey-eater were found, both containing the usual pair of 
eggs, and both similarly situated—on dead, fallen timber, near 
the ground. Many signs of the Swallow Diczeum were noted near 
their nesting place. All the limbs of the mulga trees were 
plastered with mistletoe seeds, singly, or in twos and threes, just 
as they had been passed by the birds or wiped off on to the 
branches. 

Next day we visited the Woolshed lake, and found a Whistling 
Fagle’s nest, containing two eggs, in a tall box tree. The Fairy 
Martins on the bank of the creek were still busy. A Bell-Bird 
(Oreoica cristata) had her nest in a bunch of mistletoe growing 


98 MacaILLivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. ae 


20 feet up ina neelia—an unusually high situation for the nest of 
this species. Mariy White-fronted Honey-eaters were observed in 
a thick patch of black oak, one finished nest being located in a 
turpentine-bush. Glycyphila albifrons is a very active but shy 
bird, and one has to use the utmost caution in watching the birds 
to their nests either when building, incubating, or feeding the 
young. Our way now led through what used to be a scrub-covered 
paddock, across a series of large nardoo flats, about which are the 
old fire-places and grinding-stones, flints, &c., of the blacks. Tri- 
coloured Chats were numerous. 

Next morning we took a south-easterly route over the sand- 
ridge, on which we again interested ourselves for a while in elucid- 
ating the tracks of the night. The birds had been about early. 
The slovenly footsteps of the Raven were easily recognized. The 
paired footprints of the Babbler (P. ruficeps), whose mode of pro- 
gression is by a succession of longer or shorter hops, the tiny marks 
left by the feet of Tricoloured Chats in their searchings round 
every tussock or bush, and the shorter and more slovenly hoppings 
of the Miner (M. flavigula), were recognizable on the fine sand. 
Tracks of insects, reptiles, and small mammals—the real night 
tracks—cost us more time and trouble to make out. The box 
strip in which we found the Red-browed Pardalote’s nest was 
visited, and the birds were heard calling among the trees. Here 
we discovered the nest of the Lalage tmncolor, with _ the 
male bird sitting on two eggs. The nest was composed of fine 
twigs, spiders’ nests, cobwebs, and soft everlastings, and was 
placed in a fork of a small box tree, about 12 feet from the ground: 
Near it a hollow box contained a family of Blue-Bonnets and 
another Lalage’s nest. A young Many-coloured Parrakeet acci- 
dentally dropped from the top of a large tree when M‘Lennan was 
examining a nestful, and provided a subject for post-mortem 
examination. The crop was crammed with fine black seeds, with 
a few larger green ones, the black ones being no larger than gun- 
powder grains. M‘Lennan and I visited a black oak ridge, leaving 
the others to return to camp. While watching a Red-browed 
Pardalote feeding among the sandalwood, we found a Tree- 
creepers: (@- superciliosa) nest, with young birds, in a hollow tree, 
about 4 feet from the ground. On the border of the box a pair 
of Oreoicas had a nest in the endof astump. ‘ Budgerigars”’ were 
nesting in the dry stumps in from the green timber, and in one 
hollow a Barnard Parrakeet was sitting on four dried-up eggs. 
In captivity I have known birds to do this on many occasions, 
but this is the only time that I have noted it in a state of nature. 
Many pairs of Red-capped Robins were here, several being engaged 
in building operations. These little birds are local migrants, 
being euide d, no doubt, by food supply, for on our two previous 
annual visits to this locality we only met with one or two pairs 
of birds. This year they were in every thick patch of scrub, and 
all intent on nesting. 

In every sandy watercourse and washaway were the tracks of 


pobre: MAcGILLivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. 99 


1910 


the fox, and in one place a whole tragedy of the night before was 
written plainly on the sand. The fox tracks, proceeding cautiously 
up a watercourse, came to where they met, at right angles, the 
footprints of a Stone-Plover (Burhinus grallarius). The prints of 
the fox immediately shortened, and proceeded for some distance 
with steps all crowded together. Even the haltings could be 
made out, whilst the tracks of the ‘“‘ Wee-loo”’ wandered round 
to the other side of a fallen bush half-buried by the drifting sand. 
Here her footprints ended, and a few bunches of feathers told of 
a successful stalk. 

After lunch M‘Lennan and I looked up several places in a westerly 
direction, in the mulga and box, while the rest of the party, armed 
with spades, proceeded to unearth a fox. On our way out we 
disturbed a dingo, which bounded away across a dry flat and 
over a sand-ridge for the thicker scrub. The Sittella’s nest now 
contained three eggs. The Tricoloured Chat was common in the 
open scrub all over this run, but the Orange-fronted species does 
not move from the wide salt-bush plains. On our return home, 
after a long and quick march, a swim in the lake was the best 
thing. On the lake we twice noted two or three Gull-billed Terns 
(Gelochelidon anglica), but they soon went elsewhere. Several 
Pelicans also paid a visit of short duration. There are no fish in 
the lake. 

After dark the rest of the party returned, bringing three very 
young fox cubs, an echidna, and some beetles, all found in the 
fox earth; the vixen they did not get. Visiting this spot about 
a fortnight later, M‘Lennan found a Kingfisher and a Black-and- 
White Swallow nesting in the side of the trench made in digging 
out the fox. 

On the 5th October we struck camp and packed up, to make 
our way back to Broken Hill. We visited the station first, to get 
some nardoo stones and take leave of the manager, Mr. Black ; 
then M‘Lennan and I got away to skirt the road, and to be picked 
up by the trap later on. The calling of a White-browed Tree- 
creeper led M‘Lennan to find its nest in a sandalwood, the pair 
of eggs resting on the usual bed of rabbit fur. Here we were 
picked up by the trap and driven to Sleep’s Well Creek, our camping 
place for the time being. Birds were plentiful in the vicinity of 
our camp, where there is good water in the creek. Right over 
the camp was a nestful of young Ravens in a tall, sappy gum ; and 
in bunches of mistletoe on separate mulgas, not 10 yards away, 
were two nests of the White-plumed Honey-eater, each containing 
one egg. These useful birds are common throughout the district, 
and do not differ in any way from those found in Victoria. Here 
they live mostly on insects, as honey-bearing flowers are not 
frequent, except during a good season, and are absent altogether 
during the long droughts which so often afflict the district. I 
have often watched them assiduously searching and stripping the 
eucalyptus leaves of scale, and they are as quick to capture an 
insect on the wing as any Flycatcher. We always look forward 


Too Macaitiivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. yee 


to this camping place ; the early morning birds make it one of the 
most delightful of many such in our wanderings. Long before 
dawn the Spiny-cheeked Honey-eaters commence their varied, 
liquid, trillng song. The “ Greenies” and Miners next join in 
from their roosting-places, and the old Raven leaves her nest to 
fly off to the plain to find a breakfast for her hungry offspring. 
Next we hear the Striated Diamond-Bird calling from the gums, 
and the loud notes of the Singing Honey-eaters from the outlying 
mulgas. A very different note is that of the Bell-Bird, coming 
from across the creek, where its author has a nest in broken-down 
cattle-bush or stunted neelia. The creek is soon full of voices, 
a medley lasting until the daylight dispels the last of the shadows 
among the trees. The voices cease one by one as the owners 
busy themselves in satisfying their own cravings or those of their 
nestlings. 

Soon after the morning meal was over we started down the creek, 
to flush a Goshawk (A. fasciatus) from her small, flat nest on a 
dead, leaning acacia, sheltered by a gum-tree—an unusual situation 
for such a bird to choose. The nest contained two eggs, and we 
found that it overlooked a bush in the bed of the creek in which 
a ‘Greenie’”’ (Ptilotis penicillata) had her nest and eggs. A few 
yards further on a Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater was putting the 
finishing touches to her nest in a bunch of mistletoe on a mulga. 
In a hollow spout, 18 inches in depth, a Cockatoo-Parrakeet had 
five young birds, as usual of different sizes, incubation com- 
mencing with the first egg laid. The oldest had yellow down on 
back and wings and thighs, and the eyes just opening ; the younger 
ones were blind and naked. A pair of young Magpies, nearly 
fledged, could be seen over the edge of their nest at the top of a 
slender gum. A_ Short-billed Crow’s (C. bennetit) nest was 
occupied by young birds. These nestlings are hatched with 
greenish-yellow naked skin and eyes closed; the skin soon 
darkens, and the eyes open on about the fifth day. In a hollow an 
Owlet Nightjar (42gotheles nove-hollandi@) was disturbed from three 
eggs. Through a chink low down, not 3 feet from the ground, 
in the bole of a dead gum, a Striated Pardalote had her nest and 
three eggs, and higher up in the same tree a hollow was occupied 
by a family of Blue-bonnets (P. xanthorrhous). Emu tracks were 
plentiful on the wet sand all along the creek. Feed for these 
great birds is plentjful about here, consisting mostly of green 
grass and herbage and the young green tops of the salt-bush. Out 
from the creek Jim M‘Lennan climbed to a nest in a leopard tree ; 
it contained four fully-fledged Magpies (G. tibicen). The feathers 
are brownish-black in the young birds, jet black not being assumed 
until the autumn moult preceding the third spring following 
hatching. A Little Eagle flew from a nest high up in a gum 
(two eggs). Nests, containing either eggs or young, of Climacterts 
picumna, Cacatua gymnopis, C. leadbeatert, Nisaétus morphnordes, 
Barnardius barnardi, Astur fasciatus, Malurus assimilis, Halvastur 
sphenurus, and other species mentioned above, were discovered. 


Wall ax.” 


igt6 MaccILiivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. IOI 
We were following the creek into scrubby country ; it flows from 
open salt-bush plains through the mulga to the Coogee Lake. 

In a sheltered portion of the creek we came to a Goshawk’s nest 
containing three eggs. Many White-fronted Honey-eaters (Glycy- 
phila albifrons) were seen and heard, and a nest in course of con- 
struction in mistletoe growing on an acacia was seen. M‘Lennan 
found a nest of Malurus assimilis, containing three fresh eggs ; 
the nest was composed of fine bark strips and shreds and _ lined 
with ’possum fur. The scrub here on either bank was becoming 
thicker, and the flowering tobacco-bush amongst it furnished a 
good feeding-ground for a number of Honey-eaters—<A canthogenys 
rufigularis, Ptilotis penicillata, Glycyphila albifrons, and Myzomela 
nigra—whose comings and goings amongst the trees and bushes, 
and quarrelings and love-making, we were content to watch while 
resting tired limbs. Making out on to the road, we turned towards 
camp, intending to take a shorter route across the blue-bush. 
There were damp patches on the blue-bush plain, and on these 
Emu tracks were numerous. At one place we could see where a 
family had camped the night before; the young were about two 
months old, judging by the size of their tracks and excreta. The 
rapid increase and spread of the fox throughout this country 
means death to numbers of young Emus. After lunch M‘Lennan 
and I went down the creek again and out into the salt-bush to look 
for White-winged Wrens. Many were seen, but no nest was found. 
Several Wedgebills (Sphenostoma cristatum) were disturbed from 
the little clumps of acacia out on the plain, and one nest was 
found in an unfinished state. Crossing the creek, we came up 
through a saltbush flat bordering the opposite side to our camp. 

Next morning we struck camp early, and made a start for 
Yalcowinna Creek. M‘Lennan and I went on towards the road, 
searching the larger clumps of blue and _ salt-bush for Wrens 
(Malurus). Several families of the White-winged species were 
seen, and a nest of M. assimilis was found near the ground in a 
salt-bush, and constructed outwardly of grass instead of strips of 
bark, as is usual. It contained two eggs only. We rejoined the 
trap, and at the crossing of Sleep’s Well Creek noted the usual 
Honey-eaters in the scrub and tobacco-bush—“ Greenies,” Miners, 
Singing, White-fronted, and Spiny-cheeked Honey-eaters. In 
sight of Yalcowinna Creek we watered the horses at a dam and 
filled the water-bag and billies, in case there should be no water in 
the bed of the creek. We stopped for lunch at the nearest point 
on the creek, and, whilst the others proceeded along the bed of 
the creek towards the Buzzard’s nest, Jim M‘Lennan and I 
followed the high sandy bank, which has been an old aboriginal 
camping-place, and is strewn with their mills, grinding stones, 
and flint chippings. At the Buzzard’s nest we rejoined the others, 
who reported that the nest was re-lined and ready for occupation 
again. On seeing the female again we had no doubt that she was 
smaller than the one in possession in 1g08 and 1907. Throughout 
our trip we noted very few Wedge-tailed Eagles compared with 
other years, The squatters’ poison had done its work only too well. 


: . Emu 
102 MacaILLivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. Gee 


A Grey Falcon came sailing down through the trees, menacing 
a thieving Raven. So vigorous was her onslaught that the Raven 
beat a hasty retreat. The Falcon’s nest was placed, as usual, 
high up on the slender limb of a eucalypt ; the nest contained four 
hard-set eggs. 

We cut across country towards where we had lunched, the camp, 
in the meanwhile, having been shifted further up the creek, in the 
direction of our first camp on the trip. Following the creek up, 
a Black Falcon (PF. submiger) was disturbed from an old Wedge- 
tailed Eagle’s nest, and went off through the trees before we could 
get a proper look at her in the gathering dusk. Our disappoint- 
ment was great when only one egg was found in the nest. We left 
the egg to make sure of its identity by an early morning visit. The 
Goshawk’s nest, found building on our outward journey, now con- 
tained three hard-set eggs. Camp was reached as darkness came. 

Saturday, the 9th October, our last day out, broke fine and 
clear, and M‘Lennan and I went off early to revisit the Black 
Falcon’s nest. We found the female on the nest, and the male 
roosting in an adjacent gum-tree. Both birds flew away silently 
and quickly through the trees, and were soon out of sight. We 
left the egg, on the off chance of the clutch being completed, 
M‘Lennan deciding to run out in a week’s time, although we were 
fairly sure that incubation had started. This proved to be the 
case. The egg was probably the last one of the bird, laid on an 
emergency in the Eagle’s nest, on account of some mishap over- 
taking the original nest with the other eggs. 

After packing our belongings in the trap, M‘Lennan and I 
walked past the station, leaving the others to pick us up about 
a mile below it. On the way down we had several interesting 
“finds.” Two Little Eagles’ (£. morphnoides) nests contained 
one and two eggs respectively. A Goshawk’s nest in a more 
sheltered part of the creek, on the usual horizontal fork, had one 
egg reposing on green leaves. A Kite’s nest, with three young 
birds, on whom the feathers were just sprouting, showed the 
variation in size of the young, so common amongst birds of prey. 
Another pair of Goshawks were building, and a Whistling Eagle’s nest 
with one newly-hatched bird and an egg was noted. We met the 
rest of our party, and after an early lunch resumed the homeward 
journey, during which we noticed the difference that a month had 
wrought in the character of the vegetation. In a climate in which 
sharp frosts and the piercingly cold winds of winter days so 
suddenly give place to hot summer days, all nature seems to hurry 
to reproduce itself. The plants soon spring up, burst into flower, 
and cast their seed, to be buried by the sand, and so protected 
through the hot, dry period of the year, or perhaps to wait several 
years before conditions are again favourable for germination. In 
the same way the birds time the rearing of their young with the 
flowering or seeding of the plants. 

We reached home well satisfied with our month’s wanderings, 
and better, mentally and physically, for the communion we had 
had with Nature. 


\ 


on | MatHeEws, On the Birds of North-West Australia. 103 


1910 


On the Birds of North-West Australia. 


By GreGcory M. MatHews, F.L.S., M.B.O.U. 
With Field Notes by the Collector, J. P. RoGeErs. 
Part III. 
SYNCCUS SORDIDUS (Sombre Brown Quail). 
Math., Handl., No. 12: 
3. 24/2/09. 
Eyes red; feet and tarsi yellow; culmen and genys black, 
balance of bill leaden-blue. 
The stomach contained grass seeds. 
TURNIX VELOX (Little Quail). 
Math., Handl., No. 21. 
3. 30/3/09. 
Eyes yellowish-white ; feet and tarsi fleshy-white; culmen and 
tip leaden-brown, balance of bill leaden-blue. 
The stomach contained grass seed. 
PETROPHASSA ALBIPENNIS (Rock-Pigeon). 
Math., Handl., No. 40. 
2. 2/4/09. ; 
Iris dark brown ; feet and tarsi blackish-brown ; bill black. 
Stomach contained fine grit and some seeds. 
LOBIVANELLUS MILES (Masked Plover). 
Math., Handl., No. 148. 
29. 16/2/09. 
Eyes yellow ; feet and tarsi purple, lower end of tibia pink-red ; 
bill yellow, lip of culmen brown. 
The stomachs contained fragments of beetles. 
GLOTTIS NEBULARIUS (Greenshank). 
Math., Handl., No. 175. 
Onet27 1/09. 
Eyes blackish-brown ; feet and legs olive-grey ; bill brown, basal 
third leaden-grey. 
The stomach contained a few small shell-fish. 
HETEROPYGIA AURITA (Sharp-tailed Stint). 
Math., Handl., No. 181. 
$9. 19/3/09. 
Eyes brown ; feet and legs olive; bill brown, base of mandible 
olive-yellow. 
The stomachs contained fragments of shell-fish. 
ROSTRATULA AUSTRALIS (Painted Snipe). 
Math., Handl., No. 186. 
d- 19/3/09. 
Eyes brown; feet and legs brown ; bill brown. 
Stomach contained fragments of beetles and other insects. 


104 MaTHEws, On the Birds of North-West Australia. [eee 


GLAREOLA ORIENTALIS (Oriental Pratincole). 
Math., Handl., No. 189. 
3. 20/3/09. 
Eyes brown; feet and tarsi blackish-brown ; bill black, tomium 
red. 
The stomach contained a quantity of grasshoppers. 


BURHINUS GRALLARIUS (Stone-Plover). 
Math., Handl., No. 190. 
$2. 19/10/08. 
Eyes yellow, with network of brown lines on outer edge ; feet 
brown ; legs olive-grey ; bill blackish-brown. 
The stomachs contained a quantity of cockchafer beetles. 


ANTIGONE AUSTRALASIANA (Crane). 
Math., Handl., No. 193. 
gee 27/1/00. 
Eyes yellow ; papillae on back of neck and sides of face red ; feet 
and legs brown; bill and crown of head olive-green. 
Stomach contained a quantity of small stones and a little 
vegetable matter. 


Isis MOLUCcCA (White Ibis). 
Math., Handl., No. 194. 
Sex ? © 10/2/00. 
Eyes brown ; feet and legs leaden-black ; bill black. 
Stomach contained shell-fish. 


PLEGADIS FALCINELLUS (Glossy Ibis). 
Math., Handl., No. 196. 


2 GeO 1b/ 2700. 

OF 2/00. 

3. 4/4/09. 

Eyes brown. Feet, 9 2 9, leaden-grey, also legs; 9, leaden- 
brown, also legs, plates of tarsi olive-brown ; 3, olive-brown, also 
legs. Bill—Q 2 @ Q, olive-brown, with line across forehead and 
from eye to base of lower mandible blue-grey ; 3, distal 4 of culmen 
brown, balance of bill olive-brown. 

Stomachs contained shell-fish, beetles, fish, grit, and insects. 


PLATALEA REGIA (Royal Spoonbill). 
Math., Handl., No. 197. 


Sexur - GO. 
2 £2/2/00. 
g. 15/2/09. 


Eyes brown; feet and legs black. Bill—g, distal $ brown, 
balance of bill, lores, orbits, and forehead black, gular pouch leaden- 
brown ; ? spoon leaden-blue, balance of bill and forehead leaden- 
brown, orbits and gular pouch dark leaden-blue. 


oie: MATHEWS, On the Birds of North-West Australia. I05 
Stomachs contained mud, fibrous matter, beetles, shell-fish, 
tadpoles, and water insects. 
XENORHYNCHUS ASIATICUS (Jabiru). 
Math., Handl., No. 199. 
Sex ? Immature. 26/10/08. 
Eyes brown ; feet and legs olive-brown ; bill black. 


Stomach contained fish-bones, prawns, beetles, and part of the 
intestines of a kangaroo, on which the bird was feeding when shot. 


MESOPHOYX PLUMIFERA (Plumed Egret). 
Math., Handl., No. 202. 

an 4/2/00. ; 

Eyes and eyelash yellow ; feet and legs olive-brown. Bill, upper 
mandible and distal $ of lower brown ; lores, base of upper and 
balance of lower mandible yellow. 

Stomach contained fragments of insects. 


HERODIAS TIMORIENSIS (White Egret). 
Math., Handl., No. 203. 
oe 4/2/09: 
Oy 11/08: 
Eyes and eyelash yellow ; lores and bare skin round eye yellowish- 
green ; feet and legs black ; bill yellow. 
The stomachs contained one small fish, some tadpoles and water 
insects. 
NOTOPHOYX NOVA:-HOLLANDI& (White-fronted Heron). 
Math., Handl., No. 204. 
Gees 2/00; é 
Eyes yellowish-grey ; feet and tarsi olive-yellow; bill black, 
lores and base of upper mandible slate colour, base of lower grey. 
Stomach contained fragments of insects, one lizard, and a large 
quantity of grasshoppers and crickets, which were swallowed whole. 


NOTOPHOYX FLAVIROSTRIS (Pied Egret or Heron). 
Math., Handl., No. 206. 
SSS. 28/3/09. 
Eyes yellow ; feet and legs olive-yellow; bill yellow, lores and 
base of lower mandible slaty-brown. 
Stomachs contained grasshoppers. 
NycTICORAX CALEDONICUS (Night-Heron). 
Math., Handl., No. 210. 


3. 5/12/08. 
27/11/08: 
ia 20/5/00. 


Eyes yellow, lores and naked skin round eye yellowish-green ; 
feet and tarsi olive-yellow. Bill—g, upper and tip of lower 
mandible brown, basal # of lower mandible greenish-yellow ; 


106 MatuHEws, On the Birds of North-West Australia. a 


1st Oct. 


3, upper and tip and cutting edge of lower mandible black, lower 
pale olive-green ; 2, tomium and culmen black, streak on side of 


upper and basal ? lower mandible greenish-grey. 
Stomachs contained small fish and beetles. 


DUPETOR GOULDI (Yellow-necked Mangrove-Bittern). 
Math., Handl., No. 214. 

Bc + 20/2/09: 

Eyes brown; feet and legs olive-brown; bill, culmen black, 
balance upper and tomium of lower mandible brown, balance of 
lower pale brown. 

Stomach contained fragments of insects and one dragon-fly. 


ANSERANAS SEMIPALMATA (Pied Goose). 
Math., Handl., No. 217. 

6. - 1/2/09. (Parry’siCreek iN Wie 

Eyes brown ; feet and legs yellow; bill, distal + and distal 3 of 
cutting edge leaden-grey, balance reddish-brown, which turns to 
dull purple near the eye. 

Stomach contained a large quantity of grass seed; gullet was 
also packed full. 


NETTOPUS PULCHELLUS (Green Goose-Teal). 
Math., Handl., No. 218. 


3. 14/3/09. Parry’s Creek, N.W.A. 

Oo) Ay 2/00: 

3. 4/2/00. 

Eyes brown. Feet—<¢ 3, black, and tarsi black ; 9°, leaden-brown, 
also tarsi. Bill—¢3 3, black, with nail of upper mandible and band 
across lower mandible fleshy-white; 9, nail leaden-grey, upper 
mandible brown, lower pale brown. 

Stomachs contained seed and grit. 


DENDROCYGNA ARCUATA (Whistling-Duck). 
Math., Handl., No. 222. 


$364. One on 3rd February, 1909 ; two on 18th February, 1909. 

Eyes dark brown, eyelash blackish-brown ; feet and tarsi leaden- 
brown; bill black. 

Stomachs contained native millet seed, grass seed, and grit. 


DENDROCYGNA EYTONI (Plumed Whistling-Duck). 
Math., Handl., No. 223. 

66-29... 3/2/09. Pays Crecleann Wom 

Eyes yellow, eyelash yellow; feet and legs flesh-colour. Buill— 
upper mandible black, with flesh-coloured bar near tip, and mottled 
same colour ; lower mandible flesh colour, spotted with black, tip 
brown. 

Stomachs contained seeds and grit. 


Vor | MATHEWS, On the Birds of North-West Australia. 107 


TADORNA RUFITERGUM (White-headed Shieldrake). 
Math., Handl., No. 224. 
ay 2/2/09. Parry's\CreekeNGW. A: 
Eyes white, eyelash yellow; feet and tarsi white, tinged with 
flesh-colour ; bill white, with tinge of flesh-colour. 
Stomach contained grass seed, shell-fish, and grit. 


NETTION GIBBERIFRONS (Grey Teal). 
Math., Handl., No. 228. 

ems /2/09., Parry.s Creek. NW.A. 

Eyes reddish-brown; feet and tarsi leaden-brown; bill, nail 
black, upper mandible leaden-blue, lower mandible leaden-brown, 
with yellowish-white bar near tip. 

Stomach contained a little animal matter and some grit. 

AYTHYA AUSTRALIS (White-eyed Duck). 
Math., Handl., No. 234. 

$. 16/1/og. Parry's Greek, N.W.A. 

Eyes white ; feet and tarsi grey, all joints being blackish-brown ; 
bill, upper mandible black, with broad blue-grey band near tip, 
lower mandible brown. 

Stomach contained fragments of shell-fish, a few seeds, and a 
little grit. 


PHALACROCORAX SULCIROSTRIS (Little Black Cormorant). 
Math., Handl., No. 235. 
Ses. 20/1/00. 
Eyes green; feet and tarsi black; culmen black; tomium, all 
lower mandible, and gular pouch leaden-grey. 
The stomachs contained small catfish. 


PHALACROCORAX MELANOLEUCUS (Little Cormorant). 
Math., Handl., No. 241. 
eos. 3/2/00. 
Eyes greyish-white, eyelash white ; feet and tarsi black ; culmen 
brown, balance of bill and gular pouch and lores yellow. 
The stomachs of both the above were empty. 


CIRCUS GOULDI (Harrier). 
Math., Handl., No. 254. 
3. 22/1/09. 
Eyes pale brown; feet and tarsi greyish-white; bill, distal 
4 black, balance blue-grey ; cere olive-grey. 
The stomach contained two young Mirafra. 
ASTUR FASCIATUS (Goshawk). 
Math., Handl., No. 258. 


$$. Adult andimmature. 23/1/09. 

Eyes yellow ; feet and tarsi yellow ; bill black and blue-grey, cere 
dark olive-brown. 

The stomachs contained several small lizards, 


r08 Matuews, On the Birds of North-West Australia. oe 
HALIAETUS LEUCOGASTER (White-bellied Sea-Eagle). 
Math., Handl., No. 265. 
3 4, adult. 39, immature. October, 1908. 
Eyes brown; feet and tarsi dirty-white; tip of lower and all 
upper mandible brown, cere leaden-brown, rest leaden-blue. 
The stomachs contained the remains of fish. 
HALIASTUR SPHENURUS (Whistling Eagle). 
Math., Handl., No. 267. 
O® 220/,1/00; ; 
Eyes brown; feet and tarsi white, tinged with blue ; bill brown. 
GYPOICTINIA MELANOSTERNUM (Black-breasted Buzzard). 
Math., Handl., No. 270. 
2. 4/2/09. ae 
Eyes light greyish-brown; feet and tarsi greyish-white. Bill— 
upper and tip of lower mandible brown ; cere, lores, and balance of 
bill leaden-grey. 
The stomach contained grasshoppers. 
ELANUS AXILLARIS (Black-shouldered Kite). 
Math., Handl., No. 271. 
3. 27/1/09. 
Eyes red ; feet and tarsi yellow ; bill black. 
The stomach contained the fragments of a lizard. 
FALCO LUNULATUs (Little Falcon). 
Math., Handl., No. 277. 
2. 30/3/09. 
Eyes dark-brown ; feet and legs yellowish-green ; bill, tip black, 
base blue-grey. 
The stomach contained grasshoppers. 
HIERACIDEA BERIGORA (Striped Brown Hawk). 
Math., Handl., No. 278. 
3. 18/3/09. 
Eyes brown; feet and tarsi leaden-grey; bill, tip blackish, 
balance blue-grey. 
NINOX OCCIDENTALIS (Western Winking-Owl). 
Math., Handl., No. 289. 
Gi. 2h. 27/10/08. is 
Eyes and feet yellow; bill, tip and distal } of cutting edge black, 
balance and cere pale olive-yellow. 
The stomachs contained a quantity of cockchafer and other beetles. 
TRICHOGLOSSUS RUBRITORQUES (Red-collared Lorikeet). 
Math., Handl., No. 303. 
O43 0/1/09. Weg 
Eyes red ; feet and tarsi olive-brown ; bill red. 
The stomach contained fragments of flowers. 


ees MatTHEws, On the Birds of North-West Australia. 10g 
CALYPTORHYNCHUS MACRORHYNCHUS (Great-billed Cockatoo). 
Math., Handl., No. 316. 
3. 15/1/09. 
Eyes dark brown, eyelash black; feet and tarsi brown; bill 
slaty-brown. 
The stomach contained kernels of fruit-stones. 
CACATUA GYMNOPIS (Bare-eyed Cockatoo). 
Math., Handl., No. 322. 
Bue. 237 18/08. 
Iris brown; bare skin round eye leaden-blue; feet and _ tarsi 
brown ; bill greyish-white. 
The stomachs contained seeds and grit. 
PTISTES ERYTHROPTERUS (Red-winged Lory). 
Math., Handl., No. 331. 
363629. Immature. January, I9g09. 
Eyes yellow-brown ; feet and tarsi olive-brown ; bill red. 
The stomachs contained seeds of berries. 
MELOPSITTACUS UNDULATUS (Warbling Grass-Parrakeet). 
Math., Hand., No. 372. 
3. 6/4/09. | tae 
Iris white ; feet and tarsi leaden-blue ; bill olive-grey ; cere blue. 
The stomach and crop contained fine grass seed. 
PODARGUS PHAL2NOIDES (Fréckled Frogmouth). 
Math., Handl., No. 377. 
2. 2/4/09. 
Eyes yellow ; feet and tarsi pale olive-brown ; bill pale brown. 
The stomach contained fragments of grasshoppers and beetles. 
EuRYSTOMUS PACIFICUS (Dollar-Bird). 
Math., Handl., No. 381. 
O25) 1/00. 
Eyes brown; feet and front of tarsi flesh-brown, back of tarsi 


red; genys and tomium red, balance of bill brown. 
The stomach contained fragments of insects. 


DACELO CERVINA (Fawn-breasted Kingfisher). 
Math., Handl., No. 388. 
A4a436 Immature. 23/1/09. 
Eyes grey; feet and tarsi olive-grey; bill, tomium and lower 
mandible white, upper mandible and base of lower blackish-brown. 
The stomachs contained a quantity of grasshoppers, 
CuUCULUS SATURATUS (Oriental Cuckoo). 
Math., Handl., No. 404. 


g- 20/1/00: 


IIO MatHeEws, On the Birds of North-West Australia. Be 


Eyes dark yellow, eyelash yellow; feet and tarsi yellow; bill. 
upper mandible and distal $ of tomium of lower black, balance of 
lower and base of upper olive-grey. 

The stomach contained some hairy caterpillars. 


CUCULUS INORNATUS (Pallid Cuckoo). 
Math., Handl., No. 405. 
9. Immature. 23/1/09. 
Eyes brown ; feet and tarsi olive-brown ; upper mandible brown, 
lower olive-yellow. 
The stomach contained some hairy caterpillars. 


SCYTHROPS NOV#-HOLLANDI#& (Channelbill). 
Math., Handl., No. 416. 

6a. 16/12/08: 

Eyes red; skin round eye, lores, ring round nostril, and line 
from nostril round lower mandible red; feet and tarsi leaden-grey ; 
culmen and sides of upper mandible pale brown, balance of bill 
mixture of grey and brown. 

The stomach contained several large grasshoppers. 


CENTROPUS PHASIANUS (Coucal). 
Math., Handl., No. 417. 


999. Adult. 7/11/08. 

One immature. 3/3/09. 

Eyes light red ; feet and tarsi leaden-blue ; bill black. 

The stomachs contained caterpillars, grasshoppers, and cockchafer 
beetles. 


CINCLORHAMPHUS RUFESCENS (Rufous Song-Lark). 
Math., Handl., No. 539. 
3. 14/3/09. 
Eyes brown ; feet and tarsi very pale brown ; bill. upper mandible 
brown, lower greyish-white. 
The stomach contained fragments of grasshoppers. 


ENTOMYZA ALBIPENNIS (White-quilled Honey-eater). 


Math., Handl., No. 815. 
33. 23/1/09. Lee 
Eyes yellow ; bare skin olive-yellow ; feet and tarsi leaden-brown, 
tinged with olive ; bill, basal } olive-yellow, rest black. 
The stomachs contained a quantity of fig seeds. 


CHLAMYDODERA NUCHALIS (Great Bower-Bird). 
Math., Handl., No. 863. 
3. 4/4/09. Rit | 
Eyes brown ; feet and tarsi olive-grey; bill brownish-black, tip 
brown. 
The stomach contained some cocoons, which were very tough and 
leathery, and which contained one grub each. 


Voki ] CrossmMAN, Birds Seen around Broome, N.W. Aust. i Eat 


1g10 


Birds Seen in and around Broome, North-Western 


Australia. 
(ADDITIONAL LIST.)* 
Be ALAN, bb CROSSMAN, Oris. 069Z-S.. MBO: 


Emu (Dromeus nove-hollandie).—Though I have not seen this bird 
myself, I have been informed of its occurrence near Broome, not very 
close to the town. 

BARRED-SHOULDERED DOVE (Geopelia humeralis)—I saw a bird of 
this species which had been caught in a trap at Cocoanut Well, about 
2 miles from Broome. 

Marsu TERN (Hydrocheiidon hybrida).—Fairly common after the 
breeding season. 

LitTLE Quart (Turnix velox).—I have twice seen birds apparently 
belonging to this species. 

MASKED PLOVER (Lobivanellus miles).—I saw two pairs of these birds 
near Broome in October, 1909. 

GREY PLOVER (Squatarola helvetica)-—One shot on the beach near 
Broome during the October migration of 1909. 

LESSER GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrius dominicus).—Obtained here on 
migration. 

LitTLE WHIMBREL (Mesoscolopax minutus)—Common during the 
spring and autumn migration. 

GREENSHANK (Glottis nebularius).—In swampy country, about 16 
miles from Broome,-I saw a pair of birds which were apparently 
referable to this species. One was shot. 

SANDERLING (Calidvis avenaria).—One seen during the October 
migration. 

WHITE-HEADED STILT (Himantopus leucocephalus).—Not uncommon 
around pools on the plains after a heavy rainfall. 

LONG-BILLED STONE-PLOVER (Orthorhamphus magnirostris).—Seen 
on two occasions on the sea-shore. 


Waite Isis (Jb¢s molucca).—Plentiful during the rainy season. 

BLACK-NECKED STORK (Xenorhynchus asiaticus)—One seen near 
Broome in February, 1910. 

REEF-HERON (Demiegretta sacra)—Common along the coast. 

NiGHT-HERON (Nycticorax caledonicus)—Not uncommon in the 
mangrove thickets. 

Brack Duck (Anas superciliosa)—Common in the rainy season, 

LitTLE Black CoRMORANT (Phalacrocorax sulcivostvis).—Common on 
pools and swamps during the wet season. 

DarTER (Plotus nove-hollandi@).—Seen on one occasion in a man- 
grove swamp. 

SPARROW-HAwK (Accipiter civrhocephalus).—Not uncommon in the 
Pindan country. 

LETTER-WINGED Kite (Elanus scriptus).—Not uncommon. 


* Continued from vol. ix., page 148. 


II2 CrossMAN, Birds Seen avound Broome, N.W. Aust. Bass? 

LittLE Fatcon (Falco lunulatus).—I have identified this species on 
one or two occasions. 

Boosook Owt (Ninox boobook).—I saw an old bird which had been 
shot, and some young birds which had been taken from a nest, in the 
Pindan country, a few miles from Broome. : 

MaAsKED Owt (Séivix nove-hollandi@).—One seen in timber country 
in broad daylight. 

GREAT-BILLED CocKAToo (Calyptorhynchus macrorhynchus) —I saw 
two birds apparently referable to this species about 20 miles from 
Broome. 

RED-WINGED Lory (Ptistes erythropterus).—Not uncommon at times. 

ROLLER (Eurystomus pacificus)—Common about October, and 
apparently remaining to nest, as I saw a pair of young birds in a cage 
at Broome. 

Forest KINGFISHER (Halcyon macleayi)—Seen on _ several 
occasions in the Pindan country. 

WHITE-RUMPED Swirt (Cypselus pacificus).—Plentiful at intervals 
during the summer. 

CoucaL (Centropus phasianus).—This_ bird, locally known as the 
North-west Pheasant, is not uncommon in the scrub country. It can 
often be seen in the early morning and just before dusk sitting on a 
tree uttering a sort of booming note. 

Hoovep Rosin (Petreca bicolor).—Common. 

YELLOW-TINTED TREE-Tit (Smicrornis flavescens).—This bird may 
often be heard uttering its small, but not unpleasing, song in the 
timbered country. 

RESTLESS FLYCATCHER (Sisura inguieta).—Not uncommon. 

Brown SonG-LARK (Cinclorhamphus cruralis)—Common on the 
plains. 

GRaAss-WARBLER (Cisticola exilis).—I have seen a bird on several 
occasions on the plains apparently referable to this species. 

RED-BACKED WREN (Malurus cruentatus).—Common. 

MaGpiE-LarkK (Grallina picata).—Not uncommon. 


NORTHERN THICKHEAD (Pachycephala falcata).—Not uncommon in 
the timbered country. 

BLACK-CAPPED TREE-RUNNER (Neositta pileata).—Common in Pindan 
country. 

BLACK-TAILED TREE-CREEPER (Climacteris melanuva).—Common. 


BANDED HONEY-EATER (Myzomela pectorvalis).—Identified on one 
occasion at least. 

GOLDEN-BACKED HONEY-EATER (WMelithreptus letior).i—Seen on 
several occasions in the scrub country. It utters a somewhat loud 
note. 

RED-THROATED HONEY-EATER (Conopophila rufigularis).—Common. 


Prpit (Anthus australis).—Common. 


MrittiGAN BusH-LarK (Mivafra milligani).—Very common on the 
plains. This species sings at night, and has a peculiar soaring flight 
when flushed suddenly. 


Vol, -X. 


1910 


|] Crossman, Birds Seen around Broome, N.W. Aust. Ti13 


CHESTNUT-EARED Fincu (Teniopygia castanotis).—Common, 
BANDED FINCH (Stictoptera bichenovii).—Identified once. 


LONG-TAILED Fincu (Poephila acuticauda).—Seen occasionally in the 
Pindan. 


MASKED FINcH (Poephila personata).—Occasionally seen. 
Crimson Fincu (Neochmia phaeton).—Seen in hundreds during the 
winter months. 


GREAT BowWER-BirD (Chlamydodera nuchalis).—Fairly plentiful in 
the scrub country. This bird has a habit of perching at the top of a 
tree, uttering a very harsh note, and bringing its tail right forward 
underneath, but in front of, the bough. I have seen but one bower, 
which was paved chiefly with cockle shells. 


Crow (Corvus coronoides).—Seldom seen round Broome, but common 
at Streeter’s station, about 18 miles out. 


Notes on Pardalotes. 


By L. G. CHANDLER, MALVERN (VIC.) 
(Read before the Bird Observers’ Club, 24th February, 1910.) 


From the cabinet worker’s point of view, birds that undergo 
varying changes between immature and adult plumage have a 
greater interest than those that take on the garb of the mature 
bird while still in the nest. Pardalotes vary in their plumage to 
a marked degree. The Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) 
is a common form in the vicinity of the Dandenong Ranges (Vic.) 
When wandering through the bush you may hear their peculiar 
call at almost any time of the day. This call consists of two 
notes, the second note a trifle lower than the first. There are 
other calls. I have found the nesting-tunnel of this Pardalote 
in many places—in the earth, at the base of an uprooted tree ; 
on flat ground, following the course of a decayed root ;' in the side 
of a furrow in ploughed land ; again, in the bank of a creek, and 
lately in a tree-hollow. I think any of the Pardalotes will choose 
either the ground or a tree as a nesting site. Before Mr. F. E. 
Wilson and I noticed this unusual occurrence at Frankston on the 
28th November last, I believe the nesting of P. punctatus in trees had 
not been recorded, although possibly observed. I think it probable 
that they choose the trees as nesting sites as often as any other 
members of the genus. My companion was passing a tree, and, 
on giving it an inquiring thump with a tomahawk, out darted a 
tiny bird from a hollow about g feet up the trunk. After some 
hard chopping the nest was revealed. A single glance showed us 
that the owners were a pair of P. punctatus. Two feathers from 
the breast of the bird were woven into the lining. The nest con- 
tained three young ones, about a day old. Presently the parent 
bird appeared with food in its bill, and the identity was complete. 


Emu > 
ist Oct. 


LIA CHANDLER, Notes on Pardalotes. 

The banks of Cardinia Creek, Beaconsfield, offer ideal nesting 
sites for this species. Being of a loose, sandy nature, the earth 
is especially suitable for them to tunnel in. The material used 
in building is the bark of certain gum-trees (Eucalyptus). Any 
noise in the vicinity of the nesting-tunnel will quickly bring the 
bird out, should it be sitting on its eggs. In many cases it would 
be impossible to detect the tiny burrow, which, on an average, 
is little more than 14 inches in diameter, were it not for the bird 
betraying it in this manner. A few nests noticed in the banks of 
Cardinia Creek were hidden by clustering maiden-hair fern, which 
formed a natural doorway. A nest observed in a sandy bank at 
Frankston contained a healthy young one about a week old and 
the dried skeletons of two others. A close examination of the 
nest failed to reveal the cause of the nestlings’ death. Messrs. 
C. Barrett and E. B. Nicholls cite a similar case * :—“‘ On opening 
up one of the tunnels we found five nestlings. Three of these 
were dead, being half-eaten by the larvee of some species of dip- 
terous fly of the genus Calliphora.”’ These notes are interesting. 
That young birds of different species are sometimes attacked by 
dipterous larve in the nest has, I think, been noted by several 
observers. 

A burrow may be used for two or more consecutive seasons, 
for I have found a fresh nest built on the decayed remains of an 
old one. It contained the unusual number of five eggs. In a 
bank where the earth is hard a slight ridge is often noticed in the 
centre of the tunnel, near the entrance. This has been raised by 
the bird when expelling the soil with its feet. If the birds are 
not in the vicinity, this sign is sufficient to show that the burrow 
is, or has been, tenanted by a Pardalote. Both sexes assist in 
the construction of the nest and the work of incubation. In the 
task of feeding the offspring each takes an equal share. In the 
month of December a number of young birds may be seen following 
their parents, uttering a faint, piping whistle. At the same time 
nests building, or containing fresh eggs, are observed. 

The young of this species is born naked and blind. At a week 
old the gape is cream; bill horn colour; frontal quills not yet 
broken ; crown yellowish-buff, with black tips ; upper tail coverts 
and rump buff; tail black, with two white spots on central quills ; 
two outer quills white,with black bases ; primaries black, tipped with 
white ; secondaries black, with white spots, and tipped with white ; 
throat pale buff; sides of chest and abdomen very pale buff; feet 
bluish-grey ; irides brown. I have been unsuccessful in finding 
nestlings in a more advanced stage than the latter. 

Pardalotus assimilis—This is a common form in the Frankston 
district, and it is there principally that the following notes have been 
collected. In open forest country P. assimilis is certain to be in 
evidence, and often in the thickly-timbered localities; but the 
birds show a preference for open gum (Eucalyptus) country. One 


* Victorian Naturalist, vol. xxi., p. 164. 


Vol. X. ] 


oie CHANDLER, Notes on Pardalotes. II5 
observer writes * :—‘‘ The bird does not stay to winter in its 
breeding haunt, and is away long before sure signs of the coming 
fall are generally noticeable.” My observations have been the 
reverse of this. During the winter months I have seen flocks of 
a dozen or more of this species at various times and in different 
localities. Like many other so-called.migratory birds, this species 
leads a nomadic existence, future movements, after the termina- 
tion of the breeding season, depending entirely on the food supply. 
At Bayswater, in March, 1go9, I saw a flock composed of many 
dozens. Two specimens that I secured were immature birds, just 
assuming the adult plumage. They would probably be about 
five months old. They were noisy, and were giving a trisyllabic 
note resembling “‘ Wit-e-lu.”’ I think it is the immature birds that 
give this call. In April I have seen small companies at Frankston, 
and on two occasions a pair of birds was observed. On 7th June, 
at Olinda (Vic.), a noisy flock of P. assimilis was seen traversing 
the tree-tops.. In the Frankston district, on roth July, 1909, 
I saw a partial albino in company with half-a-dozen birds of 
normal plumage. The centre of the head was pure white, and the 
lores and eyebrow of a fawn colour. The shoulders were a dirty 
white, and the remainder of the plumage much paler than usual. 
The wing markings appeared identical with the ordinary plumage 
of P. assimilts. 

Like many birds that are habitually noisy throughout the 
breeding season, this species is remarkably quiet during the colder 
months of the year. This habit would make them easily overlooked 
by those who infer that the birds are migratory. In July and 
August I have not heard them give other than a sweet “‘ trill’ note, 
which, however, can be heard a fair distance away. I consider this 
call to be the one used when a mate is being sought. On one 
occasion I blocked the entrance to a nest containing young, and 
retired a short distance to watch. The parent birds presently 
appeared with food in their bills. One of them flew to the nest 
entrance, and, finding it blocked, fluttered in front for a few seconds, 
then quickly returned to its former position. “The other flew down, 
with the same result. Both commenced calling persistently ‘‘ Will- 
ju, will-ju.”’ Occasionally one would fly down; but some time 
elapsed before they ventured to perch for a few seconds at the nest 
entrance. It was distinctly noticeable that when the birds were 
hovering or settled near the nest they emitted the “ trill’’ call, 
and while away from it they gave the usual double-syllabic note. 
I judge from my observation that this note is the one generally 
used as a call note. 

This species apparently congregates about February or March, 
and in July and August commences to pair off for the breeding 
season. Working actively from bough to bough in search of 
provender, they do not stay long in the one tree, but when two or 
three birds fly further afield the remainder quickly follow. They 


* Victorian Naturalist, vol, xvii., p. 21. 


Emu 
1Stw Oct. 


I16 CHANDLER, Notes on Pardalotes. 
appear to live on the scale-insects that infest eucalypt leaves, and 
on a still, calm day, if feeding in sapling growth, the “ tap, tap ”’ 
of their bills on the leaves can be plainly heard. In July numbers 
of solitary birds were seen. They were flying in a lost manner, 
and occasionally settled on a dead limb of a high tree and emitted 
the ‘‘trill’’ note. This note is often heard while the bird is on 
the wing. About the end of July the birds are frequently seen 
in pairs, but it is well towards the end of October before they 
commence serious building preparations. At times I have noticed 
three birds in company—the third, apparently, the vanquished 
male. The wing-beats of this bird are rapid. At irregular intervals 
it describes a short quadrant in its flight ; sometimes this quadrant 
is a little more extended on a downward grade. This character- 
istic flight, together with certain notes that are uttered, render the 
species easily recognizable on the wing. Both sexes attend to the 
wants of the young ones. The nest may be placed in a tree-hollow 
or in a tunnel in the ground. Before the site for thé nest has been 
chosen, and while building operations are in progress, both sexes 
are very noisy, and thus help to betray the whereabouts of their 
nesting-tunnel. Both sexes assist in the work of excavation, but 
I have only seen one bird (presumably the female) carrying in 
rootlets for the nest. On one occasion the two birds were seen to 
enter the tunnel—one with nesting material, the other without. 
They remained out of sight several minutes. I have no doubt 
that both sexes assist in collecting the material and building the 
nest. At one place, where I saw a pair of birds about a bank, 
I made a few excavations with a stick, and on a subsequent visit 
found that one of my clumsily made tunnels had been neatly 
extended. My friend, Mr. F. E. Wilson, saw a bird on one occasion 
building its nest in a hollow log lying on the ground. The 
favoured situation is In a perpendicular sandy bank. Where a 
road has been cut through a sandy ridge, and the Pardalotes are 
noisy during the breeding season, one is certain to find the 
nesting-tunnel. They prefer a place where the sand has been 
freshly disturbed, for only on rare occasions have I noticed a nest 
in an old, discoloured bank. There are several of these cuttings 
around Frankston where this species breeds every year. In one 
small bank four or five pairs of birds had their nests. The burrows 
had been tunnelled with a slight upward tendency, and the nests 
were found about 15 to 18 inches from the opening; the latter 
would be about 14 to 1? inches in diameter. Nests built in trees 
are, in the majority of cases, placed in the bole, though sometimes 
a convenient spout is made use of. How the birds manage to 
enlarge a chamber in semi-decayed wood is a mystery. In some 
instances they do not succeed too well, hence a nest formed in a 
tree is often smaller and not so symmetrical as one built in a 
bank. The average height of the nest from the ground appears 
to be from 12 to 15 feet. 

A typical skin of P. assimilis has the third primary only edged 
with white, but specimens are obtained occasionally with the 


— 


Vol. X. 
1910 


CHANDLER, Notes on Pardalotes. E17 
third and fourth primaries showing white edges. One skin in my 
possession has the third and fourth primaries boldly fringed with 
white, the fifth primary is faintly edged for a quarter of its 
length, and the sixth primary shows about one-sixteenth of an 
inch of white. I believe this bird to be the result of interbreeding 
between P. ornatus and P. assimilis. A close study of these birds 
will probably prove that they frequently interbreed. On the 
28th November, 1909, at Frankston, Mr. F. E. Wilson and myself 
identified these two birds cross-breeding. A  Pardalote’s nest 
was found in the earth, at the base of an uprooted tree. This tree 
was growing on the side of a bank, so the nesting-tunnel was really 
about ro feet above the level of the ground. The nest was fully 
2 feet in the soil. The eggs looked much smaller than usual, 
and two feathers were woven into the lining of the nest, which 
was composed principally of strips of red stringy-bark (Eucalyptus) 
and a few dried grasses. As this was the first occasion on which 
we had noticed feathers in a nest of P. assimilis, and knowing that 
P. ornatus is said to use feathers in the lining of its nest, we were 
anxious to examine the birds closely before we quitted the spot. 
An opportunity soon occurred, for both birds settled on some 
exposed tree-roots a few feet away. One was, without doubt, 
P. ornatus, from the broad, white patch on the primaries, and the 
other P. assimilis, with the third primary only edged white. I 
visited the locality a fortnight later, in the hope of finding the 
birds nesting again, but they had deserted the spot, probably to 
nest in the trees. The material used in the construction of nests 
varies to a large extent. Nests in trees are constructed generally 
of grasses and bark, while those in the earth are usually composed 
of rootlets and root fibre. One nest I found in sheoak (Casuarina) 
country was composed almost entirely of the “ needles’’ of that 
tree, with a few grasses and bits of bark added. I have examined 
a fresh nest built on the remains of an old one, so that, like P. 
punctatus, this species sometimes uses the same tunnel for two or 
more seasons. The average clutch of eggs is four, but I have oc- 
casionally noticed five. When fresh the eggs have very little gloss 
on them, and are a_ beautiful pink in colour. As incubation 
advances the shell gets smooth and glossy, and darker in appearance. 
The birds sit closely, and often will allow one to excavate the tunnel 
right up to the nest before they leave the eggs. I believe this is 
due to their timorous nature. 

The young of this species is born naked and blind, and the body 
is then of a delicate pink in colour, wings and feet pale cream, 
gape sulphur-yellow. When two or three days old the head is 
covered with a grey down, and on the back and flanks a mixture 
of grey and white, gape pale yellow, mouth saffron. When 
about a week old the primary quills were nearly an inch in length, 
with the feathers just unfurling; primary coverts showing red 
feathers at tips through blue quills; middle of back and head, 
brownish feathers just breaking; tail half an inch long; throat 
yellow ; flanks tawny; a row of:feathers on* sides of_ abdomen 


Emu 
tst Oct. 


118 CHANDLER, Notes on Pardalotes. 
cream; irides dark brown; bill greenish-black; gape cream ; 
mouth orange. ; 

Three immature skins in my possession show the following 
phases of plumage :—(a, about six weeks old) head pale yellow, 
narrowly centred with creamy-white on crown ; base of feathers 
dusky-grey; lores light orange; brows creamy; throat pale 
yellow ; first primary faintly edged with white ; third and fourth 
primaries boldly edged with white; speculum orange-red ; bill 
blackish ; legs and feet neutral tint; gape pale yellow; irides 
dark brown. (b) This specimen is just changing from immature 
to adult plumage. Two black feathers, centred with white, have 
appeared among the yellowish feathers on the head. Lores pale 
yellow ; eyebrows creamy-yellow ; first primary faintly edged with 
dirty white ; third primary white ; speculum orange-red. (c) This 
specimen is evidently a little older than the preceding one, The 
head is assuming the black of the adult bird, and a number of the 
striated feathers have appeared. The lores are yellow and the 
eyebrows white; very faint fringe of light buff on first primary ; 
third primary white ; speculum orange-red. This skin is of special 
value, for an examination of the head reveals the fact that the 
change of plumage is brought about by an alteration of colour in 
the feathers as well as by moult. The yellow feathers on the head 
of the younger specimen are here superseded by grey ones. Some 
of the feathers on the forehead have reached the black hue of the 
mature bird, while others are in intermediate stages of dusky-grey. 
It is interesting to notice that, although the feathers on the fore- 
head and eyebrows reach the adult stage of plumage by a change 
in colour, the striated feathers on the crown are produced by moult. 
This is obvious from a few young quills showing beneath the feathers 
in specimen (>). The yellow feathers on the throat are moulting, 
but their successors are pale when compared with the rich colour 
of the adult bird. 


Bird-Life on Sandy Creek, Riverina, New South 
Wales. 


By CHARLES GUBANYI. 
PART J.—AUTUMN AND WINTER. 


ALONG the main Southern railway line of New South Wales, 
between the Murrumbidgee and the Upper Murray Rivers, stretches 
a slightly undulating, rich agricultural country—the Riverina. In 
its original state the eastern part of the district was fairly heavily 
timbered, grey box, red gum, and cypress-pines being the principal 
trees on the plains, while the hillsides and granitic ridges supported 
ironbarks, red and white stringybarks, and other eucalypts. The 
advent of wheat-growing on a large scale, and the general change 
from grazing to intensive cultivation, caused on great areas 
the disappearance of the timber. The transformation of the 


Vol. %. | GuBanyl, Bird-Life on Sandy Creek, Riverina, N.S.W. 11g 


IgIo 


general aspect of the country is remarkable, but far from being 
completed. As a matter of fact, only recently hundreds of 
thousands of acres of more or less heavily timbered Riverina land 
were subdivided and opened up for closer settlement, cut into 
small farms, and cleared for wheat-growing. 

The country round Sandy Creek is one part of those newly sub- 
divided territories, lying about 15 miles to the south of the Murrum- 
bidgee, near Wagga Wagga. On and round here (Sandy Creek) 
ringbarking, clearing, burning-off, and general preparation of the 
soil for intensive cultivation is still going on. It is certain that the 
new conditions will in many ways influence the bird-life, and very 
probably some interesting changes may be expected. 

The following list is of the birds observed between 1st March and 
ast July, 1910 :— 


YELLOW-RUMPED Tit (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa).—This useful little 
bird keeps company with us all the year round, destroying a great 
quantity of insects in the garden or round the farm-yard. 


Pipit (Anthus australis).—Fairly plentiful in this district, and spends 
autumn and winter in or near the garden. As soon as the soil is 
worked the Pipits are following the cultivators, looking for grubs and 
larve exposed. 


Woov-SwaLLow (Artamus sovdidus)—This bird is very common in 
our district, frequenting the timbered belt of the creek all the summer 
round ; but during March and April small flocks are paying frequent 
visits to the orchards, feeding on insects, especially locusts. These 
Wood-Swallows leave the district at or about the end of May, but 
August brings them back again. 


SPARROW-HaAWK (Accipiter civrhocephalus)—Very often seen at all 
seasons. Not considered an enemy by the farmers. 


MacpIE-Lark (Grallina picata).—Seen all over the country at all 
seasons ; but during autumn the farm-yard and the garden are its 
favourite hunting-grounds. It feeds chiefly on insects, but occasionally 
picks up seeds and grains. The poisoned wheat laid out in the garden 
for the destruction of Sparrows frequently brings about the death of 
this useful and graceful bird. 


BLuE WrREN (Malurus cyaneus).—A rare visitor. Sometimes in 
April or May it puts in its appearance for a sunny afternoon, chasing 
the insects from the garden fence ; then it is clad in grey. 


BLACK-AND-WHITE FantaiL (Rhipidura tricolor). — This graceful 
little bird is our most faithful companion all the year round. After 
the breeding season they keep constantly busy near the house and 
garden, uttering their various gay little notes from early morning till 
sunset. 


RESTLESS FLYCATCHER (Stsuva tnquieta).—Invariably seen round the 
garden in autumn. 
SCARLET-BREASTED Rosin (Petreca leggei)—This species is only a 


welcome visitor on the cultivated plains. During May and June it 
is frequently seen in small flocks. 


RED-CAPPED Ropin (Pelyv@ca goodenovit).— This species is much 
smaller than P. /eggez, and it is only occasionally seen during the late 
autumn days. 


120 Gusanyi, Bird-Life on Sandy Creek, Riverina,N.S.W. [PG cr, 
HoopepD Rosin (Petreca bicolor).—Frequently seen with the flock of 
P. legget. 


Farry Martin (Petrochelidon ariel)—The Martins’ mud nests are 
numerous along the clay-banks of the creek. The birds leave our 
district about the end of April, but the early spring brings them back 
again. 

HousE-SWALLow (Hivundo neoxena).—Our Swallows are faithful 
to us all the year round. In June and July they have rather a quiet 
time, frequently spending 15 hours a day under the verandah roof. 


BROWN TREE-CREEPER (Climacteris scandens).—The shrill and piping 
cry of C. scandens is heard at all seasons along the timbered line of the 
creek. A fairly common species. 

WHITE-WINGED CHOUGH (Corcovax melanorhamphus).—Often seen 
in small flocks—up to 12 birds. In the present state of the country 


these birds are rather useful ; but the settlers who plant look upon 
them with a certain amount of suspicion. 


Crow (Corvus coronoides).—The loud cry of the Crow is to be heard 
here all the year round. The sheep-owner regards the species as his 
worst enemy. 


RAVEN (Corvus australis)—Note on previous species applies to the 
Raven. 


BuTCHER-BiIRD (Cracticus destructoy)—The gay and musical note 
of the Butcher-Bird is heard during autumn and winter. 


GREAT BROowN KINGFISHER (Dacelo gigas).—This useful bird is very 
well distributed all over the country ; frequents the large eucalypts 
along the creek. 


BLACK-BACKED MAGPIE (Gymnorhina tibicen).—Very common, and 
well protected by the law and by the sympathy of the farmers. 


WHISTLING EAGLE (Haliastur sphenurus).—A frequent visitor during 
autumn and winter, circling in pairs above the open country. 


Brown Hawk (Hieracidea orientalis).—Frequently seen perching on 
the highest dry branches of the ringbarked trees. 


Notsy MINER (Myzantha garrula)—A very common bird in this 
district, keeping near the high eucalypts along the creek and the main 
roads. 


WHITE-BROWED BABBLER (Pomatorhinus superciliosus).—These agile 
birds are with us at all seasons. They wholly enjoy the farmers’ and 
orchardists’ goodwill and protection. 


GREY JUMPER (Struthidea cinerea)—Common. 


Musk-LorRIKEET (Glossopsittacus concinnus), LITTLE LORIKEET 
(Glossopsittacus pusillus), ROosELLA (Platycercus eximius), YELLOW- 
BELLIED PARRAKEET (Platycercus flaviventris)—All these species are 
fairly abundant. 


Boospook Owt (Ninox boobook).—Apparently well distributed all 
over the country. 


Tawny Frocmouts (Podargus strigoides).—Call often heard. 


BLACK-FRONTED DotTTrReL (4gialitis melanops).— From March till 
July we have invariably a small flock of this Dottrel on fields, fallowed 
lands, and cultivation paddocks. 


ek x. | GuBaNnyI, Bird-Life on Sandy Creek, Riverina, N.'S.W. 121 


IgIo 


WHITE CocKaToo (Cacatua galerita).—These Cockatoos are only seen 
in the open country during June and July, when they arrive in great 
flocks, numbering many thousand birds. They frequent the fallowed 
lands in search of ants’ eggs and the cultivated paddocks in search 
of wheat. ° 


ROSE-BREASTED COCKATOO (Cacatua rvoseicapilla).— Unlike the White 
Cockatoos, these birds are to be seen all the year round. They prefer 
to keep and look for food in pairs, but in autumn they are frequently 
seen in considerable flocks. The Galah is not looked upon as a harmful 
bird. 


STRAW-NECKED IpBis (Carphibis spinicollis)—In early autumn the 
Ibises are frequently seen on our fields looking for insects, especially 
grasshoppers. They enjoy absolute protection in New South Wales, 
as far as the law goes ; but, in spite of the protection, the pot-hunters 
shoot them. 


WatTTLE-Birp (Acanthochera cavunculata).—These interesting birds 
are only occasionally seen here for a few hours, in flocks numbering 
up to 20. This year the last flock was observed on Ist June. 


SPINE-TAILED SwiFt (Chetura caudacuta).—On 15th March, about 
4 p.m., after a heavy rain, I saw some Swifts flying north. The main’ 
flock was followed by a somewhat scattered rear-guard, and it took 
about five minutes for the whole body to pass over. 


Notes on the Birds Seen around Inglenook, Merriman’s 
| Creek, South Gippsland.* 
By ArtTHuUR P. INGLE, A.O.U. 


WEDGE-TAILED EaGLe (Uroaétus audax, Lath.)—This noble bird was 
numerous until three years ago, since when they have almost entirely 
disappeared. This disappearance is almost entirely due to the poison- 
ing of carcasses of sheep, and to vandal sportsmen (?). Personally, I 
think that within a very short space of time the species will become 
extinct. 


WHISTLING EAGLE (Haliastur sphenurus, Vigors).— This Eagle is 
only a visitor. It generally appears in very dry autumns ; sometimes 
as many as 11 birds have been seen circling over a dead beast. 


LittLe Fatcon (Falco lunulatus, Lath.)—Only on one occasion have 
I seen this Falcon ; the bird was being worried by a pair of Kestrels 
(C. cenchroides). 


KESTREL (Cerchneis cenchroides, Vig. and Hors.)—Generally returns 
to this district in August. The female lays sometimes as many as five 
eggs to the clutch. The birds leave before the end of March. 


GouLp’s HArRRIER (Circus gouldi, Bonaparte).—This Hawk is fre- 
quently seen about here. It breeds in the neighbouring swamps, and 
occasionally raids the poultry yard. 


Wuite Gosnawk (Astur nove-hollandie, Gmelin).—A single speci- 
men was seen, which proved to be an immature male. 


* Nomenclature according to Hall’s ‘‘ Key.” 


122 INGLE, Birds of Merriman’s Creek, South Gippsland. [ mye 


1st 


GosHAwk (Astur approximans, Vig. and Hors.)—This is the most 
familiar Hawk of the district. I have frequently found nests, con- 
taining sometimes four eggs, but three seems to be the usual clutch. 


SpaRRoW-Hawk (Accipiter civrhocephalus, Vieill.)—Occasionally seen. 
One nest was noted some four years ago ; it contained three eggs, which 
were taken. Since then I have not known them to breed here. 


Boosook Owt (Ninox boobook, Lath.)—Frequently heard calling at 
night, and often flushed from cover. Several nests have been seen ; 
one, from which I secured a clutch of three eggs, was in a gum on the 
steep side of a hill, and overhanging Merriman’s Creek. The height 
from the ground was 8o feet. 


GREY CROW-SHRIKE (Strepeva cuneicaudata, Vieill.) — These birds 
are very plentiful at times, but generally all disappear at the approach 
of the breeding season. Only one nest has been seen in this district. 


WHITE-WINGED CHOUGH (Corcorax melanorhamphus, Vieill.) — 
Frequently seen in flocks of from 6 to 12; they breed freely. One 
nest I noted was composed of cattle droppings ; this was owing to the 
scarcity of mud. 


ORIOLE (Orviolus viridis, Lath.)—Plentiful. Usually appear late in 
August, breed till the close of January, and leave before the end of 
April. 

Maapir-Lark (Grallina picata, Lath.)—Very plentiful. Flocks are 
often seen after the breeding season, when some individuals fall an 
easy prey to the Goshawk (4. approximans). 


GREY SHRIKE-THRUSH (Collyriocincla harmonica, Lath.)—This Thrush 
is the most common in the district. 


BLACK-FACED CUCKOO-SHRIKE (Gvaucalus melanops, Lathe 
plentiful, arriving in August, breeding from October to January, and 
leaving before the end of April. 


CATERPILLAR-EATER (Edoliisoma tenutvostre, Jardine).—This species 
arrives in the beginning of October. It is fairly plentiful. Several 
nests noted on 29th of November and the 9th and 1oth of December, 
1909. The birds leave before the end of March. 


WHITE-SHOULDERED CATERPILLAR-EATER (Lalage tricolor, Swainson). 
—During the spring of 1908 two pairs arrived here. The nest of one 
pair was discovered, and contained three fresh eggs, on the 6th of 
January. This is the only instance in which I have known L. tricolor 
to come so far south. 


Brown FiycatcHer (Micreca fascinans, Lath.)—Extremely plenti- 
ful, and is found breeding everywhere. I have found the nest placed 
3 feet from the ground and as high as 40 feet. 


SCARLET-BREASTED ROBIN (Petreca legget, Sharpe).—This species is 
numerous, and found breeding in the heavily-timbered lands. 


FLAME-BREASTED. Rosin (Petv@ca phaenicea, Gould).—This Robin 
arrives about the middle of March, the females coming a few weeks 
before the males. I have never known any to stay later than the 30th 
of September. 


Hoovep Rosin (Petreca bicolor, Vig. and Hors.)—Not very plenti- 
ful ; odd pairs scattered over the open country, where they breed in 
old stumps. 


ee INGLE, Birds of Merriman’s Creek, South Gippsland. 123 


1910 


BiuE WREN (Malurus cyaneus, Ellis)—Very plentiful everywhere, 
and breeds in great numbers. Frequently victimized by Chalcococcyx 
basalis, Hors. 


WHITE-SHAFTED FANTAIL (Rhipidura albiscapa, Gould).—Common 
along all creeks and gullies ; many nests are noted every season. 


Rurous FAntaiL (Rhipidura rufifrons, Lath.)—This species is only 
an occasional visitor, arriving usually in the autumn. 


BLACK-AND-WHITE FANTAIL (hipidura tricolor, Vieill.)—Very plenti- 
ful, and breeds freely. 


RESTLESS FLYCATCHER (Sitsurva inquieta, Lath.)—A few pairs arrive 
here in the beginning of October ; they breed and leave before the 
roth of January. 


REED-WARBLER (Acrocephalus australis, Gould).—Plentiful in the 
reeds growing in Merriman’s Creek. One nest I noticed placed in a 
tea-tree contained fresh eggs and was 4 feet from the ground. 


MounrtTAIN-THRUSH (Geocichla lunulata, Lath.)—Not very plentiful, 
owing to their breeding grounds being almost all cleared and burnt off. 


SATIN BowER-BirpD (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, Vieill.)—Not plenti- 
ful ; only one nest has been seen, in a thick patch of gums growing on 
a main road, and placed 35 feet from the ground. 


Emu-WREN (Stiipiturus malachurus, Lath.)—This Wren is becoming 
rare. Some years ago I knew of scrubs that were alive with them ; 
now only a pair or two remain. 


GrRaASS-WARBLER (Cisticola exilis, Vig. and Hors.)—Only twice have 
I known this bird to arrive here. In both cases nests were built on a 
rough grassy flat. 


Little Tit (Acanthiza nana, Vig. and Hors.)—Found only in limited 
numbers. It remains the whole winter, and frequents the open country 
studded with casuarinas and odd peppermint gums. 


Brown Tit (Acanthiza pusilla, Lath.)—This Acanthiza is numerous, 
and nests along every creek and gully. 


STRIATED Tit (Acanthiza lineata, Gould).—Very common. Numbers 
of nests are seen every year. Sometimes found fostering the young 
of Chalcococcyx plagosus. 


BUFF-RUMPED Tit (Acanthiza veguloides, Vig. and Hors.)—Nearly 
as common as A. chrysorrhoa. I have in my possession a clutch of 
eggs with an egg of Chalcococcyx basalts. 


YELLOW-RUMPED Tit (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa, Quoy and Gaim.)—The 
common Acanthiza of this district. Hundreds of nests are seen every 
year ; some contain the egg of Chalcococcyx plagosus. 


WHITE-BROWED SCRUB-WREN (Sericornis frontalis, Vig. and Hors.) 
—Common. Numbers of nests containing eggs are found each season ; 
sometimes an egg of Cacomantis flabelliformis is found with those of 
the Scrub-Wrens. 


SPOTTED BABBLING-THRUSH (Cinclosoma punctatum, Lath.)—Not 
common. A few pairs are known to frequent the rough country, but 
the species is gradually becoming rarer. 


CHESTNUT-RUMPED GROUND-WREN (Hylacola pyrrhopygia, Vig. and 
Hors.)—Rarely seen now. During the spring of 1909 I searched, but 
only succeeded in seeing a single specimen. 


I24 INGLE, Birds of Merriman’s Creek, South Gippsland. Br 2 


CoACHWHIP-BirD (Psophodes crepitans, Vig. and Hors.)—Only two 
pairs of this bird are known to me. They bred in their usual haunt 
during the spring of 1909. 

WHITE-FRONTED CuHat (Ephthianura albifrons, Jard. and Selby).— 
Common in the open country, where they breed freely. 


WHITE-BACKED MAGPIE (Gymnorhina leuconota, Gould).—Far from 
uncommon. Large flocks patrol the open country. 


ButTcHER-BirpD (Cracticus destructor, Temm.)—Common, and breeds 
freely ; as many as five eggs to the clutch. 


YELLOW-BELLIED SHRIKE-Tir (Falcunculus frontatus, Lath.) — 
Rather scarce. A few pairs were found nesting in eucalypts, at the 
summits of the trees. 


WHITE-THROATED THICKHEAD (Pachycephala gutturalis, Lath.) — 
Fairly plentiful in the scrubs. Many nests are seen each season.  }x* 


5 


RUFOUS-BREASTED THICKHEAD (Pachycephala rufigularis, Gould).— 
Arrives here in numbers during September, breeds freely, and departs 
about the middle of March. 


WHITE-THROATED TREE-CREEPER (Climacteris leucophea, Lath.)— 
Breeds freely. 


ORANGE-WINGED TREE-RUNNER (Sittella chrysoptera, Lath.) — Not 
common. In winter small flocks, generally numbering 10, frequent 
the open country where casuarinas are abundant. 


SPINE-BILLED HONEY-EATER (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, Lath.)}— 
Common, although nests are not often seen, probably owing to the 
birds’ habit of placing it in the top of a dense tea-tree. The clutch 
seems to be composed invariably of two eggs. 


SILVER-EYE (Zosterops cevulescens, Lath.)—Very common, especially 
during the autumn months. Only a few breed in the district. 


LUNULATED HONEY-EATER (Melithreptus lunulatus, Shaw).—Plenti- 
ful along the creeks or round swamps, providing there is a good supply 
of eucalypts. 


BROWN-HEADED HONEY-EATER (Melithreptus brevivostris, Vig. and 
Hors.)—Seen mostly during midwinter. I have known odd individuals 
to stay through the breeding season, but have seen no nests or young. 


WARTY-FACED HONEY-EATER (Meliphaga phrygia, Lath.) — An 
occasional visitor. 


YELLOW-FACED HONEY-EATER (Pitilotis chrysops, Lath.) — The 
common Honey-eater of the district. Arrives during August, starts 
to breed early in October, and is gone by the middle of May. 


WHITE-EARED HONEY-EATER (Ptilotis Jleucotis, Lath.) — Fairly 
numerous, though not nearly so many now as there were about three 
years ago. 


CRESCENT HONEY-EATER (Meliornis australasiana, Shaw).—Common. 
Breeds early in August and September, and disappears before December, 
returning about March. 


NEw HoLtitanp HONEY-EATER (Meliornis nove-hollandia, Lath.)— 
This species only visits the district occasionally. One season a pair 
remained, and I found their nest, containing eggs. 


BELL MINER (Manorhina melanophrys, Lath.)—Several colonies of 


wos aa INGLE, Birds of Merriman’s Creek, South Gippsland. I25 


IgIo 
these birds are known to me. They breed freely during September 
and October. 

Noisy MINER (Manorhina garrula, Lath.)—Very plentiful. Breeds 
in great numbers. 

RED WATTLE-BiRD (Acanthochera carunculata, Lath.) — Common 
everywhere. 

BrusH WaAtTTLeE-BirD (Acanthochera mellivora, Lath.)—A few pairs 
visit us during the breeding season ; two nests have been noted. On 
13th of January, 1910, I saw a pair feeding a young Pallid Cuckoo, 
which they had evidently hatched. 

FrrIAR-Birp (Philemon corniculatus, Lath.)—Numbers arrive during 
September, and breed ; they all disappear before the end of March. 

MISTLETOE-BiRD (Diceum hirundinaceum, Shaw). — Breeds in 
numbers during November and December. 

ALLIED PARDALOTE (Pardalotus assimilis, Ramsay).—Plentiful. In 
the winter months great flocks are seen searching the eucalypts for 
scale-insects. 

SPOTTED PARDALOTE (Pardalotus punctatus, Temm.)—Common, and 
nests freely. As many as five eggs to the clutch noted. I have found 
the nest in a hollow log and in the heart of a green peppermint gum. 

HousE-SWALLow (Hirundo neoxena, Gould).—Very common. 


TREE-MARTIN (Petrochelidon nigricans, Vieill.) — Great numbers 
arrive in August ; they breed freely, and leave during March. 

Pipit (Anthus australis, Vig. and Hors.)—Very plentiful in the open 
country. 

WHITE-BROWED WoOoD-SWALLOW (Artamus superciliosus, Gould).— 
Seen in numbers during some seasons ; other years none appear. 

Woop-SwaLLow (Artamus sordidus, Lath.) — Breeds in numbers 
every spring. 

RED-BROWED FIncH (42gintha temporalis, Lath.)—Plentiful, nesting 
along the creeks. 

Victoria LyrE-Birp (Menura victovie, Gould).—A few odd birds 
stray down from their breeding grounds among the hills of Carrajung, 
some 30 miles away. 

SPINE-TAILED SwiFt (Chetura caudacuta, Lath.)—Immense flocks 
pass over every summer. 

WHITE-THROATED NIGHTJAR (Eurostopus albigularis, Vig. and Hors.) 
—This bird arrives about January, and is then seen hawking up and 
down the creek after nocturnal insects. 

Tawny FroGmoutH (Podargus strigoides, Lath.) — Plentiful, and 
breeds freely in the timbered country. 

OwLet NIGHTJAR (42gotheles nove-hollandia, Lath.)—Not common. 
I have noted two nests, containing clutches of three and four eggs 
respectively. 

Do.iar-Birp (Eurystomus australis, Swainson).—Only a visitor, and 
does not breed here. 

AzurRE KINGFISHER (Alcyone azurea, Lath.)—Rare, only one or two 
being seen during the last year or two. 

Brown KINGFISHER (Dacelo gigas, Bodd.)—Plentiful everywhere. 


126 INGLE, Birds of Merriman’s Creek, South Gippsland. Ema? 


rst Oct. 


SACRED KINGFISHER (Halcyon sanctus, Vig. and Hors.)—Arrives here 
early in September, breeds freely, and goes north early in February. 


PaLiip Cuckoo (Cuculus pallidus, Lath.)—Arrives in great numbers 
—the vanguard towards the end of August ; leaves in February. 


FAN-TAILED Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis, Lath.)—These birds 
do not come in such numbers as the former species. They arrive 
about the middle of August, and leave during March. 


SQUARE-TAILED Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus, Hors.)—A few 
arrive generally towards the end of October, breed, and go north before 
the end of January. 

NARROW-BILLED BrONZE-CucKoo (Chalcococcyx basalis, Hors.)— 
Seen in numbers between the 6th of September and the 16th of Feb- 
ruary. 


BronzeE-Cuckoo (Chalcococcyx plagosus, Lath.}—Plentiful. Arrives 
late in August, and leaves early in February. 


BLUE-BELLIED LORIKEET (Tvichoglossus nove-hollandie, Gmelin).— 
This Lorikeet comes when there are plenty of flowering gums, but does 
not breed in the locality. 

Musk-LorikEEtT (Glossopsittacus concinnus, Shaw).—Plentiful during 
winter months, but very few stay and breed. 

Brack Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus, Shaw).—Some always 
about during the winter, but all leave to breed in other parts. 

GaNG-GANG CocKAToo (Callocephalon galeatum, Lath.)—Great flocks 
are seen during the winter months ; they leave in September, going 
north-west to breed. 

WHITE CocKAToo (Cacatua galerita, Lath.)—Not very plentiful. A 
few pairs are known to breed here. 

KinG Lory (Aprosmictus cyanopygius, Vieill.)—A single specimen 
seen (a female). 

ROSELLA (Platycercus eximius, Gmelin).—Plentiful, and nests in open 
country. 

CRIMSON PARRAKEET (Platycercus elegans, Gmelin).—Plentiful, and 
breeds in great numbers. 

BRONZE-WING PIGEON (Phaps chalcoptera, Lath.)—Plentiful in tim- 
bered country, where their nests are often noted. 

BRUSH BRONZE-WING PIGEON (Phaps elegans, Temm.)—A few some- 
times seen, but they do not breed in this district. 

STUBBLE QuAIL (Coturnix pectoralis, Gould).—Only a few seen 
occasionally. Odd nests are found when harvesting crops. 


Brown QuaiL (Synecus australis, Temm.)—Very few seen; one 
nest, with eggs. 

PAINTED QuaIL (Turnix varia, Lath.)—Very rare. A few seen in 
rough, heathy country. 

PECTORAL RaiLt (Hypotenidia philippinensis, Linn.)—Rare, odd 
nests being seen during wet winters, but none has been noted for the 
last three years. 

BaLp-Coot (Porphyrio melanonotus, Temm.)—Very few now seen, 
though a year or two ago they nested freely in the district. 


Coot (Fulica australis, Gould)—Common everywhere ; nests plenti- 
ful along the creeks. 


eS INGLE, Birds of Merriman’s Creek, South Gippsland. 727 

SPUR-WINGED PLOVER (Lobivanellus lobatus, Lath.)—Numerous in 
the open country, where nests are frequently found. 

BLACK-BREASTED PLOVER (Zonifer tricolor, Vieill.)—An occasional 
visitor. 

SNIPE (Gallinago australis, Lath.)—Very few visit the district. 

STRAW-NECKED Isis (Carphibis spinicollis, Jameson).— Only a 
visitor. In January, 1910, 40 birds arrived, stayed for a few days, 
and then disappeared. 

WHITE-FRONTED HERON’ (Notophoyx nove-hollandie, Lath.) — 
Common. Breeds freely. Clutches of five eggs found. 

NiGcHt-HERON (Nycttcovax caledonicus, Gmelin).—A few arrive here. 
Usually seen first about the end of January. Do not breed in the 
district. 

Biack CorRMORANT (Phalacrocorax carbo, Linn.)—An odd specimen 
occasionally seen. 

WHITE-BREASTED CORMORANT. (Phalacrocovax gouldi, Salvad.) — 
Common along the creeks, but does not breed here. 

BLACK-THROATED GREBE (Podicipes nove-hollandie, Steph.)—A few 
pairs breeding in local swamps. 

BLackK Swan (Chenopis atrata, Lath.)—Odd specimens noted, but 
the birds do not breed here. 

Woopv-Duck (Chenonetia jubata, Lath.)—An occasional flock seen, 
but none are known to breed in this locality. 

Brack Duck (Anas superciliosa, Gmelin).—Common, and breeds 
freely. 

Musx-Duck (Bizura lobata, Shaw).—Only a few pairs are known ; 
they breed in the swamps. 

Emu (Dromeus nove-hollandie, Lath.\—Becoming rare, although 
** protected,” owing to their being hunted down with dogs. 


The Dusky Robin (Petroeca vittata). 
By Hi-STuarT DOVE,-E-Z:S. 


Tue vision of this familiar bird calls up memories of my first 
acquaintance with the bush, when, a good many years ago now, 
my brother and I selected land on the North-West Coast of Tas- 
mania and settled down to “ colonial experience.’’ While picking 
up and throwing together the branches and débris after the burn- 
off, we had good opportunities for making acquaintance with some 
of the birds. One of the earliest species to pay us a visit was the 
Dusky Robin—although we did not know it by that name, nor, 
indeed, by any other, for some time. One of the hardest tasks 
in this comparatively new and unpeopled country was to find out 
what the birds were. There was practically no literature on the 
subject. ‘‘ Native Sparrow ’’ was the name we got from the bush 
folk for the species now under consideration, and not an inapt one 
either, as regards size and soberness of colouring. 

When a small store of knowledge had accumulated, I began to 


128 Dove, The Dusky Robin (Petreca vittata). ae 


ist Oct. 


write some articles on bush life for an English magazine, from the 
first of which the following is a quotation :—‘‘ Perched upon a 
stump near is a ‘ Native Sparrow,’ not much unlike the British 
Hedge-Sparrow, but of a thicker, heavier build; very grave and 
judge-like is he, with his head feathers ruffled up, and a generally 
thoughtful appearance, as if revolving some important scheme. 
Self-contained as he appears, however, his weather eye is wide 
open. With a sudden dart he is on the ground, tugging away at 
a large worm, the other end of which is still anchored in earth. 
A few vigorous jerks loosen the lower part considerably, and the 
worm is now three-quarters out. Slacking his grip for a moment, 
the aggressor seems to draw breath for a supreme effort. It is 
made, and triumphantly he flies off to the bush to devour the 
dainty, or perhaps offer it to his mate, who is busy nest-building.”’ 

The Dusky Robin is not in the least afraid of the human form, 
but seems rather to enjoy its proximity. Wherever a settler makes 
a bit of a clearing in the bush, and erects his slab or paling hut, 
there will this friend of man be seen sitting about upon stumps or 
on the rough dead-wood fences which are the first attempts at 
property enclosure, watching his opportunity to help the new- 
comer by ridding the earth of some of the chafer-grubs and other 
industrious workers among the roots of vegetation. 

The Dusky Robin starts nesting in August in sheltered localities. 
In the Table Cape district I found young which were flying during 
the first week of September. The sweetly plaintive double call 
note was heard before the middle of July; it is one of the very 
first sounds to greet the ear when one opens one’s eyes in the grey 
dawn. During a wet, rough winter I found, so early as 5th 
August, a nest containing two eggs, built in the end of a prostrate 
hollow tree. Various are the sites selected for a home, and, as 
Gould very truly remarks, the character of the nest depends a good 
deal upon its position. Sometimes it is neat and compact, some- 
times more spread out and untidy. An example near Table Cape 
was found on 26th October with three eggs. It was placed on a 
small ledge in a hollow gum-tree, and was neatly built of small 
strips of stringybark on a base of rootlets, and lined with fine 
rootlets. The eggs were of a bluish-green tint, with an indistinct 
brown ring near the apex, and a few blotches of that colour also at 
the same end. A few miles from Launceston, Northern Tasmania, 
on 22nd September, a Dusky Robin was building a similar nest of 
bark strips and rootlets on a ledge just inside the hollow butt of 
a burnt-out gum, at about 4 feet from the ground. Another 
was noticed the same day just inside the opening of a tall stump 
which had been hollowed out by bush fires. It was about 5 feet 
from the ground, and was composed of rootlets bound with bark 
strips, with a large quantity of sheep’s wool round the outside and 
under side, as well as inside. This was in sheep country, and the 
little architect naturally used material which was so abundantly 
to hand. This nest contained an olive-green egg, with a brownish 
zone near the apex. Other positions often favoured are stumps, or 


Vol. ok. 


iis Dove, The Dusky Robin (Petreca:vittata). 129 
the flat, spreading part of a bush, on which a good foundation can 
be laid. The nest is seldom more than 4 or 5 feet from the 
ground, sometimes less ; but my friend, Mr. H. C. Thompson, dis- 
covered one, near Launceston, at the unusual height of ro feet. 
Concerning it I append an extract from my note-book :—‘‘ This 
plain-coloured Robin usually selects a niche in a hollow gum-tree, 
or a site amid the broken roots projecting from the butt of a pros- 
trate giant; but it had in this instance chosen the horizontal 
limb of a dogwood (Pomaderris apetala), about 10 feet from the earth, 
and had placed the structure amid thick foliage, so as to be prac- 
tically invisible. Mounting on my friend’s shoulders, I was enabled 
to make a close inspection, and found the principal material to be, 
as so frequently happens, fine rootlets. The rim was of twigs 
bound with cobwebs, while the lining was of grass, rootlets, and 
fine bark.” Another nest was placed on top of a peppermint 
(Eucalyptus amygdalina) stump, at 4 feet from the ground, and 
was partly concealed by shoots which had sprung from the side of 
the stump. Still another instance was found on 17th November, 
in Launceston district, where the Robin had built in a V-shaped 
niche caused by a slab of bark falling partly away from the trunk 
of a large peppermint. The nest was of fine grass and bits of bark, 
with cobwebby patches on the outside to assist concealment. There 
were two blind, naked young, one just out of the egg, the other 
still struggling to free its head from half the egg-shell, which was 
closely adhering—an endeavour in which we assisted. The other 
shell had been removed by the parent bird. 

This Petreca has the curious habit of sometimes returning to 
the same site and rebuilding on the old nest. Instances of this 
are mentioned in Campbell’s ‘‘ Nests and Eggs.”’ Mr. E. D. Atkin- 
son found no fewer than five, and in another case six, nests piled 
one on top of another! Mr. Thompson told me, some years ago, 
that he found a Dusky Robin at Russell’s Plains, in Northern 
Tasmania, using the same nest for a second brood during the 
season. This is very unusual, as a new nest is generally constructed 
for this purpose. During the spring of 1909, near Devonport, I 
found that a ‘“‘ Dusky” had built its nest on the flat part of a ‘“‘ native 
currant ’’ bush (Coprosma microphylla), at 4 feet from the ground, 
and sheltered by young gum-trees. The bird had constructed a 
small circular platform of twigs on the bush, which is a dense, 
fine-leaved thing, and had placed on this the nest of coarse rootlets 
and bark fragments. The rim was woven of much finer rootlets, 
dry grass stems, and wool, and the lining was exceedingly fine 
rootlets, with a little wool. The contents when found on 11th 
September were one egg and two recently hatched young, about 
a day old. The nestlings were kept under pretty constant observa- 
tion. They had their eyes open on 17th September, and were 
covered with brownish feathers, each of which had a central white 
streak, giving the young a peculiar striped appearance ; reddish- 
brown bands also showed across the wings. The young flew early 
on the morning of 24th September, 14 days after hatching. 


130 Dove, The Dusky Robin (Petreca vittata). Ema: 


1st Oct. 


What I believe to have been the same pair of Robins built again, 
only a few yards distant, on the broad fork of a prickly mimosa 
(Acacia verticillata), 3 feet from the ground, on a twig founda- 
tion as before ; nest composed of rootlets, dry grass, quantity of 
spider-web round rim, into which was woven a piece of string. 
Several pieces of thick string, much weathered, which had evidently 
been lying on the ground a long time, had been put in as lining. 
This nest was found complete on 20th October. On visiting it 
again on 23rd, the string lining had been removed by the birds, but 
the nest was otherwise intact. On 25th October it contained two 
eggs, reposing on a fine rootlet lining—one of the usual olive-green 
tint, the other inclined more towards blue. The dimensions were 
about the same—.87 x .68. Both eggs were faintly marked, the 
green one most distinctly, with brownish blotches, principally about 
the apex. Next day a third egg was present, of the olive-green 
tint, marked faintly with brown about the larger end. The eggs 
are thus laid on successive days. The sitting bird allowed me to 
approach very closely to her low, exposed position. On 4th 
November I went again, and found the female very trustful and 
confiding ; she allowed me to almost place my hand on her before 
she would leave the eggs. When I visited the spot at 6 a.m. on 
roth November one of the young had just hatched out—a blind, 
naked, palpitating atom, lying on its side, the skin of a reddish 
tint, but dark on the thighs and across the hinder part. It was 
hatched from one of the green eggs. Next morning I was there 
before 6 o’clock, and found three young, the other green and the 
bluish egg having apparently hatched later on the previous day. 
It was noticeable that the red tint of birth soon gave way to a dark 
appearance, as if caused by the feathers preparing to push through. 
When I placed my hand close over the parent, she tumbled off the 
nest with feigned disablement, while the male, near by in the scrub, 
whistled a warning ‘‘ Twee-tu.”” On 13th November the young had 
a dark, scaly appearance along the spine, where its feathers were 
beginning to sprout. The wing-quills were also sprouting, while 
the heads and rest of the bodies had a blackish look ; the bills were 
greyish, with yellow at sides. Next day the plumage was sprouting 
well on wings and spine, while the head had a scaly appearance. 
On 17th November my visit was at 6.30 a.m., when all the chicks 
had their eyes open, the spine, wings, and head well covered with 
a light brown plumage, the wing-quills partly blackish, reddish- 
brown bars across wings (these bars are white in the adult), tails 
just beginning to sprout, bills dark grey with yellow sides. All 
the nestlings looked sleepy and contented, as if they had already 
been well fed that morning ; they did not open their mouths or 
make any sound. My next visit, at early morn on i1gth of the 
month, was saddened by the discovery that some midnight prowler 
(perhaps a tiger-cat, for the nest was not far from a dense swampy 
thicket) had been before me, and all that was left of the happy 
home was an overturned nest and a few feathers. This was the 
more annoying as the young were within a few days of flying. 


Senge Dove, The Dusky Robin (Petreca vittata). 131 


These combined observations seem to show that incubation lasts 
15 days, that the eyes open in from 6 to 7 days, and that the young 
fly about 14 days after hatching. 

In Robert Hall’s “‘ Key to the Birds of Australia’’ the plumage 
of the adult Dusky Robin is described as ‘‘ brownish-olive above ; 
throat dusky-brown ; only outer tail feather white at base and 
for the whole extent of outer web; under surface brown.’ The 
wings are crossed by two oblique whitish bars, and there is no 
white frontal spot as in our other two familiar Robins. The sexes 
are alike in plumage. The tip of the upper mandible is slightly 
hooked. In the young birds, on leaving the nest, the colouring is 
very different, and one would take them to be another species. 
The head, back, breast, and wing coverts are heavily streaked and 
mottled with light and dark brown, giving the birds the appearance 
of young Thrushes. Those fledglings which left the nest on 24th 
September were about the scrub at the beginning of October with 
their parents; the latter kept giving a warning whistle on my 
approach, and fluttered about in a state of excitement to lure me 
away, while the young made an almost continuous plaintive little 
whistling noise, to keep in touch with their parents, uttering also 
an occasional “‘ tweet.” In November this family still haunted 
the same scrub. One of the young (which had left the nest on 24th 
September) was seen on the 11th, and looked a fine bird, in its 
lighter plumage appearing larger than the adults. It was much 
splashed on the breast with a-darker colour, and the front of 
the head had a mottled look. The wing-bars were still reddish- 
brown. 

The Dusky Robin—which, by the way, is frequently called 
“Stump Robin,” from its predilection for sitting about the stumps 
of a clearing, and sometimes building in a similar situation—has 
no song like its congeners, the Flame and Scarlet-breasted Robins, 
but its love-call is sweetly plaintive—a double whistling note, 
which is one of the most familiar sounds in winter and spring about 
a settler’s home. An interesting trait of this bird, which is not as 
well known as it is in the case of the Dottrel or the familiar little 
White-fronted Chat, is its habit of pretending to be wounded to 
lure away the intruder. Allusion has already been made to the 
female’s guile when disturbed on the nest; but a much more 
striking example was afforded us one November, when climbing 
the slopes of Mount Arthur. My companions were Mr. H. C. 
Thompson and Mr. Robt. M'Gowan, and we had found in a dry, 
hollow tree the nest of a “‘ Dusky,’ from which the young had 
flown. Shortly afterwards the female was sighted clinging to the 
side of a dead tree. As we approached she dropped to the ground 
backwards, and lay there fluttering, as though suffering the agonies 
of death after being shot. When we went up to investigate she 
fluttered painfully away in an opposite direction to where the 
young were concealed. 

This species nests from August to December, two broods, and 
probably three in some cases, being reared. 


I32 WuitE, New Nests and Eggs from N.W. Australia. Ems 


tst Oct. 


Description of two New Nests and Eggs from 
North-West Australia. 


By H. L. Wuite, Scone, N.S.W. 
With Field Notes by the Collector, G. F. HILL. 
WHITE-TAILED ROBIN (Pecilodryas pulverulentus). 


Nest.—Rather a compact and open cup-shaped structure, re- 
sembling some of the smaller forms of those constructed by the 
Eopsaltria. It is placed in the fork of a small horizontal branch 
of a mangrove tree (Avicennia), and is constructed principally of 
strips of bark, wound round and fastened with cobwebs, and long 
strips of dry bark hang perpendicularly all around outside, some 
pieces being almost 3 inches in length. The nest is lined inside 
with fine dry roots and grass. 

Eggs.—Clutch of two eggs, roundish ovals in shape, texture of 
shell fine, surface glossy, and minutely pitted all over, this feature 
becoming conspicuous under the lens; ground colour of a dull 
greenish-stone, marked with small round spots of reddish-brown, of 
different shades, and lilac, the latter appearing as if beneath the sur- 
face of the shell. In specimen a the markings are well distributed 
over the shell, while in specimen 0 they are chiefly confined to the 
larger end, where they form a rather regular zone, and the ground 
colour over which this zone of markings passes is of a light salmon- 
brown. In general appearance the eggs approach those of Peczilo- 
dryas cerviniventris, rather more than those of the Eofsaliria genus. 
The pair measure in inches :—(a) 0.76 x 0.62, (6) 0.77 x 0.62. 
Another pair of these eggs, which are the co-types, were taken in 
the same locality, and measure :—(a@) 0.76 x 0.61, (b) 0.74 x 0.59. 
They are roundish ovals in shape, ground colour of a dull 
greenish-stone, fading into a light-brown, which gradually darkens 
towards the larger end, and this is specially noticeable in specimen 
a. This graduation in the ground colouring is after the manner 
of that shown in some eggs of Petreca bicolor. Both eggs are 
spotted with small dull markings of reddish-brown, intermingled 
with a few very indistinct spots of pale lilac. Specimen a is much 
darker at the larger end than specimen 0. 

[I saw the birds amongst the mangrove roots and low branches 
in a few places on the eastern side of Napier Broome Bay, where 
they were fairly numerous. In a few of the more open patches 
of mangrove I was able to watch the birds building, but only in 
one case, where I was able to get away unobserved, did they com- 
plete and lay in the nests. In most instances I was observed, 
and the nest was at once abandoned. The first note of their 
nesting was recorded on 31st January, 1910, when, after several 
days’ watching, a nest ready for eggs was found. Subsequent 
visits proved, however, that the nest had been deserted. With 
this knowledge of their habits to work upon, renewed efforts were 
made, and on 2oth February, 1910, after a long wait in the 
mosquito-infested mangroves, the female bird was seen flying 


Vol. X. ] WuiteE, New Nests and Eggs from N.W. Australia. 133 


Ig1o 


towards an isolated mangrove bush some 60 yards away. The 
water was too deep to wade to the nest, so I decided to return 
on the following morning, when the tide would be out. A photo- 
graph of the eggs and nest (tm situ) was taken on the following 
day, and the eggs secured, but to my disgust they were already 
chipped on my arrival at camp. Similar methods were employed 
in locating the nest of the next pair of birds until the attacks of 
mosquitoes and sand-flies became unbearable, and then abandoned 
in favour of a tree to tree search as the tide permitted, and on 
2nd March, 1910, after examining a considerable area in this 
fashion, the nest was found in a dense mangrove bush, 3 feet above 
spring tide level, and two eggs in a somewhat advanced state of 
incubation were taken. A second nest commenced on this date 
was abandoned. Another pair of birds were heard in a thick, 
stunted patch of mangroves, where it was impossible to watch 
their movements. Dividing the surrounding area into rough 
blocks, a careful search was made of every tree until the nest, 
containing two fresh eggs, was found (26th March, rgto). This 
nest was built in a small dead mangrove bush 3 feet above water 
level, and almost hidden by leaves of neighbouring bushes. 

Dimensions of nests in inches :—(a) Outside—length 3, breadth 
22, depth 2), ; inside—length, 2,5, breadth 13, depth 1,5. (0) Out- 
side—length 24, breadth 23, depth 23; inside—length 2}, breadth 
17, depth 1. 

The food consists entirely of minute crabs, shell-fish, crustaceans, 
and a species of small black ant, which is plentiful on the man- 
groves. | 


LAVENDER-FLANKED WREN (Malurus dulcis). 


Nest.—Dome-shaped, and similar to those of the other members 
of the genus. 

Eggs.—Three in number, and closely resemble those of M. cyano- 
chlamys. Ground colour of a very delicate pinkish-white. Shell 
fine, but with very little gloss. Specimens 6 and c are marked 
all over, and particularly at the larger end, with small spots and 
minute specks of dull reddish-brown, while specimen a, which is 
covered with small spots of the same colour, is heavily blotched 
at the larger apex with markings of a much darker reddish-brown 
than is the case with the other two specimens. The eggs are stout 
ovals in shape, and measure as follows :—(a@) 0.62 x 0.51, (b) 0.62 x 
0.49, (c) 0.63 x 0.50 inch. 

[The habitat of this species, so far as my observations went, is 
restricted to the rocky sandstone country near the eastern side 
of Napier Broome Bay. September and the early part of October 
appears to be the general nesting season. One set of three eggs 
was the only result of many careful searches ‘during the latter 
part of October, November, and December, Igog. After the 
nesting season these birds are generally seen in parties of from 
6 to ro birds, the latter number being somewhat unusual. One 
party of ro birds contained 5 adult males, one moulting and 4 dull- 


134 Waite, New Nests and Eggs from N.W. Australia. (Lene 
plumaged birds (5th March, 1910), while another of 6 birds con- 
tained 2 adult males and 4 dull-plumaged birds. 

The nest from which the eggs (type set) were taken (14th Decem- 
ber, I909) was placed in a dead branch lying amongst the rocks, 
and built of acacia leaves on the outside and grass on the inside. 
The eggs rested on a layer of rootlets, while the upper part of the 
egg chamber was thickly lined with kangaroo fur. Many old 
nests were found in similar positions and built of the same 
materials. | 


Stray Feathers. 


A LonG WAY FROM HIS BEAat.—On the 17th instant an opossum- 
hunter brought to my camp for identification a magnificent White- 
bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliastur leucogaster), which he had shot while 
it was making a meal, in company with some Wedge-tailed Eagles 
(Uroaétus audax), at a heap of skinned opossum carcasses. My 
camp on the Burnett River—a small stream here—is go miles from 
the nearest point of the coast. I carefully measured the span 
from wing-tip to wing-tip, and found it to be 6 feet 10 inches.— 
F. B. C. Forp. Survey Camp, vid Bayswater (Q.), 22/5/10. 


~ 


*k ** * 


Cuckoo Notes.—Cuckoos have visited us in large numbers this 
season. They are especially plentiful around Frankston and Ring- 
wood at present. In company with Messrs. F. E. Wilson and 
H. Cowderoy recently I found a nest of the White-eared Honey- 
eater (Ptilotis leucotis), containing an egg of the Pallid Cuckoo 
(Cuculus inornatus), and in a nest of the White-throated Thickhead 
(Pachycephala pectoralis) a Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis rufulus) 
had deposited her egg. The nest also held an egg of the Thick- 
head. The latter is probably a new record of a foster-parent.— 
L. G. CHANDLER. Malvern, 12/9/10. 


K * *% 


WoobD-SWALLOW AND CucKoo.—On tIoth December, 1909, I dis- 
covered, on a branchlet of a tall red gum overhanging the Namoi 
River at Manilla, a nest of Avtamus superciliosus. My attention 
was attracted by the squeaking and fluttering of a young Cuckoo 
(Cuculus inornatus). I saw the Wood-Swallow (female) leave the 
nest, fly from the tree, and return again to the young bird and feed 
it. After satisfying the fledgling’s wants she returned to her nest. 
As soon as the Wood-Swallow was nicely settled the Cuckoo would 
again commence: calling and fluttering its wings. The foster- 
mother once more satisfied the voracious appetite. These trips 
were repeated six times within about 40 minutes. The male 
Wood-Swallow kept well away from the nest, calling and flying 
from bough to bough.—H. BurRELL. Manilla, N.S.W., 17/5/10. 


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THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PEATE ON 


Wild Lorikeets (Tvichoglossus nove-hollandie) being fed on Syrup. 


FROM A PHOTO. BY E, M. CORNWALL, 


et 


Vol. X. Stray Feathers. 135 


1910 


Swamp-Hawks (CircUS GOULDI). —On 14th December, 1909, 
I found and photographed, in a wheat-field at Manilla, a nest of 
the Swamp-Hawk (C. gould1). The nest was composed of twigs, 
which measured from } inch to I inch in circumference. It was 
placed in the centre of a roo-acre paddock, situated 2 miles from 
the town and about 1 mile from the nearest water. The farmer 
stripped the grain with a harvester without injury to the fledglings, 
and was unaware of their presence until he had driven the machine 
over their heads, when he discovered them huddled together on 
the twigs in the standing stubble, the nest being only slightly dis- 
arranged.—H. BuRRELL. Manilla, N.S.W., 17/5/10. 


** * * 


MOVEMENT OF WooD-SWALLows.—A great spring migration of 
Wood-Swallows (Artamus tenebrosus) is taking place to-day, from 
about E.N.E. to W.S.W. ; light breeze off the sea (south) during 
morning. I first noticed them shortly after 9 o’clock this morning, 
and at mid-day they are still passing, in small parties, at varying 
heights, the lowest apparently about 150 feet: others at double 
that altitude ; some higher yet, so as to be almost invisible. They 
are not steering a direct course, but sailing about in deliberate 
circles, perhaps capturing some winged prey as they go; never- 
theless there is a general drift in the direction stated above, and 
eventually the parties disappear in that quarter, apparently fol- 
lowing the coast-line, by which route many will by-and-by pass 
over Melbourne, and so to the interior of Victoria. This agrees 
with an observation made at Essendon about three years ago, and 
recorded at the time, where this species appeared to be coming 
in numbers from the south at springtime. This was explained by 
their having followed the coast-line from New South Wales along 
East and South Gippsland until they approached Port Phillip, and 
then steered north-west, passing over Essendon on their way.— 
H. Stuart Dove. Cunninghame (Vic.), 5/9/10. 


** * * 


WILD Parrot Pets.—The picture (Plate XI.) shows a lady (Mrs. 
Alex. Innes, of Pratolino, Louisa Creek, Mackay) engaged in her 
daily pleasurable task of feeding a number of Blue-bellied Lorikeets 
(Trichoglossus nove-hollandia). The birds are all absolutely wild 
—none of them have ever been confined in any way—but they 
have learned that no harm can happen to them at this house, and 
when the lady calls they come by the dozen for the food she offers 
them, and settle all over her shoulders, head, hands, &c., and on 
the table, which is placed on the verandah for their special benefit. 
Needless to say, Mrs. Innes loves the birds, and they have learned 
to trust her implicitly. They nest in the trees in the vicinity of 
the homestead, and it is intensely interesting to note that the very 
first flight of the young birds is to the bountiful table supplied 
by the gentle lady who loves them so. Mrs. Innes delights to see 
the young birds come ; they are a bit shy at first, but soon become 


136 Stray Feathers. Emu 


1st Oct. 


acquainted with their new friend, and thereafter come regularly 
at the dining hours. When I went to take the photograph I 
arrived about 8 o’clock on a most beautiful morning. The birds 
were there in scores, all clamouring for their breakfast, which 
had been delayed until I arrived. Mrs. Innes feeds them on a 
syrup made of milk and sugar.—E. M. CoRNwaLi. Mackay (Q.), 
2/6/10. 


* * * 


PROLIFIC PopicipEs.—On 21st November, 1909, while on a 
visit to Mr. Hill, of Caermarthen station, Upper Manilla, I went to 
a dam close to the homestead, where I discovered a Grebe’s 
(Podictpes nove-hollandie) nest floating on the surface of the water 
about 20 feet from the land. I waded out to the nest, removed 
the covering, and found it contained a clutch of four eggs. I then 
returned, and mentioned the fact to Mr. Hill, who quietly in- 
formed me that it would not remain there very long, as he was 
starting to plough the following day, and the horses when coming 
to drink would soon trample it down, so I at once decided to go 
back and photograph and collect the clutch of eggs. After 
securing and successfully blowing them I found that they were 
partly incubated. I made another visit to the dam a fortnight 
later and found the nest still intact and a Grebe sitting close thereon. 
When I got within about 100 feet from the spot the bird stood up, 
covered the nest, and dived into the water and disappeared from 
view while I walked a dozen paces. (Plate XII.) I examined the 
nest again, and discovered, to my surprise, a second clutch of eggs 
(five). On making inquiries later, I was informed that the birds 
were holding their own against the horses. On the Sunday 
following I went out again to examine the nest for the third time, 
but found it deserted by the birds; only one egg remained, the — 
nest was very dilapidated, and the covering was nowhere to be 
found..—HARRY BURRELL. Manilla (N.S.W.), 17/5/10. 


ok * * 


BIRD NOTES FROM CUNNINGHAME.—Swift Lorikeet.—Several 
times during my stay here this autumn (1910) I have noticed 
companies of the Swift Lorikeet (Euphema discolor) dashing by 
overhead, and going to the north. One afternoon, the wind being 
north-west, light, and the day fine and sunny, many parties passed 
over at a considerable height, my attention being attracted to 
them by the sharp chattering notes they utter while on their flight. 
All came from the south, apparently from the sea, which is about 
half a mile distant, and went away northward. It is possible that 
they are migrating from Tasmania, where for many weeks past the 
weather had been rough and stormy. Shrike-Thrush.—A Shrike- 
Thrush (Collyriocincla harmonica) was observed to capture a large 
hairy caterpillar, which he battered considerably on a log, taking 
care that all the life was out of it before he swallowed the tit-bit. 
Hairy larvee are usually said to be the Cuckoos’ perquisites, and 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XI, 


Nest and Eggs (covered and uncovered) of Podicipes nove-hollandia. 


FROM A PHOTO. BY H. BURRELL, 


ae 


Vol. X. 
FTop eo) 


Stray Feathers. 137 
to be avoided by other bush-dwellers ; but the Thrush certainly 
relished this one, which was red on the under surface and legs, 
covered with black hair on the upper surface and with grey along 
the sides. Coachwhip-Bird (Psophodes crepitans).—Several times 
during my stay I have heard the fine note of this species resounding 
through the bush. On one occasion a friend and myself managed 
to creep between the male and his consort when calling, so that the 
whip-crack was distinct on one hand and the soft immediate re- 
sponse on the other.—H. Stuart DovVE. 


aS * * 


THE LittLteE PENGUIN (Eudyptula minor).—I have some photo- 
graphs of this species, showing the manner in which the tail is bent 
at a sharp angle, acting as a rudder, when the bird wishes to change 
its course in the water. The action is very quick, and Mrs. Carter 
(who took the photographs) had some trouble to snap the birds 
making the movement, and the tails were frequently bent at a 
much sharper angle than appears. I have not read of this peculi- 
arity, and I notice that Mr. Ogilvie Grant, in the “‘ Guide to the 
Gallery of Birds, British Museum, 1905,” states that the “ legs 
are used as a rudder.’”’ Although the tail of this species appears 
very small and short externally, yet when skinning the birds in 
question I was much struck by the way in which the caudal verte- 
bras were extended and lengthened, resembling those of some 
mammals. The pair of birds (both males) were sent to me from 
the South Coast, and for some time they were kept (except when 
having an occasional walk in the garden) in a circular boiler. 
Although adult birds, they resolutely refused to eat, refusing pieces 
of meat and live frogs regularly offered to them. I was obliged to 
feed them by force as long as I had them, usually getting well bitten 
while doing so. They began to pine away after two weeks’ con- 
finement, and as we were leaving home for twelve months, and it 
would have been, of course, subjecting them to certain death to 
turn them out inland, in the height of summer, I reluctantly made 
specimens of them.—Tom CARTER. Broome Hill (Western Aus- 


tralia), 30/7/10. 
xk * x 


CLEVELAND (TAs.) Notes.—Fulvous-fronted Honey-eater (Gly- 
cyphila fulvifrons).— This bird is an inhabitant of the banksia 
and bracken fern-covered tracts round about here. I have found 
its nest on two occasions, and each time built in a banksia. The 
second nest found had been partly destroyed by some enemy, but 
the eggs (two) had not been touched, though the nest was torn 
about. Evidently the sitting bird had been attacked. 

18/8/10.—Spring is later this season when compared with last 
year, and the birds seem correspondingly later. For instance, 
compare :—7/7/09, male Wren in full plumage. This year the 
date for first notice of same is 7/8/TIo. 

For the first time since this district has been under my observa- 


138 Stray Feathers. Emu 


1st Oct. 


tion, a flock of 20 White-fronted Chats (Ephthianura albifrons) has 
spent the winter around the slopes of the lagoon. They camp in 
the shelter of the gorse bushes. 

14/8/10.—Black-breasted Plovers (Zontfer tricolor) with young 
ones following them. 

16/8/10.—Spur-winged Plover’s (Lobivanellus lobatus) nest and 
eges destroyed by sheep. 

17/8/10.—Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) disturbed from her 
nest in rushes. The nest contained eight young ones. 

17/8/10.—Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) have returned. 

The Ground-Parrakeet (Pezoporus formosus) was observed last 
December in a paddock 3 miles from here. — J. A. FLETCHER. 
18/8/To. 


*k * * 


THE SOUTHERN Limit OF ROSTRATULA AUSTRALIS, GLD.—The 
Painted Snipe may now be recorded as found in Tasmania. Mr. 
W. Richardson (per favour Mr. W. L. May) sent a specimen in the 
flesh to the Museum at Hobart, obtained at Sandford, south of 
Hobart, on 23rd July, 1910. Mr. Richardson believes he has pre- 
viously seen this species in the midlands, Lake Woods, in the spring 
of 1909. It is a young male of last year’s breeding, having the 
superciliary mark and line behind the eye slightly rufous, the 
hind-neck and mantle being faintly fasciated; the legs and feet 
bluish-grey, nails deep brown; bill blackish-brown on proximal 
half and tip, the remainder being pale brown. Gould* colours 
these parts yellow on the bill, and with a flush of pale greenish- 
yellow on the legs and feet. 

Mr. A. J. Campbellf speaks of our want of knowledge of the 
movements of this rare bird, saying “ it is probable that after rearing 
their young in the south they retire into more interior quarters 
during the year.’’ With our limited knowledge, this holds good, 
the present species being probably a southern wanderer. If it 
were usual for the Painted Snipe to annually or periodically come 
so far south, I am not surprised at its choosing so early a date this 
year, because the signs of early spring were heard and seen on the 
23rd July. The voice of the Pallid Cuckoo I heard in the Botan- 
ical Gardens, Hobart, while Malurus cyaneus (gouldi), Myzantha 
garrula, and at least one of the Acanthiz@ were nesting 15 miles 
south of Hobart. This in July in Southern Tasmania! It is a 
winter month under ordinary conditions.—RoBERT HALL. Hobart, 
10/8/10. 

*k x *k 


TASMANIAN NOTES ON THE Coot.—During some of my rambles 
last season I was fortunate enough to come across several clutches 
of the eggs of the Coot (Fulica australis). The lagoon in which 
they were found is a small one close to the Cleveland township. 


* « Birds of Australia,’ folio, vol. vi. 
t ‘* Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds,” p. 827 (1900). 


Vol. X. 


siahis Stray Feathers. I39 
About half the surface is open water, and all round the edges grow 
tall dark brown rushes. Out in the centre these give place to 
smooth, round, green reeds, which grow only a few inches above 
the water. They are inter-tangled one with another, and occasion- 
ally the Bald-Coots (Porphyrio melanonotus) build their nests upon 
them.. Before deciding on a particular spot, the Coot, like the 
Bald-Coot, makes a great number of starts or commencements, 
treading down the rushes and partly building nests. The nest 
itself is neater and more basket-like in shape than the Bald-Coot’s, 
from which it can be readily distinguished. All the nests found 
by me last year were made of the coarse rushes, bitten into lengths, 
and were without any lining. They were built in reeds standing 
in from 1 to 2 feet of water, and about 6 inches above the surface 
of the water. Generally, the clumps containing the nests were 
close to open sheets of water, and the birds, when disturbed, 
slipped quickly through the rushes and disappeared. In one in- 
stance a platform was constructed to a nest. My experience last 
year showed that these birds are particularly sensitive, and im- 
mediately desert their partly-made nests if they have been startled 
whilst at work upon them. Several nests from whose vicinity a 
bird was flushed were never finished or used, the owners evidently 
resenting the intrusion. 

Of the many nests discovered, five only contained eggs. The 
following is the data respecting them :— 

26/9/09.—Last year the season was earlier than usual, and on 
the above date I took two clutches of five eggs each of the Coot. 
The first nest found was built in reeds standing in 1 foot of water. 
The bird slipped off her nest when she heard the intruder coming. 
These eggs were about four days incubated. The second nest was 
found on the opposite side of the lagoon in clumps of tall reeds 
bordering open water. The eggs had the vein system just com- 
menced. 

11/10/09.—One of my scholars, while riding through the lagoon 
after cows, came on a Coot’s nest with three eggs. The bird was 
sitting. This nest was a neat basket-shaped one. The eggs were 
a nicely-marked set. 

30/10/09.—The same boy discovered a nest with one egg in. 
This was left for several days, but only two eggs altogether were 
laid, and then the bird commenced to sit. 

17/11/o9.—I came across a Coct’s nest containing two eggs. 
This was not looked at for five days, when the bird was disturbed 
from her nest and was found to be sitting on the two eggs. The 
nest had a platform, and quite a long track leading to it. This 
pair of eggs was smaller than the others. Measurements in inches 
of a pair sent to the Hobart Museum :—(r) I.9 x 1.4 inches, (2) 1.8 x 
I.3 inches.—J. A. FLETCHER. Cleveland, Tasmania, 18/8/To. 


ErRATUM.—Vol. x., p. 69, Emu, sixth last line, read ‘‘ Nimrod” 
for “ Discovery.” 


Emu 


I40 From Magazines, &c. rst Oct. 


From Magazines, &c. 


AVICULTURAL SOCIETY'S AWARDS.—The April, 1910, number of 
The Avicultural Magazine contains a list of awards of the Society’s 
medal to members for having bred foreign birds in captivity. The 
list of medal winners includes Mr. W. A. Fasey, for the Blue-winged 
Grass-Parrakeet (Neophema venusta), and Mr. H. D. Astley, for the 
Pileated Parrakeet (Porphyrocephalus spurius). 


*f *k * 


INCUBATION AND FLEDGING PERIODS IN Brrps.—An interesting 
note on these subjects is contributed to the March, 1910, issue of 
The Zoologist by Mr. S. E. Brock. He gives records for the Mistle- 
Thrush, Song-Thrush, Blackbird, and other familiar European 
species. In the Blackbird he has found the period of incubation 
to extend over 13-14 days; fledging period, 13-14 days. Starling. 
—Incubation, 12-13 days ; fledging period, 21-22 days. Sparrow- 
Hawk.—Incubation, 30-32 days; fledging period, 28-30 days. 
Swallows and Starlings are stated to be “ notable exceptions to 
the average small bird in the period required by their young to 
fledge.”’ It would be interesting to have similar records regarding 
some of our native birds. 

x x x 


For AGRICULTURISTS.—A series of articles on insectivorous 
birds is being published in The Agricultural Gazette of New South 
Wales. The series promises to be of value to agriculturists, who 
are too often ignorant of the services done by birds in keeping 
injurious insects in check. In the opening article of the series 
under notice, which appears in the April issue of the Gazette, 
reference is made to the value of insectivorous birds as “ the 
farmers’ friends.’”’ The Hooded Robin (Melanodryas bicolor) and 
the Yellow-breasted Shrike-Robin (Fopsaliria australis) are the 
two species dealt with. A description of the bird is followed by 
notes on habits, &c., and the kind of food on which it chiefly 
subsists. The coloured plates accompanying the article are re- 


produced from Gould’s “ Birds of Australia.” They are ex- 
cellently printed by the three-colour process. 
x *k * 


BRITISH ORNITHOLOGIST IN AUSTRALIA.—In the March, Igr1o, 
issue of The Avicultural Magazine, Mr. D. Seth-Smith, F.Z.S., con- 
tinues his pleasant ‘‘ Notes on my Visit to Australia.”” He describes 
a visit to Stanwell Park, New South Wales, in company with Mr. 
S. Le Souéf. The two bird-lovers had interesting experiences 
among the Waxbills (42gintha temporalis), Rock-Warblers (Origma 
rubricata), and other species. Mr. Seth-Smith heard the notes of 
the Butcher-Bird (Cracticus destructor), and he thought the song 
the finest he had heard since his arrival in Australia. ‘‘ The loud, 
flute-like notes, answered in the distance by a rival bird, gave a 
special charm to the whole countryside.” 


Vol. X. From Magazines, &c. I4t 


1910 


In the May number of the Journal Mr. Seth-Smith describes his 
visit to Brisbane. He deals with the railway journey from Sydney, 
and speaks enthusiastically of the beauty of the Darling Downs. 
In the Botanic Gardens at Brisbane the visitor ‘‘ watched with 
much delight a lovely Blood-red Honey-eater (Myzomela sanguino- 
lenta) sucking at the flowers (of a scarlet hibiscus) and flying from 
one to another, almost putting the brilliant flowers themselves in 
the shade by his brilliance.’ He visited the Museum, and was 
not well pleased with the arrangement of some of the cases. 


* * * 


ARBOR AND Birp Day IN SouTH AusTRALIA. — A supplement 
to The Education Gazette of South Australia, August, Igto, deals 
with Bird and Arbor Day. Keference is made to school bird 
protection clubs, the plume sales in London, the action taken in 
England by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, &c. 
Dr. A. M. Morgan contributes an interesting lesson on “‘ The Bird’s 
Egg,’’ Mr. Robert Crompton writes on ‘“‘ Where to Find Birds’ 
Nests,” and Mr. A. G. Edquist deals with ‘‘ The Destruction of 
Birds.”” The articles are brightly written, and calculated to 
interest children in bird-life and lead them to a right attitude in 
relation to the species that should be protected. A number of 
half-tone illustrations, from photos. by Mr. Edquist, enhance the 
attractiveness of the publication. A copy of the Birds Pro- 
tection Act 1900 1s also included as a supplement to The Education 
Gazette for roth August, IgIo. 

The July issues of The Children’s Hour (a school paper) contain 
special Bird and Arbor Day matter. Mr. J. W. Mellor, A.O.U., 
contributes an illustrated article, entitled ‘‘ Our Native Birds and 
their Food.’ ‘“ Much,’’ he writes, ‘has still to be learnt about 
the feeding habits of Australian birds before we know all the good 
or harm our birds do in seeking their food.’’ A lesson on ‘* The 
Mallee-Hen or Native Pheasant ’’ appears in the Houwr for Class II., 
also simple stories about a Swallow and a Dove. Capt. S. A. 
White, A.O.U., in the issue for Classes IV. and V., writes about 
the Pelican and its ways. He expresses the hope that ‘‘ Australia 
will not allow the Pelicans that are left in our land to be destroyed, 
but that it will act soon, or, as in America, 1t may be almost too 
late to save these noble and quaint birds from being exterm- 
inated.’ The birds of South Australia have good friends, who 
are concerning themselves for their preservation. Mr. A. G. 
Edquist contributes to the same number of The Children’s Hour 
an open letter to boys and girls on the Children’s Bird Protection 


Club. 
x x x 
Notes ON BriRpDs-OF-PARADISE.—Mr. Walter Goodfellow, who 
has had enviable experiences among New Guinea birds, commences 
in the July, r910, number of The Avicultural Magazine a series of 
articles which promises to be of great interest and value. He has 
succeeded in bringing living specimens of several species of these 


Emu 


142 From Magazines, &c. er aoc 


beautiful birds to England. He states that he has constantly 
read remarks about the Birds-of-Paradise which are altogether 
wrong, and some purely imaginative and needing correction. The 
cult for the birds commenced in 1904, when Mr. Goodfellow brought 
over a consignment for Mrs. Johnstone, consisting of one Greater 
Bird, two Lesser Birds, two Kings, and a pair of Black Manucodes. 
The importations have proved conclusively that the Birds-of- 
Paradise are ‘‘ by no means so delicate as they were at one time 
supposed to be’’—in fact, it may safely be said, Mr. Goodfellow 
thinks, that they are generally hardy birds. So far, none have bred 
in captivity. 

Mr. Goodfellow intends to confine his notes to those species which 
he has imported alive, with the Gardener Bower-Bird—a total of 20. 
He deals in the present paper with the Greater Bird-of-Paradise 
(Paradisea apoda), whose chief home is the Aru Islands, off the 
south-west coast of New Guinea; but it also inhabits ‘‘ the main- 
land in the interior, south of the Charles Louis and the Snow Moun- 
tains, which form the dividing line, north and south, between the 
Greater and Lesser Birds.’’ The Greater Bird-of-Paradise, the 
author states, is by no means distributed equally over the islands 
of the Aru group. It is confined to the deepest jungle of the ex- 
treme interior, where the trees are tallest. Mr. Goodfellow first 
visited the Arus in December, 1903, and was at the time the only 
European in the country. The natives looked upon the birds 
absolutely as their own property, and the white bird-hunter had to 
come to an understanding with them before he could make any 
collections. His description of the first hunting party is inter- 
esting, and his field notes on the habits of the Birds-of-Paradise 
extremely valuable. The nesting season apparently commences 
in December. The males start to assemble irregularly in the 
dancing-trees before the moulting season is completely over. 
Occasionally a recognized dancing-tree is tabooed by the birds for 
a whole season, or even longer. The Malay trade name for the 
Apoda is “‘ burong mate ’’—dead bird. 


Bird Protection. 


DEPUTATION OF THE CounciL, A.O.U., TO FEDERAL MINISTER OF 
CUSTOMS. 
THE MINISTER SYMPATHETIC. 
A DEPUTATION from the Council of the Australasian Ornithologists’ 
Union waited on the Minister for Customs to-day to ask for the intro- 
duction of a bill to prohibit the importation and exportation of the 
plumage and skins of certain birds, framed on lines similar to the bill 
now before the House of Commons. 

Mr. A. J. Campbell, Col. M. B.O.U., president of the Union, said 
that a deputation had waited on Mr. Deakin when he was Prime 
Minister in regard to the subject. Bird protection and other societies 
in all the States were represented. It was desired that a bill to pro- 
hibit the sale or exchange of the plumage and skins of certain wild 
birds and the importation and exportation of plumes and skins of 


Vol. X. Bird Protection. 143 


1910 


species scheduled be introduced in the Federal Legislature: He gave 
some particulars of the measure desired. 

Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, C.M.Z.S., spoke regarding the value of 
birds to the community. Flocks were interfered with by liver flukes ; 
the intermediate host of the fluke was a species of snail, and this snail 
was part of the dietary of Herons, Magpie-Larks (Gral/ina), and other 
kinds of birds. So the birds, by destroying the flukes in the snails, 
were valuable servants of man. Again, the Ibis was a great enemy 
of the grasshopper. A single Ibis would destroy 2,000 immature 
grasshoppers in a single day. 

Mr. D. Le Souéf, C.M.Z.5., produced four catalogues of one plume 
sale held in London in December, 1909. They showed that 3,915 
skins of Birds-of-Paradise, and hundreds of skins of Australian Rifle- 
Birds, Emus, &c., had been disposed of. 

Mr. H. W. Wilson, hon. secretary of the Union, explained recent 
legislation for bird protection in New York State. 

Mr. Charles Barrett said that there was urgent necessity for action. 
What was done must be done quickly, as some birds were rapidly 
nearing extinction. The plume-wearing custom was an abominable 
one, and there should be some law whereby women who wore the 
plumes of protected birds could be punished for an offence. 

Mr. Tudor, in reply, said that he was absolutely sympathetic with 
the objects of the deputation, and would be pleased to do all in his 
power to help the birds, who could not help themselves. At the 
present time the powers of the department were doubtful, but there 
were provisions in the Customs Act Amendment Bill regarding the 
necessary power. He referred to Mr. Mattingley’s remarkable photo- 
graphs of Egrets, and the slaughter of birds in the United States. He 
‘had no sympathy with persons who decorated themselves with bird 
plumes ; it had been said that women were beautiful enough without 
borrowing beauty. He deprecated the wholesale murder of birds, 
and assured the deputation that, not only would its request receive 
sympathetic consideration, but that he was at one with it. 

The deputation thanked the Minister and withdrew. — The Mel- 
bourne Herald, 29/8/10. 


Reviews. 

[‘‘ A Monograph of the Petrels (Order Tubinares),” by F. Du Cane Godman, 
De Galee eH RAS 5; Occs | 
THis magnificent work on an exceedingly difficult class of Aves 
to deal with has been completed by the publication of Part V. 
The whole sets a high standard in Nature book work, and 
incidentally Dr. Du Cane Godman has erected to himself, with the 
assistance of friends (foremost among whom were the late Osbert 
Salvin and the late Dr. Bowdler Sharpe), a monument which will 
celebrate for all time his term of office as president of the British 
Ornithologists’ Union. He is congratulated accordingly by his 
ornithological brethren in these “ British dominions beyond the 
seas.”’ 

Part V. opens with the puzzling Prions and the Diving-Petrels 
(Pelecanoides), peculiar to Southern seas, the latter resembling in 
habit the Little Auk of Northern latitudes. But the bulk of Part 


144 Reviews. Emu 


Ist Oct. 


V. is occupied by the Albatrosses, of which Ig species are enumer- 
ated, no fewer than 16 being figured. However, it is possible that 
future research may prove the Carter Albatross (Thalassogeron 
carteri), {ound washed ashore dead off North-West Australia by 
our Australian member, to be an immature bird of another species, 
possibly T. chlororhynchus, the dark bill especially pointing to a 
sign of immaturity. 

One Albatross (7. cautus) breeds in Australian waters, in Bass 
Strait. Mr. H. Hamilton, of the Dominion Museum, has kindly 
furnished some remarks on the species of Albatrosses frequenting 
New Zealand, namely :— 


DIOMEDEA EXULANS, Linn. (Wandering Albatross), Pl. 89.—A good 
summary of the history of this difficult species is given. It is our 
Antipodes Island bird, and its only known nesting-place is on that 
island. 

DIOMEDEA REGIA, Buller (Royal Albatross), Pl. g0.—Both the figure 
of this and the previous species appear to me to be capable of im- 
provement. 

DIOMEDEA MELANOPHRYS, Boie (Black-eyebrowed Albatross), Pl. 97. 
-—This very widely ranging species is well figured. 

DIOMEDEA BULLERI, Rothschild (Buller Albatross), Pl. 98.—The 
description and figure are taken from the type specimen in the Tring 
Museum, obtained from the Snares. 

THALASSOGERON CAUTUS, Gould (Shy Mollymauk), Pl. 99. 

THALASSOGERON SALVINI, Rothschild (Salvin Albatross), Pl. 100.— 
Breeds on Bounty Island. 

THALASSOGERON CULMINATUS, Gould (Grey-headed Albatross), Pl. 
101. — Mainly in the seas to the south of New Zealand, although 
stragglers have been recorded from widely separated localities. 

THALASSOGERON CHLORORHYNCHUS, Gm. (Yellow-nosed Albatross), 
Pl. 102.—The figure makes it easy to separate this from the preceding 
species. 

PH@BETRIA FULIGINOSA, Gm. (Sooty Albatross), Pl. 103.—This 
species breeds on the Auckland and the Antipodes Islands. 

PH@BETRIA CORNICOIDES, Hutton (Hutton Sooty Albatross).—The 
author erects this bird into a species, separating it from fuliginosa. It 
appears to have a more southern range than the darker form. The 
adult is described as being similar. 


Messrs. Witherby and Co., 326 High Holborn, London, W.C., 
the enterprising publishers of books on ornithology, &c., and of 
this notable ‘‘ Monograph ”’ in particular, notify that the complete 
work can now be obtained, beautifully bound, for fifteen guineas. 
Those subscribers who already possess the five parts may have a 
handsome and suitable cover on application to the firm. 


[‘‘ The Fauna of Cheshire : Vol, i.—Mammals and Birds,” by T. A. Coward, F.Z.S. 
Witherby and Co., London. ] 
Tue full title of this handsome and interesting work is “ The 
Vertebrate Fauna of Cheshire and Liverpool Bay.” The volume 
under notice contains nearly 500 pages, and is liberally illustrated 
with half-tone reproductions of photographs by Thos. Baddeley. 


Vol. X. | 


agro Reviews. 145 
The book is finely printed, and is creditable alike to author and 
publishers. It is one of the best examples of a class of work which 
is becoming increasingly popular in Great Britain. 

The author states in his preface that the work represents an 
attempt to give an historical and distributional account of the 
vertebrate inhabitants of Cheshire. The natural boundary of the 
county encloses many square miles of marsh land politically 
belonging to another county, and the sea area is extended beyond 
the actual territorial waters. The author has wisely chosen geo- 
graphical rather than political boundaries. Cheshire is a maritime 
county in the north-west of England, comprising about 1,028 square 
miles ; and four-fifths of the total surface is occupied by a fertile 
plain, of a slightly undulating character. There is a tract of high 
land, however, and the country is blessed with pleasant streams 
and small lakes or meres. Evidently a good observing ground for 
the ornithologist. 

About two-thirds of the volume is devoted to bird-life. Two 
hundred and thirty-one species are said to occur, which, compared 
with other English counties, is poor. Of special interest are the 
author’s remarks on bird protection. Despite the fact that the 
existing regulations are violated by game preservers and game- 
keepers, the acts and orders are fortunately contributing to an 
increase in the numbers of certain species. The section dealing 
with migration makes interesting reading, even for an Australian 
ornithologist. To the British student of bird-life the whole work 
should prove invaluable. 


Bird Observers’ Club. 


Tue June meeting of the Club was held at the residence of Mr. D. Le 
Souéf, C.M.Z.S., Royal Park. Dr. Chas. Ryan and Mr. Le Souéf were 
joint hosts, and at their invitation about 15 members assembled for 
dinner. At the meeting Mr. Le Souéf presided. Mr. H. W. Wilson 
reported that matters in connection with the Gould League of Bird 
Lovers were progressing favourably. The hon. secretary called 
attention to the action taken in England regarding bird protection 
and the plume trade. Messrs. Le Souéf, Mattingley, and Nicholls 
and Dr. Bryant took part in the discussion which followed. It was 
suggested that one way of checking the plume trade would be by 
making it an offence to wear the plumes of protected birds. Dr. 
Bryant said that the Game Association of Victoria was in sympathy 
with the bird protection movement, and that sportsmen who offended 
against the game laws were made to regret it if discovered. It was 
resolved that Messrs. A. H. E. Mattingley, A. J. Campbell, and the hon. 
secretary form a sub-committee to deal with the matter and consult 
with Major Semmens. The hon. secretary was instructed to inform 
the Prime Minister (Mr. Fisher) that the club supported the action 
being taken by the British authorities. After the formal business 
had been disposed of, the remainder of the evening was devoted to 
inspecting photographs of Australian birds exhibited by members. 
Nearly 200 prints were displayed, the majority by Mr. A. H. E. 
Mattingley. Other exhibitors were Messrs. D. Le Souéf, A. J. Camp- 


146 ' Bird Observers’ Club. ann 
bell, T. H. Tregellas, E. B. Nicholls, and the hon. secretary. A vote 
of thanks for their hospitality was accorded Dr. Ryan and Mr. Le 
Souéf. 

The July meeting of the Club was held at the residence of Surgeon- 
General Williams, Prahran, the host presiding. Mr. A. H. E. Mat- 
tingley reported, in regard to the action taken in England to afford 
fuller protection to bird-life and place checks on the plume trade, that 
Major Semmens had been consulted and had promised the support of 
his department in any efforts made by the club. The hon. secretary 
read a communication from the Secretary of the Department of 
External Affairs, received in reply to a letter sent to the Prime 
Minister asking that the Federal Government support the action of 
the British authorities in the matter of bird protection. Mr. Atlee 
Hunt stated, znter alia, that the destruction in the Territory of Papua 
of Birds-of-Paradise, Goura Pigeons, Ospreys, and White or Lesser 
Herons had been prohibited by a proclamation published in the 
Government Gazeite on 31st October, 1908. As regarded the prevention 
of the destruction of birds in Australia, that was a matter for the 
various State Governments. The letter was received. Mr. H. W. 
Wilson reported that the Gould League of Bird Lovers was progressing 
satisfactorily. About 18,000 certificates had been distributed, and 
the finances were in a sound state. It was decided that efforts be 
made to promote branches of the League in other States. Mr. Wilson 
was thanked for his valuable services to the League. It was decided 
that Bird Day be celebrated in Victoria on 28th October, 1910. 

The chairman related some interesting observations of the behaviour 
of the Indian Minah in his garden. Mr. T. H. Tregellas read a paper 
on Australian song birds. He compared several familiar species with 
the European Skylark, Blackbird, Thrush, and Goldfinch, and praised 
the native songsters highly. The chairman and Messrs. A. J. Camp- 
bell, A. H. E. Mattingley, Dr. Bryant, and others took part in the 
discussion. It was mentioned that the Skylark had become a nuisance 
as a seed-eater in New Zealand. Dr. Bryant gave some reminiscences 
of early days in Gippsland, and spoke of the medley of bird song 
he had been wont to hear in the incult bush. Mr. J. A. Leach quoted 
John Gould and Alfred Russel Wallace in praise of the Magpie’s min- 
strelsy. Interesting bird notes were contributed by Messrs. F. E. 
Wilson (ve Emu eggs being broken by stock-riders), C. F. Cole, L. G. 
Chandler, and the hon. secretary (dates of arrival of the Fan-tailed 
Cuckoo, C. flabelliformis), and A. H. E. Mattingley (Starlings, Minahs, 
and Java Doves eating larve of the cockchafer beetle). Exhibits.— 
Mr. L. G. Chandler, skin of Mountain-Thrush (G. /unulata) ; Mr. A. J. 
Campbell, skins of Climacteris melanuva and other species from North- 
West Australia, exhibited on behalf of Mr. H. L. White, Belltrees 
(N.S.W.); Surgeon-General Williams, mounted specimens of the 
Rifle-Bird and Birds-of-Paradise (? sp.) from German New Guinea. 


South Australian Ornithological Association. 


THE monthly meeting of this Association was held at the rooms of 
Dr. R. H. Pulleirie, Adelaide, on the 3rd August, Dr. Pulleine pre- 
siding. The hon. secretary reported upon the progress of the move- 
ment to place the Mallee-Fowl on the National Reserve on Kangaroo 
Island, and having received the donation from the Government of 


Vv le xe . . . . . 
ae South Australian Ornithological Association. 147 


#10 towards defraying the expenses. Financial support was also 
forthcoming from Sir S. J. Way and Mr. Michael Hawker, in addition 
to names previously mentioned. Dr. A. M. Morgan read a letter from 
Dr. J. B. Cleland, of Sydney, with reference to parasites in and upon 
birds, and requesting that specimens should be sent to him for examina- 
tion and classification. Mr. M. Symonds Clark brought before the 
members a copy of a letter received by the Commissioner of Crown 
Lands from the secretary of the Victorian Gun Clubs Association, 
asking that South Australia should come into line with the other States 
in connection with the close season for Ducks and other game, which 
does not end until the last day of January. It was resolved to support 
the request. Captain S. A. White reported that the next congress of 
the Australasian Ornithologists’ Union would be held this year in 
Brisbane, the delegates leaving this State on 29th September. Fol- 
lowing the general business meetings, a working excursion was to be 
conducted amongst some of the islands in the Great Barrier Reef in 
the Government steamer F7izroy. 

SAVE THE PELICAN.—The subject of the evening was the protection 
of the Pelican, which has lately been placed on the unprotected list. 
Captain White read a paper in support of the protection of this most 
peculiar native bird, which, if not soon given a close season, may 
become extinct. He pointed out a precedent in America, where they 
erroneously thought that this bird was responsible for the decrease in 
fish supplies, and when the birds were all but exterminated. Mr. 
J. W. Mellor supported the protective policy, and gave evidence of the 
large flocks of these birds seen on the Coorong and on Lakes Alex- 
andrina and Albert in the seventies, and upon visiting these localities 
about twenty years later they had been reduced to a few birds, and 
were now getting more scarce in these localities. The hon. secretary 
read a number of letters from experts in the other States who had sent 
in notes upon the Pelicans, and the majority were in favour of pro- 
tecting the bird, pointing out that, although it did eat fish, it was not 
through this source that the scarcity arose. A weighty letter was 
read from Mr. Frank Farnell, the chairman of the New South Wales 
National Park Trust, who has made the breeding of fish a lifelong study, 
and gone to great expense in hatching fish to supply the inland waters 
with fresh inhabitants. He stated that the Pelican was totally pro- 
tected in New South Wales for fear that the species would become 
extinct, and in his opinion the destruction worked by the birds amongst 
fish was infinitesimal compared with other sources of destruction. 


Notes and Notices. 


A NEW AUSTRALIAN PARROT.—Dr. Van Oort, in Notes Leyd. 
Mus., Xxxii., p. 71, has described a sub-species of Psephotus chrysop- 
terygius as P. blaauw from living birds in Mr. Blaauw’s aviaries. 
They were originally from Northern Australia. 


A Brack Swan’s NEst.—Mr. H. V. Edwards, Bega (N.S.W.), 
found and photographed an autumnal Black Swan’s nest in a salt 
lake on roth May last. It was about 3 feet in diameter and about 
18 inches above water, and contained seven eggs, fairly well in- 
cubated. 


if 48 Notes and Notices. cee 4 


FIFTH | INTERNATIONAL ORNITHOLOGICAL CONGRESS. — Mr. a 
Gregory M. Mathews, F.L.S., M.B.O.U., &c., official representative _ 
of the Australasian Ornithologists’ Union at the Berlin Congress, — 


Ig1o, reports that he and other delegates received every attention, 


and left the German capital with regret. The papers, &c., read at — 


the Congress will be published in one volume. 


AN EXPLANATION.—In reference to the finding of a Bronze- 
Cuckoo’s egg with a clutch of Pardalote’s, mentioned in Emu, 


vol. x., p. 49, Mr. H. L. White explains that Mr. H. Keane, of 


Supper-street, Marrickville, Sydney, sent him the clutch, and to — 
Mr. Keane belongs the credit of finding the “curious clutch,” which — 


was taken at Flemington, near Sydney, on the 23rd October, 1908. 


COLOURED FIGURE FuNpD.—The hon. treasurer wishes to acknow- 3 
ledge receipt of contributions to the Coloured Figure Fund made ~ 


during the year which ended 30th June last, as follow :—E. D. 
Barnard (Q.), 4s. ; °F. L.-Bernie (Q.), 5s.; E. J-oChnstiamape 


~ 


4s. 6d.; H. W. Ford (V.),.2s. 6d. ; G. Graham (V.), 5s. 3. We bayeue E 


ford. (V.); tos.; Col. Legge (T.); 58°; A. Mattingley {Vo 
S. Morrison (V.), £1 tos. ; A. W. Swindells (T.), 5s. ; Thos. Tindall 
(V.), 5s. In addition to these amounts, Mr. H. L. White con- 
tributed £16 18s. Id. for some of the illustrations in Parts 2 and 3 
and all the illustrations in Part 4 of Vol. IX. 


TRINOMIALS v. BiINoMIALS.—In the late Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe’s 
last work, “‘ Handlist of Birds,” vol. v., he pronounces this pro- 
phetic warning :—‘‘ Some exception has been taken to my recog- 
nition as species of all the forms described as sub-species or races 
with trinomial names. My views on this subject have often been 
stated, and as for trinomials I look upon the system as destructive. 
I consider that the burden imposed upon zoologists who follow 
this method for the naming of their specimens will become too 
heavy, and that the system will fall by its own weight. hat 
races or sub-species of birds exist in nature no one can deny; but, 
to my mind, a binomial title answers every purpose.” 


A DeatH TrAap.—We are indebted to Mr. A. S. Le Souéf, of 
Sydney, for the following note :—‘ Mr. H. K. Anderson gives some 
interesting notes on a death trap for Swans and Pelicans in the 
Northern Territory. This is Lake Buchannon, 80 miles from Pent- 
land. During the wet season the Jake fills up, and thousands of 
water birds resort there for breeding purposes, including immense 
numbers of Black Swans and Pelicans; but it is only in excep- 
tional seasons that any of the latter get away alive, for the lake 
gradually dries up as the summer comes on, and, as there is no 
outlet, becomes very salt, and all the Cygnets and young Pelicans, 
and all the fish which have come down from the creeks, die, and 


the place is a mass of decaying animal matter. Most of the old — 


birds die too. for they will not leave the young, and gradually get 
weak and ill from the increasing salinity of the water, and, if they 
would, are unable to get away.” 


ee . 
a fa Naas ss day, 


 AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 
CO-PATRONS: 
Their Majesties the King and Queen. 


OFFICE-BEARERS: \ 
President: Mr. A. J. CAMPBELL, Cor. Mem. B.O.U. 


(Mr. J. W. MELLOR. 
*\Mr. ROBERT HALL, C.M.Z.S. 
| Sea Hon. Secretary : Mr. H. W. WILSON. 


Ae (c/o Zoological Gardens, Melbourne. Private Address—1os Drummond Street, ; 
4} ae Carlton, Victoria.) 


a) Hon. Treasurer: Mr. J. A. ROSS. 
Wi (Address—Crown Solicitor’s Office, Lonsdale Str, Melbourne.) 


Vice=Presidents : 


Hon. Librarian: Mr. A. H. E. MATTINGLEY, C.M.Z.S. 
Press Correspondent: Mr. D. Lr SOUEF, C.M.Z.S. 


- Mr. A. J. CAMPBELL, Cot. Mem. B.O.U. 
Editors of The Emuj)7.. CHARLES BARRETT. ti 


Members of Council: Carr. S. A. WHITE (South Australia), Mr. L, 

HARRISON (New South Wales), SURGEON-COLONEL C. S. RYAN (Victoria), 

Mr. W. M‘ILWRAITH (Queensland), Mr. C. PRICE CONIGRAVE, 
'F.R.G.S. (Western Australia). © New Zealand (vacant). 


OBJECTS, &c.- - - - 


HE objects of the Society are the advancement and popularization ; 
) of the Science of Ornithology, the protection of useful and 


ornamental avifauna, and the publication of a magazine called 
The Emu. 


The business of the Society shall be conducted by a Council, con-° 
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, o The Emu. | 


Cope? ete a) 


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of Native Birds. 


| 
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Official Organ of the ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. | 


IgIo. 


. paced ne 
| Editors | A. J. CAMPBELL, Col. Mem. B.0O.U. ey ea bes 
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| Melbourne : "TAN i6 isi] 
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BANE) SESSION - - - - 
ADDRESS BY THE STATE GOVERNOR 
EXHIBITS - - - - - 
| OUTINGS - . - 
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PROVINCIAL VISITS «<<! Sg) o0 [rete ee es 


PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS: THE UNION AND I17S 
Campbell, Col. Mem. B.O.U., Melbourne -- 


NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION TO THF. ISLANDS: OF be ~ 
CAPRICON GROUP. 


Reche IDENTIFIED ON THE CAPRICON GROUP DURING hs seine . 
OF R.A.O.U., 8TH TO 17TH ocrgEey apa ay, A. J Cann i‘ 
and Capt. roe White - AN 


DESCRIPTION OF A NEW QUEENSLAND LORRIKEET. by D. ee 
Souéf, R.A.O.U., Melbourne - - x ° a 


BIRDS OF THE BLACKALLS. By J. W. Mellor, R.A.O. Ty Adeleide 205 


TRIP TO THE TAMBOURINE MOUNTAIN. oy ea ak A, White, 
R.A.O.U., Adelaide - - - - os ee 212 


ALONG THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. By (Dr.) Wm, Macgilluray, 
R.A.O.U., Broken Hill, N.S.W. : - = =: Ree 


BIRDS OF THE CARDWELL AND HERBERT RIVER DISTRICTS | 
(N.Q.) By K. CE ae ETE se eee Queensland 
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s 
i 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XIII. 


“IW48dWVO ff ‘Y AS “OLOHd VW WOXS 


‘spur[sy usoormdeg ‘sisonN (sujj2dv909na] snouvnsrI PT) SeIPPON peddveo-a31y~A, Jo dnory 


| She Emu | 


Official Organ of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 


“Birds of a feather.”’ 


Vor. A..] ist DECEMBER, 1910. [PART 3,,(SPECIAL). 


Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 


TENTH. (BRISBANE) :SESSION-. 


MINUTES OF THE TENTH ANNUAL SESSION OF THE ROYAL AUS- 
TRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, HELD AT _ BRISBANE, 
FROM THE 4TH TO THE OTH OCTOBER, IQIO. 


Ir was decided at the ninth (Adelaide) session of the Union that 
the next annual session should be held in Brisbane, and that the 
working excursion should be held on some of the islands of the 
Barrier Reef. As no session of the Union had been before held 
in Queensland, this tenth session was looked forward to by all 
members, and especially those who had not had the privilege of 
visiting the northern State. 

The Council began as. early as February to obtain from members 
and others in Queensland information which would be valuable 
in organizing the session. They received advice, information, 
and assistance from all to whom they applied, and the outcome 
was the largest and most successful session that has yet been held. 
Mention will be made in the report of the proceedings of those 
who, by their assistance and sympathy, helped to bring about 
this result. 

The delegates from South Australia, Broken Hill, and Victoria 
arrived in Sydney on Saturday, 1st October, and were met by 
Mr. Launcelot Harrison, the representative for New South Wales, 
and Messrs. A. F. Basset Hull and G. J. Broinowski. 

In the afternoon the delegates, as the guests of the New South 
Wales Field Naturalists’ Club, were taken for a trip up Middle 
Harbour, and a most enjoyable afternoon was spent. Afternoon 
tea was presided over by Mrs. Launcelot Harrison. 

Members of the party from Sydney included :—Mrs. L. Harrison, 
Mrs. Harrison, sen., Miss Mack, A. F.. Basset Hull, R.A.O.U., 
Dr. Geo. Hurst, R.A.O.U., W. W. Froggatt, F.L.S., Government 
Entomologist ; W. B. Gurney, F.E.S., president Field Naturalists’ 
Club; Chas. Hedley, F.L.S., Assistant Curator, Australian 
Museum ; G. J. Broinowski; E. S. Edwards, M.A., hon. secretary 
Field Naturalists’ Club. 

The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, through 


150 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. (a mee 


Mr. A. S. Le Souéf, the Director of the Zoological Gardens, 
Sydney, very kindly invited members of the Union to visit the 
Gardens while in Sydney. On Sunday morning many members 
took advantage of the invitation, and spent a very enjoyable 
time. 

On Sunday evening the party left Sydney by the Northern 
express. On arrival at Wallangarra the travellers were informed 
that a parlour car and a first-class car had been reserved for them 
through the kindness of the Minister of Railways. The delegates 
greatly appreciated the feeling which prompted this act of kindness 
and generosity. A few hours later a further token of the kindnesses 
of which the members of the Union were to be recipients was received, 
for, on arriving at Warwick, they were met by Sir Arthur Morgan 
and other members of the Government and members of the local 
Field Naturalists’ Club, formally welcomed to Queensland, and 
invited to afternoon tea while the train waited. 

At Toowoomba members of the Field Naturalists’ Club also 
waited at the station to welcome the party, and a similar recep- 
tion was accorded at Ipswich. Mr. H. Tryon (Government 
Entomologist), organizing secretary for the Brisbane session, 
had travelled to Ipswich to meet the party, and returned with 
members to Brisbane. 

On arrival at the Central Station, Brisbane, the delegates were 
met by Professor Skertchly, Messrs. J. Shirley, B.Sc., J. O'Neill 
Brenan, C. W. Holland, G. M. Colledge, W. Beard, W. R. Parker, 
and Dr. Hurworth, of the Field Naturalists’ Club, and a number 
of other ladies and gentlemen. While in Brisbane the whole of 
the party was accommodated at the Belle Vue Hotel, George- 
street, which is centrally situated. 

_ The delegates to the session were :—Victoria.—Messrs. A. rE 

Campbell, Col. M.B.O.U., W. H. Dudley Le Souéf, C.M.Z.S., J. A 
Leach, MiSc.5°C.°L. Barrett, Dr, Chenery (Sale), Joe Kershaw 
Bs. Curator National Museum, Melbourne, Z. Gray, E. B. 
Nicholls, H. W. Wilson (hon. sec.), Mrs. Israel, and Misses Camp- 
bell (2). New South Wales.—Messrs. L. Harrison, C. Coles, H. 
Burrell, D. B. Fry (of the Australian Museum, Sydney), Mrs. 
Burrell, and Doctors Macgillivray and Dobbyn, from Broken Hill. 
Queensland.—Messrs. F. L. Berney, C. A. Barnard, E. M. Corn- 
wall, C. W. De Vis, M.A., and H. Tryon. South Australia.—Messrs. 
J. W. Mellor, J. F. Mellor, S. S. Stokes, Captain S. A. White, 
Mesdames White and Mellor, and Miss Mellor. Apologies for 
inability to attend were received from Messrs. I. Batey, G. A. 
Dyer, Hon. F. Stuart, L. C. Cook, A. F. Linton (Victoria) ei: 
Lane (N.S.W.), Sir S. Way, Dr. W. N. Hope, M. Symonds-Clark 
(South Australia), C. P. Conigrave (W.A.), and R. Hall (Tas- 
mania). 

The programme for the session was as follows :— 

4th October.—Visit Queensland Museum to meet Messrs. C. W. 
De Vis and K. Broadbent and examine the collection of Aus- 
tralian birds and Sir Wm. Macgregor’s collection of birds of New 


Vol. X. 


ah Se Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. T51 
Guinea. Lunch in Museum grounds as guests of Hon. W. T. 
Paget, Secretary for Agriculture and Administrator Native Birds 
Protection Acts. Address to 1,600 State school children by W. H. 
Dudley Le Souéf, Esq., C.M.Z.S., at Lyceum, George-street, 
Secretary for Public Instruction presiding. Ride over Brisbane 
tram lines to view the city. An ‘‘at home” at Mr. John Bell’s, 
Highgate Hill: falconry and works relating thereto. 7 p.m.— 
Annual meeting, members only, at Public Library (Royal Geo- 
graphical Society’s rooms). 8.15 p.m.—Annual meeting con- 
tinued—visitors admitted; Sir Wm. Macgregor, G.C.M.G., C.B., 
in the chair. The president’s: address, “The Union and its 
Work,” by Mr. A. J. Campbell. Reading of papers, illustrated by 
lantern slides :—Captain S. A. White, “‘ Ornithologists at Warunda”’; 
Wort tO talbers Souet,, < Pengums "A. oS EK. Mattimeley, 
‘** Production of Call of Podargus ”’ (taken as read). 

5th October—Drag excursion to Enoggera Waterworks Reserve 
as guests of Field Naturalists’ Club. 8 p.m.—Public lecture— 
Visit of Ornithologists’ Union to Bass Strait. Lecturers— 
Messrs. J. A. Leach, A. J. Campbell, and W. H. D. Le Souéf. (Sir 
Arthur Morgan presided.) 

6th October.—Steamer excursion to mouth of Brisbane River 
and islands adjacent, as guests of the Field Naturalists’ Club. 
6 to 8 p.m.—Adjourned annual meeting. 10.25 p.m.—Depart for 
Gladstone. 

7th Octobery—Board Commonwealth trawler Endeavow and 
depart for Capricorn Group for working excursion. 

18th October—Lecture to State school teachers at Brisbane by 
J. A. Leach, Esq., M.Sc., Nature Study Inspector of Victoria. 

19th October.—Visit Bundaberg. 

21st October.—Visit Toowoomba. 

23rd October.—Visit Warwick. 

ANNUAL MEETING. 


The president, Mr. A. J. Campbell, took the chair at 7 p.m., 
and declared the meeting open. All delegates attended. 

Letters of apology were read. 

The minutes of the ninth annual session were read, confirmed, 
and signed, on the motion of Mr. J. A. Leach, seconded by Capt. 
S. A. White. 

The annual report was then read by the hon. secretary. Mr. 
E. B. Nicholls took exception to part of paragraph relating to 
formation of Gould League, and on the motion of Captain S. A. 
White, seconded by Mr. E. B. Nicholls, the report was referred 
back to the Council. 

Discussion ensued with regard to a number of points mentioned 
in the report, and, on the motion of Mr. Mellor, seconded by Mr. 
L. Harrison, the adoption of the report was held over. 

Hon. Treasurer's Report.— The hon. treasurer's report and 
balance-sheet were read by Mr. Z. Gray, in the absence of the 
treasurer. Mr. Z. Gray moved that the report and balance-sheet 
be adopted. Seconded by Mr. H. W. Wilson. Carried. 


152 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. (ee 
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VOuTS. —_— 
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(Signed) J. A. Ross, Hon. Treasurer. 
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Vol. X. 


Igo 


EXPENDITURE 
80th June, 1910. 


Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 153 


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Emu 
tst Dec. 


154 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 


New Members.—On the motion of Mr. C. Cole, seconded by Mr. 
J. A. Leach, the following members were declared elected :— 
Victoria.—C. F. Cole, Auburn; L. G. Chandler, Malvern; G. A. 
Dyer, Fitzroy; J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., Melbourne (rejoined) ; 
J. P. ‘M'Lennan, ‘Ascot. Vale > Eo) x. Petherick, F.L.S.; A. M. 
Sullivan, Jeparit ; F. E. Wilson, Melbourne ; A. C. Stone, Sale. New 
South Wales. — G. J. Broinowski, Mosman ; Herbert C. Charlton, 
Sydney; Dr. E. C. Chisholm, Riverstone; Max Egger, Jeril- 
derie; Dr. H. C. Hinder, Summerhill; A. J. Prentice, West Mait- 
land ; Wm. Sherrie, Wagga Wagga; Master A. H. White, Scone ; 
Paul Wenz, Nannana Station; Count Morner, Swedish Consul ; 
Dr. E. H. Dobbyn, Broken Hill; Dr. E. W. Ferguson; D. B. Frys 
Queensland.—His Excellency Sir Wm. Macgregor, G.C.M.G., C.B. ; 
Lady Macgregor; Hon. Anthony Musgrave, C.M.G. ; Reginald 
Roe, M.A., Inspector-General of Schools; A. H. Nelson, 
Brisbane School of Arts (sec.); Henry Tryon, Brisbane. South 
Australia. — Albert Rake, Kalangadoo; Dr. Pulleine, North- 
terrace, Adelaide; E. Whitington, The Register, Adelaide ; 
Mrs. S. A. White, Wetunga, Fulham. Western Australia.— 
Patrick D. Baird, Head Light-keeper, Cape Naturaliste ; 
C. H. von der Hordten, FE. Ex. A. and. China Tel. Com@ende 
Broome; C. E. Orton, Petworth Park, Moora. Tasmania.— 
Geo. S. Russell, Cressy. Great Britain and Europe.—Deighton, 
Bell and Co., publishers, Cambridge; Felix L. Dames, natural 
history bookseller, Berlin. 

Exchanges.—(1) Director of Education, Education Department, 
Melbourne ; (2) Secretary Agricultural Department, New South 
Wales, while coloured plates of birds are being published in The 
Agricultural Journal ; (3) Natural History and Royal Society of 
Western Australia; (4) German Ornithological Monthly Journal. 

Increase in Members of Council.—On motion of Mr. J. A. Leach, 
seconded by Mr. Nicholls, the action of the Council in increasing 
the number of the Council by four members during the past year 
was endorsed. 

Alterations to Rules 1, 3,:and 4.—Alteration of rule 1 :—“ The 
name of the society shall be ‘The Australasian Ornithologists’ 
Union’ to ‘The Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union.’ ”’ 
Alteration to rule 3 :—‘‘ The society shall consist of members and 
honorary members. Members shall be elected in the manner 
hereafter mentioned. Honorary members shall be prominent 
ornithologists residing out of Australasia, and shall not exceed 
ten in number.’”’ Introduce “‘ honorary associate members ”’ after 
‘honorary members.” There are six at present—Dr. J. A. 
Allen, Prof. Ridgway, Count Salvadori, Dr. P. L. Sclater, H. 
Kendall, and Donald Macdonald. Alteration of rule 4 :—*‘' The 
business of the society shall be conducted by a Council consisting 
of a president, two vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, two 
editors of The Emu, and four members,” to read ‘ fourteen 
members.” 

Voting papers had been sent to all members, but many did not 


Malai. Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 155 


1910 


take advantage of the privilege of voting; but by an absolute 
majority, though a narrow one, the alterations were agreed to. 
The hon. secretary had tabulated the votes. 

Rule 1 now reads :—‘‘ The name of the society shall be ‘ The 
Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union.’”” Rule 3 now reads: 
—‘‘ The society shall consist of members, honorary members, and 
honorary associate members. Members shall be elected in the 
manner hereinafter mentioned. Honorary members shall be pro- 
minent ornithologists residing out of Australasia. | Honorary 
associate members shall be prominent ornithologists residing in 
Australia and New Zealand. Honorary and honorary associate 
members shall not together exceed ten in number.” Rule 4 now 
reads :—‘‘ The business of the society shall be conducted by a 
Council, consisting of a president, two vice-presidents, secretary, 
treasurer, two editors of The Emu, librarian, press correspondent, 
and fourteen members,” &c. 

Alteration to Rule 4.—The scope and influence of the Union is 
steadily increasing, and it was considered necessary to increase 
the number of members of the Council, so that the interests of 
the Union would be more fully represented in the different States. 
It was also agreed that one representative in each State should act 
as local hon. secretary, so that the business on the Council could be 
more expeditiously placed before members in different States. 

Election of Office-bearers—The following office-bearers were 
elected for the ensuing year :—President, A. J. Campbell ; 
vice-presidents, J. W. Mellor and Robert Hall; hon. secretary, 
H. W. Wilson; hon. treasurer, J. A. Ross; co-editors, A. J. 
Campbell and C. L. Barrett; press correspondent, E. Brooke 
Nicholls ; librarian, W. H. D. Le Souéf (by vote). Members of 
the Council.—New South Wales—A. F. Basset Hull (local screwy, 
Dr. Macgillivray, and L. Harrison (by vote) ; Victoria—A. H. 
Matunpleys Dr: Cy Ryan; J. A..Leach, Dr. G: Horne; ie 
land—H. Tryon (local hon. secretary), Wm. M‘Ilwraith ; South 
Australia—Captain S. A. White (local hon. secretary), Dr. Morgan ; 
Western Australia—C. P. Conigrave (local hon. secretary) ; Tas- 
mania—A. L. Butler (local hon. secretary); New Zealand—H. 
Hamilton (local hon. secretary). 

The meeting then adjourned to an adjoining room to receive 
His Excellency the Governor, Sir Wm. Macgregor, G.C.M.G., 
C.B., who had kindly consented to preside, and other visitors, 
among whom were :—Sir Arthur and Lady Morgan, Hon. A. Mus- 
grave, C.M.G., Lieut.-Colonel and Mrs. Moore, Major and Mrs. 
Sankey, Mr. and Mrs. Scriven, Dr. and Mrs. Guy L’Estrange, 
Dr. Lilian Cooper, Miss Bedford, Dr. Elkington, Mr. Edward C. 
Barton, Mr. John Bell, Mr. and Mrs. L’Estrange Love, Mr. and Mrs. 
J: Shirley, Mr. Bousfield, Mr. W. V. Ralston, Mr. Donald Gunn, 
Mr. Henry Donkin, Mr. G. J. Bourne, Mr. R. H. rar Mr. and 
Mrs. Wedd, Mr. P. Roberts, Mr. Anthony Alder, Wild, Mr. 
Broadbent, Mr. Edmund Jarvis, Mr. A. A. Spowers, Ate and Mrs. 
Philip MacMahon, Miss Beattie, and Dr, W. M. Turner. 


Emu : 
tst Dec. 


156 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 

The adjourned general meeting was held at the Belle Vue Hotel 
on 6th October, at 7.30 p.m., the president in the chair. 

On the motion of Captain White, seconded by Mr. Nicholls, the 
annual report was referred to the Council for reconsideration. 

On the motion of Mr. Leach, seconded by Mr. Cornwall, the 
amended annual report was adopted. 

On the motion of Captain S. A. White and Mr. Mellor, Mr. 
D. B. Fry and Mr. S. Stokes were elected members. The names 
had been omitted from list through typographical error. 

Check-List—Mr. A. J. Campbell reported that the list was not 
ready, as the committee appointed to deal with it had been too 
busy ; but they hoped to have it ready for the next meeting. 

Colour Chart.—A letter was read from Mr. R. Ridgway, U.S.A. 
The printing had been delayed. 

Place of Next Meeting.—On the motion of Mr. W. H. D. 
Le Souéf, seconded by Mr. J. A. Leach, it was decided that the 
next annual session be held in Sydney. 

Report on Ornithological Court at A.N.A. Exhibition, Melbourne. 
—Mr. Barrett, and other members who assisted, stated that the 
experiment had not been a success, and that it would be well to 
wait for some time before making another attempt. 

Bird Day and Education Departments.—Mr. Nicholls moved that 
a vote of thanks be conveyed to the Directors of the Education 
Departments of Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tas- 
mania, in appreciation of the valuable work done in furthering 
the cause of bird protection and spreading a knowledge of the 
work performed by birds, and their value to the country, by pub- 
lishing special numbers of School Papers dealing with phases of 
bird-life, and by instituting a Bird Day in schools. 

Mr. H. W. Wilson and Captain S. A. White supported the 
motion, which was seconded by Mr. H. Tryon, and carried 
unanimously. 

The Education Departments of Victoria and Tasmania were 
eulogized for the interest they had taken and the support given 
to the Gould League of Bird Lovers which had been instituted 
in these States. 

Bird Sanctuaries and Protection of Birds. —The question of 
introducing and liberating ferrets in the Commonwealth for the 
purpose of destroying rabbits was discussed. The hon. secretary 
quoted the report of Mr. E. Stead on stoats and weasels in New 
Zealand. Mr. D. Le Souéf mentioned the harm done by intro- 
ducing the mongoose in some parts of the world for the purpose 
of destroying rabbits and other pests. Captain White and Mr. 
J. A. Kershaw also spoke strongly on the damage that would 
be done by the introduction of the ferrets, as proved by the harm 
done by those that escaped from custody. The hon. secretary 
stated that the Minister of Customs had the matter in hand, and 
it was receiving his careful consideration. (A proclamation has 
since been issued prohibiting the importation of ferrets into the 
Commonwealth.) 


Vol. X, ] 


cots Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. A 

Penguins. — Mr. R. Hall, Curator of the National Museum, 
Hobart, had written to the Council ve the destruction of Penguins 
on the Macquarie Islands, asking the Union to support other 
scientific bodies in endeavouring to have the Penguins protected. 

On the motion of Mr. J. A. Leach, seconded by Captain S. A. 
White, it was decided to ask the Government of Tasmania to 
take action for the protection of the Penguins. 

On the motion of the president, seconded by Captain S. A. 
White, the following votes of thanks were passed and carried by 
acclamation :— 

To Sir Wm. Macgregor, G.C.M.G., C.B., for presiding at 
annual meeting on 4th October, and for the sympathetic 
interest taken by him in the work of the Union and in the 
cause of bird protection. 

To Sir Arthur Morgan, for presiding at popular lecture, and 
for his kindness to members and support to the work of 
the session. 

To the Field Naturalists’ Club of Brisbane, coupled with the 
names of Mr. W. R. Colledge, president, and Mr. C. W. 
Holland, secretary. The members of the Field Naturalists’ 
Club had spared neither time, trouble, nor expense to 
make the session of the R.A.O.U. a notable one, and they 
had succeeded beyond all expectations of the visiting 
delegates, who felt indeed a deep debt of gratitude to them 
for the assistance, kindness, and generosity shown to 
delegates, both collectively and individually. 

To the Hon. W. T. Paget, Minister of Railways, for his thought- 
fulness in providing special accommodation for the 
delegates when travelling from Wallangarra to Brisbane, 
and also for his kindness as Minister of Agriculture and 
Stock and Administrator of Native Birds Protection 
Acts in inviting members to examine the type collections 
of birds in the Museum, and afterwards entertaining 
them at luncheon in the grounds of the Museum. 

To the Commissioner of Railways, for his generosity in 
granting passes from Brisbane to Gladstone, and many 
other acts of courtesy relative to the comfort of the travel- 
ling delegates. 

To the Hon. the Chief Secretary, for kindly placing the use 
of rooms in the Public Library at the disposal of the 
Union for its annual meeting. 

To the Royal Geographical Society for considerately allowing 
the use of its room for the second part of the annual 
meeting. 

To the Hon. the Treasurer for offering to place the s.s. Fitzroy 
at the disposal of the Union. 

To Mr. C. W. De Vis, M.A., for his efforts to make the visit to 
the Museum a profitable one. 

To the Acting-Director of the Museum, Mr. C. J. Wild, for 
his courtesy in assisting the delegates to obtain full benefit 


Emu 
tst Dec. 


158 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 
of the opportunity of examining the specimens in the 
Museum. 

To Mr. Kendall Broadbent for placing his extensive field 

knowledge of the birds at the disposal of the party. 

Mr. and Mrs. J. Bell, for their hospitality in entertaining 

the delegates at their home at Highgate Hill, and to Mr. 

J. Bell for his interesting and instructive talk on the 

training and management of Falcons, and for allowing 

the members to view his unique collection of books on 
falconry. 

To Mr. Ivan Bond, for so generously placing his steam launch 
Teal at the disposal of members on 6th October, to allow 
them to land on the islands at the mouth of the river 
to obtain photographs of birds. 

To Mr. Chas. E. King, proprietor Lyceum, George-street, for 
the generosity and public spirit shown by him in pro- 
viding hall and lantern for the lecture on bird-life to 
1,600 children of the Brisbane schools, delivered by Mr. 
W. H. D. Le Souéf on 4th October, and also for pro- 
viding lantern and cinematograph apparatus for the 
popular lecture on 5th October in the Albert Hall. 

To Mr. Mobsby, Government photographer, for acting as 
lanternist at the annual meeting. 

To the Hon. F. Tudor, Minister of Trade and Customs, for 
placing the trawler Endeavour at the disposal of the 
Union to transport the expedition to the islands of the 
Capricorn Group, where the working camp was held. 

To Captain Cartwright and his officers of the Endeavour for 
their care and thoughtfulness while members were under 
their charge. 

To the Railway Departments of Victoria, New South Wales, 
South Australia, and the Silverton Tramway Co., for 
granting concession fares to members of the Union, and 
special concessions with regard to the extension of time 
of tickets to members who wished to continue their 
scientific observations beyond the a usually allowed 
for concession tickets. 

Hon. Librarian's Report—On the BOrbT of Mr: J. Aveieger: 
seconded by Captain S. A. White, the report was adopted. The 
report follows :— 

“Ladies and Gentlemen,—I beg to report that steady progress 
has been made with the library during the past year. The number 
of books, records, periodicals, and printers’ blocks dealing with 
bird-life is gradually increasing. The reserve stock of back parts 
of The Emu is regularly added to each issue so as to meet future 
demands. Three hundred and fifty copies, which constitute the 
present issue of The Emu, are apparently sufficient to cover im- — 
mediate as well as future requirements. It is a matter for regret 
that there is no supply available of copies of the first three volumes 
of The Emu to meet the demand for them. This is owing to those 


sll 


sy 
VY 


Vol. X. 
1910 


Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 159 
parts being now out of print, consequent on the issue of only 250 
copies of those volumes. The financial conditions of the Union 
during the first three years of its existence did not permit of a 
larger issue than 250 copies. Through the generosity of the 
Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria, the whole of 
the library is stored on its shelves. The accumulation of books 
is expanding, due to exchange, donation, and occasional purchase, 
and the space required to accommodate them is increasing. Later 
it will be necessary to find some other means of shelving the books 
in a systematic way. The funds of the Union do not as yet permit 
of many purchases. The Council would be glad of further donations 
of works on bird-life. A library fund is urgently needed, so that 
works too expensive for purchase by many of the members may 
be obtained for the benefit of all, and also to pay for the binding 
of many delicately covered books liable to injury during transit 
to members. To facilitate the members availing themselves of 
the literature of the Union’s library, and its distribution to them, 
a card catalogue is about to be instituted. The Council of the 
Union already subscribes to the international card catalogue of 
the literature of the Aves of the world. The library of the Union 
is, therefore, a valuable and steadily increasing asset, and I would 
be glad of any suggestions regarding it, more especially with 
reference to the means of making it more available to members 
than at present. 


Parts of The Emu in Stock, 26/9/10. 


PAGO) hakte2, Part 3. Parts) Part 5. eae 
Wolke t — -— — a 
» Il. 7 3 9 3 sama re 
pind AON — 17 12 — ~- 
SL. 106 103 100 95 ieee — 
rN. 82 87 86 97 — 106 
rie VE 86 83 78 83 — — 
eV LL 70 68 87 98 605 
ye NA 82 67 64 59 34 = 
” IX 57 2 38 36 a 
aes 58 30 — — — — 
Total Seed (igs 8 516 A474 77 A amg Us ari! 174 


—A. H. E. MArtINGLEy, hon. librarian. Melbourne, 24th 
September, IgIo.” 

A letter forwarded by Mr. F. M. Littler, Tasmania, was read by 
the hon. secretary This communication had been sent by a resi- 
dent who had lived on islands in Bass Strait for 40 years. It 
stated that Flinders and Barren Islands had always been resorts 
and breeding-places for a great many wild-fowl, but that Flinders 
Island had been thrown open to selection, and it was rumoured 
that Barren Island would also be thrown open for the same pur- 


160 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. Ras 


pose. If both islands were given over for selection, and the swamps 
were drained, it would practically cause the annihilation, in a few 
years, of the birds which came there to breed. 

It was decided to ask the Tasmanian Government to reserve 
Barren Island as a national park for the preservation of the native 
fauna ; for, though there were a number of smaller islands which 
had not been thrown open to selection, these were not so suitable 
for breeding-places for the birds. 

Common Vernacular Names of Birds.—Mr. J. A. Leach asked 
that some action be taken to change some of the common ver- 
nacular names of birds, many of which were vulgar, discordant, 
and unsuitable, and especially so when bird study was being intro- 
duced into schools in all States of the Commonwealth. 

On the motion of Mr. Leach, seconded by Mr. E. B. Nicholls, it 
was decided to form a sub-committee to deal with the matter. 
Messrs. Campbell, Le Souéf, Kershaw, and Leach were appointed 
as a sub-committee. 

Close Seasons for Waders.—Mr. E. M. Cornwall (Q.) said that at 
present the close seasons for many birds were at the wrong time of 
the year, and so aiforded no protection. Waders did not nest 
till after the wet weather set in, so that the close season should 
be regulated to suit local conditions. 

Mr. Cornwall moved that the Queensland members form a com- 
mittee to report on the Native Birds Preservation Acts of Queens- 
land, and to make suggestions to the Government ve the arranging 
of close seasons to suit local conditions. 

Mr. Tryon and Dr. Macgillivray spoke to the motion, which 
was seconded by Mr. C. A. Barnard and carried. 

Reprinting Volumes I., II., and III. of “ The Emu.’—Many 
societies and private individuals were desirous of obtaining these 
volumes, many parts of which were out of print, and it was con- 
sidered by some that it was advisable to reprint them. The 
editors had obtained prices for the work, but they were considered 
to be too expensive. On the motion of Mr. J. A. Leach, seconded 
by Mr. Cornwall, it was decided that no action be taken in the 
matter at present. 

The meeting then closed, to allow the members to catch the 
train for Gladstone. 

TENTH ANNUAL REPORT, ENDING 30TH JUNE, IQIO. 

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,—Your Council have 
much pleasure in presenting to you the tenth annual report of 
the Australasian Ornithologists’ Union for the year ending 30th 
June, rgro. 

Thirty-seven new members have been enrolled since the last 
annual meeting. Sixteen members were struck off the roll on 
account of being three years behind with subscriptions. 

Your Council greatly regrets the deaths of the following members 
of the Union :—Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, one of the honorary members ; 
Mr. F. R. Godfrey, Victoria, one of the original members ; and 
Mr. G. R. Marriner, New Zealand. Mr. G. R. Marriner was the 


ers Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. IOI 


representative of the Union in New Zealand, and the thanks of 
the Union are due to Mr. H. Hamilton, of the Dominion Museum, 
Wellington, who kindly transacted the business of the Union after 
the decease of Mr. Marriner. 

During the past year distinctions have been conferred on the 
following members of the R.A.O.U., mainly for work done in con- 
nection with ornithology :—Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, Victoria— 
Gold medal, Germany, for nature photographs; Mr. F. E. Howe, Vic- 
toria, received the distinction of C.M.Z.S.; Mr. Chas. Barrett, 
Victoria—The Smithsonian Institute asked permission to publish 
article on Cuckoos, printed in vol. vi. of Emu, in the annual 
report of the Institute to Congress. 

During the year five meetings of the Council were held, the 
attendance being—5, 6, 5, 6, 7. Since June four meetings have 
been held, the attendance being—7, 6, 4, 5. As only seven 
members of the Council could attend, the attendance was very 
good. The Council desires to thank Col. Chas. Ryan for his con- 
tinued kindness in placing his rooms in Collins-street at their 
disposal for holding meetings. 

Through the lamented death of the late King Edward VII., our 
royal patrons (the Prince and Princess of Wales) have become 
our gracious King and Queen. It was considered that, such being 
the case, a royal charter might be granted to the Union. New 
Zealand is not under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of 
the Commonwealth, so the New Zealand Government was asked, 
through our representative in that State, if it would be agreeable 
to the change of title of the Union if a royal charter were granted. 
The reply stated that they were in entire sympathy with the 
matter. 

During the past year a wave of interest in bird-life has passed 
over the whole world. This is greatly due to the movement being 
made in almost all countries for the protection of bird-life, espec- 
ially of birds which are slaughtered for the sake of their plumes. 
But the value of birds to the agriculturist, and hence to the well- 
being of any State, is becoming more appreciated. The study of 
ornithology is spreading. It is interesting and fascinating. It 
takes people out of doors and gives them more pleasure in life. 
For the enthusiast no trouble, and often no danger, is too great 
in his pursuit of knowledge of birds and their habits. As a member 
of the Union or of bird observers’ clubs or associations, one is 
greatly helped in his work and often stimulated to greater efforts 
by coming in contact with those of kindred tastes. Then, again, 
the valuable knowledge gained by him or her in the field is given 
to others through the means of the publication of the Union, The 
Emu, and so others are stimulated, encouraged, and informed. 

In America the movement for the protection of birds has, in 
the case of many species, started too late—the birds have been 
annihilated. It is our duty to see that such a thing does not 
happen in Australasia. Many of our birds are unique, and it 
would be a great shame if they were not preserved for the study 


t62 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. Emu 


ist Dec. 
Oo 

and benefit of posterity. To the credit of the R.A.O.U. it may be 
said that great strides have been made in the direction of bird 
protection through its influence and through the energy and active 
interest of the members. But there is yet a great dea] to be done, 
both in the matter of bird protection and of obtaining a systematic 
knowledge of our birds and their habits. In fact, the latter field 
is practically untouched. The main work, then, of the Union is 
to endeavour to educate the people, young and old, in the know- 
ledge of bird-life and to stimulate their interest, so that they will 
become active workers in the field of ornithology. We do not 
wish to make collectors—there are more than sufficient of them 
—but rather observers. It is better to shoot a bird with a camera 
than with a gun—better for the bird and better for the country. 
Certainly there must be collections, but the collectors should be 
rigidly restricted 

On the 30th August the Hon. F. Tudor, Minister of Customs, 
received a deputation from the R.A.O.U. Council. The object of 
the deputation was to ask the Minister to take action to prevent 
the destruction of native bird-life in the Commonwealth. The 
president urged that a bill on similar lines to the one before the 
British Parliament should be introduced, and that the bill should 
prohibit the exportation of plumes and of Emus’ eggs, and the 
importation of plumes from other countries. It should also be 
provided that the possession of plumage of certain birds was an 
offence. Messrs. A. H. E. Mattingley, Le Souéf, Barrett, and the 
hon. secretary also spoke on points connected with the value of 
birds, the sales in England, the necessity for immediate action, 
and the methods adopted in other countries for bird protection. 
Mr. Tudor, who seemed well up in the subject, expressed entire 
sympathy with the object of the deputation, and promised to do 
what he could to stop the wholesale murder of native birds. The 
power of the Commonwealth regarding the exportation of certain 
goods was doubtful, but under the amending Tariff Bill adequate 
powers would be taken. The British bill dealing with the subject 
seemed to meet requirements. It prohibited the exportation of 
certain birds, and provided penalties ranging from £5 to {25 for 
the possession of prohibited plumage. In England Mr. James 
Buckland has been working for years to prevent the sale of plumes. 
He has supplied the Union with information relative to sales, &c. 
People say he has bird protection on the brain. Well, it seems 
necessary that someone should be so afflicted, for it appears that 
if anything is to be done in the matter the enthusiasts must keep 
on persistently nagging—if you like—at the authorities till they 
are forced to do something. The subject of bird protection is a 
live one at present. It behoves us to make the most of the 
opportunity. 

Many areas have in the past year been set aside as sanctuaries 
for native birds and animals. In many cases private individuals 
have done this, and this shows the spirit of the times. As a result 
of the efforts of Mr. J. W. Mellor and the South Australian Orni- 


Vol. X. 


ahs Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 163 
thologists’ Association, the whole of the Neophema family have 
been protected in South Australia. These include the Rock and 
Bourke Parrakeets; also all the islands in Coffin Bay have been 
proclaimed reserves. In Victoria the Black-tailed Parrakeet has 
been placed on the list of birds already protected. It is inter- 
esting to note that the Emu and Lyre-Bird have been introduced 
into the National Park at Wilson’s Promontory. 

One of the greatest movements in connection with bird pro- 
tection was instituted during the year. This was the formation 
of the Gould League of Bird Lovers, named after the great ornith- 
ologist, John Gould, who did so much to make the birds of Aus- 
tralasia known all over the world. A suitable certificate was 
designed, and members joining the League have to promise— 
(1) that they will endeavour to protect native birds and not 
collect their eggs ; (2) that they will endeavour to prevent others 
from injuring native birds. Young Australia should learn to 
value living birds. There are plenty of collections, both of eggs 
and birds, for them to study. Let them start where the older 
ornithologists have left off, and not attempt to make a collection 
of the whole of the birds of Australia. We hope that the Gould 
League will help them to do this. The hope is not unfounded. 
Since the institution of the Gould League over 30,000 certificates 
have been issued, the greater number in Victoria, where the 
enthusiasts of the Bird Observers’ Club of Melbourne took up the 
matter, with the success intimated above. This great success 
could not have been accomplished without the sympathy and 
assistance of the Education Department of Victoria. At the re- 
quest of the ornithologists, the Department instituted a Bird Day 
in the schools. Parents, teachers, and children all united to make 
it a success; they were all interested. The first Bird Day was 
held on 29th October, 1909, and the Education Department pub- 
lished a Bird Day number of The School Paper for that month. 
This further helped to interest and stimulate the children. Then, 
again, a series of articles on the birds of Victoria, by Mr. J. A. 
Leach, Inspector of Nature Study, were published in The Education 
Gazette, and were widely read. On Bird Day members of the 
R.A.O.U., B.O.C., F.N.C., and other bird-lovers visited schools and 
addressed the children. Each had a splendid audience. But 
the influence of the Gould League is not only felt in Victoria. The 
R.A.O.U. intended it to be national, and it will be national—the 
children will make it so. Tasmania has founded a branch, but 
before it was formed in Tasmania applications for dozens of cer- 
tificates were received, and they were forwarded. Many, too, 
have been sent to Western Australia, New South Wales, Queens- 
land, and South Australia. If remains for the bird enthusiasts in 
the different States to form a branch of the League for their State, 
and, with the help of the Education Departments, to spread the 
League. In a few years its members will number, not 20,000, but 
hundreds of thousands, and its benefits will be incalculable. What 
has been done in Victoria and Tasmania can be done in other 


> oty , 4, oka? ai Emu 
164 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. ee 


States, but enthusiasts are needed to start the work and keep it 
going. The Union offered to supply the Education Depart- 
ments of the States with material for a Bird Day School Pager. 
The Queensland Education Department has kindly consented to 
publish a Bird Day number in January next. This is a splendid 
beginning. It remains for the bird-lovers in Queensland to have 
Bird Day instituted and the Gould League formed. The Gould 
League is self-supporting. The charge of a penny for the certifi- 
cate covers all expenses. Any surplus can be used to further the 
work of the League by giving prizes, &c. It was so arranged that 
the certificate could be altered to be used in any State. Mr. J. A. 
Leach, hon. secretary for Victoria, Mr. C. L. Barrett, hon. secretary 
B.O.C., or the hon. secretary of the R.A.O.U., will supply fur- 
ther particulars. 

During the session at Adelaide last year, Mr. J. A. Leach was 
chosen by the k.A.O.U. to give a lecture to the teachers on bird 
study, and members offered the South Australian Education Depart- 
ment the loan of their negatives for a set of slides to be made to 
illustrate the lecture. The Department ordered two sets. Each set 
contained 117 slides, and the two sets cost {11 14s. Mr. Leach 
wrote the lecture which the slides illustrated. These were forwarded 
to the Education Department of South Australia, and as the Educa- 
tion Department in that Sate recognizes the value of the use of the 
lantern, and many of their schools are supplied with them, these sets 
of slides will be of great use in training and interesting the 
scholars in bird-life. 

It was intended to make an album of the photographs taken on 
the Eyre Peninsula trip, to be kept in the R.A.O.U. library as a 
record of the trip. All members did not forward photographs, so the 
album has not been formed. 

Two members of the R.A.O.U. are to be congratulated on bringing 
out books during the year—Captain S. A. White, on the Eyre 
Peninsula trip; and F. M. Littler, Tas., ‘‘ Handbook of the Birds 
of Tasmania.” Another well-known member, Mr. G. M. Mathews, 
kindly consented to represent the Union at the International 
Congress at Berlin. 

The Emu.—The Union is to be congratulated on the production 
of The Emu, and the editors, Messrs. A. J. Campbell and C. 
Barrett, deserve great praise and hearty thanks for their labours, 
and Messrs. Walker, May and Co. and members of their staff for 
the interest they take in keeping the production up to such a high 
standard of excellence. It has increased in size and value. Two 
coloured plates were published; want of funds prevents one 
appearing with each issue. The two plates mentioned were printed 
by the three-colour process; but it is considered that they 
were not so suitable for The Emu as previous hand-painted 
lithographs. Both paintings were the artistic work of Mrs. Ellis 
Rowan. 

The Union is indebted to Mr. H. L. White, Belltrees, Scone, for 
his generosity in presenting Mr. Whitlock’s notes and 12 illus- 


Vol. X. 


ye Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 105 
trations (one coloured), and paying for the production of the 
illustrations, and for many other favours. 

For the information of members it may be stated that the 
price of extra copies of The Emu to members is 2s., but only of 
issues after the date of their election. Price to members for back 
numbers, before the date of election, 4s.; price of The Emu to 
non-members is 4s. Complete volumes, full price ; no concessions 
are allowed.. Vol i. is out of print; vol. i, parts 2, 3, 4, at 
8s. ; vol. i1., parts 2 and 3, at 8s.; vol. iv., four parts, at 6s. At- 
tention is also drawn to the cover, which may be obtained from 
Geo. Robertson and Co. for Is. 6d., or the volume bound for 2s. 6d. 

During the year a card catalogue—Aves—was added to the 
library. It will be a boon to anyone writing on ornithology. The 
** Monograph of the Petrels ’’ was also added. This was donated by 
the author, Dr. F. Du Cane Godman, president of the British 
Ornithologists’ Union, through the publishers, Messrs. Witherby 
and Co., London. 

In conclusion, the Council desires to thank all those who have 
during the past year assisted in any way to further the interests 
of the Union and the study of ornithology, and trust that they 
will continue to accord their help and support to the Union and 
to the Council. 


Address by the State Governor. 


IN continuance of the annual meeting at the Royal Geographical 
Society’s rooms, His Excellency Sir William Macgregor arrived 
at 8.15 p.m. and presided. Amongst those who had accepted 
invitations were :—Sir Arthur and Lady Morgan, the Hon. A. 
Musgrave, C.M.G., Col. and Mrs. Mcore, Major and Mrs. Sankey, 
Dr. and Mrs. Guy L’Estrange, Dr. Lilian Cooper, Dr. Ellington, 
Mr. and Mrs. Scriven, Mr. and Mrs. Philip MacMahon, Mr. and Mrs. 
Weage, Miss Beattie, Dr. W. M. Turner, Messrs. E. C. Barton, 
J. Bell, N. Bousfield, W. V. Ralston, D. Gunn, M.L.A., H. Donkin, 
G. I. Bourne, R. H. Relton, P. Roberts, A. Alder, Wild, Broadbent, 
Edmund Jarvis, A. A. Spowers, and others. The hall was fairly 
filled, notwithstanding the stormy weather. 

His Excellency, in opening the proceedings, read a letter ad- 
vising that Their Majesties the King and Queen had been graciously 
pleased to accept from the society a specially bound copy of the 
ninth volume of The Emu, the publication of the society. His 
Excellency also read a letter advising that His Majesty had been 
pleased to approve of the charter allowing the Union the right 
to prefix the word ‘‘ Royal’’ to the name of the Union. 

His Excellency said his first words were those of welcome to 
members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union, the 
objects of which, he gathered, were to diffuse a wider and better 
knowledge in connection with matters pertaining to birds, and 
to afford better protection to birds generally. That raised two 
or three very interesting questions—(1) Is it worth while to pro- 


, . “ Ps open : E 
166 Royal Australasian Oynithologists’ Union. Bei as 


tect birds? (2) Do they need protection? (3) If so, is it 
possible to give it ? Personally, he would be inclined to give an 
emphatic affirmation to the first, but on the third he would feel 
rather doubtful. In his youth he had affectionate remembrance 
of the Cuckoo. No bird had given him more pleasure, and from 
that time he had begun to take an interest in birds, which he had 
retained all his life. He regarded birds as the most beautiful of 
all animals. He was not sure that they were not the most useful, 
and he doubted if any animals were more intelligent. For ten 
yeais in New Guinea he had had the opportunity of studying 
the lovely species of all the rare Birds-of-Paradise. which he 
found, on arrival, were rapidly being exterminated. He passed 
laws for their protection, but, remarkable to relate, one of the 
first effects on the Red Birds-of-Paradise was almost fatal. In 
his absence a visitor asked permission of Sir Francis Winter to 
obtain one or two for scientific purposes, and straightway com- 
menced to shoot them out. On his return he was furious, and on 
visiting Ferguson Island he found not a fully-plumed bird left. 
Thus, it was very difficult to really protect birds. Emus, for 
instance, were protected in Australia, yet more than 1,000 skins 
had been sold in London last year, and, although laws had been 
passed prohibiting the export of skins and feathers other than 
Ostrich, Customs officers in London recently opened a case labelled 
‘“horse-hair,” and found therein 5,000 Parrakeet skins, while 
20,000 Humming-Birds had also been sold in London. As proving 
the remarkable intellect of birds, there was the rapidity with which 
they found out when they were protected. He had stopped 
shooting on the island of Darnley, and almost immediately the 
birds began to come and feed right under his house. Then he 
allowed no shooting at the Waterfall, and the birds there became 
quite tame. Unfortunately, on the arrival of a Dutch ship a 
party went ashore, and, without leave, asked or given, began a 
regular battue, from which the birds did not recover for a very 
long while. Immediately he heard of it he sent word to the 
commander that unless he instantly stopped his men he would 
arrest him with his native police. It had been his fortune to be 
in two places where two very rare birds had already become 
extinct—the Dodo in Mauritius and the Great Auk on the Shetlands. 
The latter bird had once been so numerous that ships’ crews used 
to go ashore, and, driving herds of the Auk into yards, they would 
fill up their ships with them for food. Now, the whole island had 
so frequently been dug over for remains that he did not believe 
that a single particle could be obtained. Then there was Trinidad, 
where there had originally been 18 rare birds peculiar to the 
island, and where now there were but five. Nearer home again, 
they, of course, thought of the Moa, which must at one time have 
provided the Maoris with the main portion of their food. In 1903 
an egg was discovered, which was now in the Museum at Dunedin, 
and was by far the most valuable egg in the world. Its value 
‘reminded him of many other wonderfully valuable birds—one 


Vol. X. 
1910 


Address by the State Governor. 167 
in London, which had cost £700, and another in Berlin. £1,000. 
This bird, of which there was one reconstructed specimen, was, 
however, knocked into the proverbial ‘‘ cocked hat” by an ex- 
tinct native of Madagascar 13 feet high, whose egg held about 
I} gallons! Sir William said that he mentioned these gigantic 
birds to demonstrate the need of protection, for, however strong 
they were, they could not survive without help against man, and 
unless cared for many valuable species would soon be extinct. 
He then read out a form of pledge which the Gould League of 
Bird Lovers was (under the auspices of the R.A.O.U.) placing in 
the hands of boys and girls, by which they promise to protect 
native birds, and to abstain from collecting their eggs, at the same 
time exerting their influence to prevent others from doing so. 
The birds were indeed worth protecting, for they could beat out 
of sight any human being in dancing or singing. His Excellency 
concluded with a humorous story of how he used, while in Fiji, 
to liberate the Parrakeets at Government House by opening the 
cage doors, until he at last converted the family to giving up keeping 
such pets in captivity. 


Exhibits. 

On behalf of Mr. Atlee Hunt, C.M.G., Melbourne, Mr. D. Le 
Souéf, C.M.Z.S., exhibited and explained the following New 
Guinea birds, namely :—The Gardener Bower-Bird (Amblyornis 
mornata) : Orange-crested Bower-Bird (Amblyornis  subalaris) ; 
Macgregor Bird-of-Paradise (Cuemophilus macgregort) ; Twelve- 
wired Bird-of-Paradise (Se/euctdes nigricans); Hunt Bird-of-Paradise 
(Paradisornis huntt); Grant Bird-of-Paradise (Paradisea grantt). 

On behalf of Mr. H. L. White, of Belltrees, N.S.W., Mr. A. J. 
Campbell exhibited a selection of North-Western bird-skins col- 
lected by Mr. G. F. Hill, a former hon. secretary of the R.A.O.U., 
notably the Smutty Parrakeet (Platycercus brownt), the rare Rain- 
bow Pitta (P. zis), Buff-sided Robin (Pecilodryas cerviniventris), 
White-tailed Robin (Eopsaltria pulverulenta), Grey Fly-eater 
(Gerygone cinerascens), Lavender-flanked Wren (Malurus dulcis), 
Red-headed Honey-eater (Myzomela erythrocephala), Rock-Pigeon 
(Petrophassa albtpennts), Chestnut-backed Quail (Turnix castanonota), 
the smallest of Australian avifauna, Smicrornis flavescens, and 
several Kingfishers. In addition was a pair of Black Tree-creepers 
(Climacterts melanura), the conspicuous white feathers of the throat 
being edged with rufous on the female instead of black as on the 
male, and a male Banded Honey-eater (Wyzomela pectoralis) in 
striking immature plumage—a rufescent stage even to the pectoral 
band, and with a large patch of yellow on either side of the neck, 
like a Ptilotis. Mr. Campbell also described the following :— 


NEW SPECIES. 
FALCUNCULUS WHITEI (Yellow Shrike-Tit). 
Male.—Next the bill small white patch ; sides of the head and 


Emu 
tst Dec. 


168 Royal Australasian Oyvnithologists’ Union. 
neck white, divided by a black band passing through the eye to 
the nape ; crown of head black; throat mottled greenish, black, 
and grey ; back, wing coverts, and upper tail coverts light olive- 
green; primaries and secondaries dark brown, margined with 
greenish-yellow and lighter colour ; tail also dark brown, margined 
with greenish-yellow, except the two outer feathers, which are 
margined with dull white ; all under surface, including tail coverts, 
lemon chrome-yellow, brightest on the chest. 

Iris umber, bill black, tarsus French grey (Hill). 

Length, 6; wing, 3}; tail, 21; bill, ,; tarsus, }4 inches. 

Female.—Similar to above, but smaller in dimensions. 

Halitat.—Napier Broome Bay, North-West Australia. 

This very distinct new bird approaches nearest to F’. lewcogaster 
(Gld.), but differs in having the whole of the under surtace yellow, 
while in general colouring it is more yellowish than either of the 
other two known species. 

It is classically named in honour of Mr. H. L. White, who so 
liberally subsidized Mr. G. F. Hill in the far North-West field for 
a season, and may be known on the vernacular list as the Yellow 
Shrike-Tit. 

EOPSALTRIA HILLI (Hill Shrike-Robin). 

Female.—Crown of head, sides of neck, and back grey; lower 
back tinged with olive-green, which blends into light olive-green 
upper tail coverts ; primaries and secondaries dark brown, margined 
with grey ; tail feathers brownish beneath, with light olive-green 
wash above ; throat whitish, slightly mottled with grey ; chest light 
brownish-grey, blending into abdomen and under tail coverts, 
which are light lemon chrome-yellow. 

Iris dark brown, bill black, tarsus slate-grey (Hill). 

Length, 6; wing, 34; tail, 23; bill, ,°,; tarsus, % inches. 

Habitat.—Hecla Island, Parry Harbour, North-West Australia. 

This new Shrike-Robin most resembles FE. griseogularis (Gld.), 
but has not the conspicuous bright yellow rump and upper tail 
coverts. 

It is named after its discoverer, Mr. Gerald Freer Hill, whose 
father, Mr. G. R. Hill, of Malvern, Victoria, and brothers are 
all enthusiastic field naturalists. 

PTILOTIS PLANASI (Yellow-necked Honey-eater). 

Male.—Crown of head light olive-green; back, wing coverts, 
and tail coverts brownish-grey ; primaries and secondaries dark 
brownish-grey, some of the feathers externally edged with bright 
olive-green, so as to form a patch on the wing when closed ; tail 
also brownish, edged with bright olive-green; behind the ears a 
small patch of smoky-brown or black, succeeded by a larger patch 
on the neck of lemon chrome-yellow; all the under surface, in- 
cluding tail coverts, creamy-buff or yellowish-buff, of mottled 
appearance on the throat, chest, and breast, each feather 
having a central mark of light brownish-grey. 

Iris umber, bill black, tarsus grey (Hill). 


Volo x. Exhibits. 169 


Ig10 


Length, 52; wing, 3,},; tail, 2%; bill, ,%; tarsus, }% inches. 

Female.—Similar, but smaller. 

Hatitat.—Napier Broome Bay, North-West Australia. 

This small and beautiful Honey-eater is closely allied to P. 
plumula, but has the back, wing coverts, and tail coverts greyish 
instead of greenish, has the patches of yellow on the sides of the 
neck larger, and the under surface more pronouncedly mottled. 

I have pleasure in dedicating this bird in honour of the Very 
Rev. Father Planas, who, as head of the Drysdale River Mission,* 
Napier Broome Bay, extended the greatest courtesy and assist- 
ance to Mr. G. F. Hill during his to months’ residence at the station 
collecting. In the vernacular the bird may be known as the 
Yellow-necked Honey-eater. 


MICRG@CA BRUNNEICAUDA 7 (Brown-tailed Flycatcher). 

The collection contained a series of two species of Mucreca 
which greatly puzzled me. One I have referred to M. asstmilis 
(Gld.), while the other, which has a uniform-coloured (dark brown) 
tail and back slightly tinged with olive, is referable, I have no doubt 
now, to the new Micreca I described from North Australia from a 
mutilated skin then in the possession of Mr. D. Le Souef, and which 
was named brunneicauda. This may be further distinguished by 
the yellowish-buff under wing coverts, which are brownish-buff in 
the other kinds. 

Amended description :— 

Male.—All the upper surface brown, with an olive wash on the 
back, wing coverts, and tail coverts ; wings and tail dark brown, 
some of the feathers of both being edged with a lighter colour 
(ashy) ; all under surface white, washed with light grey on the 
chest and flanks ; under wing coverts yellowish-buff. 

Iris umber, bill dark horn, tarsus black (Hill). 

Length, 54; wing, 2 +2; tail, 23; bill, 7; tarsus, 4 inches. 

Female.—Similar to above, but slightly smaller. 

Habitat.—Napier Broome Bay, North-West Australia. 


Outings. 


QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 


THE first visit of delegates was on 4th October, to the Queens- 
land Museum, where the visitors were received by Mr. C. J. Wild, 
Acting- Director. 

Acquaintance was renewed with two old friends and colleagues 
—Messrs. C. W. De Vis, M.A., one of the original members of the 
Union and a former vice-president, and Mr. Kendall Broadbent, 
the well-known ornithologist. A very busy and _ profitable 
morning was spent under the guidance of Messrs. Broadbent 
and Weatherill. A critical examination was made of the several 

* Since Mr. Hill’s return the Mission has been twice attacked by natives, and one 


reverend father speared, though not seriously wounded. 
+ Vide Emu, vol. ii. (1902), p. 85. 


) y ; th; acts? T]ytox Emu 
I70 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. ry 


type specimens and the general collection of Australian birds. 
The collection of birds of New Guinea made under the direction 
of Sir Wm. Macgregor when Administrator was examined. It 
is natural that the finest collection of the Birds-of-Paradise should 
be found in this museum, and the Queensland people may well 
be proud of their exhibit. 

At 1 o'clock the visitors were the guests of the Hon. W. T. 
Paget, the Minister of Agriculture and Administrator of The Native 
Birds Protection Acts, at luncheon, which had been laid in a 
marquee in the garden, rich in flowering plants and palms, of the 
Museum. In addition to the delegates, several other guests had 
been invited, including Hon. A. Norton, M.L.C., Mr. and Mrs. 
E. G. E.. Sertven, Major Sankey, Professor S. B.- J. Skenteliyg 
Messrs. C. W. Colledge (president F.N.C.), C. J. Wild) s@a¥e 
Holland, G.°H: Barker, J. O'N. Brennan, K. Broadbent, jem 
Sankey, W. -Weatherill, J. Bell, G. I. Bond, J. Shirley, W. V. 
Ralston, R. Illidge, H. Tryon (organizing secretary), Hon. A. 
Musgrave, C.M.G., and Capt. Cartwright, of F.I.S. Endeavour. 
Short speeches followed. The Minister welcomed the delegates 
to Queensland, and spoke of the work that had been done in the 
cause of bird protection in Queensland. He thought that the 
visit of the ornithologists would stimulate the interest of many 
in the study of birds, and hence lead to a greater knowledge of 
their beauty and value. A photograph was taken by the Poulsen 
Studio of the whole party, with the museum facade as a back- 
eround, and this pictorial record will form a fine memento of the 
pleasant time spent at the museum, and of the many new friend- 
ships made. 

TRAM RIDE. 

After luncheon visitors and friends boarded a special tram-car, 
and were taken over the main routes of Brisbane—a most enjoyable 
method of viewing the city. Many of those who had not been 
to Brisbane before had an idea that it was built along river 
flats fringed with mangroves, instead of being on undulating 
ranges, with the river winding through and the higher ranges 
stretching back into the distance—a pleasant and agreeable 
prospect. 

Finally, the visitors landed at Highgate Hill, and were enter- 
tained by Mr. and Mrs. J. Bell at an “at home ”’ at “ Hazelwood.” 
Mr. Bell, who is a master of the art of falconry, explained the 
methods adopted in training Falcons, and placed before his inter- 
ested audience the different appliances used in the art. Then 
his unique collection of books on falconry and ornithology was 
examined. A tropical thunderstorm burst over the city with a 
fierceness that surprised the visitors, and the air was afterwards 
beautifully cool. Afternoon tea was served on the spacious 
verandah, and, after admiring the views from several vantage 
points, the guests thanked their host and hostess for the inter- 
esting and happy time they had spent, and returned to the city 
to prepare for the business of the annuai meeting. 


1 
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THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XIV. 


Home of the Jacana (Hydralector gallinaceus). 


FROM A PHOTO. BY E, M. CORNWALL, 


Volk xX. 3 
1910 Outings. a Sy 3b 


AT ENOGGERA RESERVE. 


At the invitation of the Brisbane Field Naturalists’ Club, the 
R.A.O.U. delegates on 5th October visited the Enoggera Water- 
works Reserve, about 8 miles from the capital. Drags were pro- 
vided, and the drive out was most enjoyable, for the sun was 
shining, and here and there along the way pleasant views opened 
out—rural homes surrounded by gardens and timbered paddocks, 
clusters of smaller houses. in folds of the hills, and bits of bush 

land, with a panorama of the receding city when one cast looks 
_ behind. Permission to roam over the Reserve had been obtained 
from the Water Commissioners, and the hours passed swiftly in 
this employ. Before lunch the two boats available were launched 
and rowed leisurely about the lake, which was alight with flowers 
of the lotus lily. In some of the quiet reaches the water was so 
laden with these plants that it was a task to thrust the boats 
along. Broad green leaves and tangled stems and roots retarded 
progress, clinging to the oars and about the prows of the little 
craft. But, once among the lilies, there was no desire for speed ; 
it was pleasure enough to gaze upon thousands of blue and white 
blossoms open to the sun, at the still water, and the hills, dotted 
with trees and clumps of bamboo, which rise gently around the 
lake. 

Many species of birds were observed, notably the Comb-crested 
Jacana, which trips daintily over the floating lotus leaves, its 
bright orange shield shining like a jewel. Several pairs of Jacanas 
were seen during the day, and, after a careful search, two nests 
were discovered—flimsy structures, composed of pieces of reed, 
lotus stems, &c., and placed on a movable base of living vege- 
tation. Each of the nests examined contained a full clutch of 
four eggs, richly marked. Mr. H. W. Wilson obtained a series of 
photos. of the nests, but the birds were too wary to be “ snapped.”’ 
It was interesting to find the Jacanas breeding in this Reserve, 
where they are perfectly safe from collectors and pot-hunters. 
They are in keeping with such a haunt of peace — part of the 
picture made by the lake among the hills, with its lotus flowers, 
and the quiet beauty of the reed-fringed banks. (See plate XIV.) 
~ Other members of the party had investigated a pocket of pri- 
meval scrub, where numerous birds were identified, notably the large 
Masked Owl (Strix nove-hollandia), Little Green-Pigeon (Chalcophaps 
chrysochlora), Rufous-breasted Shrike-Thrush (Pinarolestes rufigaster), 
and others, while the notes of the strange Koel Cuckoo (Eudynamts) 
were heard, and the familiar trilling songs of the Yellow-eared 
Honey-eater (Ptilotis lewint) enjoyed. 

The Field Club provided a banquet for the visitors, and after 
the meal and complimentary speeches from guests and_ hosts, 
further excursions on the water and among the hills were enjoyed. 
Some of the delegates witnessed a number of Dollar-Birds 
(Eurystomus australis) hawking above an ant mound, and. the 
lake ramblers returned with lotus blooms and a harvest of notes 
regarding the ways of the Jacana. 


172 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. ee 

As the shadows were beginning to deepen on the hillsides, after- 
noon tea was served; then the drags were bearded again. The 
drive home in the calm of evening was as pleasant as the morning 
journey had been. Over the city hung a golden haze; it faded, 
and, as the drags approached the homes of the hill folk, le 
began to glimmer through the dusk. 


A RIVER TRIP. 


‘No day without. an excursion.” That was the motto upon 
which the kindly members of the Field Naturalists’ Club acted 
during the stay of the R.A.O.U. delegates in Brisbane. We arose 
on the morning of Sth October from dreams of blue water-lilies 
afloat on a still lagoon, and with Jacanas pattering over the leaves, 
to be whirled away in electric tram-cars to landing-places on the 
banks of the Brisbane River. The majority of the party, in- 
cluding the ladies, boarded the Government steamer Champion, 
and were taken to the mouth of the river. The vessel was hove-to 
in a quiet reach, and at noon eight delegates who had made the 
excursion in Mr. Ivan Bond’s motor launch Teal, came aboard, 
with the genial skipper of the little craft. A dinner, at which 
Prof. Skertchly, Mr. Hy. Tryon, and others made capital speeches, 
was the next item of the programme which the Field Club had 
arranged. The generous hospitality was offered without ostenta- 
tion, and when the president of the Union and Mr. D. Le Souef 
attempted to return thanks, it was made light of by the hosts of 
the day. 

The party in the motor launch had excellent opportunities of 
observing the bird-life of the mangroves and the mud flats on 
the voyage down the river. A start was made at 8 o'clock, and 
breakfast. prepared by Mr. Bond (who proved himself a capable 
cook as well as a delightful host), was eaten as the Teal nosed 
her way along, close to the western bank of the river. In places 
the mangroves formed a dense thicket ; elsewhere, wide expanses 
of mud, not yet overgrown by the ubiquitous plant, opened to 
view. The coming of the launch, albeit she made little noise save 
for the rippling of water about the prow, scared from their feeding- 
grounds flocks of Whimbrels, Curlews, White-fronted Herons, and 
other birds of the waterside. Sometimes a White-bellied Sea- 
Eagle or a White-headed Sea-Eagle would go soaring above the 
mangroves serenely, as if disdaining to hurry from a danger of 
which it was yet conscious. Cormorants were seen flying clumsily, 
after the manner of their kind; and at whiles, from the low, 
crumbling banks, a Kingfisher (Halcyon macleayt) would dart up, 
the sheen of its plumage changing from violet to blue as it passed 
from shadow to sunlight. 

Through a pair of Zeiss field-glasses the birds feeding on the 
mud flats could be observed with advantage; and it was inter- 
esting to watch the stately, deliberate movements of the long- 
legged Waders. Curlews were fairly numerous, sifting the mud 
with their long curved bills, in company with White-fronted Herons. 


Vol. =a 
Igto 


Outings. E73 
Perched on snags or on a mangrove tree here and there were a 
few Darters (Plotus nove-hollandia), silent and indifferent, or 
moving their snake-like necks and heads to gaze at the passing 
boat. But the most characteristic bird of the river banks, and 
one that haunted the stone training walls, was the Yellow-necked 
Mangrove-Bittern (Dupetor gouldi). At first the birds did not 
attract attention. sneaking silently along below the crest of 
the piled rocks, with which their slaty-grey plumage harmonized. 
But the skipper of the Teal, familiar with the river and its birds, 
pointed out a Bittern which was taking pains to be unobtrusive, 
and thereafter one was seen every few minutes. Rarely would 
the birds walk along the crest of the wall to be silhouetted against 
the sky. They had evidently learned the lesson of concealment 
well. The launch did not greatly disturb them, but at its 
approach they would fly a few yards, alight, and, crouched up 
like a whipped dog, slink away. The attitude and general 
behaviour of the Bitterns reminded the launch party of those 
undesirables among men who frequent public gatherings “ after 
no good.” It was most interesting to watch the shy, slinking 
birds. 

At the mouth of the Brisbane the launch was anchored in the 
lee of an island formed of mud and shell material dredged from 
the bed of the river. Several of the party went ashore in the 
dinghy, with cameras. A large flock of Pelicans had been ob- 
served as the Teal came down stream, and it was decided to have 
some ‘“‘shots’’ at them with the camera. Dr. W. Macgillivray, 
with his ‘‘ Naturalist’s Graflex,’’ crept painfully over a hundred 
yards of mud and shells, under shelter of a low ridge formed of 
the same materials. The Pelicans were fishing, close inshore, upon 
the other side; but the big birds were wary, and after an hour’s 
stalking the Doctor gave up the game, content with a dozen 
hazarded exposures. It was impossible to approach the Pelicans 
closely, and the flocks of Terns (several species) and Dottrels 
campel on the sand-spits were shy of the human form. The 
beach of this artificial island was strewn with the dead bodies of 
the Pharsalia, or ‘‘ Portuguese men-o’-war,” fleets of which had 
been noticed drifting down the river with the tide. The coloura- 
tion of these delicate organisms is brilliant, the float-bladder being 
pale transparent blue, deepening to purple or violet on the crest, 
which is also tinged with carmine. 

After dining with the main body of excursionists on the 
Champion, the launch party began the return voyage to Brisbane, 
stopping en voute for a brief run ashore at a spot where the man- 
groves looked inviting and a jetty facilitated landing. Nothing 
of special interest was noted, and the mosquitoes were so abundant 
and aggressive that none of the ornithologists was sorry to leave 
the noisome spot. The run up stream was also without incident 
of note; but as the busy part of the river was reached, with the 
“black wharves and the ships” (including the fine new steamer 
Levuka, in charge of Captain W. C. Thomson, F.R.G.S., who had 


- > hy ; Py yd a cps Emu 
174 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. ack Ube 


kindly given sound advice concerning the Union’s proposed expedi- 
tion to the Capricorns) came a scene of beauty. The river, 
untroubled by any wind, gleamed like a broad shield, silver- 
grey or violet where the shadows rested; and beyond were blue 
hills, with white and red-roofed houses clustered about the base 
or climbing the slopes—a picture to remember. 


BOTANIC GARDENS. 


The Botanic Gardens, being contiguous to our quarters, were 
frequently visited. There various rare tropical plants were seen 
flourishing in the open instead of under glass, as they are usually 
seen further south, and there great Jacaranda trees were in full 
flower—sheets of dazzling lavender. Naturally, such a place was 
a perfect home for birds. Frequently could be heard the Fig- 
Bird’s (Sphecotheres maxilaris) loud and noisy notes, the Canary- 
like song of the Plain-coloured Brown Honey-eater (Glycyphila 
ocularis), the sweet, eccentric warble of a Gerygone or Fly-eater, 
not to mention the better-known notes of merry Thickheads, 
Fantails, &c. But one poor bird —Brush-Turkey or Talegallus— 
claimed our pity, because caged with rats. It was all right during the 
day, but as evening approached the rats came out from numerous 
burrows and chased the frightened bird even to the rafters of 
its cage. For pity’s as well as for health’s sake the vermin should 
be exterminated, or at least the cage be made rat-proof. 


Lectures in Brisbane. 


PUBLIC. 


THERE was a large gathering in the Albert Hall on the evening of 
5th October, when a series of lecturettes on seals and sea-birds 
was delivered by Messrs. J. A. Leach, M.Sc., A. J. Campbell, 
C.M.B.0.U., and D. Le Souéf, C.M.Z.S. The chair was occupied 
by His Excellency Sir Arthur Morgan, who, in introducing the 
lecturers, paid a tribute to the good work of the Royal Orni- 
thologists’ Union. He welcomed the visiting members of the Union, 
because of their great aims and their desire to prevent the wanton 
destruction of the valuable bird-life of Australia, and he urged 
the desirableness of giving them support in their cause. 

Mr. Leach, in the course of a most interesting address, gave a 
descriptive account of the work done by an expedition of orni- 
thologists in Bass Strait two years ago. After briefly outlining the 
course which the expedition took, he told of the many wonders 
relating to the bird-life in that part of Australasia. The numerous 
species of birds were described in turn, and the audience un- 
doubtedly found much that was not only attractive and amusing, 
but also educative, in the remarks of the lecturer. 

Mr. Campbell, in his address, confined himself to the character- 
stics of the Petrel species commonly known as the “‘ Mutton- 


Vol. X. Lectures in Brisbane. BEV ES) 


1910 


Bird,” and thoroughly described the habits and peculiarities of 
this bird, of which, he said, south-eastern Australia was the true 
home, probably of great antiquity. On migration, however, it 
moved annually over the greater part of the Pacific Ocean. 

Mr. Le Souéf dealt in somewhat similar manner with the 
Albatrosses, speaking particularly of the two species known as 
the White-capped Albatross and the Royal Albatross. 

All three lecturettes were illustrated by fine lantern views, and 
at the conclusion a series of cinematograph pictures, taken by Mr. 
A. H. E. Mattingley, C.M.Z.S., depicting seal, bird, and animal life 
in the islands of Bass Strait, was projected upon the screen. A 
hearty vote of thanks, proposed in felicitous terms by Prof. 
Skertchly, terminated the proceedings. 


TO CHILDREN. 


On the afternoon of 4th October about 1,000 State school 
scholars, with their teachers, attended at King’s Lyceum (the use 
of which, together with appurtenances, the management had 
generously given free of charge), to hear a lantern lecture on 
Pbind-bie delivered by Mr. Dudley Le Soueét, C_M:Z.5: The 
executive arrangements at the hall were in charge of Mr. J. 
Shirley, B.Sc. (Senior Inspector of Schools), and were well carried 
out, all the children having been seated before the arrival of the 
Minister for Education (Hon. W. H. Barnes), who was attended 
by Mr. R. H. Roe, M.A. (Inspector-General of Schools) and Mr. 
J. D. Storey (Under-Secretary to the Education Department). 
Prior to the arrival of the lecturer, Mr. Barnes expressed pleasure 
at the attendance of the children, and said Mr. Le Souéf 
would no doubt have something educative and interesting to 
tell them regarding bird-life. Mr. Storey also addressed the 
children. 

Mr. Le Souéf then delivered his interesting and instructive 
lecture on bird-life, which was freely illustrated by lantern views, 
and gave an outline of the habits and characteristics of a large 
number of birds, and explained the pictures as they were pro- 
jected on the screen. Mr. Roe, in moving a hearty vote of thanks 
to Mr. Le Souéf, said the lecturer had shown them all that he 
had a great knowledge of the bird-life of this country, and at great 
trouble to himself had delivered a lecture in the hope of inducing 
them to have the same sort of love for the birds as he (the 
lecturer) had. All that was wanted was to get the boys to look 
at the thing in the right way, and they would then have no desire 
to kill birds, but would take care of them. The vote of thanks 
was carried with great acclamation. The schools represented at 
the lecture were :—Bowen Bridge, Breakfast Creek, Bulimba, 
Brisbane Central, Coorparoo, Dunellan, Eagle Junction, East 
Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Hamilton, Ithaca Creek, Junction 
Park, Kangaroo Point, Leichhardt-street, Milton, Newmarket, 
Norman Park, Petrie-terrace, South Brisbane, Taringa, West End, 
Woolloongabba, Kelvin Grove, and Toowong. 


Emu 


176 Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. Pe os 


TO TEACHERS. 


Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc., Inspector of Nature Study in Victoria, 
delivered a lecture in the Albert Hall on the evening of the 18th 
October, under the auspices of the Royal Australasian Orni- 
thologists’ Union, on the subject of “‘Bird-Life as a Branch of Nature 
Study.’ In the unavoidable absence of the Hon. W. H. Barnes 
(Minister for Public Instruction), Mr. D. Storey (Under-Secretary) 
presided. Mr. Leach’s admirable lecture was freely illustrated by 
lantern slides showing the different birds found in Australia, and 
illustrating their habits, the lecturer emphasizing the fact that 
Australia was singularly blessed in regard to the many different 
species found in this country. Prefacing the display of slides, Mr. 
Leach dwelt upon the objects of nature study among children 
of the schools in Victoria. Children were encouraged in the study 
so as to try and enable them to observe things about them, 
and to express in essays or by other means the outcome of their 
observations. They wished them to be able to see, think, and 
tell, and to attain that one lesson a week was given on some 
common object, such as a stone, a leaf, or a bird. That one lesson 
was followed by a five-minute talk each morning, and the child 
brought to observe something every day on his way to school. 
Observation for observation’s sake, without thought, and without 
being followed up, was quite useless, and a child could not observe 
anything to advantage unless it knew what to look for. As far as 
his talk on birds was concerned, he hoped that it would have the 
result of showing those present that they knew far more than 
they thought they knew about birds, and also that it would induce 
them to give those five-minute talks each morning to the children 
about birds. Mr. Leach then took his audience through the 
21 groups of birds, explaining their habits and incidentally mak- 
ing strong pleas for the preservation of different species. At the 
conclusion of the lecture a hearty vote of thanks was accorded 
Mr. Leach, on the motion of Inspector Kennedy. About 500 
teachers and friends were present. 


Provincial Visits. 


BUNDABERG. 


THE members who were able to join in the provincial tour were 
well rewarded. The first place of call was Bundaberg, where we 
arrived from Gladstone on the evening of Monday, 17th October. 
We were first taken to the Council Chambers, where the mayor 
(Mr. Peter Neilsen), Alderman Maynard, and others kindly welcomed 
us on behalf of the citizens. The next morning was mostly spent 
in giving short lectures on the value of bird-life to the scholars 
in the various State schools. In the afternoon a delightful motor 
drive was taken to a hill in the neighbourhood, from which a most 
interesting view was obtained of the extensive fields of sugar-cane. 


Vols 2 A Sais 
fea Provincial Visits. L977 


We were then shown how the cane was propagated from cuttings, 
also how the trash or dead leaves were disposed of, watched the 
cane being cut and stripped ready for crushing, and being loaded 
into small trucks running into the mill. The whole process was 
most interesting, especially to those who had not seen the sugar 
industry before. We were then taken to the Millaquin refinery, 
where the various processes of refining the yellow sugar into the 
white article of commerce were fully explained and shown to us. 
It was a little bewildering, going through the large mill, with all 
the machinery working, for those unaccustomed to it. The 
manager, Mr. Johnston, and his wife, kindly served afternoon ~ 
tea to the company at the residence, and in their garden tropical 
fruits were growing well, such as mangoes, pineapples, bananas, 
&c. In the evening Mr. D. Le Souef gave an illustrated lecture 
on Australian bird-life to a large and appreciative audience at the 
Town Council Chambers, the mayor presiding. 

Next morning Messrs. A. H. and E. Young kindly took us out 
by motor to their Fairymead sugar plantation and mill. It was 
a delightful drive in the fresh morning air. A thorough inspec- 
tion of the mill was made, from seeing the cane pass under the 
great crushers, to the white sugar being bagged ready for market, 
and also watching the manufacture of “ molascuit,”’ a preparation 
of molasses and fibre of the cane, a well-known fodder for stock. 
Light refreshments were partaken of at Mr. H. A. Young’s charming 
residence, and all too soon we had to leave to catch the southern 
train; but the visit was delightful, and full of interest, and one 
which we will long look back on with pleasure. We left the same 
afternoon, after bidding farewell to our kind hosts and hostesses, 
not forgetting Major Johnston, who had been so indefatigable 
in looking after our welfare. 


TOOWOOMBA. 


We passed through Brisbane next morning at an early hour, 
Mr. Tryon meeting us there, and reached Toowoomba at mid- 
day. We were here again kindly welcomed to the city at the 
Council Chambers by Mr. H. K. Alford, on behalf of the mayor, 
and by Mr. H. A. Longman, the president of the Field Naturalists’ 
Club. In the afternoon a reception by the Field Naturalists’ Club 
was held at the Botanical Gardens, in which we were interested, 
also in some enclosures where were a few kangaroos, wallabies, 
and Emus. The stock looked well, and enjoyed plenty of room. 
We also inspected the Museum, in which are many very inter- 
esting exhibits. 

Next morning we were taken to a most striking basalt quarry, 
in the face of which the centres of two cones were visible, where 
they had in ages gone by belched out their molten lava. We 
were glad to hear that the council intended to leave these intact. 
They are well worth preserving. During the afternoon an ex- 
cursion was made to the neighbouring hills, where some dense 
scrub was examined, both as to its bird and insect life. The 


178 Royal Australasian Orntthologists’ Union. ane 


stinging-tree (Laportea gigas) was noticed growing here freely, 
with its large leaves of soft appearance. In the evening an 
illustrated lecture was given in the Alexandra Hall on “ Bird-Lite 
in Australia,” by Mr. D. Le Souéf. Mr. H. K. Alford: presided: 
Early next morning Dr.* Price kindly took several of us in his 
motor cars to a very extensive view at the edge of the Darling 
Downs, not far from the town. In the foreground was much 
broken country, and in the distance the Liverpool Ranges could 
be seen, while behind us, stretching as far as the eye could see, 
were the far-famed Darling Downs. We were much struck with 
the fertility of this splendid portion of the Commonwealth. About 
mid-day we left this town, bidding farewell to Mr. Longman, Dr. 
Price, and others, who had given up so much of their time in 
showing us the places of especial note in their neighbourhood. As 
the line gradually descended to the lower country, on passing along 
the hillsides beautiful views were frequently obtained, especially 
of dense scrub-covered gullies. The Parry wallaroo and banded 
wallaby were often seen near the line from the train. 


WARWICK. 


We arrived early in the afternoon at Warwick, and were met 
by Dr. Phillips and Messrs. 5S. J. Harwood, C. C. Dornbusch, P. W. 
Pears, and others. In the evening Mr. D. Le Souéf gave an illus- 
trated lecture in the Technical College on “ Bird-Life.” Mr. S. J. 
Harwood presided, and there was a good attendance. After the 
lecture we were kindly entertained at supper by the gentlemen 
above mentioned. Next morning Dr. Phillips drove us out to his 
farm, where we enjoyed an extensive view over the surrounding 
country, and also observed a fair number of birds in the adjacent 
scrubs. We left in the afternoon for Sydney, en route for home. 

This short account of our trip cannot be closed without ex- 
pressing the very great appreciation of the visiting ornithologists 
of the kindness received from the good people of Queensland. 
Everything possible was done to make our visit as enjoyable as 
possible. The only regret was that we could not see more of the 
resources of the splendid northern State, with its vast agricultural 
and other resources, as yet hardly touched. 


President’s Address. 
By A. J. CAMPBELL, Cot. Mem. B.O.U. 


THE UNION AND ITs WorK. 


The Union.—The first mutterings of a union of ornithologists 
commenced in Melbourne, 1896, with a dinner and reunion of 
bird-lovers, chiefly oologists. These delightful socials, at which 
nothing stronger than tea and coffee was imbibed, recurred at 
convenient intervals till the 7th November, I9g00 (10 years ago 
next month), when it was definitely decided.to form an Austral- 


Vol. X. President's Address. 179 


1910 - 


asian Ornithologists’ Union, and to hold the first general meeting 
in Adelaide the following year. 

That Melbourne meeting is now historic. There were 21 persons 
present, and a copy of their signatures and seals is preserved 
in the first volume of The Emu, the Union’s official organ. It 
is a remarkable coincidence that 21 was the exact number of the 
founders of the now famous American Ornithologists’ Union, started 
in 1883. In order to show that the preliminary meeting was 
thoroughly inter-State, it may be mentioned that Mr. D. M‘Alpine, 
Government Vegetable Pathologist, and several other members of 
the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, were present; Mr. C. F. 
Belcher, LL.B., represented the Field Naturalists’ Club of Geelong ; 
Mr. J. W. Mellor, the South Australian Ornithological Association ; 
while apologies were received from the late Sir Malcolm M‘Eacharn 
(Mayor of Melbourne), Mr. C. W. De Vis, M.A. (Queensland), Mr. 
S. W. Moore, M.L.A. (New South Wales), Colonel W. V. Legge 
(Tasmania), and others. 

Among other happy circumstances at this time, their Royal 
Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (now 
their Majesties the King and Queen) were visiting the Common- 
wealth, and graciously bestowed their patronage—the only royal 
favour of the kind conferred during their Highnesses’ Australian 
tour—on this new national Union, with its simple twin planks : 
the study and protection of birds. 

A simple code of rules was drawn up—18 in all—which a coldly 
critical lawyer has described as somewhat starved; but there is 
the compensating balance: the fewer and simpler the rules the 
less the number of transgressors. 

The first session of the A.O.U. (now ‘* Royal’’), Adelaide, rgoz, 
was a thorough success ; any forebodings of the promoters to the 
contrary melted away before the enthusiasm and warm reception 
they received at the hands of the good people of South Australia. 
The first evening, a lantern lecture, ‘“ An Evening with Australian 
Birds,” by Mr. D. Le Souéf, C.M.Z.S., was given in the Federal 
Hall (a very appropriate name by way of a beginning). There 
was a large and representative audience, including His Excellency 
Lord Tennyson (then State Governor), Lord Richard Nevill, Sir 
Samuel Way (Chief Justice) and Lady Way, the Hon. T. H. 
Brooker (Minister of Agriculture and Education, who kindly oc- 
cupied the chair), and others. 

The following evening the session settled down to business, and 
Colonel Legge (Tasmania) delivered the first presidential address. 
Since, two other annual sessions have been held at Adelaide, and 
two each at Sydney, Melbourne, and Tasmania. To give details 
of the meetings would be merely to repeat a progression of successes, 
which threaten to be outshone by the splendour of this our first 
session in Brisbane. But I must not omit to mention one most 
important conference in connection with the last Melbourne session, 
when Government representatives of the administrators of the 
various inter-State Game Acts met to consider proposals made by 


Emu 
ust Dec. 


180 ; Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 
the Union for the betterment of bird protection. Some of the 
recommendations adopted are already bearing fruit. 

Nor must I omit to mention the suggestion (Emu, vol. vi., 
p. 103) of one of my predecessors, Colonel C. S. Ryan, in his 
presidential address on ‘* The Protection of Birds,’ delivered 
before the Hobart Session, 1907 :—‘‘To educate the people to 
love birds is better for their (birds’) protection than many acts of 
legislation. Let us, then, educate the children. I am confident, 
in speaking for my own State (Victoria), that the Director for 
Education, Mr. Frank Tate, with his well-known love for ‘ nature 
study,’ would introduce Australian ornithology into the curriculum 
of State Schools. Such a study would surely ‘ catch on’ with the 
scholars, because birds are, perhaps, the most fascinating branch 
of natural history.” 

A * Bird-Day’’ has been introduced into the Victorian State 
schools, and has *‘ caught on”’ ina marvellous manner. Time and 
space alone prevent me from enlarging on its wonderful success, 
The Education Department has also issued a remarkably cheap 
descriptive list of Victorian birds, which was so well received that 
Inspector Leach is compiling a more complete edition, plentifully 
illustrated, in some instances with coloured plates. This is a 
distinct advance in the education of the young. Other States are 
introducing ornithology into their school systems, notably South 
Australia and Tasmania, while I understand Queensland will pub- 
lish her first bird articles for the children in The School Paper for 
January. 

Working Excursions.—A very conspicuous feature in connection 
with the annual sessions has been the working camp-outs or ex- 
cursions, when ornithologists from the various States met and 
worked together in the field. I need hardly dilate upon the 
pleasure and profit accruing to the participators in such excursions. 
The outings are eminently practical, and a good training-ground 
for rising ornithologists, perchance explorers. Enlightened 
Governments have, I think, recognized these facts; hence the 
assistance freely given from time to time to the Union’s expeditions. 

Regarding a training-ground for explorers, I fear some of the 
members of the present expedition to the coral islands of the 
Capricorn Group, off Gladstone, will enjoy a rough time, but I 
promise them rougher times ahead when we hope, in the near future, 
to ornithologically explore the very important Melville Island, 
North Australia, or probably some of the sub-antarctic islands of 
New Zealand. In this connection I am reminded of a letter I 
received many years ago from the late Professor Alfred Newton, 
of Cambridge—‘‘ You will hardly be satisfied until you have com- 
pleted the islands of Antarctica.’” We did request the Admiralty 
for a loan of a gunboat to explore the Royal Company’s Islands, 
far to the southward of Tasmania. No doubt a vessel would have 
been provided had the Admiralty been able to find the islands, 
which, since our request, have been, by order, expunged as myths 
from the official charts. 


Volo! XS. 


eh President's Address. | 18r 

“The Emu.’’—Although members of the Union are scattered 
throughout the Commonwealth and New Zealand, and there is 
only one general meeting a year, how is it we remain such a suc- 
cessful and coherent association? Because there is elected 
annually a council which, amongst other details, controls a maga- 
zine—The Emu—the “ outward and visible sign” of the Union, 
so to speak. The success of this magazine, which is published 
quarterly, has been phenomenal, and the marvel of older orni- 
thological associations, which have endured great hardships at 
their beginnings. Take, for instance, the venerable and now world- 
spread British Ornithologists’ Union. Our brethren abroad com- 
plain that our journal is hardly scientific enough, while those at 
home would make it more popular in substance. Our success 
has doubtless been the happy mean between these two extremes. 
During the last 10 years (we are now in the tenth volume of The 
Emu) we have never once wanted “copy.” Like the food of the 
fine birds we all so much love, it has always been just at hand when 
wanted. Our last ‘“‘ copy’ is all expended on the current (October) 
issue, and yet there has since been promised, by that public-spirited 
ornithologist, Mr. H. L. White, of Belltrees, N.S.W., a very im- 
portant article, the result of a collection and field notes of a young 
and intellectual collector, Mr. G. F. Hill, whom Mr. White has 
liberally subsidized for a season in the field of far North-West 
Australia ; and the editors have just received from Mr. J. C. M‘Lean, 
of New Zealand, a lengthy and most valuable contribution to the 
field ornithology of the North Island of the Dominion, including a 
romance, and photographs of nests in the last retreat—there 
is a melancholy ring about these words, the last retreat—of the 
Miro australis—a bush bird which the late Sir Walter Buller, the 
eminent author of the “ History of the Birds of New Zealand,” 
supposed to be, if not altogether, well nigh extinct. 


Narrative of the Expedition to the Islands of the 
Capricorn Group. 
By CHARLES BARRETT, MELBOURNE. 


THE conditions under which the expedition to the Capricorn 
Islands in connection with the Brisbane session of the R.A.O.U. 
was made were generally favourable. Through the kindness of 
the Minister for Customs (Mr. Frank Tudor), the Fisheries In- 
vestigation vessel Endeavour was placed at the Council’s disposal 
for a period of ten days; and, throughout, Captain Cartwright 
and the officers associated with him did all in their power to 
further the objects of the expedition by meeting the wishes of 
the leaders in regard to short voyages among the islands. The 
trawler also supplied fish on several occasions, while members 
of the crew helped willingly with the heavy work of trans- 


182 ~ Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. — 


1st Dec. 


porting baggage to and from the vessel and the islands on 
which the camps were made. The men always manned the boats 
with cheerful alacrity, and the best thanks of members of the ex- 
pedition are due to them. 

The following persons (exclusive of two cooks) took part in the 
expedition :—A. J. Campbell (president), D. Le Souéf, C.M.ZS., 
Charles L. Barrett, J. A. Leach, M.Sc., Dr. Chenery, E. Brooke 
Nicholls, J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., Z. Gray, L. Harrison, H. Burrell, 
C. Coles, D.' Bs Fry (Australian “Museum), C€- A. = Barpaare 
(leader No. 2 party), F. L. Berney, Capt. S. A. White (leader 
No. 1 party), J.-F. Mellor, J. W. Mellor | (vice-presidenm: 
S. S. Stokes ; Mesdames J. F. Mellor, J. W. Israel, H. Burrell, S. A. 
White, and Miss Mellor ; while Mr. J. Wild (Queensland Museum) 
remained on board the Endeavour. 


THE START. 


We cast off from the Gladstone jetty early on the morning of 
8th October, with the pilot aboard. The voyage across the blue 
Pacific was smooth and pleasant. No member of the expedition 
suffered from the motion of the boat. Dotted about the deck 
in groups, we talked of the future, and speculated on what our 
experiences would be on the islands we had travelled so far to 
see. There was much to interest during the hours of seafaring— 
things new and strange to most of us. We watched with delight 
the flying-fish that leaped from the blue water, to go skimming 
for hundreds of yards above the surface before disappearing 
again. Then there were the porpoises at the steamer’s prow, 
swimming with ease and grace; they accompanied us for 
miles. The sea was streaked with “whale food,” a yellowish 
substance, that caused much speculation as to its origin; but no 
satisfactory explanation was forthcoming. Thousands of delicate 
medusz went drifting by, and sometimes a shark or other large 
fish was seen. 

We had left port shortly after 6 o’clock, and about noon a grey 
shadow, that had been visible for an hour on the horizon, took 
form and shape. It was North-West Island, the largest of the 
group, and the one on which it had been decided No. 1 party, 
under Captain S. A. White, of South Australia, should camp. 

The Capricorn Islands, lying at the southern extremity of the 
Great Barrier Reef (from which they are separated by Curtis 
Channel), are pseudo-atolls. It is not safe for a large vessel to 
approach closely the fringing reefs ; so the Endeavour anchored in 
81 fathoms, and the boats were soon bumping alongside, ready 
to take the members of Captain White’s party, with the baggage, 
ashore. The five ladies went in the first boat, the men following, 
with the bulk of the stores, &c., in the other. It was a long pull 
to the shore; but Captain Cartwright had timed the steamer’s 
arrival off the island to be at flood-tide, and the boats were able 
to pass over the reef and make the beach. The stores were quickly 
landed, and soon all members of the party were busy preparing 


THE Emu, Vol. X 


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ies BARRETT, Expedition to Capricorn Group. 183 
camp. The Endeavour blew her siren in farewell, the anchor was 
weighed, and she steamed away for Mast-Head Island, lying 17 
miles to the westward, on which the second camp was to be formed. 

It was 3 o'clock when the Endeavour arrived off Mast-Head 
Island, and twilight was falling before No. 2 party and its baggage 
were landed. We were too late to catch the flood-tide, and the 
transport of heavy boxes and portmanteaux and the big cans of 
fresh water across the coral reef was a long and trying task. The 
jagged edges of the dead coral were so sharp that those who wore 
shoes or light boots found the soles cut almost to pieces after the 
work was done. 

Before the tents had been fully pitched and the camp snugged 
down, a tropical storm burst over the island. Rain fell drench- 
ingly all through the night, and it was, for most of the party, a 
long and weary. vigil before sleep came to close the eyes of care. 
But we smoked, and were as cheerful as the circumstances per- 
mitted ; and the dawn broke so calm and bright that all dis- 
comforts were forgotten as we emerged from dripping tents into 
the warm and sparkling sunlight. 


GEOLOGICAL AND GENERAL. 


From a paper on the mollusca of Mast-Head Reef, by Mr.~-C. 
Hedley, F.L.S., published in the Proceedings of the Linnean 
Society of New South Wales, 1906, vol. xxxi., part 3, we learned 
much about our island home. Mr. Hedley, with Dr. R. Pulleine 
and others, visited Mast-Head Island in October, 1904, for the 
purpose of studying the marine zoology. The party spent a week 
on the island, collecting on the reef and dredging in its immediate 
vicinity, with most important results, some of which are set out 
in Mr. Hedley’s paper. Attention was devoted to the botany of 
the island, and a few bird observations were made, but we felt 
that we were the first to properly investigate the avifauna. Mr. 
Hedley, in the introduction to his paper, gives a brief account of 
the history of the Capricorn Group, and an outline of the geo- 
logical features of Mast-Head Island, from which the following 
facts are gleaned. 

Professor Jukes visited the Bunker and Capricorn § Archi- 
pelagoes in H.M.S. Fly in 1843, and up to the time of Mr. Hedley’s 
visit, in 1904, no other naturalist had worked among the islands. 
Mr. Hedley wrote prophetically :—‘‘ As this reef (Mast-Head) is 
the nearest to a trunk railway, and therefore easiest to reach from 
the large cities of Australia, it will probably be revisited by 
scientific folk.” 

We confined our attention to the Capricorn Group, most of the 
islands being visited by members of either No. 1 or No. 2 
party, and were able to gain a fairly complete record of the avi- 
fauna of the archipelago. The Capricorn Islands- are grouped 
about the tropic from which they take their name. Mast-Head 
Island, the most western and nearest to the Queensland coast 
“of a chain of reefs extending for 54 miles from North Reef to 


Emu 


184 Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. at” eee 


Lady Elliott Island,” is divided from North-West Island, as it 
were, by the imaginary line of the tropic. On clear days the 
blue peaks on the mainland were visible from the islands, 
and the smoke of steamers — grey feathers drifting along the 
horizon—was frequently seen by the marooned ornithologists. 
A quotation from Mr. Hedley’s paper may be fittingly intro- 
duced :— 

“ Strictly speaking, this group (the Capricorns) is not part of 
the Great Barrier, which terminates in a coral maze, Swain Reefs, 
north of the Capricorns. Between Swain Reefs and the Capri- 
corns lies the broad and deep Curtis Channel, but for zoological 
purposes these pseudo-atolls may conveniently be regarded as a 
continuation of the Great Barrier.” 

His description of the Mast-Head Island reef may be taken as 
fairly typical of what was observed at each island visited by the 
R.A.O.U. expedition :— 

“At low tide Mast-Head is exposed as an oblong reef about 
4 miles from east to west, and 14 from north to south, its crest 
10 or 12 feet above the sea. It shrinks at high water to a small 
but densely vegetated sand-bank about 100 acres in extent, 
placed near the western end of the reef. The islet is level, raised 
but a few feet above the sea, and has no lagoonlet. Concentric 
undulations show the successive increase of beach built on beach. 
At the western end a clump of uprooted casuarinas indicates where 
a gale had inflicted temporary loss. 

‘On the south side a stratum of coral sand-rock is now suffer- 
ing denudation. Jukes * has given an excellent description and 
explanation of this rock. . . . I suggest that the coral sand- 
rock can only form beneath a thick cover of sand, and that slow 
growth of the bank will provide for the increase of the rock. 
Briefly, the coral sand-rock is the petrified core of beach or dune. 
The islet was chiefly made of coarse sand. It may be laid down 
as a rule that the further from the reef edge an islet 1s built, the finer 
ave the materials of which it 1s composed. A pit we sank in search 
of water passed through foraminiferal sand with lumps of coral ; 
it was bone dry at a depth of 8 feet. There was no surface water 
at the date of our visit.” 

THE REEF. 

Further on in his paper Mr. Hedley describes the reef and its 
wonders. The reef crest, he finely says, is “one long unbroken 
sepulchre of actinozoan life.’’ There were marine biologists with 
No. 2 party, and the reef received close attention from them ; 
but with the results of their work an ornithological journal is not 
concerned. Mr. Hedley’s comparison of Mast-Head Reef with 
the real coral atoll is, however, pertinent in a general narrative of 
the expedition :— 

‘’ Mast-Head Reef, though sharing many features of the coral 
atolls of the Central Pacific, yet differs widely in detail—a differ- 


* Jukes, °° Woy. Als" 1. (1849); pps 7.9: 


eo} Lg ye 


— 


THE EMU, 


Vol. X. 


PLATE XVI. 


Scene on Mast-Head Island. 


Vol. X. An Iie ce 
“aio Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. 185 


ence due to the circumstances under which each arose. Typically, 
the Central Pacific reefs spring from abyssmal depths, will have, 
have, or had a deep central lagoon, according to the stage in 
evolution attained. Their dry land is always greatest on the 
windward side, and is built close to the reef edge. Mast-Head is 
a tabular mass set on a platform of about 20 fathoms, common 
to the archipelago. Its lagoon is almost obliterated, the depth at 
low water being expressed in inches instead of fathoms. The dry 
land is massed on the leeward side, and heaped far within the 
margin of the reef. In the Central Pacific the dry land of the 
atolls seems to have originated in the spasmodic action of hurri- 
canes, which tear masses off the reef edge and stack them above 
high water mark in hurricane beaches. . . . Mast-Head lies 
beyond the hurricane zone, but is subject to the action of tides 
of arange of 14 to 15 feet. These tides race over the reef at 
a rate of two knots an hour, are the chief agents of island building, 
and operate with more regularity but less violence than the 
hurricanes.”’ 
VEGETATION. 


On all the Capricorn Islands on which members of the expedition 
landed the vegetation appeared to be of a similar character. The 
storm beaches—there were three distinct ones on Mast-Head 
Island—are fringed with graceful casuarina trees, whose pendulous 
fohage has a most pleasing effect. The boughs at flood-tide almost 
hang above the lapping water. The trees on the older beach are, 
of course, much larger than those on the most recent ridge of coral 
sand, and the mid-beach is crested with trees of medium size. 
There are the three beaches and the three stages of the casuarina 
—a most striking object lesson. Behind the casuarinas, which are 
not so closely ranked but a man may walk among them with ease, 
come the lusty bushes of Sophora and Tournefortia, the pic- 
turesque Pandanus, with its spear-shaped leaves, organ-pipe aerial 
roots, and great fruits. These trees and bushes are rooted 
in the sand among Wedelia, Abutilon, Ipomea, and other 
lesser plants, whose leaves, thickly clustering, form a miniature 
jungle. The undergrowth does not persist into the forest, 
but forms a girdle about the inner sand ridges, flowing over 
crests and filling hollows, creeping down on to the sea-beach, and 
helping to bind the restless grains of sand together. The Pisonia 
claims the centre of each island as its domain. Sentinels are sent 
out, and on Heron Island, for instance, the Pisonia forest runs 
down to the open beach ; but, generally speaking, the trees over- 
grow the central portions of the islets. Many specimens noted by 
our party rose to a height of 60 feet, with spreading branches that 
cast a generous shadow, so that in the heart of the forest it was 
cool and twilit, the pale green leafage forming a screen so dense 
that even the tropic sunbeams were filtered of their fire. Our 
botanists made complete collections of the plants on Mast-Head, 
North-West, Heron, and other islands, and were pleased with their 
beauty and variety. A species of Ficus, with its tiny olive-red 


r86 Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. Poe 


List Dec. 


fruits, and a convolvulus with immense leaves and large white 
blossoms, were especially interesting. 

One of the merits of these coral islands is, as we discovered with 
keen pleasure, that they are almost entirely free of the pests so 
abundant on the mainland. During the nine days spent among 
the Capricorns, not half a score of mosquitoes was seen or felt, 
there being no fresh surface water for the larvee to thrive in. Sand- 
flies and ordinary household tormentors also were among the 
missing. It made our camp life a delightful holiday, having none 
of these “little worries’’ about the dining place or in the tents 
at night. Those of us who took part in the last A.O.U. camp-out, 
on Eyre Peninsula, remembered how mosquitoes rendered the hot 
nights at Warunda almost unendurable, and were grateful for 
peace on the coral isles. 


SociAL ASPECTS. 


We had little or nothing to do with the domestic arrangements, 
each party being provided with a cook, and thus were able to 
devote all our time to scientific pursuits. Some hours, however, 
were wisely given over to recreation. After a quiet ramble along 
the beach, a row in the dinghy, or an hour’s fish-spearing in the 
lagoon, came meal time. Then, for those who favoured it, a 
smoke in the shade, and a general chat for all. So the days 
passed with both parties swiftly and pleasantly, and the end 
came only too soon. For the way of our life, despite some dis- 
comforts incident to every camp that ever was or will be, con- 
formed to the rules of healthful simplicity, and was full of 
““ sweetness and light.”” No member of the expedition is likely to 
forget experiences that it has been the lot of few naturalists to 
enjoy. The spirit of the camps was good, and no jarring note was 
struck from the time the Endeavour left Gladstone, with the party 
aboard, until she had fulfilled her mission with the R.A.O.U. 

The division of the party into two was necessitated by the size 
of the islands. It would not have been so comfortable had one 
large camp been formed on an island barely 100 acres in extent ; 
and it was desirable to have the two principal islands of the archi- 
pelago thoroughly “ worked.’ Captain White’s party worked 
North-West Island, North Reef, and Tryon Island, while the party 
under Mr. C. A. Barnard investigated, besides Mast-Head, Erskine 
and Heron Islands. The Endeavour visited North-West Island 
and Mast-Head Island alternately, and was our general transport. 
The time allowed for work ashore on the smaller islands was 
necessarily brief, for it was expedient to make voyages only between 
dawn and sunset, owing to the dangerous nature of the reefs, 
which are set in a maze as a snare for ships. No inter-camp visits 
were made, but a member of No. 2 party spent several days with 
Captain White’s party in order to visit the islands which were 
under his jurisdiction for the nonce. It will be convenient, 
having generalized, to give a brief separate account of each party’s 
doings. 


y 


THE Emu, Vo/. X 


PLATE XVII 


Pisonia Forest, Mast-Head Island. 


J. CAMPBELL 


FROM A PHOTO. BY A. 


a 


te 


“Ah 


Mole, a1 
1910 


BarRRETIt, Expedition to Capricorn Group. 187 


MAst-HEAD ISLAND. 


The party on Mast-Head Island, after the first uncomfortable 
night, settled down happily. The days were found too brief for 
the work to be done on the reef and ashore. There was no further 
trouble in store, and the variety of interests was more than 
sufficient to keep everyone busily and profitably employed. Mr. 
C. A. Barnard, the leader, wisely made few camp rules; but those 
that were issued, for the good of all, were cheerfully obeyed, and 
members lived in perfect harmony. Those who have done much 
camping out know how largely the success of a camp depends on 
harmonious social relations. Not only were the members of our 
party on the best of terms, but each helped the others in their 
special studies. Those who discovered nests did not immediately 
take the eggs, but notified the photographers of their finds, and 
allowed them to obtain pictures to their hearts’ content. Again, 
when some rare species was fished from the lagoon by a ‘“ bird”’ 
man, he would hand it over to a marine zoologist for his collection. 
Mutual help and good-fellowship were of the spirit of the camp. 

On the first morning the party, after a breakfast in the open air, 
was divided into two sections for exploration work. Taking 
opposite directions, the two little companies walked quietly round 
the beach. Side excursions into the forest were also made, and when 
the members gathered again at Sheoak Camp for lunch, notes were 
compared, and it was agreed that the island was a little Paradise. 
We tound no reason to alter that conclusion as the days went 
swiftly by—indeed, the impression was deepened, and when the 
inevitable hour of departure arrived none was anxious to go. 

Our leader was generally astir each day before the flush of 
dawn, and by 6 o’clock a dozen figures were splashing in the sea, 
or dressing, after a swim, on the white beach. Owing to the 
limited supply of fresh water, it was necessary to make one’s 
ablutions on the margin of the sea. The “hard” salt water 
would not make friends with soap, so it was not easy to become 
clean; and by the end of our stay an appreciable amount of 
“foreign matter’? was ingrained with the tan on our faces. 
Fortunately, the water supply was adequate, except on one occasion, 
for drinking and culinary purposes. Gallons of “ billy”’ tea were 
consumed daily, for, after a few hours on the reef or in the scrub, 
one returned to camp with a thirst that could only be quenched 
by many brimming pannikins. Once only did the water fail, and 
it was then that we realized the misery of a liquid famine. It was 
not long, however, before the Endeavour appeared off the reef, 
and our empty cans were replenished from her tanks. Three 
regular meals were prepared daily by our excellent cook, but these 
were supplemented by “‘ morning’ and “ four o’clock”’ tea. With 
pannikins and biscuits, members reclined in the shade of the 
she-oaks—a pleasant break in the day’s work. Breakfast at 
7 a.m., dinner at noon, and tea before sunset—that was the order 
of our “sit down” meals. Cook was kept busy, but he was a 
cheery fellow, and unafraid of work. Of food we had an abundant 


188 BarreEtT?T, Expedition to Capricorn Group. [ _ 


ist Dec. 
supply, brought from the mainland ; and the “ shop goods ’’ were 
supplemented by fresh fish, the fruits of spearing in the lagoon or 
gifts from the trawler, and turtle steaks, which tasted like veal. 
Prunes and rice or stewed apricots made delicious dessert. So 
we fared daintily enough to satisfy an epicure, sans white napery 
and silver tableware. 

THE DAY’S WORK. 

After the first long day of preliminaries, members planned out 
their own activities. Some worked the reef and some the beaches, 
while others haunted the Pzsonia forest, where the purple shadows 
are laced with gold, and the foot falls softly on withered leaves. 
Each pursued his own branch of nature study, or two or three 
would join company and wander away together ; and when dark- 
ness came, round the camp-fire we would review the day’s work 
before beginning the task of preserving specimens and writing up 
our notes. So the days wore on, each bringing gifts that enriched 
us with knowledge and beauty. The days were long. although to 
us they seemed too brief—the hours of sunlight too few—tor the 
harvesting. We rose at dawn, and at noon of night some were 
still working by light of a hurricane lamp, swung censer-wise from 
the ridge-pole of a tent. There was so much to be done: birds to 
be skinned, corals and shells to be cleaned and packed away, and 
the photographers had plates to change. Tedious work, truly ; 
but after toil we slept well, on a bed of boughs, or on the clean 
white coral sand, with our blankets rolled around us when the nights 
were cool—a clean, hard, healthful life, on an isle in the midst 
of the sea. Our tents were pitched in a grove of casuarinas, on the 
verge of the open beach; and the green boughs, pendulous and 
beautiful, formed a soft screen from the sun. Often, at night, a 
hovering bird would enter one of the tents, fluttering stupidly 
about until it found the open air again. A species of crab made 
burrows under sleeping heads, while great brown moths blundered 
against our canvas roof-trees. Of creeping things there were not 
many. Turn over an old log and you might find a centipede, 
large and menacing, or a beetle or two; nothing more. There 
were no serpents in our little Eden—nothing to fear at all, by day 
or by night. 

ISLAND NIGHTS. 

Those island nights were wonderful, with the moonlight making 
a silver shield of the lagoon, stars shining down, and the white 
curving beach barred with the fleeting shadows of birds. Walking 
along the beach, it was interesting to try and identify the multi- 
tudinous bird notes. Thousands of dark forms kept coming and 
going twixt sea and shore, and calling all the time. The plaint 
of the Sooty Oyster-catcher was unmistakable, and the clicking 
croak of the White-capped Noddy, and one could tell when a 
flock of Brown-winged Terns passed over. But there were many 
cries that puzzled the most experienced among us—a medley of 
strange sounds, in tune with the mystery of the moonlit night. 

- A little company of Frigate-Birds came at dusk each day to camp 


Vol. X. 


ie Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. 189 
on Mast-Head Island. Floating out of the void, the great birds 
bore mystery on their wings. They would soar and hover for 
hours—a marvellous spectacle, of which one never tired. And 
ever and anon a bird would leave the flock to make a swift swoop 
and return, without visible motion of the wings. Like a ‘‘ boomerang 
tacked to a star’’ is Mr. Hedley’s fine description of the Frigate- 
Bird’s flight. The outspread wings form a crescent. It was dis- 
covered, in time, that the birds had a roosting-place among the 
sheoaks at one corner of the island, and here they were observed 
at close quarters. The Brown-winged Terns also camped after dark 
among the bushes, and several were caught for inspection ; but 
the Noddies never seemed to sleep. All night they flitted about, 
fretting the dark with their cries. 

Towards the end of our stay the Mutton-Birds began to come 
in. Several were caught spring-cleaning in the burrows with 
which the crown of the island was honeycombed, and our cook 
captured a specimen that blundered into his tent one night. The 
birds were our pets for a while. Then we had the captives of a 
day —two young Kingfishers that had sought refuge on the 
Endeavour in a storm, and a weary, half-starved Godwit, caught 
on the beach, after its long flight from Asia. Mast-Head Island 
appears to serve as a resting-place in the line of migration of some 
of the shore-birds, judging from the Godwit and other specimens 
obtained in poor condition. The island would make a fine station 
for students of the great problem. 

So our bird-observing was not confined to the hours of light. 
A fresh observation might be made at any hour; but the mystery 
and the wonder of night are apt to mislead, and the harvest of 
the quiet eye be more for poetry than science. Always that 
clamour of bird voices, night and day. Not musical, but pleasant 
to a bird-man’s ears, the medley of cries mingled with the chime 
of the tides in one grand symphony. The number of the birds 
that frequent this island must be very great. Along the beaches 
are thousands of Terns—Brown-winged, Caspian, Roseate, and 
Noddies—camped on the sand-spits or wheeling in air, with the 
sunlight glimmering on their wings. Of White-capped Noddies, 
by computation, from 30,000 to 40,000 nest on the island: and 
when the Mutton-Birds come in the bird population must be 
doubled. The Waders make up a strong company, and the 
screaming Silver Gulls, which nest among tussocks on the sheoak 
ridges. Of Reef-Herons there are, perhaps, a hundred pairs. 
The land-birds, including the Sacred Kingfisher, Barred-shouldered 
Dove, Silver-eye, Landrail, and Strepera, are far less numerous ; 
and each of these coral islands can support but one pair of White- 
bellied Sea-Eagles. The nest on Mast-Head Island was built 
in the higher branches of a lofty Pisonia, and almost inaccessible 
to man. 

THE NODDIES. 


Although hundreds of Noddies could always be seen on the wing, 
the birds, as a community, had regular times of sea and land 


Emu ~ 
1st Dec. 


Igo Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. 
faring. It was wonderful to see them going out to forage at dawn 
and returning about sundown to the Pisonia forest—thousands 
of graceful birds, flying swiftly, like a legion of big butterflies, over 
the sea or among the trees. At noon one might see Noddies 
clustered like strange fruits on the Pzsonta boughs, enjoying a 
dreamy rest in the sun. Disturbed, they would rise, wheel above 
the trees for a while, crying and calling, then settle down as before. 
Mast-Head and the other islets of the Capricorn Group ere given 
over to birds in nesting time. The Noddies commenced to 
lay a few days after our arrival, and, before we departed, thousands 
of eggs had been deposited in the crude, untidy nests scattered 
through the forest. Almost every tree and bush bore a burden 
of Noddies’ nests ; and when one climbed into a Pisonia with care 
(for the boughs are sappy and easily broken), he could look down 
upon a cluster of nests, each containing an egg. The nesting birds 
displayed little apprehension of man. So tame were they, in 
fact, that often it was necessary to push a bird aside if you would 
see her egg. With their long black beaks the females pecked 
viciously at intruding hands, but could inflict no punishment with 
such delicate weapons. 

Day after day we went among the Noddies, and never tired of 
watching their ways and admiring their grace and beauty. 
One member, reflecting, spoke of the tragedy a visit from plume- 
hunters would bring to the island, for the birds could be slain 
with such ease. 

The interests of most members of the party were centred, of 
course, in the avifauna ; but time was found for other things. The 
coral reef was a treasure-field in which we often gleaned. The 
delicate beauty of the live corals, and of shells and fishes and 
crustaceans they harboured, proved a constant source of delight. 
We became, to coin a word, “ reef-combers,’’ wading in the clear 
pools at ebb tide, or parading the causeways of dead coral, turning 
over jagged clumps, and gathering quaint objects disclosed. Our 
leader organized fishing parties. Armed with spears—sheoak 
saplings, with fire-hardened points—the fishers patrolled the 
shallows, and had exciting sport. The prey, accustomed to flee 
before the grey-finned sharks that haunt the lagoon at high tide, 
was not easily captured ; but the spearsmen, after an hour’s sport, 
would bring in sufficient for a meal. Brilliantly coloured fishes 
they were, banded and spotted with purple and crimson and gold. 
Often a grey eel, beautifully mottled with black, would be speared 
amongst the coral and kept for the specimen jar; and once or 
twice we saw millions of a tiny green fish swimming in company 
close to the shore. The millions formed a ribbon, perhaps 4 feet 
across and one, two, or three hundred yards in length, that, 
waving gently, moved through the water slowly, but with great 
persistence. Each unit of the vast mass seemed imbued with 
the spirits of unity and progression. A fragment of driftwood 
or coral thrown at the ribbon caused it to fray out for a moment, 
then the atoms came together again, and the living band moved 
on. 


ar 
| can 


; Me 


- oe 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XVIIL 


Sea-Eagle’s Eyry and Eaglet (Haliaétus leucogaster), Erskine Island. 


Wale Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. I9t 


TOIQy =e 


TURTLES. 

We had been told by Mr. Hedley, whom we met in Sydney, to 
expect sport with the green turtles, so abundant in these sun- 
warmed. seas ; and we were not disappointed. On the beach at 
Mast-Head Island, on the day after our arrival, several of the 
reptiles were seen basking. One was captured, but others that 
were hunted escaped into the lagoon. Rarely a day passed, there- 
after, without turtles being observed on the beach or swimming 
leisurely in the lagoon; but it was on Heron Island that Party 
No. 2 had the most interesting experiences with Chelonians. With 
De Rougemont exploits in mind, some of the ornithologists 
clambered on to the shields of sleeping turtles and enjoyed brief 
but exciting rides. A turtle thus surprised, feeling the un- 
accustomed weight on its carapace, would scramble over the sand 
to the sea. Once in the water it had the best of the game, and 
by diving quickly unseated its rider. The sport of turning 
turtles was most exciting. Generally it required the united 
strength of three men to effect the desired result. The method 
was to rush upon a sleeping turtle, grasp flippers and tail and the 
edge of the shield, and then give a sharp, sudden heave. Success 
left the turtle lying on its back, with tail and flippers waving 
violently but helplessly. Often, however, the hunters failed to 
turn their turtle, and were dragged by the frightened creature into 
the water. One or two turtles were killed for food. Broiled 
steaks went well with “ Johnny cake”’ and “ billy tea.” 


ERSKINE ISLAND. 

It has already been recorded that the members of the party 
visited other islands. One day the Endeavouv took us for an 
island voyage. She anchored off the reefs at Erskine Island and 
Heron Island at flood-tide, and landings were effected from the boats. 

Erskine Island, one of the smallest of the Capricorns, lying a 
few miles from Mast-Head, was first visited. It yielded little of 
special interest, save a nest of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, built 
low down on the branches of a Sophora bush, and containing an 
Eaglet. The vegetation was stunted, and the Prsonia was not 
noticed in the scrub-clad ridges. Many large volute shells were 
lying about the beach, and several turtles made black patches on 
the shining white sand. An hour ashore, and the steamer’s 
siren called us away. 

HERON ISLAND. 


Heron Island was reached before noon. About the same 
size as Mast-Head, Heron Island presents almost identical features, 
both as regards structure, vegetation, and animal inhabitants. Here 
the Reef-Herons were breeding in the Sophora, as on Mast-Head 
Island, and the Silver Gulls had nests. A nest of the Sooty 
Oyster-catcher, containing a newly-hatched chick and a chipping 
egg, was discovered and photographed. The nest was of the 
usual crude type—a hollow, fringed with grass and leaves, under 
a bush near the beach. Tall Pisonias occupied the centre of the 


Ig2 BARRETT, Expedition to Capricorn Group. Emu 


ist Dec. 


island, and in places came down to the beach. Some beautiful 
glades were explored, but jungle guarded the forest in many parts. 
It was on Heron Island that hundreds of turtles were seen asleep 
on the beach or gambolling in the blue waters of the lagoon. Our 
stay on Heron Island was brief, but it sufficed to show that nothing 
existed in the forest that had not been found about ‘ Sheoak 
Camp.” Later on, the members of No. 2 party were offered a 
second voyage, but so far were the interests of Mast-Head Island 
from being exhausted that it was decided to devote the remainder 
of the time to them. The Petrels were arriving in increasing 
numbers, the reef was yielding fresh material daily, and no one 
had made all the observations desired. So we were more than 
content to remain on what we had come to regard as our own island. 
When the Endeavour’s lights shone out over the reef, on the last 
night, a dozen pairs of hands were busily engaged packing 
specimens and making a skeleton of the camp. Preparations for 
departure from a spot where so many pleasant hours had been 
spent proved dreary work. On the morrow, before the glory of 
sunrise had faded, the ship’s boats were bumping on the beach, 
and we had to go. The members of No. I party were already 
aboard, having been taken off North-West Island on the previous 
afternoon. The voyage to Gladstone was uneventful; but as we 
walked from the jetty to our hotel, the good folk of the Queens- 
land town eyed us curiously, and, perchance, commented on the 
strange appearance some of us must have presented. The sun 
had coloured our faces and hands a rich coffee-brown. 


NortH-WEsT ISLAND. 

The experiences of the party which camped on North-West 
Island were very similar to those of the Mast-Head Island con- 
tingent. Captain White, to whom the writer is indebted for in- 
formation, had the advantage of an abundant supply of fresh 
water. It was stored in tanks left by the turtle-hunters,* whose 
silent factory, fronted by a mound of bleached bones, is still 
standing, with other lesser buildings, in the scrub on the fringe of 
the forest. Several members made use of one of these zinc-roofed 
buildings as a sleeping and work room, and the canning factory 
itself, after a vigorous cleansing, served admirably for the party’s 
dining hall. Open at each end, the shed was a pleasant place for 
eating meals; and the cook had a neat little galley in which 
to prepare them. The ladies of the party were domiciled in tents 
pitched on the fringe of the jungle. The camp was bright and 
picturesque. A small jetty runs out from the beach, and to one of 
the worm-eaten piles the dinghy was tethered when not in use. 
Relics of former inhabitants added to the interest of this lonely 
island ; and when, in a quiet nook, half veiled by jungle growth, 
the grave of a child was discovered, the note of pathos was struck. 
Hidden away and forgotten of men was the grave of a little girl, fenced 


* " ‘ . a 
_ ™ Here, in the season, Capt. Thos; Owens preserves turtle flesh and soup—an 
industry which, under supervision, should be encouraged. 


Vol. X. 
1910 


Barrett, Expedition to Capricorn Group. 193 
from the wild, and with a white cross guarding the dreamless 
head—something for pity and the pen of romance. 

The bird-life of North-West Island was just as interesting as 
that on Mast-Head Island ; but the Noddies, although their nests 
were everywhere in the Pzsonza forest, had not commenced to lay 
when camp was struck—a strange fact, remembering that the 
Mast-Head birds, not a score of miles away, were nearly all 
brooding at the time. Captain White and his associates made, 
however, a most interesting collection of specimens and observa- 
tions. They found plenty to occupy their time, and no minute 
was wasted. From dawn till dusk all were abroad, and the 
evenings were not long enough for the after-work of harvesting. 
The fascinations of the reef, with its coral flowers and other lovely 
sea things, wove a spell over the hearts of the ladies. At ebb- 
tide they went out collecting, and were loath to leave the coral 
causeways and sunny pools when the flood was making. The 
tides, according to Mr. Hedley’s observation, race over the reefs at 
two knots an hour. The coral is so difficult to walk upon that 
one’s progress is painfully slow; and delay, after the turn of 
the tide, means danger. So, although the reefs at ebb run far 
out, and it was possible to get 4 miles from the beach, caution 
was necessary. 

Some of the North-Westerners devoted attention to the botany 
and entomology of the island, with interesting results, that will 
doubtless be published elsewhere. Insect life was not as luxuriant 
as expected, but some splendid butterflies were captured. Hunting 
the floating beauties with a big gauze net was the recreation of a 
sunny afternoon. Variety was won by this and other means. 
Swimming in the lagoon and boating were enjoyed ; and the ladies 
as well as the men occasionally rode turtles into the sea. Turtles 
were numerous around North-West Island. On one occasion no 
fewer than 300 were counted along the eastern beach. It was not 
the time of egg-laying—we were too early by a week or two; but 
there was abundant evidence that every year tens of thousands 
of turtles are hatched from eggs buried among the sand-ridges on 
the Capricorn Isles. A female killed to make a museum specimen 
was dissected, and long strings of soft-shelled eggs were taken 
from her. Over 1,000 were counted. 


NorTH REEF. 


Twice during the camp-out members of No. I party made short 
voyages from North-West Island in the Endeavour. On the first 
occasion North Reef, with its light-house, was visited. The people 
of the light were hospitable, and willingly showed the visitors over 
their lonely home—the light-house itself. North Reef Islet is 
little more than a raised beach, crested with lusty bushes, and 
with spinifex grass and a broad-leaved convolvulus trailing over 
the sand. It was ebb-tide at the time of the ornithologists’ visit, 
and scores of Reef-Herons, white-plumed and blue, were fishing 
among the pools. The birds are surprisingly tame, allowing one 


194 BARRETT, Expedition to Capricovn Group. ,ey 
to approach them closely before taking wing. It was learned that 
the people of the light treat the birds as friends. Captain White 
obtained some interesting notes at North Reef. 


TRYON ISLAND. 


Leaving North Reef, the steamer set a course for Tryon Island. 
The tide was at half-flood when the first boat left the steamer’s 
side to take the leader and three ladies ashore. It was a most 
difficult landing. The ladies were obliged to wade through deep 
pools, with the knowledge that sharks were about; for 
several grey fins were seen cutting the water as the boat came 
gliding in. Captain White has kindly written the following account 
of the incident :— 

‘‘Mrs. Israel, Miss Mellor, Mrs. White, Mr. Mellor, sen., and 
myself comprised the party, and the boat was in charge of the 
chief mate of the Endeavour, A landing never having been made 
on the island, the mate made for the most likely-looking spot, but 
the boat grounded on the reef some three-quarters of a mile off 
shore. The landing party took to the water and essayed to wade 
ashore. One of the crew accompanied us to help with the pro- 
visions, water, &c. We found that the water inside the reef was 
much deeper, and at times it was waist high. Then the tide came 
rushing in, and it was not long before things looked dangerous, for 
the ladies were wading up to their armpits, and several times were 
carried off their feet. To make things worse, several large sharks 
had found their way inside the reef, and came unpleasantly close, 
despite our making much noise to scare them away. Huge turtles 
passed us at great speed, so closely that we barely escaped being 
struck by their flippers. It was with a sigh of relief that we 
reached the sandy beach just in time, for a minute or two later the 
seaman attempted to return to the boat, but, after swimming a 
few lengths, gave up the task. Even this little adventnre was 
taken in good part by the ladies. The tropical sun soon dried our 
clothes, and we reclined in the shade of a casuarina tree, each with 
a pannikin of ‘ billy’ tea in one hand and a piece of bread and 
bully-beef in the other. We had just gone far enough to make 
discoveries when the Captain of the Endeavour whistled for us to 
return. His commands had to be obeyed, for the delay of halt 
an hour might mean the risk of life and property.”’ 

On Tryon Island the Reef-Heron was found nesting, and the 
hours ashore there proved profitable in many ways. Two days 
later a second visit to the island was made by a small party under 
Captain White. 

CONCLUSION. 

The scientific results of the expedition are dealt with in separate 
articles in this issue of The Emu. It remains to say only that the 
Capricorn Islands have not yielded up all their interest for the 
ornithologist. Our expedition accomplished much. A_ harvest 
was gathered, but future gleaners at other seasons on the coral 
islands will not seek for fresh secrets in vain. 


Vol. X 


met CAMPBELL AND WHITE, Birds on: Capricorn Group. 195 


Birds Identified on the Capricorn Group during 
Expedition of R.A.O.U., 8th to 17th October, 1910. 
iby, A. |. CAMPBELL, ©.M.B-O0.U.). ‘aAnp CAPT. S.cAy Were: 


WHITE-BELLIED SEA-EAGLE (Haliaétus leucogaster). 

Each island visited seemed to be the abode of a pair of Sea- 
Eagles. Eyries with young were observed and photographed on 
Mast-Head and Erskine Islands. In the former the nest was in a 
large Pisonia tree, which was about 60 feet high. The Eagles, when 
hovering over an island, particularly in the mornings, made Goose- 
like cackling notes. They did not seem to prey on the birds of the 
locality, but on sea-snakes and fish. 

Two nests were discovered on North-West Island, both in 
Pisonia trees, at either end of the island. One was situated on 
the highest tree on the island—one of great girth and few limbs. 
The nest was a huge collection of boughs and sticks, and contained 
fully-fledged young, which in colour much resemble the Wedge- 
tailed Eagle, and could easily be mistaken for that bird. The other 
nest also contained young. The old birds were very quiet. and 
sat by the nest, and allowed one to approach the base of the tree 
before taking flight. At dusk every evening these fine birds 
visited the part of the island on which the camp was situated, 
and would swoop down amongst the Pisonias, from which the 
Noddy Terns would fly out in clouds ; it was always too dark to 
make sure if the Eagles were in pursuit of the Terns, but we 
supposed this was the case, otherwise why should they come there 
at that time—+.e., when the Terns had congregated from the sur- 
rounding sea. 


PIED CROW-SHRIKE (Strepera graculina). 

As in the case of the Sea-Eagles, a pair of this Strepera ap- 
peared to occupy one or other of the principal islands. On Mast- 
Head a pair occasionally approached the camp, and it was pleasant, 
at times, to hear their loud, familiar calls, or sometimes a clear, 
single whistle-like note, especially at early morn (10 minutes to 
5 o'clock). On first landing at North-West Island we heard a 
very full liquid note coming from the dense scrub, which re- 
sembled the call of some Honey-eater, but much surprise was 
expressed next day to find that the call was that of the Pied Crow- 
Shrike. A colony, apparently, of these birds had taken up their 
abode on North-West Island, and had brought up young for many 
years. During the heat of the day these birds kept to the cool 
shade of the high Pisonias, but in the early morning and evening 
they frequented the coast-line. The Strepera family have a strong 
odour as a rule, but the birds inhabiting the islands had a decided 
musky odour, resembling that of the Mutton-Bird—a circumstance 
worth following up, for one reason. Birds, for instance, collected 
on Kangaroo Island (S.A.) did not possess this peculiar smell. 
Did the Crow-Shrikes obtain their Petrel perfume by some con- 
nection with their (the Mutton-Birds’) burrows ? 


Ig6 CAMPBELL AND WHITE, Birds on Capricorn Group. g, ns 


CATERPILLAR-EATER (Edolitsoma tenuirostre). 
Several male specimens of this interesting species were observed 
on North-West and Tryon Islands. 


Prep CATERPILLAR-EATER (Lalage leucomelena). 
Mr. L. Harrison identified at short range, with glasses, a single 
specimen of this Caterpillar-eater on Mast-Head Island. 


WHITE-SHOULDERED CATERPILLAR-EATER (Lalage tricolor). 
LEADEN FLYCATCHER (Mvyiagra rubecula). 
RUFOUS-BREASTED THICKHEAD (Pachycephala rufiventris). 

One or two of these birds, probably on migration only, were 
observed. A male of the _ first-mentioned was seen, and 
females of the others. The Thickheads were particularly merry in 
song on Mast-Head and Heron Islands, while on North-West Island 
a female was seen, singing loudly, in a group of Pandanus trees. 


WESTERN WHITE-EYE (Zosterops westernensis). 

Zostevops were nimerous, and appeared to breed upon the islands, 
judging by a few old nests. As at some of our more southern 
camps, it was delightful to listen to the subdued chorus of the 
birds’ sweet warbling songs at daybreak. Regularly on Mast- 
Head they commenced to warble from 10 to 5 minutes before 
5 o'clock. 

White-eyes were observed in great numbers on North-West and 
Tryon Islands, where, also, the nesting season had not yet com- 
menced. Several skins were procured—the first by Mr. J. W. 
Mellor. 

From a critical examination of these skins it is at once notice- 
able that they are not referable to Z. cerulescens, but are more in 
agreement with the description of Quoy and Gaimard’s Z. 
westernensis.* Should further research prove them different, we 
venture to suggest the name Z. chlorocephalus, or Green-headed 
White-eye (on account of the ** clean-cut” markings of that colour), 
the following being the general description :—Male.—Distinct ring 
of silvery-white round the eye, succeeded by a black line under the 
eye; head, mantle, upper wing coverts, and upper tail coverts 
bright olive-green; back grey, blending into the greenish mantle ; 
wings and tail dark brown, the primaries and tail feathers edged 
with bright olive-green; chin, throat, and under tail coverts 
greenish-yellow ; rest of the under surface greyish-blue, darkest on 
the chest, and approaching greyish-white on the abdomen. Bill 
dark brown, the basal half of the lower mandible lighter coloured ; 
tarsus dark grey. Dimensions in inches :—Length, 42; wing, 2%: 
ull, 2% stale tarsus, (3: 


DoLLAR-BirD (Eurystomus pacificus). 

One bird noticed on Mast-Head Island, and a flock of five or six 
passed over North-West Island, apparently migrating. 

* A skin in the Melbourne Museum, from Fiji, supposed to be Z. flawiceps (Peale), 


resembles exactly the Capricorns bird. 72. flaviceps = Z. westernensis. (See Brit. 
Mus. Cat. Birds; 1x., p. 155.) 


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THE EMU, 


PAE xix. 


suo], 


‘92) 44SOU 0} YJMOISIOpPUN SUlIs}US VIOJEq Pur] (VZJayJsHUY VUAIS) 


pasuIm-uMmoig ory ‘(dno1r 9y} Fo sjeayst IayJOo jo yovaq yeordA}) puvjsy profy-seypy 


uo PUPILS 


THE Emu. Vol. X 
PLATE DOG 


Black Oyster-catcher’s (H@matopus unicolor) Nest. 


FROM PHOTOS, BY CHAS, BARRETT, 


Vol. X. 


are ] CAMPBELL AND WHITE, Birds on Capricorn Group. 197 


SACRED KINGFISHER (Halcyon sanctus). 


Some Kingfishers were noticed about the islands similar to the 
ordinary Sacred species, but more brownish about the breast and 
flanks. Notwithstanding three struck the steamer’s lights one 
night as she was riding at anchor off the island (proving a migra- 
tory disposition), some of these birds remain to breed on the 
Capricorns, because a nest containing eggs was observed on North- 
West Island. The nesting-place was a hollow limb of a Pisonia 
free. 


BROAD-BILLED BRONZE-CuCKOO (Chalcococcyx lucidus). 


Several beautiful Bronze-Cuckoos, in uniform metallic-green upper 
plumage, were observed, and specimens secured. These birds were 
exceedingly tame, catching insect prey near our camps. By dress 
and song it is not the Bronze-Cuckoo (C. plagosus) of southern parts, 
but is nearest in description to the New Zealand Shining Cuckoo 
(C. luctdus). In this opinion Mr. A. W. Milligan and other experts 
share. The winter home of the New Zealand species is supposed to 
be Northern Queensland and New Guinea ; if that be so the Capri- 
corns would be within the fly-line,* while October is about the time 
these Cuckoos reach New Zealand. The finding of these birds at 
the Capricorns is one of the interesting features of the expedition 
of the R.A.O.U. 


SQUARE-TAILED CUCKOO (Cacomantts vartolosus). 

One or two observed, and a skin procured for museum purposes. 
KoeL (Eudynamts cyanocephala). 

This curious Cuckoo was not observed on North-West Island, but 
a shining black male was observed on Tryon Island. Probably 
more were about, but, being alarmed, retired into the denser scrub. 
What appeared to be a female Koel was noticed on Heron Island. 


BARRED-SHOULDERED DOVE (Geopelia humeralis). 


Several of these Doves were observed on Mast-Head Island, 
where a nest and eggs were photographed in a low bush. Very 
few of these birds were observed on North-West Island. Evi- 
dently wild domestic cats have exterminated them several times, 
but a few odd birds find their way from the other islands. This 
bird was found on Tryon Island. 

PecTorAL Ratt (Hypotemdia philippinensis). 

Rails with squeaking notes were frequently heard calling, and 
on two occasions nests with eggs were found. Several dry car- 
casses or remains of Pectoral Rails were seen in the scrub on Mast- 
Head Island. As there were no cats or other enemies likely to 
kill these birds in this secure retreat, it was a mystery how they 
came to be destroyed. None was observed on North-West Island, 
where the cats had destroyed the species; but on Tryon Island 
Rails were exceedingly plentiful—in fact, so many in such a small 


*In this connection, see late Capt. Hutton’s Presidential Address, Amex, vol. iv., 


Pp. 93+ 


Lee i r Dy . Emu 
198 CAMPBELL AND WHITE, Birds on Capricorn Group. | 1. Tec. 


area as to excite wonder. A specimen was prepared, and found to 
be an exceedingly robust form, leading the mainland type in weight 
by many ounces. The rufous marking was rich and pronounced. 
The bird was in splendid condition. 


PIED OysTER-CATCHER (Ha@matopus longirosiris). 
Sooty OYSTER-CATCHER (H@matopus unicolor). 


Both these well-known species were noted at intervals round the 
islands, and were breeding, fully-fledged young and eggs both 
being observed. The Sooty birds were scarcer and not so con- 
fiding as the Pied variety. 

TURNSTONE (Arenaria interpres). 

A fair number of these birds was seen on the sandy beaches of 
Mast-Head, North-West, and Tryon Islands. They appeared to 
have just arrived, in company with other Waders, from their 
Northern breeding haunts, and could have had but scant rest or 
nourishment on the way down, for they were very light and- poor. 


LESSER GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrius dominicus). 


A good many of these Plovers were on the beach at Mast-Head 
and North-West Islands when we arrived, and every day brought 
fresh arrivals, in an exhausted state. Several of the specimens 
taken had much of their black Siberian plumage remaining, and 
in one instance the bird was nearly in its summer dress, its breast 
being almost black. Plentiful also on Tryon Island. 


CoMMON SANDPIPER (Tvingoides hypoleucus). 
ORIENTAL DotTTREL (Ochthodromus veredus). 
GREY-RUMPED SANDPIPER (Heteractitis brevipes). 


These three other migratory species mingled in flocks with Turn- 
stones and Golden Plovers, and were gathered on the reefs at low 
tide and on the strands at high water. A specimen of the 
Grey-rumped Sandpiper was taken on shore amongst the 
grass, evidently exhausted after a long flight. It was in good 
plumage, but in poor condition. Soon it revived, and was set at 
liberty. The Dottrel was identified beyond doubt at both camps 
—Mast-Head and North-West. 

A grey-rumped Sandpiper was fairly numerous, which we could 
only refer to the above-named species, notwithstanding the legs 
were not so reddish in colour as some authorities describe them. 


LitTLE STINT (Limonites ruficollis). 


These small migrants are usually seen in flocks, but two only were 
noticed at Mast-Head Island. Drs. Macgillivray and Dobbyn 
observed numbers further north (see page 228). 

CURLEW (Numenius cyanopus). 
WHIMBREL (Numenius variegatus). 
A few Curlews were noticed on the islands. On North-West 


Island a small flock was seen the day the expedition arrived, but, 
being timid birds, they departed, and were not observed again. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XxXl, 


“WWAasdWVO ‘'f V Ad ‘OLOHd Y WOXS 


‘9911 snUPPUE Ul JSON (V4IVS YYAASAIWMAC) S,WOIOFI-JOOX TAA 


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THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PEATE Sade 


Young (white phase) of Reef-Heron (Demiegretta sacra). 


Brown-winged Tern (Sterna anestheta). 


FROM PHOTOS, BY CHAS. BARRETT. 


Volt ex: 
1910 


‘| CAMPBELL AND WuiteE, Birds on Capricorn Group. 199 
A specimen was shot at Gladstone (mainland) for museum pur- 
poses. 

The few Whimbrels observed were exceedingly wild. 


BLACK-TAILED GoDwIT (Limosa limosa). 


Several of these birds were seen, a specimen procured, and 
its identity proved beyond doubt. On North-West Island, on one 
occasion when the camp was deserted, some Godwits were ob- 
served walking about between the tents, almost lost in the high 
grass. There appears to be a variation of this form, or else the 
male bird is much smaller and shows a strongly defined line of 
white from the base of the bill to the back of the head. 


BARRED-RUMPED GODWIT (Limosa nove-zealandie). 


Solitary birds or pairs of this species perambulated the beaches, 
and now and again were observed thrusting their long bills into the 
dry sand. What food could they possibly obtain there ? 

These Godwits, being great wanderers, interested us much. 
They have been found as far south as Campbell Island, one of the 
sub-antarctic islands of New Zealand.* They breed in the high 
north of Eastern Siberia. No collection yet contains the eggs of 
this species. The ancient Middendorff has figured an egg, but 
does not describe it—merely mentioning that the nest is difficult 
to find on the marshy meadows of the tundras. 

The difference in the sizes of the sexes was very noticeable. 
Dimensions in inches :—Male.—Length, 12; culmen, 3.15; wing, 
8.75; tail, 3; tarsus, 2.15. Female.—Length, 16; culmen, 3.75; 
wing, 9.2; tail, 3; tarsus, 2.25. 


CRESTED TERN (Sterna bergit). 

LESSER CRESTED TERN (Sterna media). 
BLACK-NAPED TERN (Sterna melanauchen). 
WHITE-SHAFTED TERNLET (Sterna sinensis). 


“Noises of the Night ’’ would have proved quite an article in 
itself were a graphic description written of all the sounds—in 
addition to those of wind and wave—that were heard on, say, 
for instance, Mast-Head Island. Added to the hundreds of 
voices o: the White-capped Noddies and Brown-winged Terns, 
not to mention the incoming Mutton-Birds (Petrels), there could 
be heard the querulous cries—an indescribable din—of Crested, 
Lesser Crested, and Black-naped Terns, as they rose in crowds 
from the sandy corners where they congregated, especially at 
high tide. 

During the day, when the tide was out, the Terns were more 
scattered over the reefs, or were away fishing. There were no 
signs of nesting; but it was a splendid sight to witness isolated 
mated pairs of the large Crested Terns in the morning, mounting 
in spiral form and sailing on high, sometimes mere specks against 
the blue sky. Every now and again a couple would simultaneously, 


* «* Nests and Eggs ” (Campbell), p, S09. 


Emu 
ist Dec. 


200 CAMPBELL AND WHITE, Birds on Capricorn Group. 
with perfect unity of action, set their lengthened pinions at a 
certain angle with the wind, wheel, and descend so rapidly that 
the cleavage of the air caused a humming sound like that of a 
distant deep-toned siren of a steamer. 


BROWN-WINGED TERN (Sterna anestheta). 

On Mast-Head, on the 11th October, the first Brown-winged or 
Panayan Terns were observed on shore amongst the Pandanus 
roots selecting nesting sites, and many were flushed in the evening 
from the ground scrub. Afterwards a few were seen flying by day, 
but by night they were heard by hundreds, judging by their sharp, 
puppy-like, barking notes and gurgling calls. These graceful 
Terns apparently arrive after dark to select their nesting-places 
—merelv a hollow on the bare sand underneath vegetation, par- 
ticularly under the stiff aerial roots of the pandanus palms, from 
which secure hiding-places queer crooning noises of devoted pairs 
issued. When daylight arrived all the Brown-wings were silent, 
and many had departed for sea. However, on Mast-Head we were 
too early, by a few days,* for the first of their single eggs. 

Small numbers of Brown-winged Terns were observed at one 
end of North-West Island. 


WHITE-CAPPED Noppy (Mzcranous leucocapillus). 


Mast-Head Island. — Almost everywhere on land, built on 
bushes or in trees, singly or in clusters, placed on boughs or in 
forks, were the nests of the graceful little White-capped Noddy, 
the silvery-white crown of the head contrasting to advantage, 
especially in the sunlight, with the otherwise dark plumage of the 
bird. The nests were from 7 to 9g inches across and slightly con- 
cave, and composed of flat, broad, dead leaves, matted together 
when moist. The Noddies were not easily disturbed from their 
nests, allowing observers to pass quite close to them before flush- 
ing. It was extremely interesting to watch the process of nest- 
building and the courting of mated pairs, and to listen to their 
curious frog-like croakings and calls. But the most interesting 
sight of all was to watch the Noddies going out at early morn to 
feed in the open seas beyond the reefs. From daylight to sunrise, 
on easy wing, the birds flew out in continuous crowds, reminding 
one of the wonderful flights of “‘ Mutton-Birds”’ (Petrels). Again 
at evening the myriads of homeward-hurrying forms appeared 
like swarms of gnats against the roseate-tinted sky as we stood 
at one end of the island facing the dying day. When we first 
landed on Mast-Head Island (8th October) none of the Noddies 
had laid, although many nests were apparently ready. On the 
11th one egg was found, the following day 36 were reported, and 
again the next day 84. Afterwards the eggs became numerous. 
The Noddies lay a single egg only. Noddies were observed on 
Mast-Head, Heron, and North-West Islands. 


* Drs. Macgillivray and Dobbyn procured eggs 9 days later (20th) at the northern 
end of the Barrier (see page 220). 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXIII: 


Nest of White-capped Noddy (Micranous leucocapillus). 


FROM A PHOTO. BY A. J. CAMPBELL. 


| 


. 
be 


gen Rech ote 


a 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXIV. 


Y 
AF, 


Miwa s 
PALE 
Wi il, ft 


14 


Silver Gull’s (Larus nove-hollandig) Nest at foot of Sheoak (Casuarina) 
sapling. 


FROM A PHOTO. BY CHAS, BARRETT. 


Verio | CAMPBELL AND Ware, Birds on Capricorn Group. 201 


North-West Island.—On our arrival at North-West Island im- 
mense numbers of Noddies had congregated on the island, and 
were to be found at any time during the day perched on the limbs 
of the Pisonta and fig trees. Many had little collections of dead 
Pisoma leaves in the forks, or anywhere they could get a hold. 
On these clumps of leaves or close by the birds sat in pairs, billing 
and cooing to each other, and at other times giving forth deep 
croaking calls, or, when alarmed, rushing off with great flapping 
of wings and deep screechings. Orders were given not to dis- 
turb them, in hopes they would lay before we returned. How- 
ever, up to the time we left the birds still moped in pairs on the 
limbs, went and came from the sea beyond, and were joined by 
ever-increasing numbers each day, and still they showed no signs 
of laying. On our departure (17th October) two females, on 
dissection, proved the ovaries were not at all advanced. Probably 
these birds would not have laid for the next two or three weeks 
at least. This was remarkable when one knows that at this date 
birds of the same species were laying in hundreds on Mast-Head 
Island, only 15 miles away. The cats introduced on to North- 
West Island are responsible for great havoc amongst these birds 
of peaceful disposition. 


SILVER GULL (Larus nove-hollandia). 


These beautiful although marauding Gulls were breeding at 
intervals round Mast-Head Island, where their nests were pic- 
turesquely constructed amongst the herbage or sheltered beneath 
a sheoak (Casuarina) sapling. No doubt the Gulls are very de- 
structive to the eggs of the other kinds of birds frequenting the 
island. Judging by the manner they hawked over the Pisonia 
and other trees, the harmless little Noddies were probably special 
victims of the Gulls. Young in down, as well as eggs, of the Gulls 
were noted. 

Several small communities of these Gulls frequented the sandy 
beaches of North-West and Tryon Islands, but no sign of nesting 
was observed there. 


WEDGE-TAILED PETREL (Pu/finus sphenurus). 


Before we reached the Capricorns we were informed that the 
common Mutton-Bird (Puffinus tenwrostris) bred there. Not 
so; we found the species to be the Wedge-tailed Petrel (P. 
sphenurus), a more slender bird, with light-coloured feet. The first 
birds were discovered in the burrows on the 14th October. After 
that date the incoming of birds at night made observations in- 
teresting, especially if flapping forms entered our tents, while 
out of the darkness round about came rude and weird music— 
squealing cries and other uncanny noises—from the dusky- 
coloured Petrels. These Mutton-Birds came in to renovate their 
old burrow-nests of last season, which honeycombed the sandy 
earth everywhere throughout the island (Mast-Head), particularly 
under the Pisonia forest, where at almost every step the observer 
plunged his leg knee-deep in sand through the subsidence, under 


Emu 
1st Dec. 


202 CAMPBELL AND WHITE, Birds on Capricorn Group. [ 
his weight, of a subterranean burrow. Again we were too early 
for the harvest of eggs for food or for the collection. Probably 
these Petrels would commence to lay about the middle of Novem- 
ber, if not sooner. 

North-West Island Observations.—On our arrival at North-West 
Island not a Petrel was to be seen, although one was falling up to 
the thigh in their burrows at every second step. We were more 
than anxious to solve the doubt of the species which selected these 
islands to breed, as some persons were under the impression that it 
was our common Mutton-Bird (P. tenwirostris). Fortunately, four 
days before we left two partially-eaten birds (killed by cats) were 
brought in, and their black bills and flesh-coloured feet solved the 
mystery. Next day burrows were seen cleaned out, and on the 
following evening great numbers came in to renovate their breeding- 
holes, and the morning we left birds were trying to climb over 
our tents in their efforts to get to the sea just at the break of day. 
We did not see the birds on Tryon Island, but that island is honey- 
combed with burrows. 

A critical examination of the skins of this Petrel has, we think, 
cleared up some important doubts. In the first place the birds, 
with their dark bills, agree with Gould’s figures (‘‘ Birds of Aus- 
tralia,’ vol. vii., pl. 58), but it is unfortunate that the great 
ornithologist has allowed “ bill reddish-fleshy ’’ to creep into his 
accompanying letterpress. This must have been merely a slip 
of the pen, because Mr. A. J. Campbell obtained similar birds 
with dark bills on Abrolhos Islands, W.A.,* where Gilbert pro- 
cured Gould’s types of Puffinus sphenurus. 

Dr. F. Du Cane Godman, in his recently published and excellent 
‘““Monograph of the Petrels,’ + sinks the name sphenwrus in favour 
of chlororhynchus, and figures the bird with a reddish bill, from 
the Seychelles Archipelago. 

Puffinus chlororhynchus may, as Gould stated, frequent Aus- 
tralian seas,{t but the birds which breed on the islands imme- 
diately off both the east and west coasts of Australia undoubtedly 
are P. sphenurus, according to Gould’s original figures. 

It is interesting to note (page 226) that on Raine Island, at the 
other end of the Great Barrier Reef, between 800 and goo miles 
north, Drs. Macgillivray and Dobbyn procured the same species of 
Mutton-Bird (the dark-billed one) as was secured on the Capri- 
corns ; therefore it is reasonable to suppose that this species breeds 
along those leagues of sea on many islets suitable to its purpose. 
Specimens from the Capricorns and Raine Island are identical in 
measurements, namely (in inches) :—length, 16; wing, 112; bill 
(2.e., culmen), 12; tail, 6; tarsus, 1; middle toe and claw, 23. 
General Description.— All upper surface dark «chocolate-brown or 
sooty-black, lighter on the tips of feathers of wing coverts, and 
deepening into black on the primaries and tail; chin and throat 

*«* Proc. A. A. A. Science,” vol. ii. (1890), p. 495. 


+ Part ii., p. 84, pl. 24. 
+ ‘* Handbook Birds of Australia,” vol. ii., p. 406. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXvV. 


(PID ‘snanuayds snulng) jeeq P2TIe}-98p9 MA 


11Lauuva 


“SVHO AS 


“OLOHd WY WOHS 


mea ereea + 


a“ 


| 


Vol. X. . . . 
10 ] CAMPBELL AND WHITE, Birds on Capricorn Group. 203 


dark grey; rest of under surface greyish-brown; bill dark horn 
or bone brown ; tarsus and feet (living specimens) fleshy-white or 
yellowish-flesh colour, with black mottlings down the whole of the 
outer side of the tarsus and outer toe to the base of last phalanx ; 
toes whitish.* 


REEF-HERON (Demuegretta sacra). 


Reef-Herons in phases of plumage pure white and slate-coloured 
respectively were flushed frequently from their stick-constructed 
nests hidden in a thick bush or among the stiff frondage of pan- 
danus palms. Occasionally a nest was situated on the ground 
under a bush. The nests contained either a pair or three eggs, 
sometimes a young one of quaint appearance. (See Plate XXII.) 

One of the islands which we visited, named Heron Island, was 
so called by the early explorers because of the numbers of these 
birds found thereon. 

Both blue and white Reef-Herons + were found on North- 
West Island, but not nesting. On Tryon Island many hundreds of 
both coloured kinds congregated on the south side for the pur- 
pose of rearing their young. Their nests, invariably placed in a 
depression in the ground, were composed of sticks amongst a mass 
of tangled creepers and running vegetation, or under a low and 
wide-spreading bush. The broad leaves and flower-heads of this 
bush (Tournefortia argentea) screened the eggs from the quick- 
eyed Silver Gull. In most cases the nests contained young, and 
at the sight of man these ungainly, almost naked birds sneaked 
off into the undergrowth. Several nests were seen containing two 
eggs, and but one with three eggs. 


PIED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax hypoleucus). 
BLACK CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax carbo). 


Usually at evening small numbers of the Pied Cormorant crossed 
our camping quarters, evidently flying to roost on some favoured 
islet nearer the Barrier Reef; and on North-West Island a bird 
of the large Black variety was disturbed from its perch on a dead 
tree near the water. 


BROWN GANNET (Sula leucogaster). 


A carcass of this inter-tropical species of wide range was found 
on Mast-Head Island, while at North-West Island a bird answering 


* The specimen I brought from Western Australia, which is in the National 
Museum, Melbourne, is similar, but slightly lighter coloured in plumage, no doubt 
due to being exposed in the case for 20 years. Dimensions :—Wing, 11% ; 
bill, 1% ; tail, 5%; tarsus, 13¢ ; middle toe and claw, 2 inches. Regarding the 
range of habitat eastward of +. sphenurus, I have received specimens of bird and 
eggs taken on Surprise Island, in the region of New Caledonia. —A. J. C. 


+I made close observation of these birds, and in my mind there is no doubt what 
ever that the white birds are a distinct species from the blue. I dissected mature 
males and females, white and blue. I flushed white birds from their nests with white 
young, and blue birds from large young of a darker colour. No one during the 
expedition observed a bird of mixed colour.—sS. A. W. 


204 CAMPBELL AND WuirteE, Birds on Capricorn Group. ee ees 


to the description of this Gannet was seen flying low over the 
water one evening. 


LESSER FRIGATE-BirRD (Fregata amnel). 


Every evening about dusk a small flock of these fine birds, well 
known for their trait of robbing other  birds,* used to circle 
over our island, allowing us to admire the inimitable grace and 
ease of their movements. We succeeded in discovering their 
roosting-place—tall casuarinas at the other (east) end of the 
island, where, on more than one occasion, we distinctly saw their 
lengthened forms silhouetted against a brilliant moon. 

Frigate-Birds were not observed on North-West Island, but a 
dead bird was examined on Tryon Island. 


Concluding Note-—Having enumerated the 40 species of birds 
identified during a brief visit to these islands, we venture to believe 
that the observations recorded concerning the White- “ever New 
Zealand Bronze-Cuckoo, and the Wedge-tailed Petrel are, in the 
interests of ornithology, alone well worth the trouble and expense 
of the members who formed the R.A.O.U. Expedition to the 
Capricorns. 


Description of a New Queensland Lorikeet. 
By D. LE Sovér, R.A.O.U., MELBOURNE. 


TRICHOGLOSSUS COLESI, 1. sp. 


The head, sides of the face, and throat dull blue, with a lighter 
stripe down the centre of each feather ; bill reddish-brown, lighter 
at the tip and with a short longitudinal yellow line at the curve ; 
lower mandible lighter than the upper one ; eyes light yellow, and 
the bare space round them blackish; a narrow yellowish-green 
band across the occiput, with some of the feathers finely tipped 
with dark blue; all the upper surface green, but most of the 
feathers crossed with a dark band, edged with a narrow one, 
giving the back a mottled appearance ; upper secondaries marked 
in the same way, and show a distinct dark band; the slightly 
spatulate tips of the lower secondaries marked with blue, as well 
as the tips of some of the feathers on the shoulder ; the green of 
the outer edging of the primaries also has darker shadings ; their 
inner webs are black, crossed by a broad band of bright yellow : 
upper tail coverts mostly tipped with blue; the four centre tail 
feathers green throughout, and the four feathers on each side of 
them have their outer web green and with a portion of their inner 
web bright yellow, and edged to the tip ; these eight feathers are also 
spatulate. Under tail coverts reddish at their base, then yellow, fol- 


* See Dr. Macgillivray’s remarks, page 228, 
' Notwithstanding so sound an authority as Mr. A. J. North states that “* Zoster ops 
westernensis is only the spring and summer livery of Z. /ateralis (caralescens).”— 
‘ Nests and Eggs of Birds,” vol. ii., p. 210. 


Vol. X. 


ae ] LE SovuEF, Description of a New Queensland Lorikeet. 205 
lowed by green and tipped with blue ; feathers of the abdomen grey 
at their base, then crossed by a reddish band, and the end blue: 
the scarlet feathers of the breast mostly tipped with blue, and 
some with a narrow band across them, giving them a slightly scaly 
appearance ; sides under the shoulder of the wing are also similar, 
but the scarlet feathers on the upper portion of the under surface 
of the wing have no markings on them; a very few feathers on 
the upper breast are broadly tipped with yellow; feet and toes 
blackish ; flesh pink, not dark red, as in 7. nove-hollandiea ; the 
breast-bone 4 inch shorter than in that bird. 

Total length, 11; wing, 52; tail, 43; tarsus, 4; culmen, 
2 inches. 

This interesting bird is one of the results of the visit to Queens- 
land of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union for their 
annual meeting and working camp outing. One of its members, 
Mr. Clifford Coles, of Sydney, shot the new bird at Gladstone on 
8th November, and it is with pleasure that I name it after him, 
who, with his father and brothers, has been well known to Aus- 
tralian ornithologists for many years. 

This bird probably ranges over the greater portion of Eastern 
Queensland, and its nearest ally is 7. nove-hollandie. 


Birds of the Blackalls. 
BY} Wa MELttor, KA.OlU:. ADELATDE: 


AFTER members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union 
had investigated bird-life on the Capricorn Islands, off the coast 
of Queensland, during the tenth session, it was thought a good 
opportunity, while returning to Brisbane, to study the habits of 
tropical land-birds by visiting the Blackall Ranges ; and, accord- 
ingly, several members left the main party on the southward 
journey from Gladstone, and spent an exceedingly pleasant and 
profitable fortnight at the northern extremity of these wild 
ranges, where no less than 75 species of birds were identified by 
myself, while a number of others were recognized by the settlers 
as being present at one or other time of the year, but were not 
seen during the all too brief time at our disposal. 

Cooroy, the more recently opened up country, was our objec- 
tive, it being on the main railway line between Brisbane and Rock- 
hampton, about 80 miles north of the northern capital, and situated 
at the highest point above sea-level that this line attains. The 
weather was crisp and clear, and a bright moon was shining, when, 
between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning of 20th October, the ex- 
press train, by special request, pulled up at Cooroy station, and 
We were roused from our snug sleeping berths, which the Queens- 
land Government had so thoughtfully provided for us, in addition 
to passes over their northern lines. Our baggage and effects, 
which were not inconsiderable, were quickly hauled on to the 


206 MELtoR, Birds of the Blackalls. it Dee 


siding, and the train sent on its way again, in less time than one 
can relate it, and we were left cold and shivering in a strange land ; 
but Mr. G. E. M‘Donald was on the platform to meet us, and 
we were soon tramping along the line, loaded with our small 
luggage, and, after covering a mile, we arrived at his hospitable 
home and selection, ‘‘ Levenholme,’’ where Mrs. M‘Donald had 
thoughtfully prepared us a cup of hot tea and “cookies” 
before we retired to cosy beds. Cooroy, from what can be 
seen, will soon be the headquarters of a profitable and rising 
dairying industry, as the land is being cleared and sown with 
grass, upon which the cattle thrive exceedingly well. The only 
regret one has is the thought that all the beautiful timber 
should be cut down and burned, which otherwise might be used 
for commercial purposes—fine forest monarchs some 300 feet high 
going down before the selector’s axe to produce the pastoral land. 

Next morning we were up betimes and making our acquaint- 
ance with the birds, the hearty voices of the Laughing Jackasses 
(Dacelo gigas) greeting us from the dry trees of the “ clearing” 
near, where, high up, in a large hollow, they were seeking their 
nesting quarters. The pretty Forest Kingfisher (Halcyon mac- 
leayt) also had its home in a hole burrowed out of a large white 
ants’ nest, many of which hung on the trees scores of feet from 
the ground. The nests of these birds, therefore, are extremely 
hard to reach, and are generally safe, except from the ravages of 
the iguana. Many of the reptiles were seen from time to time 
climbing up the high trees in search of the eggs and young birds 
for food. The tree-snakes are also the enemies of the smaller 
kinds of birds, the snakes being able to climb and descend the 
trees with the greatest of ease. Whenever one is on his errand 
the birds make a great noise, and attack it with all their might. 
The Laughing Jackass, with its powerful beak, is generally able 
to make an effectual onslaught, but the smaller birds only worry 
feebly, and endeavour to irritate the snake or iguana. 

Our heavier luggage having arrived, thanks to the generous 
assistance of Mr. J. L. Boden, the local storekeeper, we were able 
to get into our old clothes, and ready for the thick scrub, where 
tangled masses of iawyer vines made progress in places impossible, 
and beneath, in the dark thickets, millions of land-leeches were 
ever ready to attack intruders, with bloodthirsty intent. Sores 
thus produced itch unbearably even weeks after. Another pest 
in these regions is a tick, which thrusts its barbed proboscis into 
one’s flesh. Some force is needed to induce the insect to let go its 
hold. Sometimes its head will be left behind, and so produce a 
nasty fester. These insects often prove fatal to dogs, and even 
calves and foals fall victims to the ravages of this little pest. 

Our general time for bird study was first thing in the morning, 
when the surrounding scrub seemed full of melodious notes. 
The Rifle-Bird (Piilorhis paradisea) was present, but not plentiful. 
Its presence is generally made known by the peculiar note that 
the male bird utters, being something between a harsh screech 


Vol. X. MELtLor, Birds of the Blackalls: 207 


1910 


and the whirring noise of a_ strong clock spring suddenly 
unwinding, the note being extremely difficult to imitate, and 
generally made in the thick scrub. At times the mature males, 
in all their glory of velvety-black and burnished steel-blue, will 
come out on some extremely high dead tree, and there “ perform.” 
On one occasion I was entertained for over an hour in watching 
the antics of a fine male bird in his endeavours to fascinate the 
female. He would bow and scrape, proceeding and receding at 
times with his wings thrown right up over his head until the tips 
met, and with the bright morning sun shining on his burnished 
breast-plate and helmet. At one time a fine male Regent-Bird 
came within his reach, and the Rifle-Bird also “ performed’’ to 
it, the pair making a picture that will long remain in my memory. 
I left the birds unmolested. The KRegent-Bird (Sericulus 
meiimus) was fairly plentiful, but the well-plumaged males were 
very shy and wary, and it was only with difficulty that I got a 
couple of specimens for museum purposes by “ planting’’ near 
a feeding-tree and waiting until the birds arrived. I saw several 
females carrying sticks for nesting, but did not succeed in finding 
a nest, as the scrub is extensive and dense. Wishing to secure 
a pair of the Purple-breasted Fruit-Pigeons (Megaloprepia mag- 
nifica), commonly known as the “‘ Whampoo,”’ on account of their 
deep note, we set out one morning for a thick patch of scrub about 
3 miles from Cooroy, and it was not long before we came upon 
these splendid Pigeons, with their bright green backs, with royal 
purple and rich yellow beneath, their presence being made known 
by the ‘“whampoo”’ note uttered at long intervals ; and but for 
this the birds would go almost unseen, on account of their keeping 
to the topmost branches of the highest forest trees, about 200 feet 
up, and their colour harmonizing so well with the green of the 
foliage. They feed on the fruit of the gigantic parasitic fig-tree, 
which they swallow whole. In this locality the large Topknot- 
Pigeon (Lopholemus antarcticus) was noted flying high in little 
flocks of about half a dozen. These birds do not lay here, but 
go further north when the breeding season arrives. 

The most plentiful Pigeon in the jungle was the beautifully 
coloured Pink-crowned Fruit-Pigeon (Ptilinopus swainson). The 
comparatively loud “cooing”? note of this bird was heard on 
every hand, but it was seldom seen, except when it flew from one 
tree to another in search of food; the beautiful shade of green 
of its plumage acted as a perfect protective colouration in the 
high trees which it inhabited. The Pheasant-tailed Pigeon (Macro- 
pygia phasianella) was seen on more than one occasion, its note 
being peculiar, and resembling the words “ Too-hoot, too-hoot.”’ 
The Little Green-Pigeon (Chalcophaps chrysochlora) was more 
eround-loving in its habits, often coming to the settlers’ sheds to 
get the wheat and maize that were scattered to feed the fowls. 
This pretty Pigeon would often run along the track in front of 
us, fly a few dozen yards ahead when we approached too 
near, alight again, and repeat its little run along the road, 


208 Mettor, Birds of the Blackalls. zn 


ist Dec. 


The last and least of the Pigeon family seen was the little peace- 
ful Ground-Dove (Geopelia tranquila). It is exceedingly tame, 
and its plaintive note, especially that of the male—‘‘ Colly-whoop, 
colly-whoop, colly-whoop ’’—reminded us of more interior locali- 
ties where the bird is very abundant. 

I was surprised to find the Honey-eaters scarce, as far as species 
were concerned, as only one was seen — viz., the Yellow-eared 
(Ptilotis lewint), which made up for the scarcity of its allies in 
being seen in every locality visited, from the open and forest country 
to the densest of dense jungle. We had not been in the scrubs 
long before the Noisy Pitta (Pitta strepitans) was heard calling 
to its mate. This bird is usually krown locally as the “ Dragoon- 
Bird.” It is extremely shy and wary, keeping to the thickest 
scrubs; but I soon saw a bird by imitating its call—‘‘ Whit, 
whit, wee-e-e-oo,”’ also ‘‘ Whit-whit-whit.” The bird is very 
cautious. when it gets within a hundred yards of you, and 
will then stop answering, and will make a detour of the locality 
where you are hiding, keeping up the call; its presence is 
eventually made known by the bird darting along the ground, 
the beautiful bright blue patch on its shoulders flashing in the 
light as it half runs, half flies, through the dense undergrowth 
of tangled lawyer vines and other thorned and jagged plants. 
The Pitta lives principally on the shell-snails, it having special 
stones whereon to crack them, and here the remains of many 
varieties of shells are often found. White Cockatoos (Cacatua 
galerita) were very plentiful, their harsh calling ‘being almost 
deafening as the mobs congregated in a certain patch of scrub 
not far from Mr. M‘Donald’s house. A pair of Black Cockatoos 
(Calyptorhynchus funereus) was seen on one occasion, but they 
seemed rare at this time of the year. The King Lory (A prosmictus 
cyanopygius) was seen several times flying over the trees, and was, 
in all probability, breeding. Our well-known friend of many 
States, the Crimson Parrakeet (Platycercus elegans), was about 
in pairs seeking nesting hollows, while two Lorikeets—the Scaly- 
breasted (Tvichoglossus chlorolepidotus) and the Blue Mountain 
(I. nove-hollandi@)—were present. 

One of the most comical and inquisitive birds met with in the 
scrub was the Cat-Bird (4luredus viridis). No matter where 
you went, one of these birds would turn up with a truly human- 
like voice of “Here you ar-r-r-r-ah.”’ The Robin family was 
represented in the Yellow-rumped  Shrike-Robin (Eopsaltria 
chrysorrhous) and the Large-headed Robin (Pecilodryas capito). 
The latter was found breeding, the nest being a pretty structure 
of fine shreds covered with bits of green moss, and outside of this 
little pieces of flat bark stuck on to make it appear as its sur- 
roundings : and this, being placed on a lawyer vine midway between 
two trees, was well out of the way of the usual forest robbers. 
The birds were very tame, and would come within a few feet of 
us. Two exquisite little Wrens were noted—the Variegated 
(Malurus lamberti) and the Orange-backed (M. melanocephalus). 


ee MELLoR, Birds of the Blackalls. 209 


The latter, with its black velvety coat relieved with a bright 
orange mantle on the back, looked like a miniature artilleryman 
as it strutted on the fern leaves in company with its little brown 
mate. The Grass-Warbler (Czsticola exilis) was seen in the “bladzy”’ 
grass at “‘ Levenholme,” in which it no doubt builds its tiny 
covered nest and lays its small greenish-blue eggs speckled with 
brown spots. The cumbersome nests of the Yellow-throated 
Scrub-Wren (Sericornis citreogularis) were observed in various 
situations, but the inevitable lawyer cane seemed to be the favourite 
spot, and from the vines of these thickly-barbed plants the domed 
nests were suspended, and looked like large bunches of dark 
fibre, such as would be lodged in the trees by high floods. The 
birds were breeding, as eggs were found in several of these safely- 
guarded homes. The Large-billed Scrub-Wren (Sericornis magni- 
vostyis) was also seen in a number of situations in the scrub. 

Several species of Fantails were conspicuous on account of their 
animated habits, notably the White-shafted (Rhipidura albiscapa). 
The Rufous-fronted Fantail (RAipidura rufifrons) was also common 
—a sprightly creature, ever on the move to catch the small gnats 
and other flying insects that abound near the streams. The 
widely-dispersed Black-and-White Fantail (Rhipidura tricolor) 
was present in more open situations, especially about the home- 
stead clearings, where it was carrying on its usual useful avocation 
of catching flies and other insect pests. Two other Flycatchers— 
the Black-faced (Monarcha melanops) and the Spectacled (Piezo- 
ryhynchus gouldi)—were both fairly abundant in the scrub, as was 
the Brown Fly-eater (Pseudogerygone fusca), this sprightly little 
creature being often met with on the edge of the clearings in small 
companies of three or four. As we wended our way through the 
more open glades o’erspread with stately palms, or threaded a 
path along some “ snigging”’ track, cut for the purpose of timber 
hauling, we ever and anon heard the peculiar whip-like crack of 
the Coachwhip-Bird (Psophodes crefitans), which resounded 
through the trees, answered quickly by the short note of the 
female, sounding like an echo of the swishing note. The Grey 
Shrike-Thrush (Collyriocincla harmonica) was breeding, a nest being 
seen far up in a paper-bark (Melaleuca) tree. The liquid notes 
of the birds were often heard in the dense forest, like the ripple 
of a silvery stream as it flows over a pebbly bed in these sylvan 
glades. The Rufous-breasted Shrike-Thrush (Pinarolestes . rufi- 
gastey) Was on one occasion seen and identified. At night, in a 
“dead tree’”’ clearing, the mournful notes of the Boobook Owl 
(Ninox boobook) were heard, and the bird seen as it flew 
noiselessly past us in the gioaming. A bird noted twice was 
the Pied Caterpillar-eater (Lalage leucomelena). The Dollar-Bird, 
or Roller (Ewrystomus australis), kept in the open country, where 
the dead giants left in the forest clearings provided good 
breeding-holes. 

Birds of prey were present in the Wedge-tailed Eagle (Uvoaétus 
audax), seen soaring aloit on its great wings, while in the scrub 


210 Mettor, Birds of the Blackalls. Pen 


the White Goshawk (Astur nove-hollandi@) was present, also the 
common Goshawk (A. approximans) and the Brown Hawk 
(Hieracidea orientalis). The useful little Kestrel (Cerchnets 
cenchroides) was carrying out its usual good work—catching mice 
in the open glades—hovering above for a second or two, and then 
pouncing down like lightning upon its prey. 

Through the kindness of Mr. A. S. Douglas, a pioneer townsman 
of Cooroy, I was enabled to further study the bird-lite by staying 
two days at his home, about 3 miles out of the town, where Mrs. 
Douglas and their daughter made me welcome. It was easy 
to see that they loved and cared for the birds, for, on entering 
their dining-room, the first thing that caught my eye was a nest 
of the Swallow (Hivundo neoxena) built on the wall, the foundation 
being formed of a picture nail. The female bird was sitting, 
while from a neighbouring point of vantage the male bird 
twittered his song of thanksgiving to those who had so 
generously afforded protection. Mr. Douglas’s home being 
situated among the dense scrub made it extremely good for 
bird-observing, many species coming close to the house to seek 
their food. I noted the Tree-Martin (Petrochelidon nigricans) 
building in the hollow trees, and on one occasion, just prior to 
stormy weather, a number of Spine-tailed Swifts (Chetura 
caudacuta) were hawking high in the air after their usual prey. 
In the scrub near I first noted the Spine-tailed Log-runner 
(Orthonyx spinicaudus) scratching about in the decaying leaves 
in the dense undergrowth in search of the little hoppers which 
live in these damp localities. 

At Mr. M*‘Donald’s house several Swamp-Quail (Synecus 
australis) were so tame that they would come right up to 
the door and feed upon bread-crumbs, as did also the Red- 
browed Finch (4gintha temporalis), while yet another Finch, 
the Chestnut-breasted (Munta castaneithorax), came to eat the 
seeds from introduced grasses in the front garden. At the end 
of the fortnight we were reluctant to leave such a bird-paradise,. 
with the wealth of Nature we had seen during so short a period, 
the memories of which will long remain, and to bid adieu to our 
kind host and hostess and family. Their last cheery words were 
—‘ Now, mind and come again.” : 

The following is a complete list of the birds observed :— 
Uroaétus audax (Wedge-tailed Eagle). 

Hieracidea orientalis (Brown Hawk). 
Cerchneis cenchroides (Kestrel). 

Astur nove-hollandie (White Goshawk): 
A. approximans (Goshawk). 

Ninox boobook (Boobook Owl). 
Chetura caudacuta (Spine-tailed Swift). 
Hivundo neoxena (Welcome Swallow). 
Petrochelidon nigricans (Tree-Martin). 
Eurystomus australis (Dollar-Bird). 
Dacelo gigas (Laughing Jackass). 
Halcyon sanctus (Sacred Kingfisher). 


Vol. X. Mettor, Birds of the Blackalls: 2II 


1910 


H. macleayi (Forest Kingfisher). 

Alcyone azurea (Blue Kingfisher). 

Artamus leucogastey (White-rumped Wood-Swallow). 
Pardalotus punctatus (Spotted Pardalote). 

Strepeva gvaculina (Pied Crow-Shrike). 

Gymnorhina tibicen (Black-backed Magpie). 
Cracticus destructor (Butcher-Bird). 

Grallina picata (Magpie-Lark). 

Graucalus melanops (Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike). 
Lalage leucomelena (Pied Caterpillar-eater). 
Pachycephala guttuvalis (White-throated Thickhead). 
Collyviocincla harmonica (Grey Shrike-Thrush). 

C. rvufigastey (Rufous-breasted Shrike-Thrush). 
Falcunculus frontatus (Yellow-bellied Shrike-Tit). 
Rhipidura albiscapa (White-shafted Fantail). 

R. vufifvons (Rufous-fronted Fantail). 

R. tricoloy (Black-and-White Fantail). 

Monarcha melanopsis (Black-faced Flycatcher). 
Piezorhynchus gouldt (Spectacled Flycatcher). 
Pseudogerygone fusca (Brown Fly-eater). 

Eopsaltvia chrysorrhous (Yellow-rumped Robin). 
Pecilodryas capito (Large-headed Robin). 
Psophodes crepitans (Coachwhip-Bird). 

Malurus lamberti (Variegated Wren). 

M. melanocephalus (Orange-backed Wren). 
Cisticola exilis (Grass-Warbler). 

Sevicornis citreogularis (Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren). 
S. magnirostris (Large-billed Scrub-Wren). 
Acanthiza pusilla (Brown Tit). 

Anthus australis (Pipit). 

Cinclovhamphus cruralis (Black-breasted Song-Lark). 
fEgintha temporalis (Red-browed Finch). 

Munia castaneithorax (Chestnut-breasted Finch). 
Pitta strepitans (Noisy Pitta). 

Piilonorvhynchus violaceus (Satin Bower-Bird). 
AAluredus viridis (Cat-Bird). 

Seviculus melinus (Regent-Bird). 

Mimeta sagittatus (Oriole). 

Sphecotheres maxillaris (Fig-Bird). 

Corone australis (Raven). 

Ptilotis lewint (Yellow-eared Honey-eater). 
Zostervops caerulescens (White-eye). 

Ptilorhis parvadisea (Rifle-Bird). 

Climacteris leucophea (White-throated Tree-creeper). 
Orthonyx spinicaudus (Spine-tailed Log-runner). 
Cacomantis flabelliformis (Fan-tailed Cuckoo). 
Chalcococcyx plagosus (Bronze-Cuckoo). 

Scythvops nove-hollandie (Channelbill). 

Cacatua galevita (White Cockatoo). 

Calyptorhynchus funereus (Black Cockatoo). 
Aprosmictus cyanopygius (King Lory). 

Platycercus elegans (Crimson Parrakeet). 
Trichoglossus nove-hollandie (Blue Mountain Lorikeet). 
T. chlorolepidotus (Scaly-breasted Lorikeet). 
Ptilopus swainsont (Pink-crowned Fruit-Pigeon). 


212 Mettor, Birds of the Blackalls. oat Dee: 


Megaloprepia magnifica (Purple-breasted Fruit-Pigeon, ‘““ Whampoo ’’). 
Lopholemus antarcticus (Topknot-Pigeon). 

Chalcophaps chrysochlova (Little Green-Pigeon). 

Geopelia tranquilla (Ground-Dove) 

Macropygia phasianella (Pheasant-tailed Pigeon). 

Catheturus lathami (Brush-Turkey). 

Synecus australis (Swamp-Quail). 

Dromeus nove-hollandiga (Emu). 


Trip to Tambourine Mountain. 
By Capt. S. A. WHITE, R.A.O.U., ADELAIDE. 


No one interested in natural history who visits Queensland should 
leave that State without exploring one of the sub-tropical scrubs. 
I fear that within a few years there will not be many scrubs 
left near Brisbane, for the land which supports such luxuriant 
vegetation is now being cleared for cultivation purposes. Axe 
and fire are rapidly destroying the primeval forests. It behoves the 
Government to set aside large areas of scrub country as reserves. 
No better scrub could be selected for this purpose than the Tam- 
bourine. It is within easy distance of Brisbane, and a fine health 
resort. I made inquiries in Brisbane ve the Tambourine Mountain, 
and some people told me that they believed it to be a pretty place, 
but had never been there. I called at the Tourists’ Bureau, but 
could gather little information. 

I wrote three days in advance to the keeper of the boarding- 
house at the mount, stating that my wife and I were coming. On 
the appointed morning we caught the early Beaudesert train from 
South Brisbane, which must be one of the slowest trains in Queens- 
land, for it took one hour and a half to cover the first 17 miles. 
In due course we reached the little Logan village, to find that the 
letter I had written three days previously had been carried out in a 
private mail-bag by a horseman early that morning, and would 
not be read till it reached the top of the mountain. There seemed 
little chance of a conveyance being sent for us that day. Had 
we known the state of the roads, and the terrific climb up Tam- 
bourine Mountain, we should not have expected it. As luck would 
have it, a resident of the mountain came in to the railway with 
a load of oranges about 3 p.m., and, after a little explanation, I 
arranged with this mountaineer to convey us in his German 
waggon at least part of the distance. So off we jolted at a fair 
pace. As we journeyed I saw the Blue-faced Honey-eater, Leather- 
head (Friar-Bird), Pheasant Coucal, Temporal Pomatorhinus, 
Pale-headed Parrakeet, Pennant Parrakeet, Red-rumped Parra- 
keet (very plentiful), Miner, and Pencilled Honey-eater. Just at 
sundown we reached the Tambourine Hotel, which is some distance 
from the foot of the mountain. Here we decided to stay the 
night. At dusk great flocks of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets came to 
roost in some gums a short distance from the hotel, and we stood 


Vol. X. 
1910 


Waite, Trip to Tambourine Mountain. 213 
under the trees and listened to their chatterings. On the other 
side of the ridge a very large swamp was situated, and as far as 
we could see around its margin great flocks of Bald-Coots were 
feeding, while the snow-white plumage of Egrets stood out against 
the dark green rushes. 

Next morning, after breakfast, I induced the landlady to give 
us a lift in a springcart for a few miles; then we proceeded on 
foot up the mountain, which rises 2,000 feet, almost perpen- 
dicularly, from the plain. It was a hot day, and the climb was 
a stiff one ; but we soon forgot the heat in admiration of the birds 
around us. The eucalypts were in blossom, and the Blue-bellied 
Lorikeet (Tvichoglossus nove-hollandi@) and Scaly-breasted Lori- 
keet were present in thousands, chattering and screeching The 
clear call of the Forest Kingfisher was heard amongst the timber. 
After a very stiff climb, occupying about two hours, we reached 
the summit and followed the track through some park-like 
country, the Eucalypii and Angophore being gigantic and_pic- 
turesque. Here we heard the Coachwhip-Bird—a sure indication 
of a scrub being near—and, following the direction of the sound, 
we could see between the boles of gigantic trees the graceful 
fronds of the scrub palm, lawyer cane, and other creepers. ‘‘ Capo 
di Monti,” a picturesque building perched on piles, some 15 feet 
from the ground, was reached. After a wash and some lunch we 
were ready for a ramble in the scrub, which came right up to the 
edge of the clearing around the house. At this place we spent 
a few days, never tiring of expeditions into the heart of the vast 
scrub along innumerable bridle paths. Sometimes we came out 
on to the verge of the cliffs to win a magnificent view. From one 
spot, where the cliffs had a sheer face of 2,000 feet, could be seen 
a river winding through the country below, and the high bluff 
of Tweed Heads standing out in the blue distance. The scrub on 
the mountain-top was rich in bird-life. The deep booming note 
of the Purple-breasted Fruit-Pigeon echoed through the lofty fig- 
trees, while the clear call of the Pheasant-tailed Pigeon, and the deep 
cooing of the White-headed Fruit-Pigeon came from the dense 
mass of vines and creepers. Great numbers of Flock-Pigeons 
were alarmed from their feeding-trees. Now and again a Wonga 
Wonga Pigeon passed on swift wings. In the most shady and 
secluded spots a “ pitter patter’’ over dry leaves revealed the 
presence of the pretty little Brush Bronze-wing Pigeon. In the 
same locality, with a long, clear call, repeated many times, that 
lovely little creature known to the settler as the ‘‘ Dragoon-Bird ”’ 
(Noisy Pitta) may be attracted to within a short distance. Another 
little bird which finds its food scratching amongst the dead leaves 
and rotten wood of the scrub is the Spine-tailed Log-runner, called 
by the settler the “ Scrub-Hen.” These birds were building on 
the ground ; nest composed of large masses of leaves and twigs. 

As we rambled along, our attention was often drawn to the 
large, dark-coloured nests, suspended from the lawyer-vine (order 
Palme, species Calamus muellert) of the Yellow-throated Scrub- 


214 Wuite, Trip to Tambourine Mountain. a ue 


Wren, known to the settler as the “ Black-nest-Bird.”’ We were 
often startled by the peculiar call of the Cat-Bird. Leaden Fly- 
catchers flitted from bough to bough, uttering their frog-like 
call, and here and there a pair of White-shafted Fantails would 
be easily detected by their restless motion. We came upon 
deserted mounds of the Brush-Turkey, and caught a glimpse of 
the birds themselves. In the early morning the Lyre-Bird, down 
by the creek, in the thick scrub, imitated the sound of sawing 
and wood-chopping, and now and again the barking of a dog. 

On the edge of a clearing one bright morning a small party of 
Regent-Birds flew up and down from the scrub-trees to their 
feeding-grounds amongst the ink-weed. The harsh call of the 
Rifle-Bird was heard every little while amidst the scrub. The 
male bird seems conscious of his glorious plumage, and keeps high 
up on the tallest trees. He perches across a limb, and only his 
bill on one side and his tail on the other can be seen. In the more 
open gum country the Leach Kingfisher was seen and heard, and 
also the Forest Kingfisher. In the same locality we found the 
Pied Crow-Shrike, its presence being always made known by the 
peculiar noisy call. Amongst the gums the Harmonious Shrike- 
Thrush’s familiar call could be heard. I think that their notes are 
not so clear and liquid as those of birds found further south. I 
observed a bird which I took to be a Frontal Shrike-Tit, and on 
closer inspection found it to be much smaller than our southern 
bird, and with a different note. We observed the Drongo 
on several occasions on the edge of the scrub, but these birds 
were very shy. 

In open gum country Pennant Parrakeets were fairly plenti- 
ful, their crimson bodies and blue wing markings striking a note 
of vivid colour in the landscape. Wherever there were gums in 
flower, flocks of Blue-bellied Lorikeets (Tvichoglossus nove-hollandi@) 
assembled, making a great noise squabbling over food. Another 
scrub bird was the Yellow-breasted Robin, whose beautifully- 
constructed nests were often seen attached to the lawyer vines. 
The Satin Bower-Birds interested me much, and I was fortunate 
in discovering a nest, placed in the fork of a straight eucalypt, 
70 or 80 feet from the ground. After a stiff climb, I reached the 
nest, which was constructed of dry twigs and lined with gum 
leaves. The eggs were of the usual dark colour. Of Raptores 
we saw only the Wedge-tailed Eagle and Nankeen Kestrel. The 
Boobook Owl was heard at night. No Owls were observed on 
the mountain. On the evening of our last day we found a fine 
bower of the Satin Bower-Bird. The twigs were well arched 
over, and the play-ground at either end was decorated with bright 
feathers, snail shells, seeds, glass, pebbles, bright-coloured leaves, 
&c. 

At 3 o’clock on the morning of our departure a terrific thunder- 
storm swept over the mountain, 2} inches of rain falling in 20 
minutes. At 5 o'clock we started to descend the mountain in 
a specially constructed ‘‘ buckboard.’”” When the edge of the 


Viol. «=X, 


‘hic Waite, Trip to Tambourine Mountain. 215 
descent was reached the driver locked the wheels together, and it 
was a sliding journey to the bottom—a very risky performance, 
especially as the storm had blown several trees across the track. 
We reached the railway after a good shaking, and arrived in 
Brisbane safely. 


List of birds observed at the summit of Mt. Tambourine :-— 


Wedge-tailed Eagle (Uvoaétus audax). 

Nankeen Kestrel (Cerchnets cenchroides). 

Boobook Owl (Ninox boobook). 

Leach Kingfisher (Dacelo leacht). 

Forest Kingfisher (Halcyon macleayt). 

Blue Kingfisher (Alcyone azurea). 

Pied Crow-Shrike (Strepera graculina). 

Black-backed Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen). 

Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike (Graucalus melanops). 

Grey Shrike-Thrush (Collyriocichla harmonica). 

Shrike-Tit (Falcunculus frontatus). 

Drongo (Chibia bracteata). 

White-shafted Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa). 

Leaden Flycatcher (Myiagra rubecula). 

Yellow-breasted Robin (Eopsaliria australis). 

Lyre-Bird (Menura alberti). 

Coachwhip-Bird (Psophodes crepitans). 

Variegated Wren (Malurus lambertt). 

Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren (Sericornis citreogularis). 

Noisy Pitta (Pitta strepitans). 

Satin Bower-Bird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus). 

Cat-Bird (4luredus viridis). 

Regent-Bird (Sericulus chrysocephalus). 

Babbler (Pomatorhinus temporalis)—at the foot of mount only. 

White-bearded Honey-eater (Meliornis nove-hollandie). 

Yellow-tufted Honey-eater (Péilotis melanops). 

Friar-Bird (Tvopidorhynchus corniculatus). 

Blue-faced Honey-eater (Entomyza cyanoius)—at the foot of mount 
only. 

Noisy Miner (Myzantha garrula). 

Rifle-Bird (Piilorhis paradisea). 

White-throated Tree-creeper (Climacteris leucophea). 

Spine-tailed Log-runner (Orthonyx temminckt). 

Pheasant Coucal (Centropus phasianus). 

Pennant Parrakeet (Platycercus elegans). 

Pale-headed Parrakeet (P. pallidiceps)—foot of mount only. 

Red-backed Parrakeet (Psephotus hematonotus)—foot of mount only. 

Blue-bellied Lorikeet (Tvichoglossus nove-hollandieg). This bird is 
quite a deep blue. 

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Psitteuteles chlorolepidotus). 

Purple-breasted Fruit-Pigeon (Megaloprepia magnifica). 

Topknot or Flock-Pigeon (Lopholemus antarcticus). 

White-headed Fruit-Pigeon (Columba leucomela). 

Little Green-Pigeon (Chalcophaps chrysochlora). 

Wonga-Wonga Pigeon (Leucosarcia picata). 

Pheasant-tailed Pigeon (Macropygia phasianella). 

Brush-Turkey (Catheturus lathamt). 

Stone-Plover (Burhinus grallarius). 


216 MAcGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barriey Reef. Be 


Along the Great Barrier Reef. 
By (Dr.) Wm. Maccitiivray, R.A.O.U., BROKEN Hi11, N.S.W. 


AFTER the Brisbane session, accompanied by Dr. E. H. Dobbyn, 
I parted with the other members of the Royal Australasian 
Ornithologists’ Union at Gladstone, when they were leaving on 
the expedition to the Capricorn Group—islands at the southern 
extremity of the Great Barrier Reef—and embarked on the 
Wodonga (8/10/10) for Cooktown, intending to explore orni- 
thologically some of the islands at the northern end of the Barrier 
Reef—nearly a thousand miles from the Jocale of the Capri- 
corns. A vexatious delay of 8 days occurred at Cooktown before 
we could get a suitable boat, and the fact that we had to return 
by the Avamac on 8th November, or wait three weeks longer, 
curtailed our actual cruise amongst the islands to a little more 
than a fortnight. 


AT COOKTOWN. 


On the morning after our arrival in Cooktown we were awake 
early and heard the voices of birds outside our hotel. These proved 
to be the Yellow-bellied Fig-Bird (Sphecotheres flaviventris} and the 
Yellow-eared Honey-eater (Ptilotis lewinr) (analoga ?), both species 
being quite numerous in the street trees. We went out before 
breakfast for a short ramble, our way leading through a group 
of cocoa-nut palms east of the town, where there was a scattered 
undergrowth of lantana and balsam of Peru, in flower. A pair 
of Lesser Golden Plovers (Charadrius dominicus) was flushed from 
a vacant town allotment. More Fig-Birds and the Helmeted 
Friar-Bird (Tvopidorhynchus bucervoides) were seen. After break- 
fast we followed the main street south from the town until we 
entered a patch of tropical scrub. Here we noted, high in the 
trees, especially those in flower, the Brown-backed Honey-eater 
(Glycyphila modesta), Yellow-spotted Honey-eater (Pézlotis analoga), 
Helmeted Friar-Bird (Tvopidorhynchus buceroides), Yellow-throated 
Friar-Bird (Philemon  citreogularis), and Sun-Bird (Cinnyris 
frenatus), a large Moreton Bay chestnut, flowering on trunk and 
branches to their extremities, being a favourite alike of birds 
and gorgeously hued butterflies. The Fruit-Pigeons Chalcophaps 
chrysochlova and Ptilopus ewingi were disturbed from some of the 
trees, and the Yellow Oriole (Oviolus flavicinctus) also was seen, 
and its loud note constantly heard. In the afternoon, in a patch 
of cajaput trees, we flushed the Leach Kingfisher (Dacelo leacht) 
from a hollow. Several more Golden Plovers were noted on 
vacant pieces of ground in and about the town. Many seemed 
to be in pairs, the male in full plumage. 

One day we walked out to the Annan River, about 4 miles south 
of the town, and noted on the way many Lorikeets (Tvichoglossus 
nove-hollandie) feeding on the blossoming trees, together with 
other honey-loving forms, such as Fig-Birds, Friar-Birds, Sun- 
Birds, and White-throated Honey-eaters (Melithreptus albigularis), 


a MaccILiivray, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 2g 


IgI0 


Black-faced and White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrikes (Graucaius melanops 
and /ypoleucus) and Orioles (Oviolus affints and flavicinctus), 
the Drongo, and the Kingfishers Halcyon sanctus and macleayt. 
Along the banks of the Annan were a few Egrets (Herodias timort- 
ensis). We followed up the southern bank for some miles, and 
disturbed a Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus), besides 
noting the Flycatchers Rhipidura dryas and Myiagra rubecula and 
some common forms. On the mangrove flats Curlews and 
Whimbrels were feeding in numbers, whenever the tide was out, 
in company with other Waders. In a patch of scrub near the 
racecourse we came across a nest of the Plumed Frogmouth 
(Podargus papuensis), with the bird sitting on it. The nest, of 
small sticks and twigs, was compactly put together, and placed 
in an upright fork of a pandanus tree at a height of about 15 feet. 
It measured 4 inches in external depth, 7 inches in diameter across 
the top; the egg cavity was 4 inches in diameter and I inch in 
depth, and contained one fresh egg. The Leaden Flycatcher was 
frequently noted in the more open scrubs. 


AMONG THE ISLANDS. 


We were pleased to embark on the Io-ton cutter T/isile, with 
“Bob” M‘Masters, the owner, in charge, and a crew of two— 
George, an aged aboriginal from the Cairns district, who had spent 
most of his life on the smaller coastal craft, and Billy, a young 
black from near Cape Flattery, who had formerly been employed 
as a diver tor béche-de-mer. 

We had to beat out against a fairly rough sea after leaving the 
mouth of the Endeavour River till we rounded Cape Bedford, 
when we made good time with the prevailing south-east trade 
wind, passing in succession several low woody islands, favoured 
resorts of the Torres Strait or Nutmeg Pigeon (Myrtsticivora 
spilorrhoa) for roosting and nesting purposes. This fine Pigeon 
is as big as the largest of our domestic Pigeons, creamy-white 
in colour, with slaty-black wing and tail feathers. It ranges right 
down the coast of Queensland to the neighbourhood of the Mackay 
district, being, however, more numerous in the northern parts. 
They find in the scrubs on the mainland various edible fruits, 
which grow there to profusion, and retire to the islands off the coast 
to roost for the night, often flying Io to 15 miles to do so. As one 
passes up the coast they may frequently be seen, in small flocks of 
from 5 to 20 or more, flying low over the sea to some island. Their 
favourite roosting-place on these islands is amongst the man- 
groves. The birds are good eating, and many are shot for the 
table all along the coast, but with little appreciable effect on their 
numbers, so it is said. On a low sandspit several Pelicans (Pele- 
canus conspicillatus) were observed not long before we rounded 
the bold, rocky headland of Cape Flattery to a safe and sheltered 
anchorage, where we decided to stay the night. A few Reef- 
Herons (Demiegretta sacra) were searching the rocky shore for food, 
and Curlews and Whimbrels the mud flats. 


218 MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barvriev Reef. Mg 


Leaving the bay at daylight, with Lizard Island looming high 
on our right—where the Mrs. Watson tragedy was enacted 30 years 
ago—we stand out till Point Lookout is rounded ; thence north- 
wards, skirting the Turtle Group of islands, we reach the Howick 
Group, numbered from One to Ten. Many sea-birds are noted 
along these islands, notably Noddies (Anous stolidus), Lesser 
Crested Terns (Sterna media) Reef-Herons, and Pelicans. The 
Noddies look quite black when flying, as is their custom, lower to 
the waves than any of the other Terns, and with a quicker flight. 
One cannot help pitying the shoals of smaller fish hunted to the 
surface by large species, there to encounter Terns and other sea- 
birds, who dive incessantly upon them until the whole shoal goes 
below again, leaving the Terns to scatter and scout round until 
the little fishes are hunted to the surface again, when a rallying cry 
from a Tern brings all the others together once more to the attack. 
One wonders whether there is any place of refuge for little fish. 
The Tern secures his prey by diving on to the surface of the sea, 
taking the fish, and instantly swallowing it, for their swallowing 
capacity is great. Occasionally in diving they go com- 
pletely beneath the water, but never to any depth. They rise 
immediately on the wing, shake the water off, and fly on. Only 
once did I see a Tern swimming, and then because it was unable 
to fly. A broad coral reef connects all the Howick Group. As 
we near No. 10, our objective, numbers of Terns are seen hovering 
over it. These, on closer approach, turn out to be mostly Noddies, 
Lesser Crested Terns, and Brown-winged Terns (Sterna anestheta), 
with a few Silver Gulls (Larus nove-hollandia). 

The islet is only about 400 yards long and 150 broad, rising 
about Io feet above high water mark, covered in the centre with 
a low shrubby growth. The Noddies were nesting everywhere— 
on the ground, on the grass, and upon the shrubby herbage a foot 
or more from the ground. The nests were, in nearly every in- 
stance, constructed of sea-weed, with a lining of sea-shells. Some 
birds seemed to be connoisseurs in conchology, as many very 
beautiful shells were to be found on their nests, whereas others 
took no care, lining theirs with only a few broken fragments. The 
nests contained from fresh eggs to nearly fully-fledged young birds 
—in each instance only one. The parent birds allowed us to 
approach quite closely before rising from their nests, but would 
not permit of any handling. The eggs showed a certain amount 
of variation, but it is not so marked in this species as in others. 
Several Gulls were on the islet, having bred earlier, large 
young ones being seen either hiding in the grass or being hurried 
off to the water's edge by the old birds. It was rather amusing, 
and very human, to see three old birds trying to get a half-fledged 
young one to the water, much against his will, as he continually 
tried to get back. They pushed him with their breasts, pulled 
him by his wings, and buffeted him with their own all the way 
down the beach, and at last, getting him by the back of the neck 
and wings. forcibly dropped him right into the water, when he 


Vol. X. 
1910 


MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 219 
swam off, and they flew on quite satisfied. One Gull’s nest in 
the grass contained a newly-hatched, young bird and a chipping 
ess: 

On one end of the island was an untenanted nest of the Osprey 
or Fish-Hawk—a substantial structure built up of sticks, bones, 
sea-weed, bottle-skins, and other odds and ends, to over 2 feet 
in height. At the other end was an old Pelicans’ nesting-place, 
where there had been 40 or more nests 3 or 4 months previously ; 
they had evidently been deserted, as there were one or a pair of 
rotten eggs in nearly every nest, all limy and weather-worn. I 
heard afterwards that a boat’s crew had visited the island in June 
and taken a lot of eggs from it. There were no other birds breed- 
ing on the islet. Sterna anestheta, when hovering over the boat, 
rather puzzled me, as the under surface was a most beautiful pale 
green ; however, it was only the colour of the sea reflected on the 
pure white of the under surface, and I noticed the same effect 
on the Brown Gannet (Sula leucogaster) and other birds, later. 

Leaving the islet, we beat against the wind towards the 
shore, as the sun prevents us from finding an opening in the 
reef. We are very glad when we round it, and, later, Barrow Point, 
to a safe anchorage at dusk off the mainland. At daybreak we 
stand out until Ninian Head is rounded, and then on with a 
favouring breeze till we sight Pigeon Island Light-house. Here 
we note many Pigeons leaving for the mainland. Off Cape Mel- 
ville we note several Brown Gannets fishing. We pass quite close 
to the Cape, and several blacks ashore ‘‘ Make ‘um smoke,” as 
Billy puts it, as a signal to us. However, we cross Bathurst Bay, 
a spacious opening, during which many Noddies, Brown-winged 
Terns, and Brown Gannets are seen, to the Flinders Group of 
islands—high, rocky islands, through which there are three deep- 
water passages, where the scenery is very fine. We take the 
outer one. The rocky islands rise high on either side of the 
passage, clothed with trees, palms, and shrubs. In the calm 
water of the passage a flock of Brown-winged Terns are busily 
hunting a shoal of little fish. 

Crossing the 40 miles stretch of Princess Charlotte Bay brings 
us to Claremont Point. One of several Pelicans on a sand-bank 
reef near here flies up and perches on top of a beacon to get a 
better view of us, and near by, on another sand-bank, are many 
- Noddies, Brown-winged Terns, and Lesser Crested Terns. Our 
objective for the night is Aye (I) sand-bank and reef. When we 
sight it many Pelicans, Reef-Herons, and Terns are either on the 
sand-bank or adjacent parts of the exposed coral. Nearer, we can 
see that the shore is occupied by over one hundred Reef-Herons, 
both white and bluish, besides those on the reef. The sand-bank 
rises about. 10 feet above high water mark, and about 150 yards 
of the top is covered with a dead growth of some tall leguminous 
plant surrounded by tussocky grass and a perennial shrubby 
plant with a yellow mallow-like flower. Great numbers of Brown- 
winged Terns rise round us and keep up their shrill cries of distress 


220 MacaGILuivray, Along the Great Barrier Reef. ee 


as they hover overhead. We soon find that they have just started 
to nest. The nest consists. simply of a depression in the sand, 
scraped out under a tussock of grass, and well concealed by 1t— 
in fact, it is only by searching that any can be found at all, 
or by seeing the bird flying from the nest. Very few, however, 
contain the single egg—the clutch—most of the depressions being 
only in course of preparation. Up in the thick tangle of dead 
plants in the centre of the sand-bank are many nests of the Reef- 
Heron in course of construction, while some are complete, but 
only one contains a pair of eggs—an incomplete clutch. This 
nest was placed about 2 feet from the ground—a compact plat- 
form of interwoven sticks measuring I foot in diameter and slightly 
depressed in the centre. Great numbers of Sandpipers (Hetero- 
pygia acuminata), Barred-rumped Godwits (Limosa nove-zealandi@), 
Turnstones (Avenaria interpres), and a pair of Pied Oyster- 
catchers (He@matopus longirostris), are all on the margin. At one 
end of the sand-bank are the remains of old Pelican nests. Bully 
the black fills his bucket with eggs of the green turtle, which he 
digs out of the sand, and is happy in the prospect of a bountiful 
repast. The night is clear and moonlit, and the rolling of the 
boat rocks us to sleep, in spite of the hardness of the deck, the 
shrill cries of the Terns and the croakings of the Herons, which 
continue throughout the night. 

Next day we are off at daylight for Pelican Island, only 2 miles 
distant. This isa much larger sand-bank, with a tall growth of 
bushes with musky-smelling leaves, covered all over with dead 
‘‘ fequirity ’’ climber, and in this we find many Heron nests, old and 
new, but none occupied, though many Reef-Herons and a few 
Nankeen Night-Herons (Nycticorax caledonicus) are flushed from 
the bushes. Here again we find the Brown-winged Terns just 
preparing their nests. Several Rails (Hypotenidia philippinensis) 
are also flushed, and one shot for identification. Bully replenishes 
his bucket with turtle eggs, as he ana George have eaten most 
of the last lot. We pass several of the Claremont Group, and 
call at No. 5, but see a cutter leaving it and the dry grass on the 
island on fires When we come abreast the island is burning 
fiercely, and the birds hovering over it, uttering cries of distress. 
Béche-de-mer and pearl fishers (mostly the former) visit all these 
islands that sea-birds are known to breed upon to gather bird and 
turtle eggs as food for their blacks, as it saves them a good deal 
in the cost of keeping them. We land, however, on No. 6 of the 
Claremont Group—a large sand-bank covered with coarse grass, 
a strongly growing convolvulus with a large pink flower, some 
large bushes at one end, and a clump of sisal hemp. A number of 
Brown-winged Terns are nesting here, but the nests are diffi- 
cult to find under the grass and tangle. The bank was also over- 
run with sleek brown rats. In the larger bushes are many Reef- 
Herons, and their nests in course of formation. Several young 
Gulls are ready to take to the water. Two pairs of Pied Oyster- 
catchers are on the shore, and one Long-billed Stone-Plover 


Voll xX: 
IQTo 


MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 221 
(Orthorhamphus imagnirostris), and great numbers of Curlews, 
Whimbrels, and Sandpipers. There are also a few pairs of 
Black-naped Terns (Sterna melanauchen) and a pair of Caspians 
(Hydroprogne caspia). We sail again in a north-westerly direc- 
tion, endeavouring to round a reef, but, owing to the approach 
of darkness, are compelled to run towards the mainland, and 
anchor in the first shallow water, in an unsheltered position, where 
we pass a very uncomfortable night. 

Again at daylight we start for Night Island, where many 
Nutmeg-Pigeons are supposed to nest. We meet numbers 
coming away from it, and when we go to the island they are 
hovering all over it, and going off in larger and smaller flocks 
almost continuously. The island is scrubby, and occupied 
all along one side by a dense belt of mangrove. The Yellow- 
spotted Honey-eater (Ptilotis analoga), White-rumped Wood- 
Swallow (Artamus leucogaster), and Mangrove Kingfisher (Halcyon 
‘sordidus) are noted. The Pigeons are mostly in the man- 
groves, where we note a few nests in various stages of com- 
pletion, but none containing an egg. Three pairs of Roseate 
Terns (Sterna gracilis) are hovering about the island and uttering 
cries of alarm, but no nests are found. A long sail after this 
takes us round Cape Direction to Orchid Point, where we anchor 
to replenish our water supply, going ashore to a lovely little sandy 
bay let into a rocky shore, where the tropical scrub comes to the 
water's edge all round. We find a fine fresh-water spring just 
above high water mark, with a pool of clean, cold water. Re- 
suming our journey into Lloyd’s Bay, we anchor behind a large 
island of the same name, where a sandal-wood getter has his home. 
Stretching along the front of the island for about half a mile is 
a thick belt of mangrove, the island rising behind, green and 
wooded, to a height of 200 feet. When we arrive in the evening, 
Nutmeg-Pigeons are arriving in small numbers from the north- 
western part of the mainland to roost in the mangroves. The 
loud whistling of the Varied Honey-eater (Ptilotis versicolor) is 
heard from the mangroves, and also the call of the Mangrove- 
Kingfisher. We land and search them—no easy matter in the heat 
and moisture and mud. The hoo-hooing of the Pigeons is heard 
on all sides, and, wandering up the hillside to cool down, we note 
an old Eagle’s eyry (probably that of the Sea-Eagle), many Pigeons’ 
nests in course of formation, and an untenanted Kingfisher’s, in 
a white ants’ nest on a Melaleuca. After a visit to the ocean-side 
we return, to find that the Pigeons have more than doubled their 
numbers in the mangroves, and are arriving in an almost incessant 
stream. Their hoo-hooing is blended into a continuous murmur, 
as of a distant sea breaking on a rocky shore. There is, however, 
a distraction to the monotony of the Pigeons’ note, and this con- 
sists in the continued screechings of thousands of Blue Mountain 
Lorikeets (Tvichoglossus nove-hollandig), which are also arriving 
from the mainland in vast flocks to rest in this same _ belt 
of mangrove. This large stream of screeching and cooing 


Emu 
ist Dec. 


222 MAacGILLIvRAY, Along the Great Barriey Reef. 
creatures continues to pour into the mangrove patch until it can 
hold no more, and the noise is almost deafening. The overflow 
occupies the trees on the side of the island, until, not every tree, 
but every limb, has its quota of either Pigeons or Lorikeets, the 
Pigeons making the dark mass of the mangroves to appear as if 
covered with great white blossoms. The Lorikeets take longer 
to settle, rising again and again in vast flocks, whirling and 
screeching over the trees; but when they are all settled their 
voices are the first to quieten, the cooing of the Pigeons lasting 
about an hour longer. Then, with darkness, all is quiet till the 
moon rises, when a few Pigeons can be heard until dawn. The 
night is calm, with light fleecy clouds crossing the face of the 
moon; great shadowy bird-like forms flit by, and one crossing 
the moon reveals the form of a flying fox. At earliest dawn, 
when the mangrove belt is still a dark mass, the Lorikeets bestir 
themselves and begin their screeching again. With a very little 
more light they are all astir, and, rising in a dense wheeling, 
whirling, and screaming host, soon head off to the mainland. As 
the last Lorikeets are leaving, the advance guard of the Pigeons 
begins to move off in small flocks—threes, pairs, or singly at 
first, and then in larger numbers: and this continues for about 
two hours, when quietness (except for the occasional call of a 
Kingfisher or Honey-eater) is again the portion of the mangrove 
belt. 

Passing between Cape Restoration and the large wooded island 
of the same name, we see our first Frigate-Birds (Fregata ariel) 
sailing round the end of the island. On the sandy beach are 
numbers of Lesser Crested and Roseate Terns. Numbers of these 
Terns, with Sooties, Brown-wings, and Noddies, are persecuting 
the shoals of little fish. We visit a sand-bank near the Point Piper 
lightship, but no birds occupy it, so we run back to a larger 
vegetated one on the same line of reef. Here we anchor for 
the night. Great numbers of Curlews, Whimbrels, and Little 
Stints are on the shore, with flocks of Terns and Gulls. The 
Brown-winged Tern is found to be nesting under the herbage back 
from the beach, and from the higher growth or tangle of shrubs 
and climbing plants in the centre of the island many Reef-Herons 
and Night-Herons are disturbed. I go through this on hands and 
knees, and find several old Honey-eaters’ nests (no birds being 
observed), many old Herons’ nests, and those of the Wood- 
Swallow (Avtamus leucogaster) and Barred-shouldered Dove (Geo- 
pelia humeralis), several birds of both species being present on 
the island, as well as Flycatchers—M yiagra rubecula and Rhipidura 
dryas. In the morning the Doves can be heard cooing from the 
scrub, the Wood-Swallows are hawking low for food, whilst several 
Gulls are on the shore preening their feathers and washing in the 
sea. A Whimbrel perches on a bare branch, but seems to have 
a difficulty in balancing himself, and looks distinctly as though 
out of his element. Reef-Herons are searching the water's edge 
in their usual crouching attitude. 


Vol. X. . P 
aes MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 223 


We make a start this morning towards the outer part of the 
Great Barrier Reef and the Raine Island opening, deeming it 
better to go out from here than from Cape Grenville, because of 
a more favourable wind. We ship a lot of water before getting 
the shelter of a reef after passing the Haggerstone, a high island 
rising 500 feet above water level, where a béche-de-mer fisherman 
has his smoke-house. We have more rough sea before gaining 
the shelter of the Sir Charles Hardy Group, anchoring under the 
lee of the westernmost one. There are three large islands in the 
group, and on the one we anchor off is a fine grove of cocoa- 
nut palms and a patch of sweet potatoes. The beach on the 
weather side is a mass of coral and pumice where it is not pre- 
cipitous rock or coral reef. The two larger islands rise to a height 
of 200 feet above water level, are very rocky, and covered with 
coarse grass, a few pandanus trees, and small patches of scrub. 
Reef-Herons are all round the island, but not nesting, and Golden 
Plovers on every open space; no Terns are nesting. A_ pair 
of Long-billed Stone-Plovers have a nest on the coral beach, 
slightly under the shelter of a straggling bush, the solitary egg 
being in a slight depression in the coral sand. The egg is chipping, 
and hatches out during the day. The young bird is very feeble, 
and is attacked by ants. I free it of these pests, and shift 
it twice before they let it alone. The old birds are very timid, 
and will never allow anyone to approach near to them. We ex- 
plore the island fairly thoroughly, as we have to remain an extra 
day to allow the sea to moderate. The following land-birds are 
noted :— Eurystomus pacificus, Halcyon macleayi, Graucalus 
melanops, Mytagra rubecula, Rhipidura dryas. Having ballasted, 
watered our boat, and tightened the rigging, we make out again 
till we sight the Ashmore Sand-banks—three in all—about 2 miles 
from each other, lying about half-way between the Sir Charles 
Hardy Islands and the Raine Island opening in the Great Barrier. 
We sight many Brown Gannets, and when we near the most 
easterly of the banks (No. 3) we notice a number of these birds, 
and decide to land, and also to anchor for the night, the wind 
and tide making it impossible for us to reach the shelter of the 
Barrier. We have a large escort of Gannets by the time we 
anchor. On landing most of the top of the bank is seen to be 
occupied by Brown Gannets. Most of these rise as we 
approach, leaving about 30 sitting birds. These permit of a close 
approach before leaving their nests—as well, too, for no sooner 
does a bird quit its nest than a Gull seizes an egg and makes 
off with it. As usual, they are constantly on the watch to steal 
other birds’ eggs in all the rookeries visited by us. There are 
about 50 nests, 30 of which contain two eggs each and the rest 
one, mostly incomplete clutches or reauced by the Gulls. 
Numbers of the nests are just being scraped out. The nests 
are merely a depression scraped in the sand, some hollows having 
bits of straw, stick, coral, or shell gathered round them ; dimen- 
sions, I foot in diameter and 4 inches in depth. This rookery has 


- Emu 
ist Dec. 


224 MAcGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 
not long been occupied, as the eggs are -all either fresh or at an 
early stage of incubation. This species is also nesting in smaller 
numbers on No. 2 sand-bank. The following day we make out 
to the reef, but have a struggle to reach it, and decide to anchor 
under shelter of the corner of the reef, as it would be impossible 
to go through the opening against the incoming tide, which races 
through like a millstream. The whole reef here, much to our 
disappointment, is covered with water at low tide to a depth of 
from 2 to 3 feet. Many Noddies (Anous stolidus) are fishing along 
the reef. Next day, with the wind blowing very strongly, we find 
it quite impossible to move from where we are anchored. 


RAINE ISLAND. 


We are up early on the 30th October, as the wind has moderated ; 
but the tides vary, and we have to tack about for 2 hours 
before we get through the passage and make the Pacific, and 
after much tossing gain the shelter of the great detached reef, 
and sight the Raine Island tower. This tower is built on the 
eastern end of the island, and is constructed of cut blocks of 
coralline limestone, and is a round, castellated building 64 feet 
high, with an internal diameter of about 20 feet. It was erected, 
so the inscription states, by H.M.S. Fly; the date, however, has 
weathered away. We discern a cloud of sea-birds over the 
island, and, under an escort of Brown (Sula leucogaster), Red-legged 
(Sula piscatrix), and Masked Gannets (Sula cyanops), we soon 
sight the island itself. We are puzzled at first with the Red- 
legged Gannet, as there are more immature than mature birds 
flying, and the difference in colouring is considerable. Nearing 
the anchorage at the north-west corner, we are surrounded by a 
vast number of Gannets (mature and immature), Frigate-Birds, 
Noddies, Sooty and Brown-winged Terns, and Gulls. Great 
numbers of turtles are on the beach and in the shallow water round 
the boat. The island itself is one-third of a mile long, a quarter 
of a mile broad, and rises 15 to 20 feet above sea level. It is 
known as a vegetated coral sand-bank, the vegetation consisting 
of a coarse grass, a kind of pig-face weed, and a low perennial 
shrub of horizontal growth, not more than 1 to 14 feet from the 
ground anywhere, and bearing grey-green cordate leaves and a 
yellow flower. The centre of the island has been excavated at 
one time for guano, leaving exposed heaps of coral rock and débris. 
When we land the birds rise in a dense cloud until the air is 
full of them, and still there seem to be thousands of old and 
young birds remaining on the ground. We start to explore 
systematically, as our boatman has only given us a limited time, 
because of our anchorage being rather risky. Fully nine-tenths 
of the nesting birds are Brown Gannets, which are all over the 
island, some sitting on either fresh or incubating eggs, small naked 
young or young in down, or feeding nearly fully-fledged birds, 
while many are just starting to scoop out their nests in the sand, 
these depressions varying from 8 inches to 12 inches in diameter 


r 


THE Emu, Vol. X 


PLATE XXVI. 


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THE Emu, Vol. X 


PLATE XXVII. 


Masked Gannet (Sula cyanops) on Nest. 


FROM PHOTOS. BY DR. WM. MACGILLIVRAY,. 


ie MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 225 


and 3 or 4 inches in depth, sometimes with sticks, bits of coral, shells, 
or dirt collected round them. - Many are on bare coral rock, 
or on the pig-face, flattened down. Most of the nests contain 
a pair of eggs, there being great variation in the size and shape 
of the eggs, though the two eggs in any one nest usually match. 
The young birds are hatched with eyes closed, with only an indica- 
tion of down on head, back, humeral, femoral, and each pectoral 
region. The eyes open very soon, and the birds become covered 
with whitish down at an early stage, the beak and legs being of 
a pale slaty-grey, much the same colour as the naked skin; 
the gape also a pale slate colour. They grow almost to full 
size before acquiring any feathers, the first to appear being 
the primaries, then the scapulars and feathers of head, and 
secondaries, with the tail feathers, this first feathering being of 
a brownish-grey. This colour is general on head, back, and wings, 
with dirty-greyish breast, abdomen, and under surface of wings 
when they fly. The young birds hatched out often show great 
disparity in size, one being hatched some days later than the other. 
This usually results in only one surviving, as, in proportion to 
the number of nests containing a pair of eggs, very few seem 
to rear more than a single young one. The naked skin on the face 
of the adult Brown Gannet shows a good deal of variation in 
colour, some being of a greenish-yellow, others of quite a blue 
colour. The Masked Gannet, a fine white bird, larger than the 
other two, with dark pinions and conspicuous pale leaden- 
coloured mask, comes next in numbers to the Brown Gannet, and 
their nests and young are scattered amongst the others pro- 
miscuously all over the islet. The nests, in size, formation, and 
situation, differ in no wise from those of the Brown bird, being 
mostly on the ground. The eggs, larger in general than those of 
the Brown, are almost invariably two in number. The nestling 
Masked Gannet is much the same as that of the Brown, except 
that the mask is decidedly darker in colour. The downy young 
is pure white in colour, and, when feathered, a greyish or dirty 
white, the mask getting lighter coloured as the bird matures. 
The sitting birds of both species allow of a close approach, 
becoming restless and picking up and throwing the sticks and 
shells of the nest from side to side. When closer, they often 
disgorge one or more good-sized fish, then run off the nest with 
shuffling feet and flapping wings till they rise on the wing. This 
disgorging is not done as a means of offence, the fish being given 
more as an Offering to distract the attention of an enemy from 
themselves until escape is possible, or even from their young, 
much in the same way as it is disgorged when the bird is 
buffeted by a Frigate-Bird. The Red-legged Gannet nests in 
groups in different parts of the island. All of the nests are placed 
on the horizontal shrubby growth, and are a clear foot or more 
from the ground. The nest consists of a substantial interwoven 
platform of sticks, about 8 to 12 inches in diameter, depressed 
to about an inch in the centre for the reception of the single egg. 


226 MAcGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. Mao 


The great majority are occupied by fully-fledged young birds, 
most of them just ready to fly. Many have left the nest, and are 
roosting on the shrubby growth round the old nests. There are 
very few small young birds, and still fewer eggs. The young 
are hatched out blind, with pale leaden-coloured skin, and with 
only an indication of down, distributed in the same way as in the 
other species, but with a very dark and shorter bill and dark 
mask, and this, instead of getting lighter as the bird grows older, 
gets darker, the bill and face of the fully-feathered young being 
almost black. The down on the nestling is also darker than in 
the other two kinds, and the fully-feathered young bird is of a 
dirty-grey general colour, especially on the head, back, breast, 
and abdomen, which is white in the adult. The bill and mask in 
the adult is creamy-white, with red border above the eyes and under 
the chin, and red legs. The legs of the mature young are leaden, 
with a tinge of pink. We find two adults sitting on small young 
with the bill and mask as in a mature adult, but with the general 
feathering of immaturity, leading us to believe that these birds 
do not attain to their mature plumage until two years at least 
have elapsed, and that they breed during the stage of immaturity. 
We cannot make this species leave their nests when sitting upon 
newly-hatched young. 

On the eastern side of the island, near its centre, we come upon 
the nesting-place of the Frigate-Bird (fregata ariel), where about 
50 young birds, fully feathered and able, but unwilling, to fly, 
are congregated. They are all at about the same stage of 
development, and give the idea that the eggs must have been 
laid about May or June. Two young birds seem to be about each 
nest, and the nests consist of flat platforms of sticks and grass, 
raised from 4 to 6 inches above the general level of the ground 
where they are not placed on some small ledge of rock or other 
elevation. They are, of course, at this stage trodden down and 
liberally covered with excreta, but give one the idea that they 
were formerly about 8 inches in diameter. The young birds in 
general colour are remarkably like the lghter-coloureq examples 
of our Wedge-tailed Eagle (Uvoactus). Numbers of Pectoral 
Rails are running over the island. Brown-winged Terns are 
nesting in the crevices of the coral rock, and Noddies are in great 
numbers, but have not yet commenced to nest. Gulls are, as 
usual, indulging their thieving habits. At the north-western end 
of the island many burrows of a Petrel are found. We dig out 
several to a depth of 4 or 5 feet, and find them to contain either 
one or a pair of birds (Puffinus sphenurus). There are no eggs. 
It seems that the birds are only cleaning out their burrows, 
and will probably lay in a month’s time. 

The crowd of birds overhead all this time, from the smaller 
noisy Terns to the great silent Frigate-Birds, is indescribable. 
We regret that we cannot spend more time on the islet. 
However, we make a careful examination, and, it is hoped, miss 
very little of any importance, although the islet, small though it 


THE Emu, Vo/. X. 
PLATE XXVIII. 


Young Lesser Frigate-Birds (Fregata ariel). 


FROM PHOTOS. BY DR. WM. MACGILLIVRAY. 


” 


Vol, X. 
1910 


MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 227 
is, would well repay a more leisured examination, as it is crowded 
with interest for the ornithologist. 

No Tropic-Bird is seen on the island or anywhere during our 
trip. Leaving the island, we have our bird escort for some dis- 
tance, during which time we witness a spirited course. A 
flying-fish rises out of the water on iridescent wings, going past 
our boat. A Brown Gannet is soon in fuil pursuit, but with 
all its exertion the bird cannot gain an inch on the fish over 
a distance of about 500 yards, when the fish seeks safety in his 
watery domain. : 


OTHER ISLANDS. 


We spend another night behind the reef, and get away with the 
trade wind this time in our favour, and do not take long to return 
past the Sir Charles Hardy Islands, turning northward past Cape 
Grenville and the Cockburn Reef to the Bird Islands, where ex- 
pectations formed from the name are not to be realized. We 
anchor at a smal] shelly beach on the northernmost islet, and go 
ashore at the identical spot where, many years ago, Huxley the 
surgeon and John Macgillivray the naturalist landed from the 
Rattlesnake. They found some starving blacks on this point ; 
we find only their tracks. There are large trees on the island 
covered with green and ripe bean-like pods—the ripe ones with 
bright scarlet seeds in them. These trees serve as a roosting- 
place for many Nutmeg-Pigeons. The only other land-bird is 
the small Honey-eater Péilotis analoga. Reef-Herons are on the 
coral at low water, and many Curlews and Whimbrels, and Sand- 
pipers and Barred-rumped Godwits on the shores of the central 
lagoon, the whole group of islands forming the rim of an atoll. 

A favouring wind takes us next day past Boydong Cay, 
Cairncross Island, near Tern Island, where a rocky shore and 
a heavy sea make landing impossible, so we run for shelter 
into the Escape River—a large inlet, blocked at its mouth by 
a large wooded island, and having a north and south passage in. 
We anchor at the back of the island, where there is an old hut, 
overshadowed by several bushy trees bearing an abundance of 
large fruit of the colour and size of a pomegranate, and of a 
pleasantly acid taste, with a single large stone. We learn later 
to appreciate them when tramping through the hot northern 
scrubs. 

Dr. Dobbyn and I set out to explore part of the island. The 
grass is long, coarse, and luxuriant, and the scrub thick in some 
parts and open in others. Our first find is the beautifully- 
constructed nest of the little Sun-Bira (Cinnyris jrenata) hanging 
from a single dry twig not 3 feet from the ground. It is ex- 
ternally composed of cobwebs, small twigs, and grass, and lined 
with the silky wild kapok—a common tree on the Peninsula. 
Out in more open scrub, and we flush a Black Butcher-Bird 
(Cracticus quoyi) from her nest about 15 feet up in an acacia. 
This nest contains four eggs, the usual clutch. The bird is a very 


228 MAcGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. a 


shy one After passing through another belt of scrub we come 
upon an open glade, from which a Stone-Plover (Burhinus 
evallariusy rises. Her pair of eggs is placed, as usual, on bare 
ground under shelter of a straggling tree. From a dry swamp 
two Cranes (Antigone australasiana) rise with loud protesting 
trumpeting. The ground where these great birds have been digging 
up the rhizomes of the rushes looks as though it had been rooted 
by pigs. They fly high into the air, and soar about for an hour 
afterwards on their broad wings, with outstretched neck and 
legs. Entering another patch of scrub, a second nest of the Sun- 
Bird is found in a similar situation to the first, this one con- 
taining one egg. Not far from this the Little Dove (Geopelia 
cuneata) flies from her tiny twig-built nest on a knot-hole of a 
Pandanus at about ro feet from the ground. The nest is not 
more than 2 inches in diameter, and contains two fresh eggs. 
Many other birds are seen, such as Ptilopus ewingr, Geopelia humer- 
alis, Centropus phasianus, Pinarolestes  rufiventris, Diceum 
hirundinaceum, and Ptilotis analoga. .Several Terns are fishing in 
the inlet, notably the Black-naped (S. melanauchen), Roseate 
(S. gracilis), and the Lesser Crested (S. media). We witness 
an encounter between a Lesser Crested Tern and a Frigate- 
Bird. The Tern, uttering shrill cries of alarm, endeavours, by 
turning and dodging, to elude the buffetings of its pursuer, but at 
last opens its bill and disgorges two fish, which, by an easy and 
seemingly effortless double swoop, are in turn caught and in- 
stantly swallowed by the Frigate-Bird. We have several times 
before noticed them pursuing and bullying Terns of different 
species, usually the larger ones—H. caspia, S. media, and S. bergu. 
Frigate-Birds are usually to be seen about all the islands, soaring 
overhead like great long-winged Hawks until darkness closes in, 
waiting to rob any Terns flying to roost with a cropful of fish. 

We go ashore early next day to further explore the island. 
From the fruit trees near the hut we flush several Rose-crowned 
Fruit-Pigeons (Ptilopus ewingt) and a small Tusnix from the 
grass. On the beach on the opposite side oi the island are a 
pair of Long-billed Stone-Plovers and a pair of Red-capped 
Dottrels (4:gialitis ruficapilla), with several flocks of the Little 
Stint (Limonites rujicollis). On the grass land near the shore 
a flock of Masked Plover (Lobivanellus miles) is feeding. About 
too yards inland from the beach, over an ironstone ridge, we come 
upon a large fresh-water lagoon, on which there are a few Teal 
(Anas gibberifrons), Black Duck (A. superciliosa), and Grebes. 
Several Masked Plovers rise vociferating from the margin, alarming 
an Egret (Herodias timoriensis), a White-fronted Heron (Noto- 
phoyx nove-hollandia), and a Jabiru (Xenorhynchus asiaticus). 
Over the water, and settled upon some small islets, are a few 
Black-naped Terns. Going round the margin, a little Sun-Bird 
leaves her nest, hanging under a small tea-tree, and flies into the 
scrub. This nest contains two eggs. We cross over a sandy 
tea-tree ridge to another small lagoon, but take shelter from a 


Vol. X. 


ica MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 229 

tropical shower under a tea-tree—not much use, as we rapidly get 
wet, having little clothing. We dry quickly on the way.: We 
circle through some scrub, in which we note very few birds, and 
come back to the lagoon, on which there are now five Black-billed 
Spoonbills (Platalea regia). Making our way boatwards, we note 
Myitagra rubecula in some stunted trees, searching for insects. 
This it does by threading its way in and out the branches, picking 
one off here and there, and occasionally making a short flight to 
one amongst the leaves, or hovering over a branch till satisfied 
whether something which has attracted its attention is good to 
eat or not; then perhaps it darts off to another place, perches 
with the characteristic quivering movement of the tail, and re- 
‘sumes its search. A pair of Mistletoe-Birds (Diceum) are busily 
engaged in gathering material for a nest. On our way home 
through a thick belt of scrub we disturb several Nutmeg-Pigeons 
and a pair of Rose-crowned (Ewing) Fruit-Pigeons from their mid- 
day siesta in the branches. 

On the 3rd of November we enter the Albany Passage early in 
the morning, and drop anchor opposite Somerset, Mr. Jardine’s 
well-known homestead. Our friend Mr. W. M‘Lennan comes 
down to the beach when we land, and we are made welcome by 
Mr. Jardine, who is just going off for a few days to another 
property. After breakfast we return to our cutter, go through 
the Passage, and round to Bushy Island—a rocky islet of about 
a quarter of an acre in extent. There are a good many Terns 
of three species hovering over it when we land—S. anestheta, 
S. melanauchen, and S. gracilis. Many nests of the Black-naped 
Tern are found on the rugged ironstone rock a little above high 
water mark, the pair of eggs being placed in each instance on a 
fine bedding of rock chippings in some convenient depression or 
crevice. Several nests contain only one egg, and there are a 
few young birds. At a slightly higher level, under shelving rocks, 
sometimes as much as 2 feet under, are seen the single eggs of 
the Brown-winged Tern (S. anestheta). Most of these are at an 
advanced stage of incubation, and there are a few young birds. 
On the top of the island, where there is a growth of coarse Brass, 
mostly flattened down by the wind, is the nesting-place of the 
Roseate Tern (S. gracilis). The nests are depressions in the 
grass, each containing two eggs. These nests are mostly deserted, 
no doubt since a visit paid to the island three weeks previously 
by Mr. M‘Lennan, in company with Mr. Bert Jardine. Leaving 
this rock, we pass through the channel again to its eastern end 
and out to a small vegetated rock rising just above high water, 
with a low growth of mangroves on it, known as A Rock, or 
Cypheny. Several Reef-Herons rise from it, and we examine 
their nests. Four contain each one egg, and two three each, all 
placed low down in the bushes. Two nests contain young 
Herons. A young Nutmeg-Pigeon is perched in one of the trees, 
having just left the nest. 


230 MAcGILiivray, Along the Great Barrier Ree}. Bes 


ON THE MAINLAND. : 

Returning to Somerset early, we go down to what are known as 
open pockets—tracts on which there is open timber without under- 
growth, which intersect the scrub. We first come to a Shining 
Starling (Calornis metallica) rookery. These birds only started 
to build about a fortnight previously. They usually choose a 
tall, lightly-foliaged Eucalyptus, known locally as the “ Moreton 
Bay ash.’ The nests are pensile, somewhat rounded structures, 
about 8 to 12 inches in diameter, constructed externally of vine 
tendrils and pieces of wild vine, lined internally with strips of the 
paper-like bark of Melaleuca leucodendron. The first-comers hang 
their nests amongst the leaves at the extremity of the branches, 
and these nests are often so clustered together as to coalesce, 
their combined weight bending the lmbs downward. Later 
comers build further in along the limb until the whole tree is a 
mass of nests. Such a tree, when the birds are building, presents 
a very animated scene, the continual chatter of the birds and the 
quick darting flight of so many sprightly and glossy little forms 
to and from the tree making it pleasurable to one to watch 
them. In the same tree one often finds, hanging in an outlying 
fork, the bag-like nest of the Helmeted Friar-Bird (Tvopidorhynchus 
buceroides), and, after careful search, the thin, cradle-like nest of 
the Yellow-bellied Fig-Bird (Sphecotheres flaviveniris), through 
which the eggs can easily be detected from below, or occasionally 
the nest of the Drongo (C/ibia). These species seemingly prefer 
to nest in company. The last three especially often occupy a 
tree quite apart from the Shining Starlings. No doubt this is 
for their mutual protection, as many suitable trees near are often 
unoccupied. At this time of the year the principal food of the 
Starlings seems to be the mace covering the wild nutmeg, the 
ground under their rookeries being littered with the nutmegs 
passed after the mace has been digested. These birds nearly 
always lay three eggs to each nest, rarely two—at least, that is 
the conclusion come to by Mr. M‘Lennan and by myself after a 
careful examination of a number of nests. On the same after- 
noon we examine several other Calornis trees, and hear the 
loud, sharp whistle of the Albert Rifle-Bird (Craspedophora albertt) 
in the scrub. 

Next day we are out before breakfast to observe a Manucode 
(Phonygama gouldi). We see and listen to him calling from 
the top of a high tree in some thick scrub—no easy matter, as the 
openings in the scrub by which one can view the tree-tops are 
few, and even at this early hour the atmosphere is humid, like 
that of a glass-house. We come across the nest, containing two 
eggs, of the Little Shrike-Thrush (Pinarolestes rufigaster), supported 
at about 3 feet from the ground by two slender, single-stemmed 
bushes. We go to listen to the loud whistling note of a Shrike- Robin, 
and watch him disporting himself amongst the vines and trees, where 
the Wood Fantail (Rhipidura dryas) is also flitting about. The 
Rifle-Bird is again heard, and on returning to breakfast we come 


Vol. X. 


pre MACGILLIvrRAyY, Along the Great Barriev Ree}. 2ST. 
across mounds of the Brush-Turkey (Catheturus purpureicollis) 
and of the Scrub-Fowl (Megapodius twmulus). After breakfast 
we take the cutter out through the Channel to the west, past 
York Island, to a small rocky island where sea-birds are supposed 
to nest. However, a pair of Oyster-catchers are the only sea- 
birds on it. We, however, search the rocks on it, and two patches 
of scrub, from which we flush a large number of Wood Fantails 
and White-tailed Kingfishers (Tanysiptera sylvia). They are in 
every bush, evidently resting on their way across to the main- 
land. Here is also one Forest Kingfisher (Halcyon macleayt) 
and a Winking-Owl, possibly Ninox peninsularis. We return to 
Mr. Vidgen’s house, 2 miles from Somerset, where, after a rest, 
Mr. Vidgen’s little son pilots us to see a newly-constructed bower 
of the Fawn-breasted Bower-Bird (Chlamydodera cerviniventris), 
and points out the hollow stump from which he is in the habit of 
watching the bird disporting himself in the bower. Green berries, 
so far, are the only ornaments on the bower. The boy puts a piece 
of red cloth near the bower, and waits in his hiding-place to 
see what use the bird will make of it. The bird merely picks 
it up, carries it away into the scrub, and leaves it there. We hurry 
on to cross a creek before the tide rises, for swimming creeks 
frequented by crocodiles is not a desirable practice ; however, it 
is only waist high. In the adjacent mangroves we listen to the 
loud but pleasant whistling note of the Varied Honey-eater (Ptilotis 
versicolor), and Mr. M‘Lennan points out several old nests, and one, 
in an old Bower-Bird’s nest, of the White-rumped Wood-Swallow 
(Artamus leucogaster). A Fig-Bird’s nest ina mangrove contains 
newly-hatched young. We also observe the nest, with two eggs, of 
the Barred-shouldered Dove ina mangrove. We go home in the 
dusk, following the track through the scrub, from which we flush 
a Megapode, which flies on to a horizontal limb, where the fowl is 
silhouetted against the sky. 

Next day we proceed in a north-westerly direction, through 
some thick patches of scrub, along dry or running creeks, but 
examining more particularly the open pockets. The first nesting 
tree, a Moreton Bay ash, contains one nest of the Helmeted 
Friar-Bird, with three eggs, and three nests of Fig-Birds— 
one containing two eggs, the others three each. In an adjoining 
tree another nest is being built. The nest of this species is 
usually placed far out on a slender fork amongst the leaves, is 
composed of fine tendrils and thin stems of climbing plants wound 
from one side of the fork to the other to form an open-work cradle 
about 4 inches in diameter and 2 inches in depth. Several other 
trees near contain nests of Friar-Birds and Fig-Birds, besides 
one of a Drongo. A fine specimen of the Plumed Frogmouth 
(Podargus papuensis), disturbed from its roosting-place on a 
buttressed root near the ground, looks reproachfully at us with 
its great red eyes. The plumage of this specimen has decidedly 
a reddish tinge. We have also a very good view of three specimens 
of the large Palm-Cockatoo (Microglossus aterrimus), perched on 


. Emu 
ist Dec. 


222 MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 
a bare tree quite close to us, with their crests erect and all the 
feathers of the neck ruffled. Although such big birds, their voices 
are decidedly more musical than those of any other Black 
Cockatoo. In the scrub we frequently hear the loud, clear, and 
incisive whistle of the Ruifle-Bird, and find two old nests—one 
in a sapling, the other in the fork of a tree, both at a height of 
about 5 feet from the ground. The Blue Mountain Lorikeet is 
everywhere in the open glades, feeding on the blossoming trees. 
Our last day sees us make an early start for Mr. Vidgen’s 
home, where we have breakfast. On the way the loud call 
of a Channelbill (Scythrops) attracts our attention to this great 
Cuckoo as he flies overhead. Ptilotis versicolor are again 
noisily asserting themselves at the mangrove crossing, and near 
Puira we see a Drongo building its nest. Going west from 
the house we pass through an open glade in the scrub, where Mr. 
Elgner has his butterfly cages, to more open country. A hollow 
that has been prepared by the great Palm-Cockatoo is examined 
by Mr. M‘Lennan. It is large, open, and filled up for a foot or 
more with chipped-up wood, evidently carried to the hollow by the 
birds. This, I hear, is their usual method of nest preparation. 
Entering a patch of scrub where there is a beautiful running 
stream and a luxuriant growth of palms, tree-ferns, and smaller 
ferns, we cross through it, flushing a Rufous-breasted Shrike- 
Thrush from its nest and eggs. The note of this small Shrike- 
Thrush is hardly distinguishable from that of the ordinary Grey 
Thrush. Two more pairs of Palm-Cockatoos are disturbed after 
this. Drongos, Friar-Birds, Fig-Birds, and Orioles are quite 
numerous outside, and in the scrub the note of the Rifle-Bird is 
frequently, and that of the Manucode less often, heard. We find 
several old nests of the former, mostly in the pandanus, and at 
last see a female Rifle-Bird leave a nest placed at about io feet 
from the ground in a small tree with a single straight stem and 
small branching top, the nest being placed where the branches 
go off. The nest is composed outwardly of broad leaves, placed 
mostly with the stems upwards, and is lined with a scanty lining 
of leaf midribs, arranged in a circular manner. It contains two 
fresh eggs. In the scrub we frequently hear and see the Fruit- 
Pigeons—Ptilopus ewingi, Lamprotreron superba, Megaloprepra 
assumilis, and Columba leucomela. The Little Shrike-Thrush is 
often heard, and the Honey-eaters Ptilotis gracilis and Myzomela 
obscura seen. Another pair of Palm-Cockatoos go complainingly 
away, and we retrace our steps for a while, then go out and enter 
another belt of scrub, where we flush some Brush-Turkeys. These 
birds often fly up on to a tree when disturbed. Their mound is 
seen in course of preparation. Later we come across a large 
mound of the Megapode 12 feet in height and 20 feet in diameter. 
The Megapode is flushed, and flies up on to a high horizontal 
branch. Near here we notice what looks like an old Pigeon’s nest 
on a slender horizontal branch. Though three of us are looking 
at it from only a few yards, so marked is the protection afforded 


Vol: X. 


He MACGILLIVRAY, Along the Great Barrier Reef. 233 
by the colouring of the sitting bird—a Fruit-Pigeon (Megaloprepia 
assimilis)—that none of us notices her till she leaves the nest. The 
nest contains one egg. Two Orioles (QO. affinis) are noted on the 
homeward track. 

Next day we very reluctantly leave for Thursday Isiand, there 
to catch our steamer for the south. 


Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River Districts (N.Q.)* 
By K. BRoADBENT, Zoological Collector, Queensland Museum. 


UROAETUS AUDAX (Wedge-tailed Eagle)—Noted in September at 
Dalrymple’s Gap. 

HALIAETUS LEUCOGASTER (White-bellied Sea-Eagle). — August, 
Cardwell beach. 


HALIASTUR GIRRENERA (White-headed Sea-Eagle).—August, beach, 
Cardwell. 

PANDION LEUCOCEPHALUS (Osprey).—August. Breeding in a large 
tea-tree on the beach below Cardwell ; nest with young in. 

FALCO SUBNIGER (Black Falcon).— September, Herbert River. 
Scarce. 

HIERACIDEA ORIENTALIS (Brown Hawk).— September, Herbert 
River. 


ASTUR NOVA-HOLLANDIZ (White Goshawk).— September, Dal- 
rymple’s Gap scrubs. 


ASTUR APPROXIMANS (Goshawk).—September, Herbert River. 
ACCIPITER CIRRHOCEPHALUS (Sparrow-Hawk).—August, Cardwell. 
MILvus AFFINIS (Kite).—September, Herbert River. Common. 


LOPHOICTINIA ISURA (Square-tailed Kite). — September, Herbert 
River. Common. 


ELANUS AXILLARIS (Black-shouldered Kite)—November, Gowrie 
Creek. This is a rare bird in the Cardwell district. At Chinchilla 
and out west they are more plentiful, also on the River Warrego and 
on the Alice at Barcaldine. At Springsure I shot a pair in September. 


STRIX TENEBRICOSA (Sooty Owl).—August, in Cardwell scrubs. 


STRIX DELICATULA (Lesser Masked Owl).—Murray River, edge of 
scrubs. 


NINOX RUFA (Rufous Owl).—September, Gowrie Creek, mountain 
gully. 

NINOX LURIDA (Lurid Owl).—September. I first shot this bird at 
Cardwell in 1885, and it was named by Mr. C. W. De Vis, Curator of 
the Queensland Museum. It is a rare bird, and hard to find in the 
scrubs, keeping in all the darkest and thickest places. At dusk it 


* These notes were made during a collecting tour undertaken by Mr. Broadbent 
from August, 1888, to March, 1889. The somewhat belated paper by the veteran 
collector is none the less valuable because the collection therein detailed is in the 
Queensland Museum, and ayailable for reference for students and others. —EDs. 


Emu 
1st Dec. 


234 BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. 


= 


flies out into the open, and its call is like the rest of the Ninox— 
‘“‘Mopoke ”’ repeated. 

ZEGOTHELES NOV-HOLLANDIZ (Owlet Nightjar). — August. Not 
very common in the Cardwell district. They live in holes of trees 
in the daytime, and if one knocks at the bottom of the tree with a 
stick, should one live there he will pop out his head and take a look 
at the disturber of his sleep. Large ‘‘ goannas’’ (lace lizards) must 
kill a good many of these birds. I shot a “‘ goanna’”’ with one in its 
mouth, just caught in a gum spout. 


PODARGUS PHALHNOIDES (Freckled Frogmouth).— Common at 
Cardwell. 

PODARGUS PAPUENSIS (Plumed Frogmouth).—September, in the 
mountains at the head of Gowrie Creek, sleeping in thick tree on open 
grassy spur, 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. 


EUROSTOPUS ALBIGULARIS (White-throated Nightjar). — August. 
This is a common bird in the Cardwell district. It camps on the bare 
ground in the daytime, and at dusk flies over the open grass-flats, 
catching moths. The edge of the scrub is its favourite hunting ground. 
I have sometimes shot four or five specimens at dusk near Cardwell. 
It is very Hawk-like in its flight. Common in the Cairns district, 
along river flats and scrub pockets, in the rainy season. 


CAPRIMULGUS MACRURUS (Large-tailed Nightjar)—August. Common 
on the Herbert, edge of scrubs or in the scrub in a clear place, always 
sleeping on the ground, sometimes two together. This bird has a 
wide range north. 

CHATURA CAUDACUTA (Spine-tailed Swift). — Herbert River, near 
Mr. Craig’s station in the hills. On warm days, just before rain, 
these birds were here in hundreds, flying all round the house. January 
I have seen them in hundreds flying along the Cardwell beach. 


CALLOCALIA FRANCICA (Grey-rumped Swiftlet)—Common at Card- 
well in August. When these birds are seen flying near the ground it 
is a sure sign of approaching rainy weather. 


HIRUNDO NEOXENA. — August, Cardwell. There were a few of 
these birds flying about Cardwell this month, and sitting on the tele- 
graph wires in the street. They have a pretty little song when 
preening themselves. 


PETROCHELIDON NIGRICANS (Tree-Martin).—August, Cardwell. A 
few specimens of this bird were flying in the street in Cardwell this 
month in company with H. neovena. 

MEROPS ORNATUS.—19th August, Cardwell, in little flocks: These 
birds do not breed about Cardwell. A few breed on the Herbert 
River, about Craig’s, but not many. In October I have seen them 
flying over Cardwell in thousands for days, going south. 

EURYSTOMUS PACIFICUS (Dollar-Bird.)— 9th August, single ones 
seen. Scarce at this time of the year, but in September and October 
plentiful on all the tea-tree flats behind Cardwell. 


DacELo GicAs (Brown Kingfisher).— 19th August, Cardwell. 
Common. 

DaAcCELO LEACHI (Leach Kingfisher)—August. Cardwell is the true 
habitat of this bird. Prefers the tea-tree swamps. 

HALCYON SANCTUS (Sacred Kingfisher).—August, about mouths of - 
salt-water creeks, in the mangroves, Cardwell. 


ee | BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. 235 


HALCYON sSORDIDUS (Mangrove Kingfisher)—Mangroves, Maunga 
Creek, Cardwell. 


HALCYON MACLEAYI (Forest Kingfisher). — August. Common at 
Cardwell. 
TANYSIPTERA SYLVIA (White-tailed Kingfisher). —- November. 


Common in all the scrubby mountain gullies and on the small scrubby 
creeks near the mountains in the Cardwell district. These birds come 
here about November and leave in February and early in March. 
They bore a hole into small ant-hills (termites’), and lay four round 
white eggs. They look beautiful in their native state, flying about 
and showing their handsome white tails. A very shy bird, and hard 
to find in the dense scrubs where they live. Very common at Cape 
York. 

ALCYONE AZUREA (Blue Kingfisher). — August, Cardwell, on the 
little creeks. 

ALCYONE PUSILLA (Little Kingfisher)—August, Cardwell. Common 
in little creeks running into Gowrie Creek, in Gowrie Gorge, in Novem- 
ber. These birds appear to leave the coast for the creeks in the hills 
in the breeding-time, or about November. In a creek in the moun- 
tains I saw four together, sitting on logs in the water, and near the 
beach in the summer—not one to be seen in their usual winter haunts, 
little mangrove creeks and swamps. 

ARTAMUS SORDIDUS (Wood-Swallow).—September. Breeding at 
Craig’s, Herbert River. 

ARTAMUS MINOR (Little Wood-Swallow).—Small flocks near Card- 
well this time of the year (August) seen sitting on the telegraph wires. 

ARTAMUS LEUCOGASTER (White-rumped Wood-Swallow).—August, 
Cardwell, feeding on the tea-tree flats in the early morning—the tea- 
tree in flower and insects plentiful—in company with Chibia bracteata 
and Gyvaucalus melanops. 

PARDALOTUS PUNCTATUS (Spotted Pardalote).—October, Seaview 
Range, and at Cardwell in February, in poor plumage. 

PARDALOTUS MELANOCEPHALUS (Black-headed Pardalote). — Found 
throughout the year at Cardwell. 

STREPERA GRACULINA (Pied Crow-Shrike)—22nd August, Dal- 
tvmple’s Gap mountains. 

GYMNORHINA TIBICEN (Black-backed Crow-Shrike).—October, near 
Craig’s, Herbert River. This was the first time I had seen this bird 
near Cardwell. 

CRACTICUS QUOYI (RUFESCENS) (Black Butcher-Bird).—Cardwell, 
and in mountain scrubs, in August and January. 

GRALLINA PICATA (Magpie-Lark).—August. A few in the winter on 
the beach at Cardwell. 

GRAUCALUS MELANOPS (Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike)—Common in 
August at Cardwell. 

GRAUCALUS MENTALIS (Little Cuckoo-Shrike)—August. Cardwell 
is the true habitat of this bird. Here all the year round. 

GRAUCALUS LINEATUS (Barred Cuckoo-Shrike).— August, Dal- 
rymple’s Gap scrubs. 

EDOLIISOMA TENUIROSTRE (Caterpillar-eater).—November. Common 
about Cardwell. 


236 BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. ee 
LALAGE LEUCOMEL2NA (Pied Caterpillar-eater).—August, Cardwell. 


LALAGE TRICOLOR (White-shouldered Caterpillar-eater).—2oth Sep- 
tember, Dalrymple’s Gap, Cardwell. 


PACHYCEPHALA RUFIVENTRIS (Rufous - breasted Thickhead). — 
August, Cardwell. 


COLLYRIOCINCLA HARMONICA (Grey Shrike-Thrush).—August, Card- 
well. Common. 


COLLYRIOCINCLA RUFIGASTER, (Rufous-breasted Shrike-Thrush).— 
August, Cardwell scrubs. 


‘COLLYRIOCINCLA BOWERI (SIBILA) (Bower Shrike-Thrush).—First 


shot this new bird in the back scrubs over Seaview Range, south of the 


Herbert River, in 1883. This is a true mountain bird, not found in 
any of the low river scrubs. Found this bird on Bellenden-Ker, at 
Palm Camp, 4,000 feet above sea level. Also common in the high 
scrubs in the Herberton district. 


FALCUNCULUS FRONTATUS (Shrike-Tit)—August, Herbert River. 
Rare. 


CHIBIA BRACTEATA (Drongo).—11th August, common at Cardwell. 


RHIPIDURA ALBISCAPA (White-shafted Fantail).—This pretty Fly- 
catcher is common all over the Cardwell district, both mountain and 
plain, and so tame that it will sit on the barrel of the gun. 


RHIPIDURA RUFIFRONS (Rufous-fronted Fantail).—August, Card- 
well. Common. 


RHIPIDURA ISURA (Northern Fantail)—August, Cardwell. Common 
in winter. In breeding-time this bird takes to the hills. 


RHIPIDURA TRICOLOR (Black-and-White Fantail).—oth August, 
Cardwell. 


SISURA INQUIETA (Restless Flycatcher). — September, Craig’s, 
Herbert River. 


PIEZORHYNCHUS NITIDus (Shining Flycatcher).—oth August, in the 
mangroves. This bird inhabits mouths of creeks and rivers, and is 
nearly always found in mangrove swamps. Common at Cardwell. 


ARSES KAUPI (Pied Flycatcher)—August. A common bird here 
in all scrubs, but has a preference for the hill scrubs. Cardwell. 


MYIAGRA RUBECULA (PLUMBEA) (Leaden Flycatcher).—11th August, 
Cardwell. Common. 


MACH#RORHYNCHUS FLAVIVENTER (Yellow-breasted Flycatcher).— 
August, all scrubs, Cardwell. 


MICR@CA FLAVIGASTER (Lemon-breasted Flycatcher). — August, 
Cardwell. Common in forest. 


MONARCHA MELANOPSIS (Black-faced Flycatcher). — 9th August, 
Cardwell scrubs. This is a very common bird at Cape York at all 
times. : 


PIEZORHYNCHUS LEUCOTIS (White-eared Flycatcher).—August, Card- 
well. This is one of the rarest Flycatchers. They appear commoner 
here than elsewhere. I shot one near Rockhampton, in scrub country, 
in 1887. Beach scrubs, Cardwell. 


PIEZORHYNCHUS GOULDI (Spectacled Flycatcher).—August, Cardwell: 
Common in the scrubs. 


—Xx— 


Vol. X. 
1910 


‘BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River: 237 


PETRECA BICOLOR (Hooded Robin).—Cardwell. A rare bird here. 


HETEROMYIAS CINEREIFRONS (Fly-Robin).—Seaview Range. Found 
in all the gullies, and on the tops of high mountains. Shot this bird 
at Palm Camp, 4,000 feet above sea (Bellenden-Ker expedition). 
Common also in the high scrubs at Herberton. 


PG@CILODRYAS SUPERCILIOSA (White-browed Robin).—Craig’s, Her- 
bert Gorge. This is a common bird in the river scrubs where the 
river comes through the mountains. 


Pca:CcILODRYAS CAPITO (Large-headed Robin). — Craig’s, Herbert 
River Gorge. This little Robin is found on the tops of all the high 
mountains in the Cardwell and Cairns districts. Common on Bellenden- 
Ker at 5,000 feet, and at the head of Gowrie Creek, in the country of 
the “‘ boongarry,’’ tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus). 


EOPSALTRIA AUSTRALIS * (Yellow-breasted Shrike-Robin). — This 
fine Robin is common near Melbourne, and just as common near 
Cardwell in hilly country. This was the first bird heard in the 
morning at Palm Camp, 4,000 feet (Bellenden-Ker). The eastern 
is more beautiful than the Melbourne bird. August, Cardwell. 


EOPSALTRIA INORNATA.—August, Cardwell. Common Robin here, 
found in all river scrubs. Shot specimen of this bird at Cape York, 
behind Mr. F. L. Jardine’s house. 


PSOPHODES CREPITANS (Coachwhip-Bird).— August, Cardwell. 
Common in all hill scrubs in this district ; small in size. 


MALURUS AMABILIS (Lovely Wren).—August, Cardwell, river scrubs. 
This is a common bird at Cape York. 


MALURUS CRUENTATUS (Red-backed Wren).—1i1th August, Card- 
well. 


CISTICOLA EXILIS (Grass-Warbler). — 30th August, Herbert River. 
This pretty little bird is rare on Bellenden Plains in long grass, also 
on the grass flats on the Herbert as far as Craig’s, Herbert Gorge, and 
on the head of the Murray, near the hills. 


SERICORNIS CITREOGULARIS (Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren).—Sep- 
tember, Seaview Range. 


SERICORNIS MAGNIROSTRIS (Large-billed Scrub-Wren). — August, 
Cardwell scrubs. 


ANTHUS AUSTRALIS (Pipit)—September, Herbert River. Rare. 


ZEGINTHA TEMPORALIS (Red-browed Finch). — Craig’s, Herbert 
River. 


NEOCHMIA PH#TON (Crimson Finch).—Craig’s, Herbert River. 


MUNIA CASTANEITHORAX (Chestnut-breasted Finch).— September, 
Herbert River. 


PITTA SIMILLIMA (Lesser Noisy Pitta).—September, Herbert River 
scrubs. 


PITTA MACKLOTI (Blue-breasted Pitta).—September, Herbert River. 
This was the first time I had seen this Pitta near Cardwell. It was 
high up the Herbert, near Craig’s, in a hill scrub. 


*Mr. Broadbent no doubt intends this species for Z. chrysorrhous, with the breght 
yellow rump, and different from Z. australis of southern parts, with its du// wax- 
yellow rump.—EDs. 


Emu 


238 BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. ite es 


OREOCINCLA HEINEI (Russet-tailed Ground-Thrush).—Hill scrubs, 
Herbert Gorge. 
PTILONORHYNCHUS VIOLACEUS (Satin Bower-Bird).—Herbert Gorge. 


ZELUREDUS MACULOSUS (Spotted Cat-Bird)—Common in all hill 
and river scrubs from Seaview Range to Cairns, and in Herberton 
district. 

CHLAMYDODERA ORIENTALIS (Queensland Bower-Bird).—Shot speci- 
mens of this bird at Herbert Vale, and on the River Herbert, at Craig’s, 
but it is only a casual visitor. The east coast, about Cardwell and 
Cairns, is not its locality. Common out from Townsville, and at 
Kimberley, Gulf of Carpentaria. It is very common on all the rivers 
on the Gulf. 


SCENOPATES DENTIROSTRIS (Tooth-billed Bower-Bird). — Seaview 
Range and all the ranges along to the Herberton scrubs, also on 
Bellenden-Ker, at a height of 4,000 feet. This bird makes a curious 
dancing or play-ground. It scratches the ground quite bare for the 
space of a yard, then lays eight or nine large leaves down on the 
cleared space, and plays upon them, every morning laying down fresh 
leaves. This is only in the breeding-time, September and October. 
This bird is also a grand imitator of all the birds in its locality. There 
is no bird that I know (Lyre-Bird excepted) that will imitate all the 
birds like this one. 


ORIOLUS AFFINIS (Northern Oriole).—August. Common in all the 
Cardwell scrubs. 


SPHECOTHERES FLAVIVENTRIS (Yellow-bellied Fig-Bird).— 11th 
August, Cardwell. 


CORVUS CRONOIDES (Crow).—August, Herbert River. 


CALORNIS METALLICA (Shining Starling)—August, Herbert River. 
Just coming to breed. 


POMATORHINUS TEMPORALIS (Babbler). — August, Craig’s, Herbert 
River. This is a rare bird in the Cardwell district. 


GLYCYPHILA FASCIATA (White-breasted Honey-eater). — August, 
feeding on tea-tree, Cardwell. 


GLYCYPHILA. SUBOCULARiS (Least Honey-eater).—Cardwell (Maunga 
Creek). 

PTILOTIS LEWINI (Yellow-eared Honey-eater)—August. Common 
in all scrubs, Cardwell. 


PTILOTIS FASCIOGULARIS (Fasciated NHoney-eater). — Cardwell, 
mouih Maunga Creek. 


PTILOTIS FLAVA (Yellow Honey-eater)—Common all the year at 
Cardwell, near the beach. 


PTILOTIS CHRysSOPS (Yellow-faced Honey-eater).—Herbert River. 


PTILOTIS FRENATA (Bridled Honey-eater).—Cardwell, in the winter 
time. This is a mountain bird ; found it at 5,000 feet, on Bellenden- 
Ker, also round my camp at Herberton, highest country in the dis- 
trict. This is one of my new birds (1873), named by Dr. Ramsay. 


PTILOTIS MACLEAYANA (Yellow-streaked Honey-eater).—Common on 
Maunga Creek, Cardwell. 


PHILEMON CORNICULATUS (Friar-Bird)—September, Herbert River: 


OO _ 


Vol. X. BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. 239 


IgIo 


PHILEMON BUCEROIDES (Helmeted Friar-Bird)—Common at Card- 
well September and October. 

ACANTHORHYNCHUS TENUIROSTRIS (Spine-billed Honey-eater). — 
September, mountains near Cardwell. This bird was common on 
Bellenden-Ker, at 5,000 feet ; also common in the Herberton forest 
country, called up there “ tangle-foot,”’ feeding on Banksia. Country 
like the tops of the Gippsland mountains. 

MyYZOMELA SANGUINOLENTA (Sanguineous Honey-eater).—August, 
Cardwell. 

MyYZOMELA OBSCURA (Dusky Honey-eater).—September, Herbert 
River scrubs. 

MELITHREPTUS GULARIS (Black-chinned MHoney-eater). — August, 
Herbert River, feeding in the large gums when in blossom. 

MELITHREPTUS ALBIGULARIS (White-throated Honey-eater)—Com- 
mon in Cardwell district. 

MyZANTHA GARRULA (Noisy Miner).—Rare bird here ; Craig’s, Herbert 
River. 

DIC#UM HIRUNDINACEUM (Mistletoe-Bird).—August, Cardwell. 


CINNYRIS FRENATA (Sun-Bird).—Common all the year, feeding on 
the flowers in the gardens near the beach, Cardwell. 


ZOSTEROPS C@RULESCENS (White-eye).—Cardwell. Common. 


PTILORHIS VICTORIZ (Victoria Rifle-Bird).—Found on islands, North 
Barnard, Dunk, Hinchinbrook; Clump Point, Tully River, Gowrie 
Creek Gorge, Herbert River Gorge, Seaview Range, south of the 
Herbert River, and all the coast range to Herberton. 

CLIMACTERIS SCANDENS (Brown Tree-creeper)—A few specimens 
of this bird seen between Gowrie’s Creek and Coldwater Station, on 
the Herbert River, in the open forest. This is a rare bird in the Card- 
well district. November. 


CLIMACTERIS LEUCOPH2A (White-throated Tree-creeper).—Seaview 
Range. 

ORTHONYX SPALDINGI (Black-headed Log-runner).—All the hill 
scrubs in the Cardwell district. 


SITTELLA LEUCOPTERA (White-winged Tree-runner).—Cardwell, in 
forest country. 


SITTELLA STRIATA (Striated Tree-runner).—Cardwell, in little flocks. 


CACOMANTIS PALLIDA (Pallid Cuckoo).—October, Craig’s, Herbert 
River. 


CUCULUS SATURATUS (CANOROIDES) (Oriental Cuckoo).—This is a 
summer visitant to Cardwell, arriving in November and leaving 
end of February. A very solitary bird. I have seldom seen two 
together. It keeps near the beach, about Cardwell, in the low bushes. 
I have never seen this bird inland more than 5 miles from the coast. 
It utters a note not unlike Cacomantis pallidus, but seldom ; it is a 
quiet bird, very Hawk-like in its flight, and shy to get ashot at. Very 
early morning is the only time to get specimens. 

CACOMANTIS FLABELLIFORMIS (Fan-tailed Cuckoo). — September, 
Gowrie Creek. 


CACOMANTIS VARIOLOSUS (TYMBONOMUS) (Square-tailed Cuckoo).— 


240 BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. [ Bay 


1st Dec. 


September, mountains, head of Gowrie’s Creek, Hell’s Gate Camp, 
3,000 feet. I saw and heard the call of this bird in the great scrubby 
mountains in the ‘“ boongarry’’ country. Around our camp this was 
the last bird heard at night and first in the morning. Raining most 
of the time. 


CHALCOCOCCYX PLAGOSUS (Bronze-Cuckoo).—August, Herbert River. 


CHALCOCOCCYX PCCILURUS (RUSSATUS) (Rufous-throated Bronze- 
Cuckoo).—November, Herbert River. This bird stays here all the 
year. I have shot specimens at all times, but in the springtime it is 
more common. It is a noisy bird in the breeding time, and is always 
‘about the edges of scrubs. I have seen this bird in scores at Cape York 
in March. 


SCYTHROPS NOV#-HOLLANDIZ (Channelbill)—The Channelbill is 
a migratory bird here in October. It is fondest of hill scrubs. In 
the Gowrie Creek scrubs these birds lay in the nests of Strepera 
gvaculina (Pied Crow-Shrike). At the head of the Murray River, 
25 miles out of Cardwell, in January, in the scrub at the base of the 
mountains, Channelbills were numerous. They appeared to be col- 
lecting together for migration purposes. They are high fliers, and 
keep in the highest trees in the forest and scrub, feeding on small 
figs. The figs appear to be their favourite diet, but they eat insects, and 
even meat (tame ones). In the breeding time these birds are flying 
about and screeching all night—in fact, they appear to be more lively 
in the night than in the daytime. I am fully convinced that they 
feed their young all night, and the foster-parents all day. A 
pair of these birds lived on Mount Graham, near where I was staying 
at Mr. Richard Lee’s, Gowrie Creek Gorge. In the daytime they 
would not be heard, but after dark, until dawn, they were busy all 
the time, flying from peak to peak up the mountain, and screeching 
the whole time. In the daytime the Crow-Shrikes were at work, 
and no Cuckoos were to be seen or heard. At Cape York I have seen 
specimens of these birds in February. I shot four feeding in a fig- 
tree—two adult and two young, the latter being as large as the old 
ones. At Cape York in March all kinds of Cuckoos were quite 
common. Their stay there was about a month, and then they all 
disappeared except Chalcococcyx russatus and Cacomantis tymbonomus 
(variolosus). They were nearly all young birds. 


EUDYNAMIS CYANOCEPHALA (Koel).—November, Herbert River. 


CENTROPUS PHASIANUS (Coucal).—Murray River. On 17th January 
I found a nest of this bird built on the ground in long grass. The 
nest is about 1 foot in diameter by 11 inches high, composed of small 
branches of bloodwood (Eucalyptus) twisted together and lined with 
grass, with entrance on top. The nest contained three young, covered 
with long down, and one egg, white in colour. Common on all the 
east coast of Queensland on grassy flats. At Cardwell common at all 
times. 

CACATUA GALERITA (White Cockatoo).—August. The specimens 
of this bird are smaller here than in the south. Common in all the 
Cardwell district. 

CALYPTORHYNCHUS BANKSI (Banksian Cockatoo).—August, Card- 
well. These red-tailed black Cockatoos assemble in large flocks this 
month ; have seen 60 in one flock: 


APROSMICTUS CYANOPYGIUS (King Lory)—August, Cardwell. 


| 


Vol. X. 
1910 


| BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. 2AT 

PTISTES COCCINEOPTERUS (Crimson-winged Lory).—22nd August. 
The dry weather this year must have driven this bird to the coast. 
They were here in small flocks on the beach, in poor plumage. Common 
on all the Gulf waters and on the Alice and Thomson Rivers, Central 
District of Queensland. 

PLATYCERCUS NIGRESCENS (Campbell Parrakeet).—December, Sea- 
view Range. 

PLATYCERCUS PALLIDICEPS (Pale-headed Parrakeet).—November, 
Herbert River. One pair seen. This is not an east coast bird; only 
a casual visitor to the Cardwell district. Common at Chinchilla and 
on some of the western rivers—namely, the Alice, near Barcaldine, 
and at Springsure, Central District. 


TRICHOGLOSSUS NOV#-HOLLANDI& (Blue-bellied Lorikeet).—August. 

TRICHOGLOSSUS CHLOROLEPIDOTUS (Scaly-breasted Lorikeet). — 
August. 

TRICHOGLOSSUS PUSILLUS (Little Lorikeet).—August, in flocks, at 
Cardwell, feeding on the blossoms of bloodwood and tea-tree. 


CYCLOPSITTACUS MACCOyYI (Blue-faced Lorilet)—Cardwell, feeding 
on small fig-trees, edge of scrub, September. 


PTILOPUS SWAINSONI (Red-crowned Fruit-Pigeon).—September. 


PTILOPUS SUPERBA (Purple-crowned Fruit-Pigeon). — September, 
Gowrie’s Creek. 
MEGALOPREPIA MAGNIFICA (Purple-breasted Fruit-Pigeon). — Sep- 


tember. This is a common bird in all the hill scrubs in the Cardwell 
and Herbert River district. It makes a small nest of a few sticks in 
a small tree or bush in the scrubby gullies, and lays usually one white 
egg. Common in Dalrymple’s Gap scrubs. 


COLUMBA LEUCOMELA (White-headed Fruit-Pigeon).—3o0th August. 


MYRISTICIVORA SPILORRHOA (Nutmeg-Pigeon).—These Pigeons come 
to the Cardwell district about the middle of September. All the 
islands in Rockingham Bay have a fair share of these birds breeding 
on them—namely, Brook, Barnard, Dunk, and Little Mangrove 
Island in Hinchinbrook Channel. Up the Herbert, Murray, Tully, 
and all the rivers that empty into Rockingham Bay, these birds fly 
for feeding purposes, as far as the top of the Coast Range scrubs. 
On the River Murray, in January, they were in thousands, flying 
between the islands and the scrubs in the mountains in the morning, 
and returning in the evening. I never found a nest of these birds in 
the river or mountain scrubs, but on the North Barnard and Hinchin- 
brook Islands they were in plenty. They break down the high bushes 
on Brook Island with their weight. Another curious habit this bird 
has—on the North Barnards I have seen them in scores drinking salt 
water. These Pigeons are found down the coast of New Guinea as 
far as the end of Cloudy Bay. Common on Constance Island, off 
Kerepunee, in February. 


LoPpHOLZMUS ANTARCTICUS (Topknot-Pigeon).— August, Dal- 
tymple’s Gap scrubs. This Pigeon has a wide range —from the 
Clarence River, in New South Wales, up the east coast of Australia 
to Cape York. I have shot this bird in Mud Bay, about 2 miles above 
where Mr. F. L. Jardine lives, 6 miles from Cape York. In the winter 
months it is common in all the hill scrubs in the Cardwell and Cairns 
districts, and on the Russell and Mulgrave Rivers in June, July, and 


242 BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. [PP ee. 


a 


August. On the Bellenden-Ker expedition numbers of these birds 
were eaten in camp. 

CHALCOPHAPS CHRYSOCHLORA (Little Green-Pigeon).—September, 
Cardwell. Common in all the scrubs on the east coast of Australia. 
Shot one specimen at Healesville, 40 miles from Melbourne, on the 
Wood’s Point road, Gippsland, Victoria. Common at Port Moresby, 
New Guinea. 

GEOPELIA HUMERALIS (Barred-shouldered Dove). — Cardwell. 
Common. This bird has also a wide range—Chinchilla, out west from 
Brisbane, Cardwell, Cairns, and at Cape York. Numerous on the 
beach near the old settlement in January. 

GEOPELIA TRANQUILLA (Ground-Dove)——Common, Cardwell, all 
times. 

MacrOPYGIA PHASIANELLA (Pheasant-tailed Pigeon). — August, 
Cardwell. 

CATHETURUS LATHAMI (Brush-Turkey).—Common in hill scrubs, 
Gowrie’s Creek. 

MEGAPODIUS DUPERREYI (Scrub-Fowl).—From south of the Herbert, 
Seaview Range, to Cape York. Common at Cairns, Herberton scrubs. 
Called by the settlers Scrub-Fowl or Scrub-Hen. At Cape York 
these birds make very large mounds for breeding purposes. About 
Cardwell and the Cairns district the mounds are smaller—about the 
size of the mound of T. lathami. The eggs are deep down in the 
centre of the mound. I have seen eight taken from one mound. 
September and October are the best months in the Cardwell scrubs 
for the eggs of this bird. When “ mingan”’ hunting at Craig’s, Herbert 
Gorge, with the blacks, we used to have some nights 30 or 40 
of the eggs for supper. The birds have a curious habit of crowing 
in the scrubs late at night and early in the morning (about 3 o’clock). 
They are shy, but easy to shoot. When walking about in the scrubs 
they nearly always fly into the first tree and look at the intruder. 
They are also very inquisitive. Frequently, when sitting in the scrub 
waiting for something to turn up, one of these birds would come along, 
scratching up leaves as he came, and, on seeing me, would turn and 
run a few yards, then come up quite close and have a good look at 
the stranger. 

SyNGCUS AUSTRALIS (Brown Quail). — November. Common on 
Herbert River. 


CASUARIUS AUSTRALIS (Cassowary).—Common in Herbert scrubs. 


EUPODOTIS AUSTRALIS (Wild Turkey, Bustard)—August, Herbert 
River. This is a rare bird here. Shot one on the grassy flats on the 
Herbert in August. 


BURHINUS GRALLARIUS (Stone-Plover)—Common near the sea- 
beach at Cardwell in August. 


ORTHORHAMPHUS (ESACUS) MAGNIROSTRIS (Long-billed Stone-Plover). 
—Shot one of these birds in February at Gould Island. Have seen 
them at the mouth of Maunga Creek, Cardwell (single-ones) ; rather 
scarce. Shot this bird at Bountiful Island, in Gulf of Carpentaria. 
I never saw more than one at a time, and always walking on the mud 
or sandy shores on the islands. 


LOBIVANELLUS LOBATUS (Spur-winged Plover).—September, Her- 
bert River. 


met ] BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. 243 


Ig10 


CHARADRIUS DOMINICUs (Lesser Golden Plover).—August, Cardwell. 
Common on the beach this month, in winter plumage. This is a 
common bird on the beach below Albany Pass, Cape York, and on 
all the islands in Torres Strait. 


AZGIALITIS MELANOPS (Black-fronted Dottrel)—Common on the 
Herbert River. 


AEGIALITIS RUFICAPILLA (Red-capped Dottrel)—Beach, Cardwell. 
Common on the sea-beaches, Gulf of Carpentaria. 


LIMOSA NOV4:-ZEALANDI# (Barred-rumped Godwit). — Cardwell, 
beach. 


TRINGOIDES HYPOLEUCUS (Common Sandpiper).—In the mangroves, 
Cardwell. I observed this bird at Cairns on the roots of the man- 
groves, and have frequently seen it at Cape York, also in the man- 
groves—never more than one at a time—sitting on the roots. 


GALLINAGO AUSTRALIS (Snipe).—Somewhat rare. Seen on Herbert 
River in August. 


NuUMENIUS CyANOoPUS (Curlew).—Common on all the islands and 
shores of Rockingham Bay. 


CARPHIBIS SPINICOLLIS (Straw-necked Ibis).— Common on _ the 
Herbert River in August. Also plentiful in the Cardwell and Cairns 
districts in June, July, and August. In August, near Cardwell, in 
1888, the season was very dry, and all, or nearly all, of the back-waters 
dried up. There was one swamp near Cardwell with a little mud and 
water left, and it was covered with these birds, walking about in the 
mud, while Anas superciliosa (Black Duck), [bis molucca (White Ibis), 
Plegadis falcinellus (Glossy Ibis), Notophoyx nove-hollandie (White- 
fronted Heron), and Nycticovay caledonicus (Night-Heron) were 
sitting on all the trees around the water-hole. 


IBis moLucca (White Ibis)—August, Herbert River. 


PLATALEA REGIA. (Black-billed Spoonbill)—September, Herbert 
River. This was a very common bird on the Herbert, sitting on 
dead trees on the edges of swamps. 


ANTIGONE AUSTRALASIANA (Native Companion).—September, Her- 
bert River. I noticed a few specimens of this bird here this month, 


XENORHYNCHUS ASIATICUS (Black-necked Stork, Jabiru).—Sep- 
tember, Herbert River. This is a common bird in the Cardwell dis- 
trict. All the mouths of creeks and rivers emptying into Rocking- 
ham Bay are the habitat of this species ; also found on the banks of 
swamps inland 40 miles from the shore. In January I noticed a pure 
white one at the mouth of Maunga Creek, 2 miles from Cardwell. 


ARDEA CINEREA (Grey Heron).—Cardwell. This is a rare bird in 
Australia. I have only seen two specimens—one at Cardwell, the 
other at Kimberley, Gulf of Carpentaria. 


ARDEA SUMATRANA (Great-billed Heron).—Cardwell. This bird is 
not common here. It lives in small, scrubby creeks and mouths of 
mangrove creeks. On the Murray River, near Cardwell, I have killed 
them as they flew out of the creeks into the river at dusk. Noted also 
on the Mulgrave, just above its junction with the Russell River, in 
#872. Have never seen more than one at a time. 


NotropHoyx PACIFICA (White-necked Heron).—September, Her- 
bert River. 


244 BroaDBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. ae 
NotTopHoYvxX NOV-HOLLANDI® (White-fronted Heron). — August, 


Cardwell. This is a very common bird here at all times, inhabiting 
the swamps. 


HERODIAS TIMORIENSIS (White Egret). — August, Cardwell. In 
June and July, at the mouth of the Norman, I have seen hundreds 
of these birds sitting in the mangroves, in company with the White 
Ibis and Black-billed Spoonbill. 


MESOPHOYX PLUMIFERA (Plumed Egret).—August, on the beach at 
Cardwell. 


DEMIEGRETTA SACRA (Reef-Heron).—Brook Island reefs. 
NyYCTICORAX CALEDONICUS (Night-Heron).—August, Cardwell. 


DUPETOR GOULDI (Yellow-necked Mangrove-Bittern).—In the man- 
groves at Cardwell. 


PoRPHYRIO MELANONOTUS (Bald-Coot).—Herbert River, sitting on 
the bushes on the bank of the river, in September. 


GALLINULA TENEBROSA (Black Moor-Hen).—September, Herbert 
River. 

HypDRALECTOR GALLINACEUS (Comb-crested Jacana).—Murray River 
swamps, Bellenden Plains. 


HypoT#NIDIA PHILIPPINENSIS (Pectoral Rail)—August, Herbert 
River. 

RALLINA TRICOLOR (Red-necked Rail).—September, Gowrie’s Creek. 
Eggs of this bird were found in the scrubs on the Murray River in 
January, and are in the Queensland Museum.* 


ANSERANAS SEMIPALMATA (Pied Goose).—Cardwell. Common at 
the mouths of the Tully and Murray Rivers, sitting on the mangroves, 
Christmas time. 


* These eggs were inspected by the visiting oologists during the recent Brisbane 
session of the R.A.O.U. The specimens may be described as oval in form ; colour 
white, with the slightest perceptive tone ; surface glossy, and texture somewhat fine ; 
dimensions, about 1} x 15 inches. Typical Rails’ eggs are usually elliptical in 
shape, spotted with reddish and purplish brown on a warmish-white ground. Have 
the eggs of the Red-necked to be re-described, or do the white eggs belong to another 
bird? Cockerell, the collector who first obtained this Rail, in the neighbourhood of 
Somerset, Cape York, stated that he found the eggs, which were wzte. While 
engaged on my work, ‘‘ Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds,” Mr. Harry Barnard 
kindly sent me a white egg, collected in North Queensland, marked ‘* Scrub-Rail.” 
Mr. D. Le Souéf had a set of three similar eggs in his collection. 

Regarding the particular Rail’s white eggs in the Brisbane Museum, Mr. 
3roadbent some time ago kindly furnished me with these additional and interesting 
field notes (vide ‘‘ Nests and Eggs,” p. 744) :—‘‘* My tent was near the river scrub 
(30 miles from Cardwell), about 200 yards away, in the grass. But close to my tent, 
about 50 yards distant, was a little creek with scrub very thick with a great quantity 
of ferns and undergrowth. At night I often heard the call of the Scrub-Rail, and 
sometimes on very dark nights they would come round the tent, but too dark to shoot. 
In the morning I frequently heard them in the scrub calling to each other, when I 
endeavoured to get them. Several mornings I got up at dawn, and crawled into the 
scrub amongst the ferns, but, unfortunately, I could not see the birds—too dense and 
dark. However, one morning, when crawling as usual in the ferns, I nearly broke 
two beautiful white eggs, laid on the ground amongst the ferns in a little circular 
basin lined with a few bits of leaves and small pieces of dead sticks, just scrub 
rubbish. The eggs were quite warm. I shot the female just as she was beginning to 
sit, judging by her breast feathers. Afterwards I shot the male about the middle of 
January. I hunted these scrubs for six weeks afterwards, and could attribute the eggs 
to no other bird.”—A. J. C. 


Vol. a BROADBENT, Birds of Cardwell and Herbert River. 245 


1910 


NETTOPUS PULCHELLUS (Green Goose-Teal).—September, Herbert 
River. Common on Bellenden Plains, in the small swamps. 


TADORNA RADJAH (White-headed Shieldrake).—August, Cardwell. 
The White-headed Shieldrake or ‘“‘ Burdekin Duck ”’ is common this 
month, feeding on crustacea at the mouths of creeks and rivers, near 
the mangroves. 

ANAS SUPERCILIOSA (Black Duck).—August, Cardwell. 


NETTION GIBBERIFRONS (Grey Teal).—September, Herbert River. 
Common. 


SPATULA RHYNCHOTIS (Shoveller).—October, Herbert River. 


DENDROCYCNA ARCUATA (Whistling-Duck). — October, Herbert 
River. 

NyROCA AUSTRALIS (White-eyed Duck). — October, Herbert River. 
This bird was very common on the river in October. Usually a rare 
bird here, but common about Melbourne. The dry weather this 
season (1888) caused great numbers of water-fowl not noticed pre- 
viously to come here. 

BiziuRA LOBATA (Musk-Duck).—One seen in October, on the Her- 
bert River. 

HyYDROPROGNE CASPIA (Caspian Tern).—August, Cardwell beach. 
Shot specimen of this Tern on Maunga Creek ; it is a common Tern 
at Kimberley, mouth of Norman River, Gulf of Carpentaria. 


STERNA BERGII (Crested Tern).—February, Cardwell. 

STERNA MEDIA (Lesser Crested Tern).—February, Gould Island. 

GELOCHELIDON ANGLICA (Gull-billed Tern).— February, Gould 
Island. 

PHALACROCORAX GOULDI (White-breasted Cormorant).—October, 
Herbert River. 

PHALACROCORAX MELANOLEUCUs (Little Cormorant).—October, Her- 
bert River: 

PELECANUS CONSPICILLATUS (Pelican).—Maunga Creek, Cardwell. 

PLOTUS NOV4-HOLLANDI& (Darter).—Herbert River. 

SULA LEUCOGASTER (Brown Gannet, Booby).—Fairway Buoy, 
Dungeness, Hinchinbrook Channel, mouth of the Herbert. Shot 
specimen sitting on Fairway Buoy. 

PopICEPS NOV#-HOLLANDI# (Black-throated Grebe). — October, 
Herbert River. 

Note.—There are more species of birds in the Cardwell district than 
those I have noted in this paper ; but the birds I have mentioned I 
observed and shot specimens of during the eight months I was in the 
district. The season of 1888 was very dry in that neighbourhood— 
all waters, except the rivers and large creeks, were dry. That alone 
would influence bird-life adversely.—K. B. 


246 MATTINGLEY, Production of Podargus Call. Be 2 


Production of Podargus Call 
(Accepted as read before the Brisbane session R.A.O.U.) 
By A. H. E. MattTiIncLey, C.M.Z.S. 


SoME time ago a gentleman remarked to me that he had a Podargus 
(Podargus strigoides) which had the feathers of one wing cut off. 
He intended to destroy it, because he had grown tired of feeding 
it, and on account of the bird not being able to fly away when 
liberated. Desiring to save the life of the interesting nocturnal 
bird, I obtained it, and released it in my garden at Kew, Victoria. 
I resolved to feed it until it could fly away and hunt for itself. 
The bird gradually became fairly tame, and readily took pieces 
of meat from my hand. Any stray mice that I captured it ate 
ravenously. In course of time it started its hooting call during 
the night, and occasionally a wild mate, attracted by its nocturne, 
would make its appearance. These birds became so accustomed 
to:my proximity to them that they allowed me to get within a 
few feet of them whilst they were calling. I was enabled thereby 
to observe how the Podargus’ hooting note was produced. With 
its head elevated at an angle of about 30 degrees, with its bill 
fully closed, and with throat distended, the bird pulsates its throat, 
giving forth a rapid vibrating note, sounding at a distance like 
‘“Qom-oom-oom-oom-oom,” but when close to the bird the call 
of a single ‘“‘oom”’ or hoot I found consists of two notes produced 
not unlike ‘‘ Too-roo, too-roo, too-roo,’’ emitted in an almost con- 
tinuous delivery, ranging from 14 “‘ ooms”’ or hoots to 158 “‘ ooms ”’ 
without cessation. From lengthy observations I was able to 
ascertain that the greatest number of notes was produced on 
moonlight nights, especially about 11 o’clock. Sometimes the 
bird uttered a few hoots during the daytime. This occurred 
more often about 6 p.m. On several occasions I timed the 
duration of the calls, and found them uttered at about 6 “ ooms”’ 
to the second. As a rule, there is the succession of calls uttered 
by the bird, ranging from 2 seconds’ to about 27 seconds’ duration. 
The whole series of calls were emitted during the space of about 
3 minutes. Generally, the Podargus started its call in subdued 
tones, the full volume of sound being reached after a few hoots. 
The subdued tones had a ventriloquial effect. 

For many years past I have taken notice of the Podargus in 
their. home in the bush, but I have never yet heard them utter 
the familiar call of ‘‘ mopoke,’”’ which note some persons attribute 
to this bird, although I have made special efforts to ascertain the 
truth of their statements. 


Omisston.—The name of Dr. Ronald Hamlyn Harris, of the 
Queensland Museum, should be added to the list of members from 
Queensland who joined the R.A.O.U. 


a 


- i 


Vol. X. Note on Hawks. 247 


1910 


Note on Hawks. 


GREY v. WHITE GosHAWKS.—Mr. H. L. White has received the 
following interesting communication from Mr. H. G. Barnard, 
from Cape York :— ‘“ What I am about to state is perfectly 
authentic, and I have witnesses to prove it. This is in regard 
to the Hawks. In my first letter from here I stated that I hoped 
to prove that the three Hawks—namely, Astur cinereus, A. nove- 
hollandig, and A. leucosomus—were the same bird. At the first 
four nests taken the birds of two of the nests were both grey, as in 
A. cinereus ; at the other two the birds were pure white ; then Mr. 
Bert Jardine informed me of a nest where one bird was pure white 
and the other grey. As he was leaving for New Guinea, he offered 
to show me the nest, which was 8 miles from here, towards 
Somerset. I went with him, and we flushed a grey bird from the 
nest. As it was too late for further investigations that night, 
I proceeded with him to Somerset, returning the following day. 
Next morning, getting a daybreak start (I had a tramp of 16 miles, 
besides shooting the birds and having a large tree to climb), I 
reached my destination about 9 0 ‘clock, and flushed a pure white 
bird from the nest. This bird, which was very shy, proved to be 
the male. After waiting about two hours, the bird returned to 
the edge of the nest, where I shot it. As it lay on the nest, I was 
afraid the dead bird would frighten its mate on its return, so I 
started to climb to the nest. To the first fork was about 5c feet. 
I was about half-way up when the female, a grey bird, flew into 
the nest and sat beside the dead one. Quickly I made my way 
down the tree for my gun; and as the bird hopped off the nest 
on to a Jimb I secured it, for complete identification. I then 
finished the climb, and got the other bird and a set of three eggs. 
One of the eggs was pierced in the end by a shot; but this will 
only make the set more interesting, as it in no wise spoilt the egg. 
On my way home I found another nest, from which the female 
flew, and she was pure white. I waited about half an hour before 
climbing, as I wanted to see the male, and when he came he was 
grey —so in one day I got a nest with a white male and grey 
female and vice versd. I obtained another female from a nest 
at which both birds were grey, and it is identical with the grey 
bird shot with the white male. The grey birds are undoubtedly 
the ones classed as A. cinereus, while the white are exactly like 
A. nove-hollandie. The birds are larger than A. approximans, 
and the eggs considerably larger. As I have the skins—I regretted 
having to shoot these fine birds—to prove the relationship, but 
it may be some time before they come into your possession, I ask 
you, in justice to Mr. Jardine, who first brought the matter under 
my notice, and to Bert, who found and showed me the nest from 
which I secured the birds, to kindly place the foregoing facts before 
some ornithological society.”’ 


248 Copies of Royal Letters. ; | Emu 


ist Dec. 


Copies of Royal Letters. 


Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S.W., 
4th July, 1gro. 
DEAR Str,—I have laid before the King and Queen the ninth 
volume of The Emu, and am commanded by Their Majesties to 
convey to the Australasian Ornithologists’ Union Their Majesties’ 
sincere thanks for their courtesy in sending the ninth volume for 
the acceptance of the King and Queen. 


Their Majesties are interested to hear that the Union will hold 
its next sitting at Brisbane, and that the Government of Queens- 
land are likely to afford the members facilities to explore the 
islands on the Barrier Reef. 


The King and Queen wish the Union every success. 
I am, yours faithfully, 


(Sd.) E. W. WALLINGTON. 
A. J. Campbell, Esq. 


COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. 
(PRIME MINISTER.) 


Melbourne, 18th August, IgIo. 


Str,—In continuation ‘of my letter of the 16th May last, relative 
to the application of your society for permission to use the prefix 
‘Royal,’ I now have the honour to inform you that advice has 
been received from the Secretary of State for the Colonies that 
His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve the 
grant of the prefix ‘‘ Royal” to the Australasian Ornithologists’ 
Union. 

I have the honour to be, sir, 


Your most obedient servant, 
M. L. SHEPHERD, Secretary: 


The President of the Ornithologists’ Union, 
Zoological Gardens, Melbourne. 


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Brisbane Field Naturalists’ Club. 


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(c/o Zoological Gardens, Melbourne. Private Address—1o5 Drummond Street, 
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+ 
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GOSHAWK. By i J Campbell Col. fe 
Mem. B.O.U. . - - - - 


DESCRIPTION OFA NEW EPHTHIANURA. Ho Edwin Asin, a 4. 
. £&.A.0.U., Blackwood, S.A. Byte v 3 


DESCRIPTION OF THE NEST AND EGG OF WHITE- WINGED PETREL 
_ (CESTRELATA LEUCOPTERA, Fede dS see A. F. Bassey flu, 
R.A.O.U,, Sydney - - - i 


-CESTRELATA LEUCOPTERA. 
Sydney - - - “ 2 


FIELD NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF KIMBERLEY, Norru-Wes 
AUSTRALIA. By G. F. Hill, R.A.0.U.,, Melbourne - hon 
BIRD ADA te NS iy - TR he - Sota pe ea ss 


STRAY FEATHERS.—Ground-Lark’s Nest on Highway, 202; F oster-Parent or ose 
tail Cuckoo, 292; Plumage of the Female Pink-breasted Robin, 292; Native Cat 
and Herons, 293; Nest and Eggs of the Rock Field-Wren, 293; White-shouldered 
Caterpillar-eater (Lalage tricolor), 294; Field Notes from Broome Hill, Western 


Australia, 294. ' $\. 


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Birds, 299. ‘ 


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Official Organ of the Royal Australasian duos Union. 


“ Birds of a feather.” 


Wor. oxk:] erst JANUARY, 1911: [PART 4. 


Description of a New Goshawk. 
Die. jy CAMPBELL, COL. MEM. B.O:U; 
ERYTHROTRIORCHIS RUFOTIBIA, sp. nov. 


Adult Female.—U pper Surface.— Head, mantle, and tail coverts 
blackish-brown (darkest on the head, lightest on the tail coverts), 
each feather edged with brown, varying in shade from rufous to 
cinnamon ; wing coverts blackish-brown, edged with rufous, so 
that the dark markings on each feather appear broadly wedge- 
shaped, same as on rest of upper surface; primaries and 
secondaries brownish, and tail greyish, all distinctly barred with 
a darker colour. Under Surface.-—Throat and neck dull white, 
each feather with a narrow dark brown stripe ; chest and flanks 
tinged with rufous, each feather also with a distinct central dark 
brown stripe; breast and abdomen whitish, feathers narrowly 
and conspicuously striped with dark brown; tail coverts buffy- 
white ; wing coverts and legs (tibia) rich rufous or chestnut- 
brown, the former marked with spots of dark brown ; wings and 
tail greyish-white, both beautifully barred with slaty colour. 
Iris yellow ; tarsus yellow ; bill black at tip, grey at base (Hill). 

Dimensions in inches :—Total length, 22% ; wing, 16%; 
tail, 10; tarsus, 3; culmen, 1% ; middle toe (including claw), 
3%. 

eee Broome Bay, North-West Australia. 

Remarks —This large and handsome new Goshawk is the 
second of the genus found in Australia, the other being the Red 
Goshawk (4yrythrotriorchis radiatus), and is closely allied to the 
Marquis Doria Goshawk (£. dorze),* found in New Guinea,. 


* Of Salvadori and D’Albertis. For figures see Gould-Sharpe’s ‘‘ Birds of New 
Guinea,’ > vol. i, pl. 2, concerning which Dr. Sharpe wrote :—‘‘ The original 
specimen came from Hall Bay, in south-eastern New Guinea. This is the bird 
which forms the principal figure in the plate, and which we consider to be immature, 
The second specimen figured in the plate is apparently a fully adult bird, and was 
obtained by Mr. Goldie on the Astrolabe Mountains, in south-eastern New Guinea. 
We believe it to be an adult male, and the type to be an immature female, notwith- 
standing some discrepancies in the proportions of the quills and tail feathers exhibited 
by the two specimens. If we are correct in thus assuming the relation of these two 
individuals, then it is evident that the genus A/egatriorchis is the same as the Aus- 
tralian genus Zrythrotriorchis, of w hich Z. radzatus is the representative species on 
the latter continent. A larger number of specimens is, however, requisite to settle 
the point satisfactorily.” 


Emu 
21st Jan. 


250 CAMPBELL, Description of a New Goshawk. 


Bill and Foot of Evythrotriorchis rufotibia (Campbell). 
(About 3 natural size.) 


FROM A DRAWING BY C. CG. BRITTLEBANK, 


ee CAMPBELL, Description of a New Goshawk. 2A 


but from which the Australian bird differs chiefly by its lighter 
colouration, the absence of dark spots on the under tail coverts, 
and by the very distinct and uniform-coloured (rufous) thighs 
(tibia). 

The addition of an entirely new Hawk for Australia being 
an ornithological discovery of some importance, I evoked the 
willing aid of Mr. A. W. Milligan in my research through all the 
available literature on the subject, and he has concurred in my 
deduction that this bird has hitherto been undescribed. 

While Mr. G. F. Hill, the collector, and Mr. H. L. White, who 
subsidized his North-Western trip, both receive all credit for the 
discovery, I propose for the new bird the name Erythrotriorchis 
rufotibia, or the Red-legged Goshawk. In the accompanying 
illustration Mr. C. C. Brittlebank has kindly drawn the bill and 
foot of the bird, the latter showing how exceedingly powerful 
and lengthened are the claws or nails. 

Mr. White thoughtfully forwarded this bird to me, with many 
other large species, for exhibition at the Brisbane session of the 
R.A.O.U., but, owing to adverse circumstances, the parcel 
remained in Melbourne until my return. Mr. Hill’s field notes 
regarding the bird appear on page 266 of this issue. 


Description of a New Ephthianura. 


By EDWIN ASHBY, R.A.O.U., BLACKWOOD, S.A. 
EPHTHIANURA LOVENSIS, sp. nov. 


Adult Male. — General colour above buff-brown; lesser, 
median, and greater wing coverts buff-brown, with narrow dark 
drab centres ; primaries, inner web drab, outer web edged with 
buff, quills reddish-brown ; secondaries, centres drab, broadly 
margined with buff. Tail, two centre feathers dark buffish-brown 
margined with pale buff, others smoky-drab narrowly margined 
in outer web with pale buff, inner web broadly tipped with pale 
buff ; upper tail coverts buff-brown washed with yellow ; rump 
buff-brown. Lores deep golden-yellow ; brow, cheeks, chin, eye- 
lids, throat, and whole of under side, including under tail coverts, 
rich yellow; forehead, upper portion of head and neck, and 
auricular region buff washed with yellow, with centres of 
feathers drab. Under side of wings pale drab, base of feathers 
and down slaty-grey ; under wing coverts yellow to buffish- 
white. Bill dark brown ; feet and legs brown; iris white. 

Female—While the upper portion exhibits the same buffish 
(desert) colouration as the male, the yellow of the under side 
is not so rich and extensively blended with buff. In one 
specimen breast and sides are buff blending into yellow, 
abdomen rich yellow. In the other the sides of breast are buff 


Emu 
21st Jan. 


252 AsuBy, Description of a New Ephthianura. 
with the centre almost pure yellow, abdomen buff-yellow. 
In both specimens the lores are pale yellow. In one the eye- 
brow is clearly marked in pale yellow; in the other, probably a 
young bird, it is represented by a slight yellow wash only. 
Both females are only partially through moulting, the tail 
feathers being almost entirely young quills. 

Measurements in inches :—Male. — Wing, 3; tail, 1.65 ; 
culmen, .55; tarsus, .80. Females. — (1) Total length, 5 ; 
wing, 3.05 ; tail, 1.68; culmen, .47; tarsus, 83. (2) Total length, 
4.72; wing, 2.9; tail, 1.62 ; culmen, .47 ; tarsus, .9; middle toe, 
.65 ; hind toe (including claw), .55. 

Habitat.—Leigh’s Creek, S.A. 

Remarks.—\ am indebted to Mr. J. R. B. Love for the hand- 
some little birds above described, received in the flesh after inject- 
ing formalin, and it is with pleasure I name the species after 
him, while in the vernacular it may be known as the Desert Bush- 
Chat. The male was obtained on the 11th of November last, 
and the two females a month later. There was a flock of about 
a score. I have provisionally referred this species to the genus 
Ephthianura, but it is of very robust form, and may, after 
further investigation, exhibit generic differences. On com- 
parison with Gould’s figure and description of Ephthzanura 
crocea, Castelnau and Ramsay, the species herein described is 
distinctly larger, and, while exhibiting some similarities, is 
very dissimilar in general colouration, has no yellow rump, 
and no crescent mark on breast. Through the kindness of Mr. 
R. Etheridge, the skin of the male has been compared with the 
Ephthianure in the national collection in the Australian Museum, 
and Mr. A. J. North supports my opinion that the new bird is 
possibly allied to the Ephthianure. 


Description of the Nest and Egg of White-winged 
Petrel (CEstrelata leucoptera, Gould). 


By A. F. Basset Hutt,” R.A.O.U., SypDNEx: 
(Published as “ Bulletin No. 1” of the R.A.O.U., 15/12/10.) 


Nest.—A depression in the ground, or a crevice amongst loose 
stones, lined with a small quantity of broken pieces of dead fronds 
of the cabbage palm. 

Egg.—One, soft chalky-white, rounded oval; dimensions, 1.96 x 
1.48 inches. 

Remarks.—This species breeds in considerable numbers on 
Cabbage Tree Island, off the entrance to Port Stephens, New South 
Wales. This is the type locality of the species, and I believe that 
it has not been found elsewhere, except as an occasional straggler 
on the wing. The birds were found in small numbers on the 16th 


lies Hut, Nest and Egg of White-winged Petrel. 253 


IQiI 


October, Ig10 ; singly, for the most part concealed under the fallen 
fronds of the cabbage palm. On the 2nd November there were 
more birds, nearly all in pairs, and many were in crevices amongst 
the rocks; they were evidently mating. On 4th December large 
numbers of birds were found sitting, each on one egg, and all nests 
were more or less in the open—e.g., there was no semblance of a 
burrow, such as is constructed by its nearest ally, G2. cooki, Gray. 
In some instances several nests were found in close proximity under 
large masses of dead fronds, and deep in natural crevices amongst 
the stones, but there was no evidence of any scratching out of soil 
to form the nesting-place. 

The eggs vary greatly in dimensions and shape ; the major axis 
varies from 1.76 to 2.12, and the minor axis from 1.36 to 1.54, the 
average dimensions of 3I measured specimens being 1.96 x 1.46 
inches. 


Further Remarks on the Finding of the Nest and 
Egg of Cstrelata leucoptera. 
By A. F. BASSET HULL, R.A.O.U:, SYDNEY. 


IN his “ Handbook to the Birds of Australia,” p. 454, John 
Gould, in dealing with his Zi strelata leucoptera, or White-winged 
Petrel, expressed the opinion that his bird was different from the 
@. (Procellaria) cookt of G. R. Gray. His specimen was 
obtained while breeding on Cabbage Tree Island, at the mouth 
of Port Stephens, and he was informed that the bird bred there 
in abundance. He added :—“ The Australian seas abound with 
Petrels, the investigation of the various species of which, their 
habits and economy, as well as their places of abode, will serve 
to occupy the attention of ornithologists for years to come.” 

On the 30th December, 1906, my friend Mr. R. N. Cadden, 
who was on the staff of the Danysz Rabbit Inoculation Station 
at Broughton Island, writing to me with reference to Petrels’ 
eggs, said :—“It is too late to procure good Mutton-Birds’ or 
Storm-Petrels’ eggs now.” 

At the time I was not aware that any Petrel other than the 
Mutton-Bird (Puffinus sphenurus) was known to breed so far 
north, but I stored up the remark for future investigation. My 
discovery of Pelagodroma marina breeding on an islet off 
Wollongong in 1909 revived my interest in the matter, and I 
decided to make an expedition to the islands in the vicinity of 
Port Stephens this season, in order to determine, first, what 
species of Storm-Petrel bred on Broughton Island, and, second, 
whether Gould’s White-winged Petrel still frequented the type 
locality of the species. 

Accompanied by Mr. C. Hedley, F.L.S., Assistant Curator of 
the Australian Museum, Dr. Hamlyn Harris, F.Z.S., Director of 


254 Hutt, Nest and Egg of Céstrelata leucoptera. mye 


2ist Jan. 


the Brisbane Museum, and several other friends, I left Sydney 
on the 15th October last, and reached Nelson’s Bay, at the 
entrance to Port Stephens, at daylight on the 16th. Here a 
launch was in readiness, and by 9 o'clock we had covered the 12 
miles of ocean and reached Broughton Island. A short walk 
brought us to a sandy hillock with a north-easterly aspect, and 
here we soon discovered the small burrows of a Petrel, which on 
investigation proved to be those of Pelagodroma marina. Many 
burrows contained birds sitting on perfectly fresh eggs; a few 
eggs were about half incubated, while other burrows contained a 
bird but no egg. None of the eggs taken was spotted with 
reddish, as was the case with a fair proportion of the eggs taken 
the previous year off Wollongong. There were many hundreds 
of burrows, and in the accompanying photograph no less than 
five entrances to burrows can be detected. Numerous fragments 
or skeletons of dead Petrels were lying about, and we were 
informed by the launch proprietor that some domestic cats 
which had been liberated on the island were responsible for 
much slaughter of these innocents. I am inclined to think that 
several Harriers I saw hovering about the locality were the real 
offenders, the remains having the appearance of being picked 
rather than chewed. Some Greek fishermen who reside on the 
island, on being questioned as to birds breeding there, said that 
a large Mutton-Bird with a white breast was to be found on the 
western end of the island. A long journey to the spot, how- 
ever, revealed only a number of burrows, some of which were 
inhabited by Puffiinus sphenurus, engaged in cleaning out their 
habitations for the following month’s operations. 

After lunch we returned to the entrance to Port Stephens, 
where Cabbage Tree, Boondelbah (or Big), and Little Islands 
form a triangle. Landing on the first-named, we immediately 
discovered a number of Penguins (Eudyptula minor) occupying 
shallow burrows or ensconced in crevices under the rocks on the 
shore. These birds were sitting on fresh or partly incubated 
eggs, or had one or two young ones in varying stages of growth. 
This was an interesting discovery, and constituted another 
“farthest north” record of a breeding-place of this species, my 
previous record being off Wollongong (Tom Thumb Island), 
140 miles south of Port Stephens (October, 1909). Above, 
and closely approaching the Penguins’ zone, were numerous 
burrows of Puffinus sphenurus, some of which were inhabited by 
the birds, but no eggs had been laid. 

The western or shoreward side of Cabbage Tree Island is 
densely covered with vegetation, consisting chiefly of the cab- 
bage palm (Lzvestona australis), with a few large native plum 
(Szderoxylon australe) trees, and vines innumerable, forming a very 
tangled growth, through which it was difficult to force a way. 
After struggling through a belt of tangled scrub, Dr. Harris and 


eas HuLt, Nest and Egg of Gstrelata leucoptera. 255 
I came to a steep gully, evidently forming a watercourse in wet 
weather, strewn with loose boulders and smaller stones. Large 
cabbage palms grew here in abundance, and there were masses 
of dead fronds lying underneath the trees. Stumbling over this 
débris, we heard a shrill cry, like the sounds “ Peep, peep” 
_ rapidly repeated several times, and a small bluish-grey bird 
fluttered out from under the dead fronds, and half-flew, half- 
waddled down the gully towards the shore. It soon became 
entangled in the vines, and upon being captured proved to be 
Gstrelata leucoptera, Gid. Further search revealed several 
more birds, all of which uttered their cry upon hearing our 
footsteps. Some were discovered hidden in deep crevices 
amongst the loose stones, and in one case two birds were 
together. Careful search failed to disclose any sign of eggs, but, 
upon dissection, two females taken showed signs of an early 
intention of laying. The day was then nearly done, so after 
taking several Penguins, adult and young, and eggs, we returned 
to Nelson’s Bay. Early the next morning we returned to the 
island, having first made an ineffectual attempt to land on 
Boondelbah Island, and Mr. Hedley and I ascended to the top 
of Cabbage Tree Island, taking the gully route. It was a fairly 
stiff climb of about 500 feet, but the view from the top was 
ample reward for the exertion. The seaward side fell away 
almost perpendicularly to the ocean, and a few tussocks clinging 
to the cliff showed signs of Mutton-Birds’ tracks. A rocky 
platform on the summit was burrowed in all directions, and 
amongst the stones were many early arrivals of the Pufinus 
sphenurus, which greeted us with their melancholy wails. 

Very few Céstrelatas were seen towards the top, so we 
abandoned the search and returned home. 

On the 30th October we again visited Cabbage Tree Island, 
the Messrs. Robert and Henry Grant, taxidermists to the 
Australian Museum, accompanying us. On this occasion Henry 
Grant found an (stre/ata in a deep crevice under the rocks 
amongst the Penguins. He extracted the bird, and saw what he 
took to be a young bird in the recesses of the crevice, but was 
unable to get it out. On visiting the gully again, we found a 
larger number of the Petrels, mostly in pairs, sitting on nests 
formed of masses of fragments of dead cabbage palm fronds, 
but no eggs had been laid. Curiously enough, the female birds 
examined showed no signs of laying in the immediate future. 
The weather appearing to threaten a change, we returned to 
port, and spent the remainder of the day in obtaining specimens 
of the land-birds, procuring Coracina lineata, Tropidorhynchus 
corniculatus, Malurus lamberti, and others. 

I then decided to give the Petrels a month to make up their 
minds to lay, and on the 4th December last, my brother, Mr. 
W. D. Hull, Mr. Thos. P. Austin, of Cobborah, and I went up 


250 Hutt, Nest and Egg of Gstrelata leucoptera. ete 


2tst Jan 


again. Landing about 7 o’clock in the morning, we found the 
Penguins still at work, several having fresh eggs under them. 
This bird must arrive to breed at intervals from late August to 
December, judging from our discovery of nearly full-grown 
birds in October and fresh eggs in December. Puffiinus sphenurus 
had commenced to lay apparently some days before our arrival, — 
as we found many burrows tenanted, and eggs either fresh or 
slightly incubated. 

We gave these two species scant attention, however, and 
quickly made our way to the gully. Immediately upon entering 
its shades I found a White-winged Petrel sitting in full view 
amongst some vines trailing over the ground, and on removing 
her discovered her egg reposing on a bed of dead cabbage palm 
fronds, broken into short pieces and piled for a few inches in 
depth in a hollow amongst the stones. The egg was pure 
white, soft and chalky in texture, elongated oval in shape, 
measuring 2.12 x 1.4 inches. My brother soon found another, 
and Mr. Austin followed with a third. Thereafter we went on 
finding the sitting birds in all directions in the gully. In most 
cases the bird was visible, either under an overhanging rock or in 
a crevice amongst the stones. In several instances a cry from 
under a mass of fallen fronds led to a search, and the bird was 
found nesting amongst the stones beneath. In one place I 
found five sitting birds under one mass of fronds. The eggs 
were for the most part fresh, but several were partly incubated, 
and two contained feathered chicks. There is no doubt, 
therefore, that they had commenced to lay shortly after our 
visit on 30th October. As the first egg taken was of abnormal 
length, I took the measurement of 31 specimens, and found the 
average dimensions to be 1.96 x 1.46 inches. The egg I selected 
for a type was 1.96 x 1.48 inches. There is considerable 
variation in dimensions and shape of the eggs, but for the most 
part they are stout rounded oval in shape, while a few are 
elongated oval. The major axis varies from 1.76 to 2.12 
inches, and the minor axis from 1.36 to 1.54 inches. 

The birds show no difference outwardly between the sexes, 
but individual specimens show slight variation in the slaty-grey 
colour on the sides of the neck; in some cases this colour 
extends right over the throat, becoming lighter towards the 
middle. One specimen had a few scattered white feathers on the 
crown. The sitting birds showed no fear, but pecked sharply at 
one’s hand, although the beak is not strong or large enough to 
inflict more than a slight scratch. When removed from the nest 
they generally fluttered down the gully towards the sea, but in 
some instances returned after going a short distance, and sought 
shelter in a rock crevice. 

After exploring the first gully, we re-embarked in the dinghy, 
and visited another gully further to the north. The landing at 


Va es Hutt, Nest and Egg of CEstrelata leucoptera. 257, 


IQII 


this point proved difficult, but was successfully accomplished, 
and in the shades of the palms many more sitting birds were 
found. I may here remark that in the first gully Mr. Austin 
took two perfectly fresh eggs from a nest, but no bird was sitting 
on them, and I assume that their occurrence together was 
accidental. Many broken eggs or shells with large ragged 
holes in them were found. The launch man who accompanied 
us attributed these broken eggs to snakes, but as we saw no 
sign of any reptile other than a very small lizard, I am inclined 
to charge the bush-rats with the robberies, as their nests were to 
be seen amongst the vines, and the ragged holes in the eggs 
bore the appearance of having been nibbled out. Occasional 
dead birds were seen, but these probably were killed by becoming 
entangled in the vines. In this connection I may mention that 
we found a Penguin at the entrance to its burrow amongst the 
tussocks, with one leg securely held by tangled grass, which had 
become wound round it. A soft-shelled egg was lying under- 
neath the bird, which was alive but very thin. We released her, 
to her apparent satisfaction. 

Leaving Cabbage Tree Island about 10 a.m., we proceeded to 
Broughton Island, and landed in Esmeralda Cove, a beautiful 
sheltered bay behind a huge sugarloaf rock, on which some 
Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) were apparently nesting in 
an inaccessible place. After lunch and a bathe, we inspected the 
Storm-Petrels’ burrows, and found several tenanted by young 
birds in down, and a few with adult birds sitting on nearly 
hatched eggs. Beyond a few Harriers and one White-bellied 
Sea-Eagle, we saw nothing more of interest on this island. 

On the return journey we noticed a number of “ Shearwaters ’ 
(a much more suitable name than “ Mutton-Birds”) of the 
P. sphenurus species, and amongst them were a few more robust 
birds with whitish or yellowish bills. These may prove to be 
P. carnetpes (Gould), but further search is necessary to ascertain 
whether they breed in the vicinity. I took a male bird of 
another species on Cabbage Tree Island, but have not yet 
established its identity. 

On the 6th December we went up Port Stephens to a small 
island, also called Cabbage Tree, about 12 miles from the 
entrance to the port. Here we were fortunate enough to find 
an extensive Nankeen Night-Heronry, some hundreds of nests 
being lodged in the branches of the large ironwood trees 
(Sideroxylon australe) or native plum. These nests for the 
most part contained one or two young birds in varying stages 
of growth, from the just hatched to full-fledged birds able to 
fly. A fair number of nests contained eggs, chiefly clutches of 
two or three, but two were found containing four eggs each. As 
the two and three sets were mostly partially incubated, it may 
be considered that they formed the full intended clutch in each 


> 


258 Hutt, Nest and Egg of Gstrelata leucoptera. a 


21st Jan. 


case. Ona small sand-spit which we visited on our way home, 
we found a few two and three sets of eggs of Sterna sinensis and 
one pair of Zigialitis ruficapilla. 

On the 7th December we again took the launch outside the 
Heads, and after considerable difficulty effected a landing on Big 
or Boondelbah Island. We had to ascend a narrow cleft in the 
cliffs for a distance of 300 feet, but the labour was not well 
repaid, for we found nothing but immense numbers of Puffinus 
sphenurus. Every available yard of sandy soil was burrowed, 
and each burrow was tenanted by a bird and egg, while a 
sociable little lizard basked on the sand-heap at the entrance, 
and whisked into the burrow on our approach. Many birds 
were unable to find sufficient accommodation for burrowing 
purposes, and had to content themselves with the slight shelter 
afforded by a thick tussock or a stunted bush (Aéreplex, sp.) 
These birds were often quite visible from above, but sat unmoved 
as we passed by. 

We next visited a small split rock or islet off Point Stephens, 
called Shark Island. The signalman at the Port informed me 
that three species of birds frequented this island—viz., the 
common Mutton-Bird, the Cabbage Tree Island Petrel, and a 
smaller one called “ Blue-billy.’”. The last is probably the 
White-faced Storm-Petrel, but our most careful search of both 
halves of the islet failed to reveal anything but Pufinus sphen- 
urus and two nests of Demzegretta sacra, one containing two 
young birds and the other empty. 


Field Notes on the Birds of Kimberley, North-West 


Australia. 
By G. F. Hitt, R.A.O.U., MELBOURNE. 


In August of last year I visited the newly-established mission 
station (lat. 14° 6’ S., long. 126° 40’ E.) on Napier Broome Bay, 
far north-west of Australia, and the following notes and observa- 
tions are the result of 10 months’ work, devoted principally to 
ornithology, in the interests of Mr. H. L. White, Belltrees, New 
South Wales, in a remote and practically unknown region. The 
locality is about 300 miles north-east of Derby and 135 miles 
north-west of Wyndham. 

The season was evidently a very unusual one, and the rainfall 
far below the average, if one could judge accurately from the 
appearance of the country and the evidence of great volumes of 
water in the creeks and rivers during past seasons. Between 
October and April, 34 inches of rain were recorded—a generous 
rainfall under some conditions, yet not sufficient for this country 
when distributed generally in light showers over a period of six 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXIxX. 


Creek Scene: Home of White-breasted Honey-eater (Glycyphila fasciata), 
also of Tawny Grass-Bird (Megaluyus galactotes) and Red-backed Wren 
(Malurus cruentatus) along the grassy margin. 


FROM A PHOTO, BY G. F, HILL. 


. 


bw 


vee ae Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 259 


IQt1 


months of the year. Although most of my work was confined to 
the country between the Drysdale River and the east side of 
Napier Broome Bay, I paid several brief visits to the islands and 
many points on the mainland between that bay and Gibson Point 
(Parry Harbour), and on my return by lugger to Derby in July 
further opportunities were afforded for seeing much of the coast 
and adjacent islands of Kimberley, but I regret that the exigencies 
of travel would not permit of longer delays at many promising 
spots. Most of the coast and the islands are extremely rocky 
and barren, and possessed of very little bird, animal, and insect 
life. Sea-birds are remarkably scarce, and I saw no signs of 
‘“rookeries’” on any of the islands, nearly all of which are in- 
habited or visited by aborigines. A few localities on the coast 
call for some notice before going on to a more detailed description 
of the country in which I did most of my work. 


ae a 


os 
—— Por? BA eM, 


Hill’s Camp, 
‘Drysdale River 
Mission. ~~ 


@ . 
NORTHERN TERRITGRY 
roper) 


tae ae 


DERBY. wee oo See cee, | 
Sheet 


prada a 


(ORTH BA 
@) wesr__—t - os 
sae: AUSTRALIA}; : ‘y 
EN EN REAN | sus-recion 
i e ALICE SPR in 
} \ CENTRAL eae QUEENSLAND 


Parry Harbour, at the entrance to which les Hecla Island 
(lat. 13° 5’ S., long. 126° E.) is one of the most picturesque as well 
as one of the safest harbours on the north-west coast. Ata distance 
the whole of the surrounding country appears to be a level and 
fertile basaltic plateau, but a closer examination proves it to be 
composed almost entirely of broken basaltic rocks and gravel, lightly 
timbered with stunted eucalypts, acacias, and many species of 
small shrubs. The precipitous slopes, however, are thickly 
clothed with tropical trees, shrubs, and creepers, where bird and 
insect life is plentiful and varied, and differs remarkably from 
that found further up the coast. Water is not abundant, but 
there are many permanent springs close to the shore. Hecla 
Island is about I2 acres in extent, and waterless. Two-thirds of 
its surface are treeless, but well grassed, while the remainder is 
similar to the slopes on the adjacent mainland. 

Augustus Island (lat. 15° 26’ S., long. 124° 34’ E.) and the 


2600 HIL., Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. [ anne 


2st Jan. 


adjacent mainland appear to closely resemble Parry Harbour as 
regards flora and fauna, though both are more varied; but the 
geological formation is very different, being largely sandstone. 
For scenic beauty there is nothing on the north-west coast to 
compare with this locality, and, indeed, it would be difficult to 
picture anything grander than the rugged coast-line at Hanover 
Bay and the entrance to Prince Regent River. The precipitous, 
table-topped hills, Mts. Trafalgar and Waterloo, are remarkable 
features of this country. Further south the coast again becomes 
rocky, barren, and uninviting. Sea-birds are very scarce on the 
entire length of this coast, and few species were seen. 

As most of my notes refer to the birds found between the eastern 
shore of Napier Broome Bay and the Drysdale River, a fuller 
description of this area may be given. A dense fringe of man- 
eroves forms the predominant feature of the coast-line ; however, 
many little sandy bays and rocky points break the dark 
ereen line, and add considerably to the beauty of an already 
pleasing landscape. Birds are numerous in the mangroves, but, as 
a rule, their nests are most difficult to find, owing to the density 
of the vegetation. Bird-observing here is anything but a pleasure. 
Soft mud, water, and a labyrinth of aerial roots make progress 
slow and arduous, while the humid atmosphere, and the attacks 
of countless thousands of mosquitoes and sand-flies, are almost 
past endurance; yet there is a strange fascination about the 
mangrove fringe, with its peculiar birds, insects, and marine life. 
In this bay there is a rise and fall in the tide of 8 feet, and at low 
tide considerable areas of sand and mud are exposed, affording 
rich feeding ground for several species of Waders. 

Travelling inland from the shore, sandy and slightly undulating 
country is met with for two or three miles, in which occasional 
outcrops of sandstone occur. Some of these outcrops are merely 
isolated rocks, while others cover a considerable area and rise to 
an altitude of 60 to 80 feet above the surrounding country. Most 
of the sandy area is covered with a fairly heavy growth of 
eucalypts and a smaller proportion of the other trees and shrubs, 
such as Melaleuca leucadendron (in wet localities), Acacia dorat- 
oxylon, A. tumida, Calycothrix microphylla, and C. laricina. 
Some of the coastal localities are timbered almost exclusively with 
Grevillea, which, during flowering time, is alive with birds by 
day and flying-foxes (Pteropus) by night. 

During the wet season grass grows luxuriantly, even on the 
poorest soil, and one species—Sarga stipoidea, Ewart and White— 
attains a height of from Io to 14 feet. 

Tropical forest growth is confined to one area of about 2 acres 
in extent, in which the principal flora is Melaleuca leucadendron, 
and a number of strange trees, of which I collected specimens, but 
have not yet been able to procure the botanical names. Many 
pandanus trees also graced the scene. In this locality birds are 
numerous, probably on account of the shelter from sun and wind 
and the abundance of food and water. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PISATPE DOG: 


Mangrove Creek : Home of White-tailed Robin (Pecilodryas pulverulenta), 
Shining Flycatcher (Pzezorhynchus nitidus), and Brown-tailed Fly- 
catcher (Micreca brunneicauda). 


FROM A PHOTO. BY G, F. HILL, 


) ye oa ; vw 
Be a Wadbed riMhs YEU eh 1 


ae eae 
Eee ce SL TL a toutavined ayia 
Uses ke Ss Moat a Abhay Saitek awit 
tay? as = son? elie 


ery 
: “ 


i 
m 
3 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXxXI. 


“TNH “4 “DB AG ‘OLOHd VY WOHS 


‘(seuuadiqw vsspydoyaq) Wwoastg-Yyooxy pure ‘(2zp4vmpoom v7yI21901AK]]09) 


ysniyy-eytyS poeyseeiq-umorg ‘(s1zanp snsénjypy) UdIAA PoeyUeY-IopusaAeT JO sWOF{ 


: Arzunos) suojspures 


ie 


nel Hivi, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 261 

The broken sandstone country commences at from 2 to 3 miles 
from the coast, and forms the western wall of the higher but more 
or less level country between Napier Broome Bay and the Drys- 
dale River. This wall rises abruptly from the lower country, and 
is composed entirely of sandstone rocks, scantily clothed with 
stunted eucalypts, pines, and many varieties of shrubs, chief of 
which are Calycothrix microphylla, C. laricina, and Acacia lepto- 
phleba. A few species of birds, notably Malurus dulcis (Lavender- 
flanked Wren), Collyriocichla woodwardi (Brown-breasted Shrike- 
Thrush), and Petrophassa albipennis (White-quilled Rock-Pigeon), 
are peculiar to this class of country, but, generally speaking, 
bird-life is very scarce. A large rock-kangaroo (Macropus wood- 
wardt ?) and a small wallaby (Petrogale, sp. ?) are fairly plentiful 
here. 

Travelling in a south-easterly to easterly direction, the country 
generally is level or slightly undulating, and, excepting a few 
rich marshes and flats along permanent creeks, is absolutely 
worthless for pastoral purposes. In the poorest of the gravel and 
scrub-covered areas 1 found the two species of Honey-eaters, 
Ptilotis sonora and P. planasi (Campbell, Emu, x., p. 168), fairly 
plentiful, but other birds and game were very scarce. The 
difficulty of procuring food in the bush was one of the most 
serious troubles we had to face, not only in this, but in almost 
every locality I visited. 

As the Drysdale River is approached, rich alluvial plains of 
large extent take the place of the poorer sandy or gravelly country 
to the westward. I spent a week at the beginning of June about 
the river and the country near Camp FB/85 of the Kimberley 
Exploration Expedition of Ig01, but I was disappointed to find 
bird-life poorly represented and nests few and far between. 

Quail were numerous, and, from tracks seen, kangaroos were 
evidently fairly plentiful at times, but it was evident that large 
parties of aborigines had been hunting there just previous to our 
arrival. Small crocodiles and fish were plentiful in the river, 
but no water-fowl were seen. 

I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without referring to 
the courtesy, hospitality, and cordial assistance extended to me 
by Bishop Torres, Very Rev. Father Planas, and the members of 
the Drysdale River Mission, and by many residents of Derby, 
whose kindness will always remain the most pleasant recollection 
T possess of this trip. I also desire to express my best thanks to 
Mr. Joseph Hope, Chief Draughtsman, and to Mr. Fred. S. Brock- 
man, Chief Inspecting Surveyor, Lands Department, W.A., for plans 
and valuable information; also to Mr. W. B. Fletcher, W.A. 
Government Agency and Tourists’ Office, Melbourne, for maps, 
guide books, letters of introduction, &c., which were of the utmost 
assistance to me. 

Mr. H. L. White, of Scone, New South Wales, kindly consented 
to allow the ornithological collection to remain in Melbourne 
until my return, and it is to him and Mr. A. J. Campbell that 


262 Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. es 


21st Jan. 


my thanks are due for the identification of the specimens 
therein. 

In the following notes I have used the technical nomenclature 
adopted in Mathews’ “ Handlist of the Birds of Australia” 
(Suppl., Emu, vol. vil.) All measurements of birds were taken in 
the flesh, and in recording tail measurements I have given the 
length of the longest feathers. New records for North-West 
Australia are indicated by asterisks, thus (*). 

In conclusion, it is hoped that yet another page has been added 
to the history of Australian avifauna, and that the facts and 
opinions recorded in the following notes will prove of interest to 
ornithologists and others. The failure to secure observations on 
the nidification of several new or rare species, and the comparative 
paucity of field notes on the rest, are only too obvious; but I 
would ask critical readers to bear in mind that I was generally 
alone, in a wild country, where the hostility and treachery of the 
aborigines were very great, and where insect pests taxed the 
collector’s patience to the utmost of human endurance. 


DROMHUS NOVHE-HOLLANDIA (Emu). 

The plumage of the North-Western appears to be somewhat 
darker than that of the Southern birds. The food consists largely of 
seeds of a Grevillea and of a hardy bush which bears an abundant 
crop of woody and unpleasantly flavoured fruit. 


MEGAPODIUS TUMULUS (Scrub-Fowl).* 

I noticed these birds only in the tropical scrubs at Parry Harbour, 
on Hecla Island, and on the mainland abreast of Augustus Island. 
Several mounds were found in the first-mentioned localities, the 
largest of which measured 12 feet in diameter at the top, 28 feet at 
the base, and 8 feet high. From the appearance of the mounds, I 
judged that the young had hatched out about the middle of January. 
The loud, discordant cries of the Scrub-Fowls were heard only at 
daybreak. 


SYNC@CUS AUSTRALIS (Brown Quail). 

Numerous in well-grassed country. Their food consists largely of 
leaves of several small species of herbaceous plants, grass seeds, and 
locusts. The crop of one specimen contained a lizard (Gecko) 3 inches 
long and several locusts. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
GOSS BOE SF CG ar ae Oat ane See 
Oo OR ee Lh cist Ore tee As ree 
OMe Loy t- Srp tea | SMa inor da Oper Cit eal OE se es - 


TURNIX CASTANONOTA (Chestnut-backed Quail). 
The remarks on Synecus australis apply also to this species. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
re 162). ele OT 5 ek 2 Oe5 Creel ee eae) 
2 ZOOM OH: 25 ey al On beeen 
2 1862 ha BQO WLS AUF a2 bier ace LO ly Reenter 


MyYRISTICIVORA SPILORRHOA (Nutmeg-Pigeon) ? 
Prior to my arrival several large white Pigeons were shot at Parry 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXXII. 


‘(sajnumny snipodvsapy) [MoqJ-qniss jo punouw-33q 


GEVM SYW AG “OLOHd VY WOYS 


Vol. =| Hi1i, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 263 


IQIL 


Harbour by the aboriginal natives attached to the mission station, 
but they were not identified. Subsequently, I spent a good deal 
of time hunting in these scrubs without securing any specimens, 
although I saw and heard Pigeons which I believe were referable to 
this species. 


PTILOPUS EWINGI (Rose-crowned Fruit-Pigeon). 
A very uncommon species, which was seen only in the dense 
tropical scrub on the eastern slopes of Parry Harbour on 15th April, 


IQIO. 
Measurements of bird in mm. :— 
Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. lait 
Imm.g .. — as D2 = shor. -LOCL shay © alka aaa 


GEOPELIA HUMERALIS (Barred-shouldered Dove). 

A very common species in the mangroves on the coast and islands 
from King Sound (Derby) to Parry Harbour, but uncommon further 
north. 


GEOPELIA PLACIDA (Ground-Dove). 

Eggs of this very common bird were taken from 21/12/09 to 
3/5/10. The nests are generally built at from 4 feet 6 inches to 7 feet 
from the ground, in small scrub. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Meee le ear es Serer NOS. wc EBV Gis sos OOes 
ODE rae ONL Oe eens Opa tnstt UO a. se ME Goes a7 


PHAPS CHALCOPTERA (Bronze-wing Pigeon). 

Were fairly plentiful. The nesting season extends from the middle 
of March to the end of July. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
CEES Se eo Gee eke BOE 808 FO aSs oe E38 
Cee eee Domed a DO” | s/s 2O.5 cle APSE 
Ciera GA mem bOhe ete 22.57 0 20% Se 220 
Se tel Ole nae DBM Fee! ZOK ee e 


PETROPHASSA ALBIPENNIS (White-quilled Rock-Pigeon). 

Resident, and fairly numerous, on the rocky plateau country east 
of Napier Broome Bay. Like Geophaps smithi (Naked-eyed Partridge- 
Pigeon) they were sometimes met with in flocks of 6 or 8 birds, but 
more often in pairs. The nests are built of twigs placed on the most 
exposed surfaces of rocks. The mission ‘“ boys’’ told me that most 
of these Pigeons nested in September, which is correct, I think, although 
I took eggs in the middle of October and as late as the end of April. 
Acacia seeds form the principal article of food. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3} PLAS: eae meV IS aE Po EES Oe CR Se We, 
rN ie Sg DD eee OT iy LQ vavave, DeIew 
2 Mts A ee oe 1.2 I a em a? 9 [2 
2 PIO ee ais (Re eh On 7. nar ee i ie: 
fe) ZOOM et anaer e ee SRT es 


GEOPHAPS SMITHI (Naked-eyed Partridge-Pigeon). 
A common species in all localities east of Napier Broome Bay, 
where they were generally seen in flocks of from 6 to 20 birds. Young 


264 Hit, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. Ente 


2ist Jan. 


birds were seen at the end of March, and eggs were taken from 7th 
May to 28th June. Two beautiful cream-coloured eggs are laid on 
the ground in a shallow depression lined with grass. Acacia and 
grass seeds are the chief articles of food. As a rule, these Pigeons 
are found at some distance from water, which they visit with great 
regularity about 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 Ay Role reine Wek @ li o5 taker MAN ELON walt ode elh irc Gipr, eIL 
3 QB5 ee co LOE om wes Le ant ea Onn eae 
36 27 2N Taeaaile cel Rig toearMater a F LINEeEr ella ey. 
} 27D) Os. e Ip gales un grat 2 Ole eager Ls ake Yea Oy 
© DTA. cht iercith OMI: Pat 210 ceed, eel atte saa) lt 
Q ZION. x kk OL ee oe hue wyatt MLC aaa ctor 
Q DUO re Rie AT DOs as tas teed Ooo sea eT ed aeRO) 
Q BO) te LAO NAL, (LO Shae aie Or itch ene 


EULABEORNIS CASTANEIVENTER (Chestnut-bellied Rail) ?* 
A single specimen only was seen (7/12/09), but, as I did not secure 
it, the identification may not be correct. 


FULICA AUSTRLLIS (Coot). 
Occasionally seen on the edge of the mangroves at the outlet of 
a small creek. 


STERNA BERGII (Crested Tern). 
Rarely seen. 


LARUS NOV2-HOLLANDI (Silver Gull). 
Were not seen farther north than Scott Strait (14° 35’ S. lat.) 


H2MATOPUS FULIGINOSUS (Black Oyster-catcher). 
Occasionally seen on the coast and islands. 


H4MATOPUS LONGIROSTRIS (Pied Oyster-catcher). 
Occasionally seen on the coast and islands. 


CHARADRIUS DOMINICUS (Lesser Golden Plover). 
Very uncommon. 


OCHTHODROMUS VEREDUS (Oriental Dottrel). 


AZGIALITIS RUFICAPILLA (Red-capped Dottrel). 
Fairly numerous. 


NUMENIUS CYANOPUS (Curlew). 


NUMENIUS VARIEGATUS (Whimbrel). 
Numerous. 


HETERACTITES BREVIPES (Grey-rumped Sandpiper). 
Fairly numerous. 
TRINGOIDES HYPOLEUCUS (Common Sandpiper). 


GLOTTIS NEBULARIUS (Greenshank). 
Numerous. 


HETEROPYGIA AURITA (Sharp-tailed Stint). 
TRINGA CRASSIROSTRIS (Great Sandpiper). 
PISOBIA RUFICOLLIS (Little Stint). 
BURHINUS GRALLARIUS (Stone-Plover). 


Not numerous ; were seen in all localities from the coast to the 
Drysdale River. 


el. a Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley,N.-W. Aust. 265 


“IQII 
Measurements of bird in mm. :— 
Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 


CM 50) eve 200" Sac? EBT. «\. Poh ake eee 


ORTHORHAMPHUS MAGNIROSTRIS (Long-billed Stone-Plover). 
An uncommon species ; noticed on the coast and islands. 
Measurements of bird in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Seer 2OINY 2 Say.) 9G?” Ateepieg 
EUPODOTIS AUSTRALIS (Bustard). 


Uncommon. 


ANTIGONE AUSTRALASIANA (Crane or Native Companion), 

An occasional visitor. 

Isis mMoLucca (White Ibis). 
Very uncommon. 

XENORHYNCHUS ASIATICUS (Black-necked Stork). 
An occasional visitor. 

ARDEA SUMATRANA (Great-billed Heron).* 

Were seen from Parry Harbour northwards. As a rule they are 
found in the tall mangroves, which they rarely leave unless disturbed. 
HERODIAS TIMORIENSIS (White Egret). 

Very uncommon, 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
eyes Cee at Sn ne TAO. g) TOAST. 35 127 
NoropHoyx NOV#-HOLLANDI& (White-fronted Heron). 
Uncommon, and remarkably shy. 
DEMIEGRETTA SACRA (Reef-Heron). 
Uncommon, and difficult to approach. 
NycTIcoRAxX CALEDONICUS (Night-Heron). 

Uncommon. 

BvuToRIDES STAGNATILIS (Little Mangrove-Bittern). 

An uncommon bird, generally seen in the densest mangroves. 
PHALACROCORAX SULCIROSTRIS (Little Black Cormorant). 

Uncommon. 

PHALACROCORAX HYPOLEUCUS (Pied Cormorant). 

Uncommon. 

SULA LEUCOGASTER (Brown Gannet).* 

Fairly numerous between Cape Bougainville and Collier Bay. 
FREGATA ARIEL (Lesser Frigate-Bird). 

Fairly plentiful. 

PHAETHON RUBRICAUDA (Red-tailed Tropic-Bird). 

A pair only seen. 


PELECANUS CONSPICILLATUS (Pelican). 
Were seen on some rocks in Vansittart Bay. 


CIRCUS ASSIMILIS (Spotted Harrier). 
Very uncommon. 


CrRCUS GOULDI (Harrier). 
Uncommon. 


266 Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. Emu 


2ist Jan. 


AsturR FAsciatus (Goshawk). 
Uncommon and non-resident. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Oo) ais PAGR A FeO € ecir hgy 8iaern, ene 
Oo Sak BAR oh e207 res MOS ar aah cee ene 
OM st) AOD ohne 2 SO ress seer 23°) eee eee 


HALIAETUS LEUCOGASTER (White-bellied Sea-Eagle). 

An uncommon bird on the Kimberley coast-line. The blacks told 
‘me that they often saw these Eagles carry away turtles, which they 
caught by swooping down upon them as they rose to the surface to 
breathe. In a subsequent trip to Bernier Island, off Carnarvon, 
W.A., I noticed that these birds lived almost entirely on sea-snakes. 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Tail. 
je) ae 780 ne 581 Ane TOO a. 00 ea 7al 


ERYTHROTRIORCHIS RADIATUS (Red Goshawk).* 
A single specimen was secured. 


ERYTHROTRIORCHIS RUFOTIBIA (Red-legged Goshawk). 

(For description see Campbell, p. 249.) 

I saw four only of these new and fine Goshawks. On 1/5/10 a 
pair took possession of the nest referred to under Hieracidea orientalis, 
to which they added a few sticks and a lining of green cajaput leaves. 
They were not seen again until the middle of June, and then only 
occasionally, flying at a great height. On 30th June a bird was 
noticed on the nest for the first time, and on the following day a single 
egg was secured, the shell of which was already chipped, but I 
managed to save it. Mr. White describes it thus :—Shape, round 
oval ; colour, dirty white, without markings ; shell rather coarse, and 
shows slight gloss ; dimensions, 2.16 x 1.73 inches. As the nest had 
been examined at a distance almost daily since the beginning of May, 
and the sitting bird was not noticed until the end of June, I feel sure 
that the process of incubation was carried on by the heat of the 
sun during the day and by the birds only at night. The female bird 
was secured on 30th June, and by 20th July the male had mated 
again and commenced a new nest in a tall cajaput, about 50 yards 
distant from the first nest. All attempts to procure the male failed. 

Measurements of birds in mm; :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 

Ola S25 on oS BOO wa he ny aren oie le 

O45 J570) cx 2980 | eee © Se eOe See 
UROAETUS AUDAX (Wedge-tailed Eagle). 


Uncommon. 


HALIASTUR GIRRENERA (White-headed Sea-Eagle). 

An uncommon bird. The nests are built in mangrove trees on the 
outer side of the coastal fringe, of sticks and a small quantity of grass 
and sea-weed. Eggs were taken at Napier Broome Bay on 20/7/10. 
Crabs and cuttle-fish are the principal articles of food. 

HALIASTUR SPHENURUS (Whistling-Eagle). 

Were seen from 16th May to the end of July. 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Tail. 


g 5 552 “ue eee, oe 55 aes 256 


Us onal Hii, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 267 


1QII 


MILVus AFFINIS (Kite). 

Grass fires, and the consequent harvest of lizards, small mammals, 
and insects, attracted many Hawks in April, May, and June, amongst 
which Kites were prominent. Great daring is shown by these fine 
birds in the pursuit of their prey, and it is not an unusual thing to 
find their wing and tail feathers much damaged by fire. In August 
and September I saw many Kites in the town of Derby, where they 
were doing good work as scavengers. 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Tail. 
erred og e873 940 > 4<'. | 40) Yea 233 
LOPHOICTINIA ISURA (Square-tailed Kite). 

A single specimen only was secured at Parry Harbour. 
FALCO LUNULATUS (Little Falcon). 

These birds were very uncommon, excepting in March and April. 
The crops of two birds examined contained portions of two small 
birds and many locusts. 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Ses ee wee eAOvee eh 320 sre EAL yee a 
HIERACIDEA ORIENTALIS (Western Brown Hawk). 

A few birds remained in the district throughout the year, but one 
nest only was found, from which broods were reared in October and 
November. During March, April, and May, when grass fires were 
burning in all directions, these Hawks became numerous. The crops 
of those examined contained lizards and large insects (Mantide and 
Phasmid@) only. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
CMAN ee SO OZ) ew. 2A. | 3 EOS 
Gyo eagt OP rae} S35) aio: ole WAG) ™ Mir, eam soe a 310) 


CERCHNEIS CENCHROIDES (Kestrel). 
A few pairs were seen on and after 29th March, evidently having 
followed a flight of locusts which arrived a few days earlier. 
Measurements of birds in mm, :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Tail. 
3 re 296 os 233 a Ci Ga, Belew 
2 Bb 344 aes 250 rae AO oe RC, 


PANDION LEUCOCEPHALUS (Osprey). 

These birds were seen at frequent intervals on the coast. On 
9/4/10 I examined a nest, built on a precipitous basaltic rock in Parry 
Harbour, upon which both birds were sitting, but only to find it 
empty. Figures of birds, eggs, and a kangaroo, recently scratched 
by aborigines on an adjacent rock, told their own tale. The birds re- 
mained near the nest, so I returned on 17th and took from it one 
perfect egg and pieces of another clearly showing claw-holes. I 
visited this locality again on 1oth July, and found that a brood had 
been reared from the same nest since my last visit, and that an old nest 
about a quarter of a mile distant was being rebuilt. The nest from 
which eggs were taken was built of seaweed, drift-wood, and grass, 
and measured as follows :—Outside—length, 4 feet 6 inches ; breadth, 
3 feet 9 inches ; depth, 44 inches. Inside—length, 2 feet 6 inches ; 
breadth, 1 foot g inches ; depth, 3 inches. 


Emu 


268 Hit1, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. [.,.4"Van. 


Nrnox OcELLATA (Marbled Owl). 

Very uncommon. Young birds were seen in October. From 
dissections made I believe this species to be entirely insectivorous. 
All the specimens secured by me proved to be infected with semi- 
transparent worms of from 1} inches to 2 inches in length, which 
were located in the eye-socket, about the heart, between the skin 
and bone of the skull, in the intestines, and in the abdominal cavity. 

Measurements of birds in mm, :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Bs) BOO 277 aa OS Ole Sate een eee 
Bon TS BOR ~ ts OST R Te eis ee pe ey eens 
Q 308° ven GOR! pote iegOh Carell ames arenes 


NINOX OCCIDENTALIS (Western Winking-Owl). 

Appeared to be more numerous than the other spectes of Owls 
found in Kimberley. The frequently uttered cry—‘' Whoop-whoop ” 
—is indistinguishable from the cry of N. connivens of Victoria. 

Measurement of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Bike OZ ee 2OB The Se Gi ees ee 


NINOX RUFA (Rufous Owl). 

An uncommon species. These Owls usually retain in the talons 
some portion of the previous meal — generally the tail of a small 
nocturnal mammal (Phascologale penicillata or Petaurus breviceps). 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
AOD) oe, RDG" GN ob.” tne ne eee ED 


STRIX DELICATULA (Delicate Owl). 

Very uncommon. Two examples were secured for identification, 
and upon examination the crops were found to contain portions of 
small birds and marsupials. An almost perfect specimen of the 
marsupial Petaurus breviceps was taken from one crop. These North 
Kimberley birds are remarkable for their large size, feathered tarsi, 
partial or total absence of brown spots on the under surface, and the 
partial or total absence of brown in the feathers of the facial disc ; 
but, as Gould states, this fine phase of plumage, notably the spotless 
whiteness of under surface, indicates fully adult birds. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
dS oss SOB. T. BQO TEM GOS se fue een 
Goa: ABOB= 5. BOG Meter i aires anes One ene 


TRICHOGLOSSUS RUBRITORQUES (Red-collared Lorikeet).  , 

Arrived at Napier Broome Bay on 28/11/09, and were seen in small flocks 
until 2/3/10, Their food, during these months, consisted of honey from 
Grevillea and cajaput flowers and fruit juice of a certain tree. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3b BIO. “as TAQ > nto Oe Moree eee 
© vin «322. Qos MSO”) Cice Sei Fe tte ee ae a 
© a5, B12 35, WSO: ee Obe eee ee 
DO ne \2QG\. 36.002 1 an ER aap ee 


PTILOSCLERA VERSICOLOR (Varied Lorikeet). 
Large flocks of these pretty Lorikeets arrived at Napier Broome Bay on 


Vol. X-] Hu11, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 269 


IgII 


and after 20/12/09, and some few remained until July. Several pairs were 
seen preparing nesting-places (28/4/10), but none of them was used. While 
watching a pair of Crimson Finches (Veochmia phaeton) building their nest 
in a small hollow—a very unusual position for these birds—I saw a pair of 
Lorikeets drive them away and immediately set to work to remove the nest, 
which they did in an incredibly short space of time. After working inside 
the hollow for a few minutes, both flew away, leaving the Finches to collect 
the remains of their nest, which they rebuilt in the top of a pandanus palm 


close by. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 

Totallength. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
ry Nee TES) Us. 12 = 67 
3 Uiueeweee Wl 9 ses. 12 — 67 
3 WGQueree DLO cs. - 12 — 2 
3 ZOOL ee atG: :;. 12 — 2 
2 Rogers EE Ie... 02 13 60 
fe) ROSWeer LOM sec 9 12 —- 2 
Sly ung (SS) A ocd gi Se aes ip ee re 63 
Oe Oe eee Set 12 4. 65 


CALYPTORHYNCHUS MACRORHYNCHUS (Great-billed Cockatoo). 
The first arrivals reached Napier Broome Bay on 4/2/10, and were in the 
district in large flocks at the end of July. During these months their food 
appeared to consist entirely of seeds of grevilleas. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 See AOS JO ws) —— a 265 
3) COplse tata sen ZO.) "50> =)! 3. 293 
3 GOomer ne sO5N es 25) <2. | 70" <2. 280 
3 GAGE AnGe zee e295 2.. 4080 <s 300 
3 CAO MARAE ee $33... 69: ... 298 
2 C22 pee ATOR esti 20) 2. 6G)- <:. 280 
g Oop meso sen ee 7-30) was —. -ks 288 
ie) sey Sup! ZIG! Fe 2 Siamese OS be 205 


CACATUA GALERITA (White Cockatoo) 

Were fairly numerous about the Drysdale River and on Augustus Island. 
On the island C. galerita and C. gymnofis were in company. I did not 
notice a perceptible difference in size between the mainland birds of North 
Kimberley and those of S.W. Australia and Victoria, but the small size of 
the island form is very noticeable. 


CACATUA GYMNOPIS (Bare-eyed Cockatoo). 

A small flock arrived at the station 10/6/10. In the early part of August 
they were numerous on Augustus Island and on many small islands and 
rocks in the Buccaneer Archipelago, further south. 


CACATUA ROSEICAPILLA (Rose-breasted Cockatoo). 
Arrived about the beginning of June with young birds. 
Measurements of birds in mm.:— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 

Ce yee 20Gn ser 20) 3. 28... oo SSS 
SOS OOO ras 23. acs. 3G: wen ef BGS 
Dies MISO Tien 255) cece S2ZU ons 24) one BEZO 


PTISTES COCCINEOPTERUS (Crimson-winged Lory). 

A somewhat uncommon bird, generally seen in parties of from three to 
eight birds. The only record I have of their nesting habits is of a nest 
taken on 15th June by one of the natives, which contained three young 
birds. In this case the birds entered a hollow near the top of a small 


Emu 


270 Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. | ane 


eucalyptus tree and descended to within 12 inches of ground level, where 
the young were found. The blacks assured me that this was not unusual. 
Their food consists of many kinds of fruits or seeds and several species 
of Loranthus (mistletoe). 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 305. (5.2) FSO Vass Gy he SOy ee comin 
3 B10 ing = OZ. at OLY. ack. oe ee 
3 B18 | So sae! TO. rete ee 
ret SOBRE ORES Goa. I Snare ona RE 
2 BO ain TO! conn LOls?, comet eee mae 
Q 329) os20 TOB sic WBE, Gch 20) Ae 
fe) 207. sd > WS oe LOt Rea Okman 


PLATYCERCUS BROWNI (Smutty Parrakeet). 

An uncommon species, generally seen in companies of three, on the 
eastern side of Napier Broome Bay. Unripe acacia seeds and the fruit 
of another tree appear to be the chief articles of diet. 

[According to the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club (No. 
CLXIV.), Mr. G. M. Mathews has made a new sub-species of this Parrot, 
naming it in honour of myself—/. venustus hillz, He states he considers 
it “differs from P. venustus, Kuhl., in having the white feathers of the face 
reduced to a narrow line, the blue spreading nearly all the way up to the 
black below the eyes. The blue on the primary coverts is also very much 
more intense. Iris umber; bill whitish-grey ; feet dark grey. Measure- 
ments as in P. venusitus.” | 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 SID 2 MAS, oe. 20) 0. caep  en Te 
3 B10. sh. WAS ans. VOUS caeee ae eo 
3 FUG) ecm DET cs. 4 RG p Ute a ee 
3 CH Cine mW Vlenee SPM mean He LGesadoes 155 
3 SED tet DADS weary LG! Piss, ec yy shorn 
3 BIZ eee TAD La | hi seit LO ere aes 
OR. “200 Ae) UBT AS ATA ae ee ee ee 
OR aa 325 TWO) stole WIRES Goo. OP Shoo RS 


PODARGUS PHALANOIDES (Freckled Frogmouth). 

Occasionally seen in trees, but more often flushed from branches lying 
on the ground. 

Measurements of birds in mm.:— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
OD!  ehe BUA L Bed G es. Ae orage eo D e enene 
D wae SBOTS Sees: MOGs: aee 22 ile aor BO Nee Ge 


/EGOTHELES NOV#-HOLLANDIA (Owlet Nightjar). 

Uncommon. I secured a specimen of . rufa (Hall) at Derby, and was 
rather surprised that I did not meet with examples in the far North-West. 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
O° een BBOG a, GIR IG) es ce AB OS eels 
EURYSTOMUS PACIFICUS (Dollar-Bird). 

A few birds arrived at Napier Broome Bay on 9/1/10, and remained 
about two weeks. The crops of specimens secured contained a large 
number of winged females of the green, nest-building tree-ant (@cophylla 
smaragdina), 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
PY ise “296 ERE MMOZ. Ma.) GORE 6 ome e ee 


Vora | Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 271 


IQIL 


ALCYONE PULCHRA (Purple Kingfisher). 

A scarce species. Small fish, caught in salt and fresh water, appear to be 
their only food. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
CERT KOM on 7 Die (ccs PTO. >. 20k 4Oy wee eees 
Spa taCuesents 74. say BT. 5. Ads oncae (SOeG 


DACELO CERVINA (Fawn-breasted Kingfisher). 

Very uncommon. As a rule they are extremely difficult to approach, but 
during the heat of the day they will frequently remain motionless and 
hidden amongst the leaves of small eucalypts until very closely approached. 
Scorpions appear to be their favourite article of diet. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Totallength. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Gi) Me etOon emt 75 6 an. 26 a. 60% shee ING 
g Sae pE Gece LG css 29! cy Oo) evan LO 
© Se ASCE Meee 103, ves 250 a 734 Mate 


HALCYON PYRRHOPYGIUS (Red-backed Kingfisher). 
A rare bird, generally seen in the open forest. 
Measurements of bird in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
eee Geer ce ORME eo Who ce. FO hs 1 FO 


HALCYON SANCTUS (Sacred Kingfisher). 
A common species in the mangroves and timbered country. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Cee ees ee OOm ee TS) is. 3O!. s... OF 
Oe Peme eos Oona EQ" ne) Al ..s- 56 
eee MeL OF WMO ONG) Soa ES! ace “30 ane 157 


HALCYON WESTRALASIANUS (Western Sacred Kingfisher). 
Less numerous than A. samctus, and generally found in or near the man- 


groves, 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 

OP ime OOem a F225 4... 30 .. 56 

By Sag “OI of ate tekst eae patie ete cee acs 

Cree ee OO) Lan WI Sey a anepee St/ 


MEROPS ORNATUS (Bee-eater). 

Birds were seen at frequent intervals during the ten months I spent in the 
district, but they rarely stayed more than a few days. It was almost impos- 
sible to follow their erratic movements through the timbered country with 
sufficient accuracy to determine their course. However, the following notes 
were recorded when favourable opportunities for observation occurred :-— 
Small flocks arrived at Mission Station from the north on 18th and 22nd 
March. Small flocks passed over station on 27th April and 17th May, flying 
east. Numerous on Hecla Island 13th February ; flew in south-easterly 
direction on leaving the island. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Apieeer ais TOW. TOL Sh". s., 32) Eeaemee 


rhe Moe 
Cue aee 2 EOF. eo eDl.5) § s..) SL Mee b29 
2 22662) LOO) 2 LO so OM La enLO4 


272 Hix, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. [ oe 


2ist Jan. 


EUROSTOPUS ARGUS (Spotted Nightjar). 
A few birds arrived at Napier Broome Bay about the beginning of May. 
Their food consists entirely of night-flying Coleoptera (beetles). 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
GO  wse° 2QQ- ine BEA, cones eC eae Papepye.t| 
D cee BOG Aen ZOO sess 0G mal rene oy ee eo 
Oa: » ZOD ROO ne Ehe eee sao 


_CH&TURA CAUDACUTA (Spine-tailed Swift). 

A number of birds passed over the Mission Station on roth, 11th, and 12th 
March, flying southward, and on 20th February a small flock passed over 
Parry Harbour, flying in a south-easterly direction. 


CYPSELUS PACIFICUS (White-rumped Swift). 

Great numbers passed over Napier Broome Bay, flying south, on 4/11/09. 
On 17/1/10 and 30/3/10 smaller flocks passed over, flying south and 
south-east. On 7th, 8th and 13th April several small flocks passed over 
Parry Harbour, flying east. 

CUCULUS INORNATUS (Pallid Cuckoo). 

I saw one pair only (24/11/09.) 

CACOMANTIS FLABELLIFORMIS (Square-tailed Cuckoo). 

Eggs were taken from the nests of Glycyphila fasciata (White-breasted 
Honey-eater) and Pzlotis flavescens (Yellow Honey-eater). 

Measurements of bird in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
O xewey 2B ii 138 7 ee ee ee 


MESOCALIUS PALLIOLATUS (Black-eared Cuckoo). 
A single bird only was seen (24/5/10). 
Measurements of bird in mm. :— 
Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Oo ses 2205. 2:3 110.9 ss) S20" "SNe 


CENTROPUS PHASIANUS (Coucal). 
Fairly numerous near the coast and on many of the islands, though rarely 
seen inland. Ticks were found on the heads of every specimen | examined. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :—- 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
BO. see 575 Ses. 2E3) Pew U2 eS ae ee 
O° ase > 903. BOA 52 eee eg eee 


PITTA IRIS (Rainbow Pitta). 

A very uncommon species ; seen at Napier Broome Bay and Parry Har- 
bour. Two eggs were taken in the former locality on 1/5/10 from a nest 
built in a tussock of grass. (See illustration.) The nest measured 334 inches 
in diameter by 14 inches deep, and was lined and lightly roofed over with 


grass. 
Measurements of bird in mm, :— 
Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Oi ike 1605, 42-9 104 eel 3 07 hes tee Ae ely 


PETROCHELIDON ARIEL (Fairy Martin) ? 

Small flocks passed over, travelling in an easterly to south-easterly direc- 
tion, in October, March, and June, but, owing to the great height at which 
they flew, 1 was unable to secure any specimens for identification. One 
notices the absence of the familiar Swallow (/7vuzdo neoxena) in this district, 
and on my return southward I did not see any until Roeburne (lat. 20° 2’ S.) 
was reached, in the middle of August. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXXIII. 


Nest of Rainbow Pitta (Pitta iris). 


FROM A PHOTO, BY G. F, HILL. 


> 


vis 


ee ag 
. @ 
@ 


i 
bi 


ee ae 


if o 
. 


~ 
en i ae a a oe spew tes pee enn 


= 


* 
ae 
‘ 
tv} 
bed y 
- ¥ i 
4 ’ 
‘ 
Seis ‘ ideal 


Vol. | Hutt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 273 


IQII 


MICRCECA ASSIMILIS (Lesser Brown Flycatcher). 

A common bird in the open and lightly timbered country. The nesting 
season appears to be September and October. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
REE Eg pecs 75) een EG). aan Ono coo 
ene On tet 7A. bers. 15. ase Oo eee 
eens eres Gh. U5 cs ° TOO werk gone 


MICRECA BRUNNEICAUDA (Brown-tailed Flycatcher).* 

(For description see Zyzz, vol. x., p. 169.) 

These shy and very uncommon birds were seen only on Augustus Island 
and on the eastern side of Napier Broome Bay. A greenish-brown back 
and brown tail distinguish the species, even at a distance, from W. assimi/is, 
while their habit of concealing themselves in the thickest growths of man- 
grove, and living entirely on small crabs and other forms of marine life, is in 
contrast to the conditions of life of the latter species. The loud notes of 
this species closely resemble those of the Yellow-faced Honey-eater (P7z/otis 
chrysops) of south-eastern Australia. One nest only was found, which 
contained a single egg. This nest was placed ina dead mangrove tree, 
5 feet over high water mark, and was built of bark and spider web, covered 
on the outside with small pieces of leaf. 

Dimensions of nest in inches :—Outside— length, 1.6 ; breadth, 1.6 ; depth, 
1.1. Inside—length, 1.4; breadth, 1.3 ; depth, 0.6. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
OI eee TS cae OLE... 3S 
OMe eben ENGy 3! Qe. ~5OL5 
SCG TN Ga G7 PROT So (2 ae © ay 


PETRCECA PICATA (Pied Robin). 
Uncommon, and apparently non-resident. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. 3ill. Tail. 
ee eee OGRE een TQ» (3: 12°" 3.. 63125 
Par me OM eoer ea 20!’ as 12... 603.5 
eC OLE een ey. HO) ee TF a HS 


SMICRORNIS FLAVESCENS (Yellow-tinted Tree-Tit). 

A few of these birds appeared to be resident, but it was not until March 
and April that they became plentiful. The following notes refer to four 
nests taken near the Drysdale River in June :— 

(a) Nest built amongst acacia flowers, 5 feet 6 inches from the ground, of 
caterpillar silk, cocoons, and fine pieces of red bark, neatly covered on 
outside with small dead leaves and acacia flowers. _ Length, 3.1 inches ; 
breadth, 1.8 inches ; with an opening on either side. Contents——-One egg, in 
advanced state of incubation (8/6/10). 

(6) Nest built in Acacia tumida (F.v. M.), 6 feet from the ground, of 
fine strips of bark, silk, and acacia flowers, lined with silk and spider egg 
cases. Length, 3.5 inches; breadth, 2.1 inches. Contents—Two eggs, in 
advanced state of incubation (4/6/10). ; 

(c) Nest built in Acacta twmida, 5 feet from the ground, of silk, spider 
web and egg cases, small leaves, and sepals of Grevd//ea, lined with silk and 
spider egg cases. Length, 3 inches; breadth, 2.1 inches. Contents—One 
young, about two days old. 

(d) Nest built in white gum (eucalypt) sapling, 4 feet from the ground, of 
grass, small leaves, spider egg cases, sepals of a Grevil/ea, and grass seeds ; 
lined with silk, spider web and egg cases. Contents—Two eggs, slightly 
incubated (5/6/10). 


274 Hut, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. (ieee 


2tst Jan. © 


Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Totallength. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Os GO frsu York. as) Sido ce ea ene 35 
GO ase (QO Mee eran hs Sanat a ie 32.5 
Bcd “BS. Se Aa ae OY St 2 nO aaeen egos 
Che Skace QBS es cdr 7 hg coi ea are Oem ame 
Go bent BSS) ce ASt (onan Shh et OM pre mts 
Oo i MOBLEY oe A gk UR peace ree 
Oi Ol cee yg cea. Gabes 2 
D at, OME eee ames Mi mere 33 
2 BG: 222s, 40s yey LO 6 31 


GERYGONE CINERASCENS (Grey Fly-eater). 
Very uncommon. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 LOG! was ves Guaece | | LOm sss Cush aes 
3 ITO. 55 RP ke LO. See, Oo baron 
3} TTAs hens. GOm acs Gh 8, eos LOLA 
3 LTO. Se. G2 pee Ge ke ese eee 
2 TO4 as: FO cs) OS ee eet One. Sees 


PSEUDOGERYGONE LAVIGASTER (Buff-breasted Fly-eater). 

I noticed some of these little birds in the mangroves from Gibson Point to 
Napier Broome Bay, where a few nests were found, placed at the extremity 
of slender branches overhanging water. Two of these nests were built with 
the openings about 12 inches from large nesting colonies of wasps (Podzs¢es, 
sp.) A close examination of these nests convinced me that such sites were 
chosen, after sound reasoning, as a protection against intruders; at any 
rate, one is impressed by the activity of these pugnacious little insects in the 
interests of their own and their neighbours’ nests. The similar habit of the 
Black-throated Fly-eater (P. Zersonaza) in building near wasps’ nests, on the 
authority of Mr. D. Le Souéf, is recorded in Campbell’s “ Nests and Eggs,” 
p: £62: 

Measurements of birds in mm. :-— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 

Go ce V2) Se A ai TO eho Satie lil 
Imming ic. s1OW4 Sie AS asta CLOG. aod Ogee meant 
GO izsie 100" tc “AOC oe hoe nae soon 21°) 

Oe ae A TA a Sis eS mare ALL Se eI) 

OD nie TORN Min, PAO We soe Avasiseses ho Beer 


PSEUDOGERYGONE CHLORONOTA (Green-backed Fly-eater). 
A single specimen only was secured, at Parry Harbour, on 16/11/09. 
Measurements of bird in mm. :— 
Total length Wing. Tarsus. Bill. 
061, hf BT tee Seine eke 


PCECILODRYAS CERVINIVENTRIS (Buff-sided Robin). 

An uncommon species, which was seen only in moist and densely timbered 
country near Napier Broome Bay and Drysdale River. The nesting season 
appears to be from October to the end of December. Green nest-building 
tree-ants were the only insects found in the crops. Descriptions of nests :— 

(2) Built of rootlets, with a few pieces of bark attached to the outside ; 
not lined; 35 feet from the ground. Contained two eggs (18/10/09). 
Dimensions of nest in inches :—Outside—-length, 3; breadth, 2.5 ; depth, 1.7. 
Inside—length, 2.1 ; breadth, 1.9 ; depth, 1.3. 

(2) Built of twigs, lined with rootlets; a few pieces of cajaput bark 
loosely attached to the outside ; about 20 feet from the ground (30/10/09). 


vo | Htty, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 275 


Dimensions of nest in inches :—Outside—length, 4 ; breadth, 2.5 ; depth, 1.5. 
Inside —length, 2.1 ; breadth, 1.9 ; depth, 1.2. 

(c) Built of rootlets and a few twigs; piece of cajaput bark from ¥ to 
2 inches long hanging from the outside ; 30 feet from the ground. Contained 
two eggs (27/11/09). Dimensions of nest in inches :—Outside—length, 3.2 ; 
breadth, 3; depth, 1.8. Inside—length, 2.3 ; breadth, 2; depth, 1.1. 

(dz) Built of rootlets and twigs; not lined; 25 feet from the ground 
(28/11/09). Dimensions of nest in inches :—Outside — length, 2.9 ; 
breadth, 2.7; depth, 2. Inside—length, 2.2; breadth, 2.1 ; depth, 1.2. 

(e) Built of twigs ; lined with rootlets ; a few pieces of bark hanging from 
outside ; 8 feet from the ground ; contained 2 eggs (31/12/09). Dimensions 
of nest in inches :—Outside—length, 4 ; breadth, 2 ; depth, 3.2. Inside— 
length, 2.5 ; breadth, 1.2 ; depth, 2.2. 

Measurements of birds in mm, :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 LOZ= bec 85 2 14 67 
3S HUSH hee Breiyg 25 15 ae. 
3 NOGes pat CO 22 i 70 
3 TOG x2 02 Die inset © oe TIG: tery 
2) LOO, hia 075 20.5 .cas TG i nase 02 
2 HOO weet. 9°77 HOG sce ekg 57 
je) 2a OO 20m 12 64 


PCCILODRYAS PULVERULENTUS (White-tailed Robin).*] 
A description of the nest and eggs, together with field notes on this bird 
appeared in Zhe Emu, vol. x., p. 132. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 LOM eee Olea Ge, UG. ie. 73 
3 NOP ROO te 2E deo DG 7 5355, VOL 
3 NGA) bce 79 22 14 59 
3} ASSN Bene 22 14 60 
3 HS 3) 2-2, ao 23 5: Sat 59 
g TAS) sch) SS Bins 14 53 
2 TAbe ee O 20 13 2 
2 USF viens 73 20 14 57 
2 MSS ass: aiid 21 14 55 
2 TS 2p ers a 75) 21.5 14 58 


RHIPIDURA PREISSI (Western Fantail). 
See note on &. dryas. 
Measurements of bird in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill: Tail. 
Se eee MOOP Trace RG.” Sh, 18.8 la 9 


RHIPIDURA DRYAS (Wood Fantail), 

A party of three birds was seen in a dense belt of mangroves, which on 
examination proved to be made up of a male of this species and a male and 
female R. precssz. 


RHIPIDURA ISURA (Northern Fantail). 

Although not numerous, this species was seen in all localities. No decided 
preference in the choice of nesting sites was noticed. Some nests were 
built in acacia scrub 3 or 4 feet from the ground, while others were found 
at a height of from 70 to 75 feet. From one to three eggs are laid. The 
nests closely resemble those of 2. albzscapa. 

Dimensions of nests in inches :—(a2) Outside—length 2.3, breadth 2, 
depth 3.6 (inclusive of tail, 2.2) ; inside—length 1.9, breadth 1.6, depth 0.8. 
(4) Outside—length 2.2, breadth 1.9, depth 3 (inclusive of tail, 2); inside— 


276 Hit, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. [ pots 


2tst Jan. 


length 1.5, breadth 1.7, depth 1. (c) Outside—length 2.3, breadth 2, depth 4 
inclusive of tail, 2.4) ; inside—length 2, breadth 1.8, depth 1.1. 
Measurements of birds in mm, :—- 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
SO nnce RR eNO hoa ell otk al Caen ee 
OG’ ashi) WO, Soke OG as ee hae oil ene 
Qn, 179 i RSI Gs es FG ee 
Oke BOR SS POTS 5) iG ore ae ve ee 


RHIPIDURA TRICOLOR (Black-and-White Fantail). 
A resident species. All specimens secured were distinctly spotted on 
throat and fore-neck, and.in some cases on the wing coverts, nape, and lores. 
Measurements of birds in mm :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Bi aie BOD SE GBP ee BANG oc) EOD ee 
OF ee E20 Pe BOO SSeS e2AeN sk sa eenee minor 


MYIAGRA CONCINNA (Blue Flycatcher). 

These birds were distributed over all the country I saw north of Parry 
Harbour, but they were rather uncommon, and were generally seen in the 
mangroves. One set of eggs was taken two miles from the east coast of 
Napier Broome Bay, from a nest situated on a long, slender eucalypt 
branch, 18 feet from the ground. The nest was neatly constructed of bark 
and spider web, and was lined with fine grass. 

Dimensions in inches :—Outside—length, 3.6; breadth, 2.5; depth, 1.8. 
Inside—length, 1.9 ; breadth, 1.8 ; depth, 0.8. 

Measurements of birds in mm. -— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus, Bill. Tail. 
3 LOO. 3555 S35 8-0 “AAG cen We eee 
3} LG7 veloce 7 Orie | SUAS fo eae 
3 WS 6 as & FO gaa ) LG Wace. oe, ae 
3 TGBR case (7SE tus Wa bY cane, aa eee 
3 TSG wisi Yee. 5 Ver rae ee 
fe) TOD! cose 0 YOURE os TAL Oe eee 


MYIAGRA LATRIROSTRIS (Broad-billed Flycatcher). 
An uncommon species ; always found in or near the mangroves. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :—- 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill Tail 
Bo ese (GEO HS OG 27 Gh Me ae 
Pisces BOY exe MOOI ees 2 1 ae MOS ee pee 
Och igk | NURS) RA CROB: tier... AO’ Soe lie ee eee 


SISURA NANA (Little Flycatcher). 

Fairly common near the Drysdale River in June, but scarce in other 
localities. The birds are extremely shy when nesting, and will desert a 
partly built nest if watched, even from a distance. One pair commenced 
and pulled down three nests successively, then laid in the fourth nest, which 
was almost overturned during a storm. When visited on 24/12/09, this 
nest was found to contain one egg. The other was afterwards found on the 
ground 70 feet below. The damaged nest was removed for the fifth time, 
and rebuilt in an inaccessible position. None of these nests was less than 
70 feet from the ground, and all were built on slender branches of the tallest 
trees. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 


GO wen) TOG, Bh * c5 MES eee veneers 
Gabe © HQO Wie O° Oth" LA. Cal Pele mame eee MC 


Vol. X-] Hux, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N-W. Aust. 277 


IQII 


PIEZORHYNCHUS NITIDUS (Shining Flycatcher).* 

These beautiful and extremely shy birds were seen on the coast from 
Augustus Island (lat. 15° 35’ S.) northwards, where they live entirely on 
the mud or amongst the low branches and roots in the thickest belts of 
mangrove. The warning-note of the male bird is three clear and distinct 
whistles, which are answered by the female in a call that may be likened to 
the creaking of a door. The nests are built from 4 to 6 feet above water 
level, of rough pieces of bark, closely woven together and lined with fine 
pieces of bark, twigs, and small dead leaves, or with rootlets. Eggs were 
taken from 5/1/io to 20/3/3. From one nest I took a set of eggs on 
18/2/10 of the usual type, and on 20/3/10 a second set of pure white eggs. 
The irides of all male birds examined by me were umber and not red 
(Hall, p. 19). Their food consists principally of minute shells, crabs, and 
a small species of black ant. 

Dimensions of nests in inches :—(a2) Outside—length 2.8, breadth 2.5, 
depth 2.5 ; inside—-length 2.2, breadth 2.1, depth 2.1. (4) Outside-—length 
3.5, breadth 3.1, depth 2.4; inside—length 2.5, breadth 2.2, depth 1.6. (c) 
Outside—length 2.8, breadth 2.5, depth 2.5 ; inside—length 2.6, breadth 2.2, 


depth 1.6. 
Measurement of birds in mm. :— 
; Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 IQUE oss Os |... TR. Sy. 70 
} (Ome enOee ce 2005 oc. T7.5) i<cx 79 
3 Rou wees 205 20.5 Dees eee 7 
Imm. 2 FOO) Jans 7555 20 (ate Nantel elt 
2 OZ eee OO. 21 MOS coe gl 
- @ LOD .0 78 19 15 sie 
Q Kop --; 7G 21 We pbs cae FO. 


CORACINA ROBUSTA (Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike). 

Fairly numerous on the mainland and islands. Their food consists 
principally of large caterpillars and Mantide. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus Bill. Tail. 
Pe meCOsme he TSO. fort 20) 202 23. oe (133 
STR SE emeOGem ns 629) se 25 2 «2s 187 


CORACINA HYPOLEUCA (White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike). 
The remarks on the previous species apply also to this. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 BoGre eee. TAS 25 2 107 
3 ZUG es eh EGF 26 26 114 
} ZS on) EA 23 22) Ot aes 
3 ZG0h ns) Pan 23 2125S 4 hhOs 
2 DOI Soman tele 25 20 114 
9) 276 226 s2 TAS 25 24 105 


EDOLIISOMA TENUIROSTRE (Jardine Caterpillar-eater).* 

The movements of a few pairs which arrived at Napier Broome Bay on 
and after 4/12/09 were closely watched until the end of February, when the 
last of them left the district. During these months the birds were generally 
to be seen in the topmost branches of the largest trees. Their food appears 
to consist entirely of large caterpillars—-hence the very appropriate name 
of Caterpillar-eater for the bird. 

Dimensions of bird in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
CRTC N. TIP “DA... TObcienen OG 


278 Hix, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. [ Emu ’ 


21st Jan. 


LALAGE TRICOLOR (White-shouldered Caterpillar-eater). 

A small flock in adult g plumage passed over the Mission Station on 
7/11/09, flying south, and, during the two months following, occasional birds 
were seen travelling in the same direction. From the beginning of January 
until 22/4/10 none was seen, but on this date I shot one bird from a flock 
of twelve which flew over in an easterly direction. These and all that were 
seen subsequently were female birds. On 27/4/10 many birds settled near 
the station, and their numbers increased daily until 3/5/10, when they began 
to decrease rapidly until none remained on 15th June. During their stay 
they lived almost entirely on the ground during the day, only occasionally 
flying up to the eucalypt flowers to catch the insects that were numerous in 
them. As in the case of Pardalotes, an accumulation of honey and pollen 
was frequently noticeable on the feathers of the throat and forehead. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
bh BS ee B97 i ARO By Sg ee 
LALAGE LEUCOMELENA (Pied Caterpillar-eater).* 
One pair secured in the tropical scrubs at Parry Harbour were the only 


birds of this species seen during my trip. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Sto, DOSE a OD DD ahs een wh ag 
OSE AOA 20>" ys.) MUANB eee nen 


POMATOSTOMUS RUBECULUS (Red-breasted Babbler). 

Were fairly numerous. The nesting season appears to be September and 
October. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total Jength. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail, 
Ses BGS oh AIO a ead 3 Rae ee ees 
Oe DEE wits, te QO. - Nd eee BO nner 


CISTICOLA EXILIS (Grass-Warbler). 

Excepting on Hecla Island and Cape Bougainville I saw very few of 
these birds. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 Ld) Sac Aa ea ss Ba ee 
3 TOO" sp SAG ite EO, Sere Ost emne 
e TIO. 2 ADS Set cet ss, Oe ee 
Q 166.7 cz A aie ebnc) AC eet 
© [27 vce Aen ye on Oe ere 
4 T2Y gc 2B a Od ne Onan 


MEGALURUS GALACTOTES (Tawny Grass-Bird).* 

On my arrival at the station, in the middle of Octcber, this species was 
one of the first to attract my attention. About a dozen birds inhabited a 
patch of very luxuriant swamp grass on the edge of the small area of tropical 
forest mentioned in my introductory remarks, but, owing to the height of 
most of the grass (6 or 7 feet), I had to confine my observations to a few 
pairs and some odd birds inhabiting shorter growths. Having doubts as to 
their identity, I determined to spare no effort to secure eggs, for I felt sure 
the nesting season was approaching, if it had not already arrived. I found 
that the mated birds never moved far from a given point, and that I could 
rely upon finding them within a few yards of the same place day after day. 
When cautiously approaching the domain of a pair, the first intimation of 


ae | Hix, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 279 


their presence would be two sharp notes and the rustling of dry leaves as the 
birds crept through the matted grass down to the ground. An attempt to 
flush the bird from its hiding-place would bring all hope of further observa- 
tions to an end, but, if absolute stillness were maintained for perhaps fifteen 
minutes, the rustling would be renewed, and presently the bird would appear 
for an instant, utter its pleasing notes once more, and again disappear from 
sight, leaving only the sound of its movements in the grass to warn the 
watcher of its approach. After a few re-appearances in this manner its 
curiosity would get the better of its judgment, and it would hop and flutter 
to a higher position in the grass, survey the intruder for a moment at short 
range, and then finally disappear. The unattached birds do not remain 
within such a limited area, and show far less desire to conceal themselves. 
It struck me as a remarkable fact that these unattached birds were nearly 
always found in company with one or two Grass-Warblers (C7s¢icola exilts). 
Neither species confines itself to open grass flats, for I have frequently 
watched them, both separately and in company, feeding on the ground 
amongst ferns growing in the densest patches of forest, where the light was 
so dull that it was not easy to follow their movements. After spending so 
much time, and suffering not a little from mosquitoes, in this swampy locality, 
I was disappointed to find that the Grass-Birds ((/ega/urus) had all left the 
district about 17th November. A few days later the last of the Grass- 
Warblers (Czsticola) had gone also. On 13th May the first Megalurus 
returned with their young, and were followed by the C7s¢¢éco/a one month 
later. The latter were numerous near Cape Bougainville and on Hecla 
Island in November, December, and February. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. sill. Tail. 
eee ee Gee na AGO irk. BTS cs < OPS ce) OPH 


MALURUS CRUENTATUS (Red-backed Wren). 


A common species on the level sandy country. A few late nests were 
found in November and December in tussock and spinifex grass near creeks 
and soaks. A nest, from which three eggs were taken on 3/12/09, was built 
of grass, bark, and spider web, and lined with fine grass and rootlets, 12 
inches from the ground, in tussock grass. Another nest, from which three 
eggs were taken on 11/12/09, was built of cajaput bark and grass, without 
lining, 18 inches from the ground, in tussock grass. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 PezERe ane  w 20K a TO!) 7.3). G4 
3 (S'S) esse | Oe Se r/o EM Rey 
rey HOS i rele A ew; BF LO! eS 
Imm. 3 re aes ee FOSS) te. 9) un BP 
3 LOOMERA RAG tn TG. -..2 10 1! 275,938 
¢ MiGwee erilkomer LAE) 62s) TO? |) dn AO 
3 RiCneetGEee os IS ys TO; 25.43 
fc} NOC ACa sO S75.) 0.5 i.e. 340 
g De Weer OM BT rl ee AD) 
2 MeeeNeetecO ck 17 > uc.) 9 “wn A6 
g VOMME eso EZ Sine, TOs vere As 
g Wore AT eee Tc. y: Ol eae een 
aS Meee eee a LO) ay acs OLS, saree a 
2 NOS) ease arts tela Co) 8 a bo 


MALURUS DULCIS (Lavender-flanked Wren). 


A description of the nest and eggs and field notes on this beautiful bird 
appeared in 7he Emu, vol. x., p. 133. 


280 Hut, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. [5 


21st Jan. 


Measurements of birds in mm. :-— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
fe) 1340 oP agen. oe Se Or ees 
3 TS OWn ee ZOU so) BTOs a eeanG 
fe) L2G) ) ee Ay. 30. 45.5 Oy seers 
3 130.0 aes Ay 71 OE © Bed igs a9 oF 
fe} TAZ” vate 21 10.5 68 
d TA® © Rb ATs Sg Sy ALO 
g TAO |) SS AG oa 20" eee OS ees 
Y A Sena. AS PO) oq. JU Rob nl Syials 
je) LOA Seed ZO p28 .t LOW | eet © 
Q 133° ee. Seas 20 if) 60 
2 PAO" «oon eecills 21 32 STON see ene 
2 135 48 2 1D tee Geren (6)5 


ARTAMUS LEUCOGASTER (White. iced weca! Swallow). 
Small flocks passed over Napier Broome Bay on 22nd and 26th March, 


flying southward. 
ARTAMUS CINEREUS (Grey-breasted Wood-Swallow). 
Fairly numerous, and apparently resident. Their food consists largely of 


locusts. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. ‘Dante 
Ge. ete UO AEG 7 2s, 2 Nee Sener OL 
Ge age L620 k 1 107" ane S 20s shea louh peeaos 


ARTAMUS MINOR (Little Wood-Swallow). 

These birds arrived on 27/3/10, and remained in the district without 
nesting up to the time of my departure in July. 

Measurements of birds in mm.:— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill Tail. 
Quasars AUG O's rac lOA peice ge ale? 50 ss: ST, 
ON TAO ars 9 OG eave LB sh crac ol Ongena 
Oor4S. 140 a s-& OS tok.) WS thy a Oe ce aes 
Ore ce PTAO? 8 Fel NOP eueaa a la) hames Sen Ome aman at 
Or LAB iveent BOG) ncecy 0S iene 2 een 


COLLYRIOCICHLA BRUNNEA (Brown Shrike-Thrush). 

A common species in most localities. The nests are generally built of 
bark and lined with mid-ribs of a fern, and placed in thick bushes or on 
the tops of broken stumps. One nest differed considerably from all others 
in being built of wire-like creeper, eucalypt leaves, a few pieces of bark, 
leaves of a Grevillea, and lined with rootlets and mid-ribs of ferns. Dimen- 
sions of this nest in inches :—Outside—length, 9; breadth, 6 ; depth, 4.5. 
Inside—length, 3.3 ; breadth, 3.1 ; depth, 2.6. Lizards were found in many 
of the birds dissected. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing Tarsus. Bill Tail, 
CO ve 25S ae lee eee eee 21 105 
in oe 25S ais ce to es een 22 110 
} DIGI 4.1 ah een opus eee 22 102 
3 ZO ue real One ae ASO. 21 105 
fe DOSY) Ws. pT ere cee 22 106 
On, shee NARORE st fie Ga ee) 22. 2.2 os 

Imm ae eae 12 34 20:55.) abl tes 


COLLYRIOCICHLA WOODWARDI (Brea eaeaa Shrike- Thrush), ia 
(Hartert, Noy, Zool., xii., p. 228.) 
These rare birds inhabit the broken sandstone plateau east of Napier 


Vs ra | Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust: 281 


IQII 


Broome Bay, where they take the place of C. érunnea (Brown Shrike-Thrush) 
of the open forest country. They are extremely shy, and difficult to approach 
in this rugged country, as they fly and hop from rock to rock, exposing them- 
selves only for an instant before concealing themselves in crevices or under 
overhanging ledges. The notes are very strong and clear, and when uttered 
amidst such surroundings the two quickly repeated whistles are multiplied 
by many echoes, producing an effect that is not equalled by any bird in the 
north-west. I feel sure that this species is a resident one, although I saw 
it very occasionally, ana never twice in the same locality. 


GRALLINA PICATA (Magpie-Lark). 

I saw a few pairs at larry Harbour on 16/11/og. but it was not until 
30/4/10 that the first pair arrived at the station. During the few weeks 
following many small parties of six or eight arrived. 


CRACTICUS PICATUS (Pied Butcher-Bird). 

Fairly numerous. Late clutches of two and three eggs were taken on 
30/10/09 from nests built about 20 feet from the ground in small eucalypt 
trees. The nests are built of strong twigs, followed by a layer of wire-like 
creeper, and lined with grass. Examination of crop contents proved that 
these birds live almost entirely on caterpillars and locusts. 

Dimensions of nests in inches :—Outside—length, 8 ; breadth, 7 ; depth, 5. 
Inside—length, 3.2 ; breadth, 3.2 ; depth, 2.2. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. ‘Tail. 

iiina s0eMt!, Sheer ber tsi, Beer eS Ae ce AO! og LS 

3 ee g2025 Halen sae cee AS). oa. DES 
liingnan’ )  S 331 WS oe Oe. ce AOp =<, U2Oe5 

Gates 326 USO y eee soy Asti cA Sy: once adel 

Se se 320 OMe Ese, epee ane ee 1G 

OR er weg een Melb ist ont 3OF cen’) GOu <2. * 106 

OS SOh ee S oe, Pe sliahtasns SOP was). [20 

Che BOM umes ll oie Alig esse - TDS 

Oz Ai ee ee GOm rect QL fr 30" - ee LLB 


FALCUNCULUS WHITEI (Yellow Shrike-Tit). 

(Campbell, vez, vol. x., p. 167.) 

My first introduction to this species was on 31/12/09, when I saw a pair 
near the Mission Station. Feeling certain that they were of a new species, 
I devoted a good deal of time during the next month to watching their 
movements, but at the outset it was evident that they did not intend nesting, 
for each time I saw them they were travelling slowly towards the south-east 
and getting further from my camp, so I decided to shoot them on the first 
opportunity—which did not occur until 5/3/10, when I secured both birds. 
I saw no more until 9/6/10, when I noticed another pair in some lightly- 
timbered country 1r miles south-east of Napier Broome Bay. - This pair 
appeared to be nesting, but as our party was returning after a long trip on 
short rations, a brief search only could be made, which failed to reveal the 
nest. In their habits they closely resemble F/. /rovta/us, though they are 
more difficult to locate on account of their subdued notes. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
ieee Tene, SUEZ oars wi 22°85 'y TO sto G2 
ee Ee nee 7ON ice 20... TS) ea 50 


OREOICA CRISTATA (Bell-Bird). : 

One pair only was seen, 12 miles south-east of Napier Broome Bay. 
PACHYCEPHALA MELANURA (Black-tailed Thickhead). 

Were found in the mangroves only, where they were uncommon. 


Emu 


282 Hii, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. hocee sen} 


Measurements of bird in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
S82 OG ae nwt SON aa Me Wa Ol 
PACHYCEPHALA FALCATA (Northern Thickhead). 

A common species, generally found in acacia scrub. The nests are 
generally built of twigs and wire-like creeper, with or without a lining of 
grass. Eggs were taken in November and December. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :-- 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. sill. Tail. 
3 TO3.| Vet enodel, pagent gedt ate eae ee Or 
re) 153)! Fk OOM Teta (20. + Gey bate acne 
3 164), ° SAP SO. Shs we IO) lsc. Oe eee ele 
3 170: Se NOR teh ONS hy ee ee 
3é 165: 2s 2 OGM ey y2On ice Gl ob 
fe) FOO! i. AP OLS Lute ALO a can pak Nag eee 
Q TPL.) gaat MODE! Meas!) EO We ed an eae 
Q TOG) 8 een DOR Oh, dee BONG 4c Nally Anam 
©) 160 nes OGIO erases ctl lb rear emo 
2 7 Oe atta a0 fanege BO Uae GOED een 


EOPSALTRIA HILLI 1 (Hill Shrike- Robin). 

(Campbell, “wiz, vol. x., p. 168.) 

NEOSITTA LEUCOPTERA (White-winged Tree-runner). 

A somewhat rare. bird, generally seen in small flocks of 6 or 8 The 
nesting season appears to be in June, in which month several partly built 
nests were found near the Drysdale River. 

Measurement of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 TEOMA: 70x eae eS Joo MRS ere 
3 LLG ey 7s eh me Rta ke egies 
re) TDG atecs Oe i 9 HOS reine IN ee 
3 Me PSO ole Poaarps omni eee Soe 
3 EE Pie ste, (aC Waeeerer eal wilds ease 
g T2012 OG aE DAG eB ee co eee 
2 0 Oe iaay £7 a POP? Pema eA Mabe Sk lo: 
2 119 FO deel MO WAP. oe yal fins Oe eres 


CLIMACTERIS MELANURA ‘(Black- tailed Tree-creeper). 

I saw these birds only amongst the large timber in the dry localities near 
Napier Broome Bay, where they were rare and difficult to approach. Young 
birds were seen in the middle of October. The female is distinguished by 
a white throat and rufous colour of lower throat, where it is black in the 
male. The crops of all specimens examined contained only numerous 
remains of one species of ant (/ridomyrmex detectus, Smith). The nature 
of their food, I think, accounts for the peculiar odour possessed by these 
birds. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 

3 TSO sc VOR 23 TON aici ee 

3 WOO m Kaan GA 23 16) Cee 7e 

3 Shere O5 22 18 73 

3 LOR... 508 23 15 2 

fe) TOO sss: “OH 14.5 14 72 

Ss Rei eee MeL 22 16 70 

Imm. 2 Tog Meee a LOM 23 15 71 
Q U7 va.tee NOS, $42 16 71 


ZOSTEROPS LUTEA AY ellow White-eye). 
Were seen in the mangroves from Derby northwards, but they were 


eee Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 283 


‘ 


uncommon in all localities excepting on Hecla Island and the shores of 
Parry Harbour. The nesting season appears to be from the beginning of 
February to April. Nests are built of grass and spider web on the outside, 
and lined with fine pieces of grass and rootlets. Dimensions of nests in 
inches :—Outside—length, 3 ; breadth, 2.6; depth, 1.3. Inside—length, 1.9 ; 
breadth, 1.8; depth, 1.2. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :-— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. sill. Tail. 
3 NOOR era 5S ee UO S38) LO} eA O 
SeereeREON e555 st. . EG os 1D ea 
CI EO oe Sob. eee DOTS: Bios Fee ae 
Cnt fee RAT cect, BGG”, 65 SER eae 


DICHUM HIRUNDINACEUM (Mistletoe-Bird). 

These birds were not uncommon in all localities I visited. Mistletoes 
(Loranthus), of which there are six varieties near Napier Broome Bay, afford 
a regular and abundant food supply. The nesting season commences at the 
beginning of January. 

PARDALOTUS UROPYGIALIS (Chestnut-rumped Pardalote). 

Although some birds remained in the district throughout the ten months 
I was there, it was not until the middle of March that they became 
numerous. The nesting season commenced at the end of April, and was at 
its height at the end of July. Most of the nesting burrows, which vary in 
length from 18 inches to 2 feet, were made in the sides of holes dug in the 
sandy soil by pigs in search of roots; others were made in the banks of 
creeks and watercourses. Under favourable conditions, nine days are 
occupied from the commencement of the burrow to the completion of the nest. 
The egg chamber is invariably lined with coarse pieces of eucalypt bark. 
Two eggs are laid. Small insects gathered from the flowers of a Greviéllea 
and eucalypts form the principal article of food, in collecting which the 
feathers of the throat and forehead frequently become matted with honey and 
pollen. Lizards are responsible for the destruction of many nests. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :—: 


Totallength. Wing. Tarsus, Bill. Tail. 
3 {Coe Lee Sad nen A Falb 28 
re) BOA ese Gort cos. 7 Wes 30 
re) Bay pase Sat! nt E77 8 29 
3 LOM ce Ot are 75 8 29 
3 TOS Sea aL ee a 8.5 29 
re) TOG. er OO. eee LF 8 28 
3 eae ie to Ana 8 28 
3 Rotor se Oly e ssc--- LO i/ aT 
2 POA. OO... 18 7s 28 
2 TOOs ea OL.. vec. 6 17 8 31 
2 TOR te hb sss. 10 8 28 
Q POG nee e227 8 29 
2 LOO, geeson esc | 1S 7 29 


MELITHREPTUS ALBIGULARIS (White-throated Honey-eater). 
A resident species. 
Measurements in birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
ro) Renee OG ace G5 1G 2) (ss. 225 eae 
3 Ouest OG) Mat) BOAS).| 33. LS, Seas 
3 Wiehe 222s O9)n es PGK |.6e ES Rea 
2 Wess Obes. | EG) «ce Ty eee 
) Bogor AOSe a) 16): ... «1D eee 
2 Daphessst= G34 fon) 16.5. ><) (ORs ean 


284 HitL, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. vee 


21st Jan. 


MELITHREPTUS LA&TIOR (Golden-backed Honey-eater). 

Flocks of from 12 to 18 birds passed the station on 4th to 28th November, 
flying south-west. From the latter date to 16th February, 1910, none was 
seen, but on 17th February two flocks of about 20 birds passed. Between 
17th February and 3oth June I frequently saw or heard them in some open 
forest, but they were generally in parties of two or three pairs, and showed 
no desire to commence nesting. The notes of this species are similar to 
those of JZ. édrevirostris (Brown-headed Honey-eater), though stronger, 
and audible at a greater distance. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Or. AY In ARE aroma ee Otte cele eee 
OF) Bo SLOANE ok GOS CE ete LO plese cal hatte eee 


MYZOMELA ERYTHROCEPHALA (Red-headed Honey-eater). 

A resident and fairly plentiful species in the mangroves from Derby 
northwards. They rarely leave the mangroves, and when they do so it is 
only to visit flowering eucalypts close by. The denseness of the foliage 
renders it almost impossible to watch their movements or to locate their 
nests, which are generally placed in the tops of the highest mangroves. A 
nest taken from such a position at Napier Broome Bay, on 26/3/10, contained 
two beautifully marked eggs, which were, unfortunately, too far gone to blow. 
The nest was 35 feet from water level, and was built of fine bark, covered on 
the outside with leaves of a coastal shrub (Calycothrix microphylla), and lined 
with hair-like rootlets. A second nest was placed in a cluster of Loranthus 
growing in a mangrove 20 feet from water level, and was built of fine pieces 
of bark, sea-weed, and spider web, lined with bark and rootlets. The heads 
of female birds are always tinged with red (see Hall’s “ Key,” p. 37). 
Dimensions of nests in inches :—(a) Outside—length 23, breadth 2, depth 
1.5 ; inside—length 1.5, breadth 1.3, depth 1.2. (4) Outside—length 2.3, 
breadth 2, depth 1.7; inside—length 1.6, breadth 1.3, depth 1.4. 

A regular supply of honey is obtainable from the mangrove flowers, and it 
is from these that most of their food is obtained throughout the year. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3S P2Ar nd 58 Bre ess) Saat 05 Bees) 
3 120% 2. Vuh") reas a eee 
3 [20 eetin5O. STE be Sen gw 9) | ek 2) 
3 eel Y: Glabrae 15) a ey ae eS 
3 120 P ier kO Nie eLO Hieely ahs AD 
3 THO, ene 55 Sco aD hob ek) Calg eaten 
2 LlOnn ee 54 ve ASS, a1 areata 
2 IGA ea acl) Saheim tio) tS omeclit ote Bu 
DO Oe ees reo E. ovale Mice al SiS eee 
Os nana MELAS 595) poets iow PERAE > Spee eG 


MYZOMELA NIGRA (Black Honey-eater). 
A single specimen only was noticed. 


MYZOMELA PECTORALIS (Banded Honey-eater). 

The first arrivals appeared at Napier Broome Bay on 26/12/09, when the 
first crop of Gvrevillea flowers opened, and their numbers ‘increased largely 
during the next few weeks. As the flowers failed their numbers decreased, 
until none remained in the first week of February. However, they returned 
in the middle of March, when the second crop of flowers opened. The 
majority went away again as the food supply decreased, but a few pairs 
remained until the end of July, when my observations ceased. Two nests 
only were found, the first of which contained two fresh eggs (10/5/10), and 
the second two young (20/7/10). ‘The early arrivals were accompanied by 
many birds of immature plumage (see note by Mr. A. J. Campbell, Haz 


Vol: | | Hutt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 285 


IQIt 


vol x., p. 167), so that I presume the two nests found in May and July were 
late broods. The nests were very lightly constructed of fine grass, bark, 
and spider web, and were lined with grass. 

Dimensions of nests in inches :—Outside—length, 2.2; breadth, 2; 
depth, 1.9. Inside—length, 1.6; breadth, 1.4; depth, 1.6. 

The food appears to consist entirely of honey. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. sill. Tail. 
3 M2Ggata ch OG 4) ut) Ago tn. ce em 
e) Tote cea, OG rp aids) VAR aoc 0 nea ee 
Imm. ¢ MS Om ree OA Gr vse 2 a TAL bs. once Tae ae eae 
3 spt OO) cc) 15. 12 RA eee ee 
Cee ageua tse GSe | x... 5> LO: 5: ax., oly eee 
MRED Ee, ODT in T4s'G 002: (EZ ee eee 
Cam err 2k st.) 3, can 13a ee 
2 D2 Ome LROOr mas. TAC cae PO eee 
S Teenie ee OOm ye es RR sre. Sy eee 
a TOG et eOM Done TALS cay, L212 Sane Abe 
ne ee Ons tee SOneer.s , 13.25 cc. 212 Sega 
Piece ser os ere Oleg. DALY 4... 12> 2 Vs Be 
Oe sre ZO BOL Ste ct TARY 5.) KS bp sueeAD 


GLYCYPHILA FASCIATA (White-breasted Honey-eater). 

Were noted in the Napier Broome Bay district only, where the first 
arrivals appeared on 1/12/09. By the 26th they were plentiful near all the 
creeks and springs, and on 1/1/Io nineteen nests were commenced along one 
small creek. The first set of eggs was taken on 5/1/10, and the last on 
18/5/10. Two eggs are invariably laid, excepting in cases where a nest 
contains a Cuckoo’s egg. I believe that when a Cuckoo’s egg is the first or 
second egg to be deposited in the nest, the Honey-eater does not lay her 
full clutch, but proceeds to incubate the Cuckoo’s egg only, or the Cuckoo’s 
egg and one of her own. I noticed that where a nest contained a full clutch 
of Honey-eater’s eggs and a Cuckoo’s egg the former were always in a more 
advanced state of incubation than the latter. My supposition is based on 
the following records and several more of similar nature :—A nest taken on 
7/1/10 contained two slightly incubated Honey-eater’s eggs and one fresh 
ege of Cacomantis flabelliformis (Square-tailed Cuckoo). A second nest 
taken on 13/1/10 contained one Honey-eater’s egg and one egg of C. flabeléz- 
formts, both of which were somewhat incubated. A third nest, which was 
commenced on 1/1/toand taken on 13/1/Io, contained only a slightly incu- 
bated egg of C. fadelliformis. A fourth nest, taken on 3/2/10, contained one 
egg of each species, both showing signs of incubation. The nests are built 
of cajaput bark throughout, and are so closely woven that they are practi- 
cally rain-proof. Nearly all have a strongly built resting place below the 
opening, upon which the birds alight before entering the nest and when 
feeding their young, and from which frequently hang several broad pieces of 
bark, varying in length from 4 to 9 inches. Similar pieces sometimes hang 
from the sides and bottom also. __I noticed several instances of these birds 
having abandoned their first nest to build another on the same branch, or on 
one in close proximity to it. In three cases abandonment appeared to be 
due to the presence of a Cuckoo’s egg in the nest, and in others to the 
fact that I had examined or taken eggs from the first nest. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 TACHI. 7 Bis, ce-8 b LQ?) 300% 155: Meee 
3 TGs, Tee 20 so 15s per eeg 
g Agee ci OS a) 1G: ../ US 
2 BAe yes, On) can. 05)... .5. RA eename a 


286 Hit, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust: [ os 


2ist Jan. 


CONOPOPHILA RUFIGULARIS (Red-throated Honey-eater). 

The first arrivals appeared on 26th March, and were followed by many 
others up to 27th April, after which they gradually decreased in numbers, 
until none remained after 24th May. This species is largely insectivorous, 
even when honey is abundant. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
6 Te Oi e ROT, 16.5 II 46 
3 135 65 16 II 45 
3 136 69 17 TIS cot 4s 
2 33 65.5 16 IKON yee (0) 
2 Wayb Ms 66 16 II 42 


STIGMATOPS OCULARIS (Brown Honey-eater). 

A very common bird in all localities on the mainland and islands. Eggs 
were taken from the beginning of March to the end of June from nests built 
in many species of trees and grass. The nests vary much in appear- 
ance, some being built entirely of grass and spider web, whilst others contain 
only bark and spider egg cases. The male birds are noticeably larger than 
the females, and those figured by Gould are typical of the North Kimberley 
birds. Small parties were seen flying between Eclipse and Graham Moore 
Islands and the mainland. 

Measurements of nests in inches:—(@) Outside—length 2.1, breadth 1.8, 
depth 2.1; inside—length 1.5, breadth 1.2, depth 1.8. (6) Outside— 
length 2.2, breadth 1.7, depth 2; inside—length 1.7, breadth 1.3, depth 1.7. 
(c) Outside—length 2.6, breadth 1.9, depth 1.6 ; inside—length 1.8, breadth 
1.5, depth 1.4. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. sill. Tail. 
3} TQ 2ie seo PMOM AS 5.45, bly) Me td 2 LOSE Ae See 
3 Bie te cat. OG? la St ALO ohio. st LOW eek 
3 Bae fe OS TO aT'G\\ ree eo SO ea 
3 Borers) (G60 6... bat" has acne ae ae 
fe) MAGS 250 2% 66,2": ange laps eee ae 
3 1 MEMS ©) SR ARN We MANE A ONE 
3 P52 ty (GQ) a2) 16.5). SSO eee 
3 TAS. she 8 ORY Go.y TORO me enero 
re) TAS O See 8 OR) VAG ep) UO Jene came 
°) POS Pa NOR LEAVE TOT ie 8 EG eae 
Q 130 eee: GSO TG. by ce WL Seb eee 


PTILOTIS SONORA (Singing Honey-eater). 

This widely-distributed species shows a decided preference for the poorest 
class of country—viz., the sandy coastal belt and the sandstone plateau 
country, on which the principal vegetation is stunted eucalypt, Ca/ycothrix 
microphylla (Cunn.), C. laricina (R. Br.), &c. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. sill. Tail. 
3 BO7 Py BOL a. dag Me. OG yee eos 
3 LOS. Oe DeG i f AEG Sacre 
3 1820 e676: soc) BO ee Lote Beene 
2 1t7A0), von | VAS) Boeri, SUGGS ene 


PTILOTIS FLAVESCENS (Yellow-tinted Honey-eater). 

A very common bird in all scrubby and timbered country ; noted as a foster- 
parent of Cacomantis flabelliformts (Square-tailed Cuckoo). 

Descriptions of nests :— 

(2) Built in a small tree, 6 feet from the ground, of thread-like pieces of 
eucalyptus bark and spider web, closely woven and almost covered on 


ioe Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 287 


outside with spider egg cases, web, and a white downy vegetable substance. 
Contents-—-One egg of P. flavescens, and one egg of Cacomantis flabellt- 
Jormiés, both in advanced state of incubation (17/1/10). 

(4) Built in small eucalypt tree, 7 feet from the ground, of bark and spider 
web, thickly lined with rootlets. Contents—Two eggs (18/5/10). 

(c) Built in a small tree, 7 feet 6 inches from the ground, of bark ana 
spider web, without lining. Contents—One egg, slightly incubated 
(25/5/10). 

(72) Built in acacia tree (Acacia tumida), 8 feet from the ground, of bark, 
spider web, caterpillar silk, and grass, lined with fine pieces of bark. 

Dimensions of the above nests in inches :—(a) Outside—length 2.3, breadth 
2.1, depth 1.8; inside—length 1.7, breadth 1.4, depth 1.3. (6) Outside— 
length 2.5, breadth 1.7, depth 1.9 ; inside—length 1.9, breadth 1.3, depth 
1.7. (c) Outside—length 2.4, breadth 1.8, depth 1.4; inside—length 1.6, 
breadth 1.2, depth 1.3. (d) Outside—length 2.4, breadth 2.1, depth 1.7 ; 
inside—length 1.7, breadth 1.5, depth 1. 4. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Oe MALT bs ea FOO VAIO es ew ei J) OO 
ete TAS. - Scag, 00 ee Ly ieee ee ie} som, 55 
3 iE Reg oh 72) boos aly) 50 eI Sao LO? 
3} 1GO> 2522 470 Sree: egg he bas OS 
3 D5 see oe 535 =a eae eo On 
g Te tS GG Is he ol aes ote 69 
& LA Oe st 07 ea ges Beas TOM || Gh ghe 
a DAG goat Got) tee LO.25) as ED By 56 
g TAOS ae - GOL 5 Os 45.08 LO Gee, ME25 aoe.’ 4 575 


PTILOTIS UNICOLOR (White-gaped Honey-eater). 

A rather uncommon species in all localities, from Parry Harbour to the 
Drysdale River. A nest commenced on 2nd January was ready for eggs on 
gth, and contained two eggs on 17th. On 20th a new nest was commenced 
by the same pair of birds at a height of 4o feet in a tall, slender tree. This 
nest was built of bark and spider web, and lined with grass. Dimensions in 
inches :—Outside—length, 4; breadth, 2.5; depth, 3.2. Inside—length, 
2.5 ; breadth, 1.8 ; depth, 2.1. 

Another nest, containing one young bird about a week old (28/11/09), was 
built 50 feet from the ground in a very tall tree, principally of grass, flower- 
heads, and a small quantity of bark and spider web. Dimensions of nest in 
inches :—Outside—length, 4.2; breadth, 3.8; depth, 2.8. Inside—length, 
273 breadth, 2:7 ;. depth, 2: 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 

Total length, Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 


3 ZOOM ROME. as) 22.25 TO: 5 isa eoe 
Gi eer Sh Sp POON ees 24.5 21.5 83 
Gm ehcp eOTan eas. OS 25 1Q;5) sy. «82 
Oe FEL GO RESe om OG 24 18 80 
Rint 6 4). COA F285 23 19 GO 
Din SOF tase: 4OT 23 19 78 
ore. IGA <5... 90 23 18 77 
Di en 2D 2 OI 23 19 82 


PTILOTIS PLANASI (Yellow-necked Honey-eater). 

(Campbell, 72, vol. x., p. 168.) 

I shot two of these birds on 7/5/10 in the sandstone plateau country, 5 
miles north-east of the station, which proved on examination to be males 
(type and co-type specimens). Subsequent visits were paid to this locality 


without success, but in June, when passing through similar country Io miles 
south-east of the station, | saw many pairs, and one nest from which the 


288 Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. [ am 


2tst Jan. 


young had recently flown. In their habits they resemble P. sonora some- 
what, though they are easily distinguished, even at a distance, from the 
commoner species. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Totallength. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Ov eid SZ A AS ee Oe eh eee 
Gna WA oe S72 i eee ar eee a 


Description of nest :—-Built in Grevzl/ea, 6 feet from the ground, amongst 
pendulous leaves ; lightly constructed of grass and spider webs. 

Measurements of nest in inches ;—Outside—length, 2.7; breadth, 2 ; 
depth, 1.8. Inside —length, 1.8; breadth, 1.5 ; depth, 1.5. 


MYZANTHA LUTEA (Yellow Miner). 
Fairly numerous during the flowering of the eucalypts. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing Tarsus. sill. Tail. 
fo Ey LE oO M aon cio mena 74 Ie Bes oe IR 
OR ae ~ Oee WD ase OO eee a ae ae 


ENTOMYZA ALBIPENNIS (White-quilled Honey-eater). 

This species was very seldom seen. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 

Total length. Wing. ‘Tarsus. Sill. Tail. 
OP Ty eee Oe 0. em VR eemone Ab mel, OES. 
TROPIDORHYNCHUS ARGENTICEPS (Silvery-crowned Friar-Bird). 

In January these birds leave the level forest country for the sandstone 
plateau, where the nests are found in January, February, and March. Two 
eggs are laid. Their food consists principally of the fruit of species of fig 
and other trees. 

Dimensions of nests in inches :—(a@) Outside—length 5.1, breadth 4.3, 
depth 3.8; inside—length 3.4, breadth 2.8, depth 2.5. (4) Outside—length 5, 
breadth 3.5, depth 4; inside—length 3.5, breadth 3, depth 3.2. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


‘Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Billand casque. ‘Tail. 

3} BH US eioe fe I sTe, 33 AO ee ee 

3} 205. face eel SO 30 30° iia elas 
3ill only. 

Gu ter BOO ers ne 32 ZY liter ers | i016) 

Ore ROS Veet Fubar 30 261) 7c mos 


PHILEMON SORDIDUS (Little Friar-Bird). 

This species was fairly plentiful on the eastern side of Napier Broome Bay, 
where it is resident. The nests are built from 6 to 30 feet from the ground, 
and are generally well concealed by leaves. The materials used are twigs, 
rootlets, grass, fibre, and spider web on the outside, and grass and roots on 
the inner side. The whole structure is light but strong, and closely woven. 
The eggs are visible from beneath. Dimensions in inches :—(a@) Outside— 
length 3.7, breadth 3.7, depth 3.3 ; inside—length 3.1, breadth 3, depth 3. 
(6) Outside—length 5.5, breadth 4.5, depth 3.8; inside—length 2.8, breadth 
2.7, depth 2.8. 

The nesting season appears to extend from December to March. The 
food is chiefly honey, insects, and fruits. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
ae ty QOD. Oren PTQI.< ast! 2S gies nc rh oi aie esas aml 
GO b.24g DOA Ee Ud 208 hoy Si acy TBST epee On 
Gi see 288 2beeens'3) sc. MBO ee eon aire naan 
Pienas | 277 ceeepe aby Sinn. SQ aes ener ee 


Vol. mal HIL1, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. 289 


IQIt 


TANIOPYGIA CASTANOTIS (Chestnut-eared Finch). 
Rarely seen. 


STICTOPTERA ANNULOSA (Black-ringed Finch). 

A common bird near the coast and on the sandstone hills, where eggs were 
taken from March to June. Asa rule the nests are built in exposed positions 
in stunted scrub (Calycothrix microphylla, Cunn.), but it is not unusual to find 
them very carefully concealed amongst the dead leaves of pandanus palms. 
Fine twigs and grass or grass only are the materials used in nest building. 
From three to eight eggs are laid. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. sill Tail, 


Gap etoome ss = AQ. tees. 13 TOD. La 


MUNIA CASTANEITHORAX (Chestnut-breasted Finch). 

These birds were very numerous on Hecla Island on 14/11/09, and 
appeared to be resting after a long flight. Very few were seen at Napier 
Broome Bay until May, when many small flocks of 10 to 20 birds (generally 
in immature plumage) arrived. 


POEPHILA ACUTICAUDA (Long-tailed Grass-Finch). 

A common resident near Napier Broome Bay. The nests are generally 
built in the tops of pandanus palms, or in small trees, at from 4 feet 6 inches 
to 20 feet from the ground, but it is not unusual to find them in spinifex 
grass, from 12 to 18 inches from the ground. The nests vary somewhat 
according to the site chosen. Those in the grass and pandanus are generally 
built of grass and lined with feathers. Charcoal was found amongst the 
feathers in three nests taken from spinifex. I noticed that nests built in 
trees were generally constructed of grass, small herbaceous plants, and 
pieces of wire-like creeper, and were more often lined with grass than with 
feathers. One nest was lined with about 18 inches of snake-skin. The 
nesting season commenced after the rainy season, eggs being taken from 
23rd April to 21st June. From 3 to 8 eggs are laid in a nest. 

Measurements of birds in mm, :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
3 RS Gueeer eyo sear LAN, aa TOME wrest 77 
OME TA Semetae eG Ole was) STOR axe) DTDs.) 525 
Saar RRL OG eee COV tisk 5) TOs) 83) TO) ee 78 


POEPHILA PERSONATA (Masked Finch). 

A few birds were seen near Napier Broome Bay at rare intervals, but in 
the barren country nearer the Drysdale River this species is more plentiful 
than P. acuticauda. The nests are more often built in the grass than in 
trees, and in many cases rest on the ground, near a stump or log. About a 
teaspoonful of finely broken charcoal was found in each nest. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


‘Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
a aeons... TO), sv (TZ cca ek Ge 
Cate ee ee 5Ou Mere FS. of ORT sn eS 
embers ser 59 icc EG tae: cc TE “sce 254 
PRES arene skye Lh. TE oetceen oe 


POEPHILA GOULDIL® (Gouldian Finch). 

On 16th and 19th November, flocks of these Finches arrived at the station, 
and remained a couple of weeks. Six weeks later many more arrived, and 
remained until the beginning of July. None of these birds nested in the 
district. The red and black-headed varieties were always found in the same 
flocks, the latter outnumbering the former by about three to one. 


290 Hitt, Field Notes on Birds of Kimberley, N.-W. Aust. as 


2tst Jan, 


NEOCHMIA PHAETON (Crimson Finch). 

This beautiful bird is resident and fairly plentiful about all the creeks and 
springs from Napier Broome Bay to the Drysdale River. The nests are 
generally builtin pandanus palms, or in the forks of large cajaput trees, at 
from Io to 50 feet from the ground. Plate XXXIV. shows the sites of three 
nests in the bark of a fallen tree. The materials used in nest-building are 
partly decayed leaves of a coarse swamp grass or cajaput bark on the out- 
side, with feathers or grass as lining. Both sexes assist in building their 
large and roughly constructed nests. Flower buds and seeds of many small 
plants, honey from the flowers of Grevz//ea, and grass seeds form the chief 
articles of diet. Green tree-ants (G:cophylla smaragdina) destroy many 
eggs and young of this species. 

ORIOLUS AFFINIS (Northern Oriole). 

Uncommon. 


ORIOLUS FLAVICINCTUS (Yellow Oriole). 

I saw a few pairs at Parry Harbour and on Mary Island, in the densest 
foliage, where they are difficult to locate on account of their protective 
colouring and habit of remaining motionless when approached. 

Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Oven, 295) enw oP 3Q.. arin 2BsG aah On eee 
Po ide DOR aver AGO! Sens 2b i aa on ae man 


CHIBIA BRACTEATA (Spangled Drongo).* 


Were fairly plentiful near Parry Harbour, but very uncommon in other 
localities. | 


Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Or Etat 324e ee Manon l i) MoO cya meta 135 
Te AIO Oa "knee ela aeN Nise Age. St anes 


CHLAMYDODERA NUCHALIS (Great Bower-Bird). 

Seen at Napier Broome Bay and Parry Harbour. Several bowers were 
found in both localities, at some distance from the coast, amongst thin, 
stunted scrub. Most of these were ornamented with coral and shells, or 
quartz crystals and freshly picked fruit of eucalyptus trees. Their food 
consists principally of wild figs, grapes, and other fruits. 


at ce 
CORVUS CORONOIDES (Crow). 


_ Were seen in all localities I visited, including the islands. Locusts and 
lizards only were found in the crops. 
Measurements of birds in mm. :— 


Total length. Wing. Tarsus. Bill. Tail. 
Ot al) B3a A B67 Ree 2 eee 0 ee 
fie OH Bowe OAM raiwe Silas pee mano) 


Bird Day. 


BIRD Day was celebrated throughout Victoria on Friday, 28th 
October, 1910. The Minister for Education, Mr. A. A. Billson, 
had suggested that on that day school work should proceed as 
usual in the morning, but that a special programme should be 
carried out in the afternoon, as follows:—School song; brief 
statement of the aims of the Gould League of Bird Lovers ; 
enrolment of members of the Gould League of Bird Lovers ; 


| 
' 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXXIV. 


Fallen Tree: White X indicates nesting-sites, in bark, of Crimson Finches 
(Neochmia phaeton). 


Play-ground of Great Bower-Bird (Chlamydodera nuchalis). 


FROM PHOTOS, BY G. F. HILL. 


ra er 
-- eh 
UIKe BTA A 


Bor | Bird Day. 291 
recitation ; school song ; short address by visitor or teacher on 
“ Birds: their Value and Interest” ; rapid revision of the school 
bird list and the list of last Bird Day; where convenient, an 
excursion, about half-past 2, to visit haunts of birds, nests 
previously noted. A list of birds seen should be made, in two 
columns—(1) birds positively identified ; (2) birds about which 
there is a doubt. In city schools, where the excursion may not 
be practicable, the programme may be extended, and may 
include a composition exercise. 

This was adhered to in the majority of schools, and the pupils 
learned a great deal about bird-life. 

Members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union, the 
Bird Observers’ Club, the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 
and kindred societies visited different schools and delivered 
brief addresses about birds and their habits, &c., impressing on 
the children the necessity for protecting bird-life for its econ- 
omic value, besides its beauty and interest. Some of the bigger 
schools of the metropolis were favoured by visits from leading 
members of the Union. But there was in some instances a little 
overlapping of lecturers, not likely to recur in future. 

In the country districts, generally, Bird Day celebration was a 
success, and, with the facilities offered for open-air lessons, in 
many instances the scholars had a most interesting and instructive 
afternoon. At Drouin West State school Mr. Isaac Batey, the 
veteran bird observer, and Mr. Swan were in attendance to 
judge essays for which prizes had been offered. The subject 
was—“ What I Have Seen in the Bush,” pupils of the fourth, fifth, 
and sixth classes competing. The examiners were pleased with 
the quality of the essays submitted. During the afternoon 
Mr. Batey explained interesting features regarding different 
specimens of birds displayed, and read an essay on nature 
study. At Maryborough Mr. Alex. H. Chisholm did good 
service in a similar direction, as did Mr. A. G. Campbell at 
Stawell and Mr. G. E. Shepherd in the Mornington district, 
and these instances of Bird Day celebrations in the country are 
fairly typical of a large number of others. At Ballarat four 
large schools met in the Athenazum Hall, where the Rev. 
A. Greenwood lectured agreeably on “Birds: their Homes, 
Habits, Uses, &c.” At the Mortlake State school, where an 
instructive paper was read by “F. R,” the Rev. Mr. M‘Bride, 
according to Zhe Mortlake Despatch (2/11/10), is reported to 
have stated “that one of the chief characteristics of Australian 
birds was that they are songless.” Surely the reverend gentle- 
man must have been misreported. 

In connection with Arbor and Bird Day, the following letter 
from Captain S. A. White, of Wetunga, Fulham, South 
Australia, which appeared in 7he Regzster, 24th August, 1910, 
is of interest :— 


Emu 
21st Jan 


292 Bird Day. 

“With the greatest pleasure I read in Zhe Register an article headed 
‘Arbor and Bird Day.’ I have been waiting for this move a long while, and 
at last it has come. It is only through the children that we can hope to 
educate the coming generations to recognize the great part our native birds 
play in the welfare of the State, quite apart from preventing much cruelty in 
destroying our feathered friends. It is a fitting thing that Arbor Day and 
Bird Day should be held at the same time, because one depends on the other. 
It has been a great wonder to me that this fact has not been noticed before. 
Much has been done and said (quite rightly, too) by our Forest Department 
and National Park Board, but how strange that bird protection has not come 
into the question, when we know that science, and also many thousands of 
practical demonstrations, have shown us that the flora is dependent on the 
birds for its existence as much as the birds are dependent on it. They are 
the eradicators of hundreds of different kinds of pests and blights which 
attack our timber trees and our flora in general, and their fertilization, also, 
is almost dependent on the native birds in many cases. The Education 
Department is to be heartily congratulated on this important undertaking. 
It has a wonderfully energetic officer in Mr. Edquist, who has only lately 
taken to this study, but is rapidly furnishing himself with a practical 
knowledge of our native birds. All the many ornithologists in South Aus- 
tralia will do all they can to help the movement. Iam proud to think of 
being one of the original members of the first Ornithological Association of 
Australasia—the S.A.O.A.—which has done an immense amount of work, 
not only in the advancement of ornithological science, but also for the pro- 
tection of birds. The South Australian Education Department is the first 
to form school clubs, and may this increase each year ; but the Victorian 
Department has had two annual ‘ Bird Days,’ and has started the Gould 
League for the protection of native birds. The membership up to date is 
25,000,” 


Stray Feathers. 


GROUND-LARK’S NEST ON HIGHWAY.— Whilst strolling 
down the Chadstone-road here last week I flushed a Ground- 
Lark (Azthus). On looking down I found the nest in a clump 
of onion weed, with three eggs in it, right in the roadway—in 
fact, only two yards from the centre, and over which spot 
numbers of horses and cattle pass every day.—J. F. BRADLY. 
Murrumbeena, 22/9/10. 

* * 

FOSTER-PARENT OF FAN-TAILED CUCKOO.—I have received 
from Mr. C. E. Ortin, a new member of the R.A.O.U. in 
Western Australia, a letter with the following postscript :— 
“While my men were engaged in scrub-cutting a few days 
ago in the densest thicket, they flushed a bird from a nest which 
turned out to be a Redthroat’s (Pyrrholemus brunnea), con- 
taining two eggs, also egg of Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis 
flabelliformis). 1 believe this is a new foster-parent for this 
Cuckoo.”—J. A. Ross. Melbourne, 30/9/Io. 

* ** * 
PLUMAGE OF THE FEMALE PINK-BREASTED ROBIN 


(Petreca rhodinogaster).—Mr. O. L. Adams obtained one of the 
above species, when on one of his surveying trips to the 


Vol. X. | 


oe Stray Feathers. 293 
Patersonia district, which had a very distinct pink breast. He 
then consulted Hall's “ Key,” also North’s “ Nests and Eggs,” but 
neither author had mentioned this fact. Mr. Adams was then 
anxious to procure another female to confirm the first one. 
When up at the Tunnel, in October, 1910, I obtained one which 
also had the very distinct pink breast, while several others were 
noticed at close quarters.—P. C. THOMPSON. Launceston. 
aK * *k 


NATIVE CAT AND HERONS.—A short while back a plough- 
man taking his horses to the river for their mid-day drink saw 
two Herons (Wotophoyx nove-hollandia) feeding on a grassy flat, 
probaby on worms, as it was just after a heavy rain. A tiger- 
cat (Dasyurus maculatus) came out of some blackberries by the 
river and ran swiftly toward the Herons. When these raised 
their heads the cat flattened himself on the ground, in the 
language of my informant, who halted his horses to watch the 
impending tragedy. When the birds resumed feeding the cat 
again ran forward, to halt motionless as they raised their heads. 
In this way he had succeeded in getting within a few yards of 
the birds, when one of the horses shook itself ; the Herons heard 
the chains rattle, looked around, saw the cat, and flew off. The 
cat ran back to the blackberries without delay.—O. L. ADAms. 
Launceston, 17/9/10. 

* * 

NEST AND EGGs OF THE ROCK FIELD-WREN.—Description 
of two clutches of eggs of Calamanthus montanellus (Milligan), 
M. 535, taken by Mr. F. Lawson Whitlock in the Stirling 
Ranges, Western Australia :— 

No. 1 (taken 12/9/1910).—Clutch four. Eggs fresh. Shape, 
swollen oval ; texture of shell fine, smooth and glossy; ground 
colour chocolate-red (not unlike that of C/thonzcola sagittata), 
with a few spots of a darker shade scattered over the surface 
and merging into an indistinct cap at the larger end of the egg. 
Very slight variation in the colouring of the four eggs. 

Measurements in inches :—(a) .83 x .58, (0) .80 x .58, (c) 81 x 
fe (a) .o2 50; 

Nest.—Dome shaped, composed of loosely woven dried grass, 
with a lining of small feathers; entrance at the side on a level 
with the ground. The structure is like the nest of Pyrrholemus 
brunnea, and placed in a hole scratched in the ground. 
Situation —a rocky ridge. 

No. 2 (taken 4/9/10)—Clutch three. Eggs fresh. Shape, 
swollen oval; texture of shell fine, smooth and glossy ; ground 
colour light chocolate-brown (similar to C. fwlzgznosus), a few 
spots or splashes of a darker shade scattered over the surface, 
and forming rather a distinct cap at the larger end. 

Measurements :—(a@) .84 x .64, (0) .84 x .63, (c) .83 x .64.—H. 
L. WHITE. Belltrees. 


Emu 
21st Jan. 


294 Sivay Feathers. 


a] 


WHITE - SHOULDERED CATERPILLAR-EATER (LALAGE 
TRICOLOR).—A few years ago this handsome and useful bird 
was comparatively rare about this district. During the last few 
nesting seasons, however, I have noted a steady increase in their 
numbers; and now they are becoming plentiful. At the 
present time three pairs are nesting in our orchard—one nest 
being placed high in a cherry-plum and the other two low in 
pear trees. In the first-mentioned tree a pair of birds built last 
’ year, and safely reared a brood of young ; so, presumably, these 
are the same birds again returned. I am always glad to see 
them about the place, not only on account of their insect-eating 
proclivities, but also for their bright, cheerful ways and musical 
chattering song. The other day I spent a pleasant half-hour 
watcning one of these birds—a male—weaving the fibres of its 
tiny nest around the slender branchlets in one of the fruit-trees. 
A pretty picture he made, sitting lightly in a fork of two limbs, 
his head moving briskly from side to side, as he wove each fibre 
into position. Both sexes assist in the building of the nest 
and incubation of the eggs, but I find the male bird, if anything, 
the more industrious of the two. Certainly, he is a very energetic 
helpmeet. 

Last month I found three of these nests in a local park—a 
favourite place for marauding boys—simply by watching the 
birds for a few minutes. In this place the nests are invariably 
situated high up in pine trees. The birds display but little fear 
of human beings, and will sit or fly close by while the nest is 
being examined. In this connection a little incident that came 
under the notice of a large number of picnickers at a spot in the 
Pyrenees Mountains, last week, called forth many expressions of 
admiration. Right in the centre of the picnicking ground a 
pair of Lalages had built their nest low in a wattle-tree. Never 
having been disturbed, the sitting bird had become so tame and 
trustful that she would allow visitors to approach quite closely, 
and even stroke her back, as she sat sheltering her single young 
one.—A. H. CHISHOLM. Maryborough (Vic.), 22/11/16. 


* * * 


FIELD NOTES FROM BROOME HILL, WESTERN AUS- 
TRALIA.*—ogth April, 1910—JVeositta pileata (Black-capped 
Tree-runner)—Unusual numbers of this bird were seen on 
above date. While driving along a high road a distance of 6 
miles, small parties of three to six birds were seen all the way. 

7th May.—Cuculus tnornatus (Pallid Cuckoo) first heard. 

21st June.—2nox ocellata.—A specimen of this Owl that I 


* These notes were accompanied by an interesting set of photographs taken by 
Mrs. Carter, but it is regretted want of space did not permit of their reproduction. 
—EDs. 


Vol. X. ] 


ie: Stvay Feathers: 295 
dissected contained the two legs and feet and many feathers of 
a Parrot, apparently Laruardius zonartus. 

30th June—When Mrs. Carter was driving along the road, a 
pair of Uroattus audax (Wedge-tailed Eagles) that were perched 
in a jam-tree (Acacza) on the edge of the road followed the 
buggy for some distance, flying and hovering at a height of only 
a few feet above it, much to the alarm of the horse. Mrs. 
Carter said she could have struck them with the whip, but was 
_ doubtful of the consequences if one fell in the carriage or upon 
the horse. I tried to find these Eagles subsequently, but with- 
out success, so I poisoned the carcass of a lamb in one of 
my paddocks where I had seen Eagles ; but, although one of 
them undoubtedly visited the body, the only result was the 
unfortunate death of six Magpies (Gymmnorhina dorsalis) and a 
fine Brown Hawk (//zeracidea orientalis) that I found lying by 
the lamb. 

8th July.—Podicipes nove-hollandie (Black-throated Grebes) 
made their appearance upon two of my stock tanis—an earlier 
date than usual. 

Podargus strigowdes.—While walking through one of my 
paddocks, my attention was attracted by what seemed to be a 
strip of dry bark in the small upper branches of a York gum 
tree. As fallen bark is not usually seen in the smooth upper 
limbs, I used my field glass, and found that the object was a fine 
Tawny Frogmouth, its body compressed and elongated to an 
extraordinary length. I am well acquainted with the upright 
pose of this bird, resembling the dead limb, but the horizontal 
position was new to me. I may mention that the Owlet 
Nightjar (4¢go¢heles) has the habit of compressing the feathers 
when it knows it is observed in the open (where it is rarely 
seen), thus making it appear very small. 

8th July.—Cacomantis flabelliformzs (Fan-tailed Cuckoo) first 
heard and seen. 

21st May.—A fine specimen of Dzomedea exulans was received 
by me, having been captured on a steamer not far from Cape 
Leeuwin. It measured3 feet 6 inches in length, 9 feet 6 inches 
expanse of wing, and weighed 15 lbs. 

17th July.—Zonzfer tricolor and Petreca campbelli (Black- 
breasted Plover and Western Scarlet-breasted Robin) were 
first observed, and a nest of the White-fronted Bush-Chat 
(Ephthianura albifrons) containing three eggs was observed. 

23rd July.— Pachycephala rufiventris (Rufous-breasted Thick- 
head) made its appearance, uttering its pleasant song. 

29th July.—Petraca goodenov't (Red-capped Robin) appeared 
in considerable numbers on its winter migration. 

3rd ~August.—Zosterops gouldt (Green-backed White-eye) 
still about in flocks. 

oth August—A nest of the Long-billed Honey-eater 
(Meltornis longtrostris) was seen containing two eggs, 


296 Stvay Feathers. Pea 


L2ist Jan. 


12th August.—A few Black-and-White Swallows (Cherameca 
leucosternum) were observed, flying, as usual, at a considerable 
height. 

18th August.—A nest containing three incubated eggs of the 
Gilbert Thickhead (Pachycephala gilbert2) was found in the dead 
prickly leaves of a stinkwood tree. The nest was 5 feet from 
the ground, and was made of twigs and fibrous bark. The lining 
consisted of fine fibre and grass, with a little sheep’s wool. The 
' male bird was sitting. 

20th August.—A party of Banded Wrens (J/alurus splendens) 
was noted, one male bird being in full plumage. On 28th 
September I saw another family 50 miles from here, in which 
was no male bird in full plumage, one only having partly 
assumed its breeding feathers. 

26th August.—The family of eleven Magpies (Gymunorhina 
dorsalis) which had been about the house, feeding on scraps 
from the kitchen, since my return in April, was reduced to four 
birds of last year, which were in the immature brownish plumage, 
the others having paired and gone away to nest. At date of 
writing (29th October) these four birds are still about the house 
and in full moult. According to my experience, this Magpie 
does not breed until two years of age. 

Ist September.—A nest of Calamanthus montanellus (Rock 
Field-Wren) was found on a sand plain, built as usual in a 
slight hollow in the ground. it contained two Wrens’ eggs and 
one of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis). I 
think this is the first record of this Cuckoo laying in a Rock 
Field-Wren’s nest. White-shouldered Caterpillar-eaters (La/age 
tricolor) made their first appearance, and the White-tailed 
Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus baudint) were making ready their 
nesting-holes. 

4th September.—Observed a nest of the Bronze-wing Pigeon 
(Phaps chalcoptera) containing two incubated eggs, about Io feet 
from the ground in a sheoak tree (Casuarina). The male bird 
was sitting. The Western Thickhead (Pachycephala occidentalts) 
was noted singing, in immature plumage. 

5th September.—Young Black-breasted Plovers (Zonzfer trt- 
color) were observed about ten days old. 

14th September.—The Black-throated Grebes had eggs in 
their nest on one of my stock tanks, as I could see them from 
the edge of the water. On the 19th I waded to the nest to see 
how the eggs were progressing, but found only one egg and the 
nest forsaken, and a second nest had been built about 20 yards 
away, which contained three eggs. Another egg, at least, must 
have been subsequently laid, as four young birds hatched out on 
13th October. 

15th September.—Two eggs of the White-tailed Cockatoo 
(C. baudinz) were brought to me, having been just taken from the 


Vol. X. 
apes Stray Feathers. 297 


nest. The young bushman who brought them assured me that 
an interval of a week or more elapses between the laying of the 
first and second egg, and that as soon as the first egg hatches 
the birds leave off sitting, and the second egg is usually left in 
the nest, infertile. 

17th September.—The Black Duck (Azas superciliosa) had 
eggs, and the Sacred Kingfisher (Halcyon sanctus) made its first 
appearance this season. 

19th September.—Pallid Cuckoos began to have a break in 
their voices. 

21st September.—For the first time here, I observed an 
undoubted pair of Spotted Scrub-Wrens (Serzcornis maculata). 
I observed them through my binoculars for some time. A pair 
of Black-and-White Fantails (AA7zpzdura tricolor) had built a 
nest and were sitting on three eggs on the top of a flood-gate 
across the creek. After some trouble in locating the exact tree, 
I found a nest of the Ground Graucalus (Pteropodocys phastanella) 
built about 30 feet from the ground on the forked limb of a 
York gum (eucalypt). Upon examining it, found it contained 
two young about a week old, one of them being much larger 
than the other. The nest was very flat, and almost impossible 
to be seen from the ground below. It was placed in the fork 
without any attachment, and was made of fine grass, roots, 
weeds, and a little moss, lichen, and sheep’s wool intermixed. 
It was sundown when I first identified the tree in which the nest 
was built, after long watching the parent birds flying with food 
for the young. J stood below the tree trying to locate the nest 
with my binoculars for some time before I became aware 
that in the field of view was one of the parent birds perched on 
a straight dead branch immediately above the nest. The branch 
and bird were both in a perpendicular position, and the bird 
kept motionless, stretched out to its utmost length, with the beak 
pointed upwards, and could very easily have been overlooked. 
I have not read of this protective pose of the Ground 
Graucalus. 

23rd September.—Found a Bronze-wing’s (Phaps chalcoptera) 
nest, 5 feet from the ground, in a stinkwood bush. One egg 
was in the nest, and the other on the ground, both having been 
pierced in several places by some sharp instrument, and as a 
fine lace lizard (iguana) was near the foot of the bush I took it 
to be the egg-destroyer. About 100 yards distant was another 
nest of the Bronze-wing, built about 25 feet from the ground in 
the fork of a sheoak tree. 

On 12th October a Bronze-wing Pigeon flew from the hollow 
spout of a large white gum tree, and on exploring the hollow I 
found there were two incubated eggs. The male bird was sitting. 
This laying in holes was a new experience to me, and I do not 
find it mentioned in ornithological works. 


298 Stvay Feathers. sane 

25th September.—Noted fledged young of Calamanthus mon- 
tanellus and Climacteris rufa (Rufous Tree-creeper). Mr. Hassell 
presented me with a skin of the Black-cheeked Falcon (Falco 
melanogenys), which he had shot in order to identify a species of 
Hawk that he said was in habit of killing the Mallee-Fowl 
(Lipoa). 

Saw nest of Western Fantail (AAipidura preissi), containing 
three eggs, built about 8 feet from the ground on a pendent 
bough of the river casuarina (sheoak). 

Notophoyx nove-hollandie (White-fronted Herons) have fledged 
young birds. 

Porphyrocephalus spurius (Red-capped Parrakeet) and Bar- 
nardius zonarius have young in nests. 

2nd October.—Climbed to a nest of Cvactécus leucopterus 
(destructor ?) (White-winged Butcher-Bird), which was built in 
the small twigs of a dead jam-tree, about 15 feet from the 
ground. It contained four eggs. . 

Found a nest of Pézlotzs cratztza (Wattle-cheeked Honey-eater) 
that contained two fresh eggs. It was about 3% feet from the 
cround, in a low bush. Most of this species had young birds at 
this date. 

4th October.—Observed well-grown young of the Black Duck 
that could fly a short distance, and on 22nd October saw a 
brood of twelve young, newly hatched, on one of my tanks, 

5th October.—Many young Magpies in the nests. 

8th October—Fresh eggs of the Little Penguin (Eudyptula 
minor) sent to me from the south coast. 

Found nest of Oveoica cristata (Bell-Bird) built in the hollow 
of a charred sheoak stump, about 4 feet from the ground. The 
male bird was sitting on three eggs, and the usual complement 
of hairy caterpillars, alive. 

oth October.—Noted nest of Podargus strigotdes containing 
two eggs. 

11th October.—Observed young of Glycyphila melanops 
(Tawny-crowned Honey-eater) in the nest. Here we have one 
of the disadvantages to students of the extreme “law of 
priority.” Why should the very appropriate, well-known name 
of fulvifrons, which has stood for 70 years, be altered to that of 
melanops ? 

12th October—Young lLeaden Crow-Shrikes (Strepera 
plumbea) fledged from the nest. 

21st October—While at work with one of my men a jam-tree 
(Acacia acuminata) was felled. I noticed before the tree fell 
that there was an old nest of the Pomatorhinus superciliosus 
(White-browed Babbler) about 25 feet from the ground in the 
small, upper twigs, and that a Collyriocincla rufiventris (Buff- 
bellied Shrike-Thrush) was moving about it in an agitated 
manner, but never thought it could have its eggs there. How- 


Vol. X. 
IgIt 


Stray Feathers. 299 
ever, on examination I found that the Thrush had built its nest, 
composed of coarse pieces of bark and fibre, inside the old nest 
of the Babbler, and that its three fresh eggs had been broken 
by the fall. This incidentally confirms Mr. A. J. Campbell’s 
supposition in “Nests and Eggs,” page 92. Although this 
species of Shrike-Thrush is very common in this district, I have 
so far only seen one other nest, and that was about Io feet from 
the ground, built in the fork of a jam-tree, and contained two 
fresh eggs on 21st October, 1907. It is a curious coincidence 
that the two nests should have been found on the same day of 
the same month. 

22nd October.—Observed small young in down of Zonifer 
tricolor—ToM CARTER. Wensleydale, 31/10/10. 


P.S.—7th November.—Black-and-White Fantail.—Apparently 
the same pair of birds has now a second clutch of three eggs 
in the nest built on the flood-gate.—T. C. 


From Magazines, &c. 


BirRD’s NEST IN SHEEP'S WOOL.—Mortlake, Tuesday.— 
While a sheep was being sheared on Mr. A. Burger’s farm, 
Telanga, near Penshurst, a Starling’s nest was found in the wool. 
The nest had one egg in it.—Age, 23/11/10. 

* 


* * 


WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BIRDS.—Following some observa- 
tions made in 7he Emu, vol. x., p. 58, respecting an article by 
Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant (/ézs, October, 1909), Mr. Tom Carter, 
who possesses considerable local knowledge, both ornithological 
and geographical, has further criticised the latter at some 
length in Zhe /éis for October, 1910, Referring to a supposed 
egg of Climacteris wellst (Grant) in Mr. A. J. Campbell’s collec- 
tion, a description is given in a footnote hereunder,* also descrip- 
tions of the eggs of Certhionyx occidentalis (Grant). 


Reviews. 


[‘* The Birds of Dumfries-shire,” by Hugh S. Gladstone, M.A., F.Z.S., M.B,O.U. 
Witherby and Co., London. Price, 25s. net. ] 
THIS handsome volume is an addition to the county avifaunas 
with which British ornithologists are so well provided. Its author, 
who was well equipped for his pleasant work, has been able to 
make his “contribution to the fauna of the Solway area” of 
permanent. value by the co-operation of careful observers in 

* Egg indistinguishable from that of C, rufa, but slightly smaller—dimensions, 
.92 x .74 inches. Eggs of Certhionyx occidentalis may be described as oval in form, 
slightly glossy, light buffy-white in colour, finely spotted with dark brown or umber, 


with dull underlying markings of grey, Not unlike eggs of Artamus sordidus, 
Dimensions in inches :—(1) 92 x .66, (2) .9 x .66, (3) .9 x .65.—A. J. C, 


300 Reviews. _ Emu, 


21st Jan. 


different parts of Dumfries-shire. To ornithologists in the British 
Isles, the book, which is a model of what such a work should be, 
must prove indispensable. Each species occurring in the Solway 
area is dealt with exhaustively, and the introductory chapters 
furnish general details regarding physical features of the district, 
climate, &c. The illustrations are numerous, and good, save those 
which depict stuffed birds, and of this class there are more than 
could be desired. But this is a slight blemish ona valuable work. 
_ Writing of the Common Sandpiper ( Totanus hypoleucus),the author 
says that the birds arrive at their nesting-haunts about the third 
week in April, leaving late in July or early in August, and “after 
a brief sojourn of a week or two on the coast, depart to their 
more southerly winter quarters.” He mentions the fact that the 
species, in winter, is found in Australia, as far south as Tasmania. 


[‘‘ Life of William MacGillivray, by Wm. MacGillivray, W.S. With a Scientific 
Appreciation by J. Arthur Thomson. London: John Murray. Price, ros. 6d. net. ] 
To write the life of such a man as William MacGillivray—the 
“accurate MacGillivray,” as Darwin called him—a sympathetic 
pen was needed, and the great British ornithologist has been 
fortunate in his biographer. The little volume under notice 
sketches the boyhood and career of MacGillivray, and the 
scientific value of his work is brought out in Prof. Thomson’s 
lucid “ appreciation.” 

The future historian of British birds was born at Old Aber- 
deen in 1706, his father being a surgeon in the army, and when 
three years of age he was taken to live on a farm on the island of 
Harris, where he received his early education and commenced 
to look on nature with delight. Ina poem he himself says, 
“The solitudes of nature were my school.” When only twelve 
years old he entered Aberdeen College, and, taking his M.A. 
degree, began the study of medicine. In 1816 he commenced 
the study of botany, and subsequently devoted attention to 
ornithology, geology, and other branches of natural history. 
In fact, he at one period or other of his life took all nature for 
his province, but ornithology became his favourite study, and 
he will be remembered by his “ History of British Birds.” He 
was an open-air naturalist, religious, and with a strain of poetry 
in his nature, but he was also a scientist. ‘“ MacGillivray,” says 
Prof. Thomson, “must be given a very high place, for three 
reasons :—(1) Because of his classification, which got below the 
often misleading resemblances in superficial appearance and 
habits to the affinities indicated by anatomical architecture ; 
(2) because of the pattern of thoroughness which he set in his 
anatomical investigations ; (3) because of the excellence of his. 
observations on the life and habits of birds.” The late Prof. 
Alfred Newton wrote of MacGillivray :—* Among ornithologists 


na ania ceeeeeell 


Vol. “X. - 
nas Reviews. 301 


of thé highest rank there have been few whose opinion is more 
worthy of attention than MacGillivray, a trained anatomist and 
a man of thoroughly independent mind.” 

The record of MacGillivray’s life and work, as set out in the 
volume under notice, should be read by all ornithologists ; it is 
inspiring, 

It is interesting that two sons of the great British “ bird-man,” 
John and Paul, also became eminent in natural science, and 
spent portions of their lives in Australia. John MacGillivray 
was naturalist on three scientific expeditions, including that 
of the Fly to Torres Strait and the Eastern Archipelago 
(1842-46), and he died at Sydney in 1867. Paul settled in 
Australia. He was a surgeon, and a student of natural science. 
A monument to his memory has been erected. at Bendigo, where 
he resided, and his collection of natural specimens is preserved 
in the National Museum, Melbourne. 


Correspondence. 
THE CARTER ALBATROSS. 
To the Editors of “The Emu.” 


S1rS,—The editorial statement appearing in the last number of 
The Emu (October, 1910, vol. x., p. 144) is incorrect in stating 
that the specimen of 7/halassogeron cartert, described as new by 
the Hon. Walter Rothschild (vide Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, xiv., p. 
6) “was found washed ashore dead off North-West Aus- 
tralia.” It was caught by a black boy in my employment while 
it was swimming in the open sea at Point Cloates, and brought 
to me by him while still alive (vide Emu, vol. iii, p. 208). I 
think the editors, who, as far as I know, have never seen the 
bird, have gone out of their way to question the validity of this 
species, seeing that the Hon. Walter Rothschild described it as 
new (Dr. Ernst Hartert concurring with him), and that the late 
Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe assured me (after examination of the 
skin) that it was a good species, when I was in England in 1903. 
So far, the only Albatross procured that resembles 7. cartert 
was procured at Gough Island, in the South Atlantic, by the 
Scottish National Antarctic Expedition in 1904, and was 
described by my friend Mr. Wm. Eagle Clarke in Zhe /dis, 1905, 
p. 266, where he states :—“ Dr. Hartert remarks that he finds 
nothing to show that other Albatrosses have the bill black in 
the young.” 

In my paper in Ze Emu mentioned above, the word “thing ” 
has been substituted for “skin” by a printer’s error in the fourth 
line, p. 209.—I am, &c., 

TOM, CARTES 

Broome Hill, Western Australia, 27/10/T0. 


[No persons are more “in love” with Australian birds or 


‘Emu 


302 Correspondence. atst Jan. 


ornithology than the editors of Ze Emu. All they desire to 
obtain are facts. They thank Mr. Carter for his correction 
regarding the finding of the bird, but they submit that the 
criticism Mr. Carter particularly objects to is reasonable, which 
time alone can prove, or otherwise. Mr. Carter must be aware 
that the bills of the young of the Z/alassogeron (T. cautus) which 
breeds in Australian waters are dark, and that specimens of birds 
and eggs of the Albatrosses of Gough Island were collected and 
‘described as far back as 1895 (vede Verrill, Trans. Connect. Ac., 
vol. ix.)—EDs. | 


Bird Observers’ Club. 


AT the Athenzum Hall, Melbourne, on 13th December, Ig10, the Bird 
Observers’ Club gave a unique entertainment. A fine series of lantern slides 
was displayed, illustrating the recent expedition of members of the Royal 
Australasian Ornithologists’ Union to the Capricorn Islands, at the southern 
extremity of the Great Barrier Reef. Mr. A. J. Campbell, C.M.B.O.U., 
presided, and made a short introductory address. Mr. Chas. Barrett, hon. 
secretary Bird Observers’ Club, gave an account of the expedition, describing 
different islands that were visited and the experiences of the naturalists in 
camp and on reef and forest rambles. Mr. D. Le Souéf, C.M.Z.S., dealt 
with the bird life of the coral islands, and Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc., gave a 
most interesting account of the vegetation and of the life of the reef and 
lagoon. He also touched on the theories regarding the formation of coral 
islands. During an interval refreshments were served. Among those 
present were :—Mr. F. Tudor, Minister for Customs ; Mr. N. C. Lockyer, 
Acting Comptroller-General of Customs ; Mr. Theo. Fink and Miss Fink ; 
Mr. J. W. Israel, Auditor-General, and Mrs. Israel; Mr. J. A. Kershaw, 
F.E.S., Curator of the National Museum, and Mrs. Kershaw ; Mr. W. A. 
Kendall, M.R.C.V.S.; Mr. H. C. Dannevig, Director of Fisheries,—/era/d, 
14/12/10. 

Under the auspices of the Bird Observers’ Club, Mr. Edgar F. Stead, 
R.A.O.U., delivered, at the Independent Hall, on 18th November, 1910, a 
lecture on “ Bird Life in New Zealand.” Mr. A. H.E, Mattingley, C.M.Z.S., 
presided, and there was a large attendance. Mr. Stead, who for many 
years has been a student of the avifauna of the Dominion, illustrated his 
lecture with a series of lantern slides from his own photographs, taken in the 
wildest parts of New Zealand. Some of these pictures rival in interest and 
beauty the best work of the Kearton Bros., in England, and Radcliffe 
Dugmore, in the United States. Mr. Stead has undertaken so many 
adventurous expeditions that he was able to relate stories not only of the 
birds, but also of exciting incidents by flood and field. With two com- 
panions he navigated, on a frail raft, whose floats were kerosene tins, several 
of the big cascaded rivers of the South Island. He spoke of the Weka Rail, 
the Kea, the Kiwi and other species, and told the story of his trip to an 
almost inaccessible rock in the ocean, where the Spotted Cormorants nest. 
Regarding the Kea, Mr. Stead stated that the bird does indeed kill sheep, 


but is not nearly so black as it has been painted. Only when frozen out of 


the mountains does it come seeking animal food in the lowlands and among 
the foothills. The Weka Rail, he was pleased to note, was holding its own 
against stoats and weasels. Mr. Stead was accorded a hearty vote of 
thanks, on the motion of Mr. A. J. Campbell, Col. M. B.O.U., seconded by 
Mr. D. Le Souéf, C.M.Z.S., for his lecture. 


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Walon ak. 


1911 


South Australian Ornithological Association. 303 


South Australian Ornithological Association, 


THE monthly meeting of this Association was held on Friday evening, 25th 
November. Business included correspondence concerning the introduction 
of the Mallee-Fowl into Kangaroo Island. The secretary was requested to 
push the matter on, as the season was far advanced. A long discussion 
took place in reference to the extension of the close season for game, and 
it was thought by the majority of the members that if the season were 
extended to 1oth January it would give the birds a chance. Several cases 
of shooting birds in close season were brought forward, and it was with the 
greatest regret that members listened to such flagrant breaches of the law 
and wanton cruelty. The remainder of the evening was taken up by a 
narrative of the last expedition under the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ 
Union to the Great Barrier Reef, last October, which was read by Capt. 
S.A. White. A list of the birds noted during the expedition, as well as their 
habits, &c., was read by Mr. J. W. Mellor. A number of specimens were 
exhibited from these localities, principally the Capricorn Islands. 


Notes and Notices. 


PODARGUS CALLS.—In Mr. Mattingley’s article, p. 246, six 
“ooms” should read six “ calls.” 


WANTED.—If any member has copies of vols. i., ii. iii., or 
parts thereof, of Ze Emu, which they wish to sell, will they 
please communicate with the hon. secretary, R.A.O.U., stating 
price, &c. 

PRIOR NAME.—In re 358A, Psephotus chrysopterygius blaauwt, 
Van Oort, in “ Notes from the Leyden Museum,” xxxii., p. 71 
(1910), this bird is the same as P. cucullatus, North.—G. M. 
MATHEWS. 

NEW SUB-SPECIES.—Wunia castanetthorax assimilis differs 
from MV. castanetthorax (Gould) in having the chestnut band on 
the chest much darker in colour and the upper tail coverts rich 
chestnut-brown. Wing, 55 mm. Aad.—Eureka, Northern 
Territory—G. M. MATHEws. Sudletin B.O.C.,, No. clxiv. 


A CORRECTION.—Referring to the highly interesting photo. 
blocks that accompany Mr. Tom Iredale’s article on the 
Kermadec Islands in this volume, it should have been stated 
that the original negative of Plate II. was taken by Mr. W. L. 
Wallace, and those of Plates III. and V. were by Mr. R. B. 
Oliver. 

EXTENSION OF LOCALITY.—In a small lot of skins sent to 
me from the Northern Territory was a skin of Aphelocephala 
nigricincta, § (No. 691, ‘“ Handlist” ). This bird was obtained for 
the first time by the members of the Horn Scientific Expedition, 
when two males and a female were collected by Mr. Keartland. 
It was described by Mr. A. J. North in Ze /dzs (1895), and is 
fairly well figured on plate 7 in the “ Report of the Horn 
Scientific Expedition—Aves” (1896)——G. M. MATHEWS. 
Watford (England), 28/10/I0. 


] 


304 Notes and Notices. ees 

TRIP TO THE TUNNEL DISTRICT, TASMANIA.—Mr. P. C. 
Thompson forwards some interesting notes of birds observed in 
the above-mentioned locality during October last. . He was 
accompanied by Mr. O. L. Adams, another member of the 
R.A.O.U. What struck the observers first was the fact that, 
while birds were hatching in the Launceston district, at the 
Tunnel very few species were even building. About three dozen 
species were noted, including the rare endemic Acanthornis 
‘magna, or Scrub-Tit, a specimen of which was obtained for 
museum purposes. 


Noisy ScCRUB-BIRD (Aérichia clamosa).—Regarding the 
original finding of the nest of this species, mentioned in 
Campbell’s “ Nests and Eggs,” page 1,080, I may state that Mr. 
J. Hassell, wot A. T. Hassell, was in company with Mr. E. A. 
Hassell when the nest was found. I was shown the locality, and 
the scrub amongst which the nest was built appears to bea 
dwarf species of tea-tree (AZelaleuca), which, growing to a height 
of from 2 to 4 feet, forms comparatively open spaces in 
the midst of the dense “ marlock,” or “ma-lock,” scrub, that ex- 
tends over great areas of that district—TOM CARTER. Broome 
Hill, 27/10/10. 


A COCKATOO’S VOCABULARY.—A White Cockatoo (Cacatua 
galerita) in the possession of Mr. J. R. Clayton, Prahran, during 
a sudden downpour of rain and hail to which it was exposed in 
the yard, gave voice to the following utterances as fast as an 
observer could take them down in shorthand. All the time the 
bird was ducking its crested head and waving outstretched 
wings :—“ Cup of tea, Thyra”; “Hip, hip, hurra”; “ Hullo, 
Silver ”?; “Hullo, Thyra” ;:“ Here you-are, -;) “Comes 
“Hullo, old fellow”; “Hullo, Maggie”; “Have a drink”; 
“ Hullo, Cocky”; “Good-bye, Tommy”; “Hip, hip; iimerans 
“ Hullo there”; “Do you want a drink, Thyra?” “ Hullo, Thyra”; 
“Pretty Thyra;” “Have a drink”; “Do you want acsdemne. 
“Pretty Cocky ”; “ Hullo, Cocky”; “ Do you-want a Thyra?” 
“Hullo, Margo”; “ A cup of Thyra”; “ Pretty Joey”; Hille 
“ Hullo, Tom”; “Maggie”; “Cocky”; “ Have a cupeonttes: 
Tom;” “Hullo, Silver ;” “Ob dear;oh dear, ec, eccs 


d 


BIRDS OF THE CAPRICORN ISLANDS (Amu, vol. x., p. 195). 
—The name of the Roseate Tern (Sterna gracilis) was in- 
advertently omitted from the “draft” list when the list for 
publication was being compiled. This bird was noticed on 
North-West Island and at North Reef. Mr. J. W. Mellor 
writes :—“ A bird that the compilers of the list failed to record 
is the White-fronted Heron (Nosophoyx nove-hollandie). These 
birds were identified on North-West Island, but were not so 
plentiful as the Reef-Heron.” . 


se 


Ta 


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: 


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See 


ROYAL -AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


CO-PATRONS: 
Their Majesties the King and Queen. 


OFFICE-BEARERS : 
President: Mr. A. J. CAMPBELL, Cot. Mem. B.O.U. 
fMr. J. W. MELLOR. 
\Mr. ROBERT. HALL, C.M.Z.S. 
Hon. Secretary: Mr. H. W. WILSON. 


(c/o Zoological Gardens, Melbourne. Private Address—1os Drummond Street, 
Carlton, Victoria.) 


Hon. Treasurer: Mr. J. A. ROSS. 
(Address—Crown Solicitor’s Office, Lonsdale St., Melbourne.) 


Hon. Librarian: Mr. W. H. D. Le SOUEF, C.M.Z.S. 


a Mr. A. J. CAMPBELL, Cot. Mem. -B.O.U. 
n ditor f ’ 
Hons Editors of The Emu)... CHARLES BARRETT. 


Hon. Press Correspondent : Mr. E. BROOKE NICHOLLS. 


Vice=Presidents: 


Local State Secretaries: 


Victoria—Mr, H. W. WILSON S.A.—CapTain S. A. WHITE 
N.S.W.—Mr. A. S. LE SOUEF W.A.—Mr. C. P. CONIGRAVE 
Queensland— Mr. H. TRYON Tasmania—Mr. A, L. BUTLER 


New Zealand—Mr. H. HAMILTON. 


Members of Council: Victoria—Mr. A. H. E. MATTINGLEY, C.M.Z.S., 
Dr. C. S. RYAN, Mr, J. A. LEACH, M.Sc., DR. GEO. HORNE; New 
South Wales—Dr. WM. MACGILLIVRAY, Mr. L. HARRISON ; Queens- 
land—Mr. WM, M‘ILWRAITH ; South Australia—Dr. A. M. MORGAN. 


OBJECTS, &c.- - = - 


HE objects of the Society are the advancement and popularization 

of the Science of Ornithology, the protection of useful and 
e479) ornamental avifauna, and the publication’ of a magazine called 
The Emu. 


The business of the Society shall be conducted by a Council, con- 
sisting of a President, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, 
Editors of Zhe Emu, and six members ; each office-bearer and member 
of the Council shall retire at the end of each financial year, but shall 
be eligible for re-election. 


(CE ax 


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towns of the different States, such State to be decided at the previous 
Annual Meeting. 


Every member ‘shall be required to pay an annual subscription of 
fifteen shillings, due on the first of July each year. (The usual exchange 
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The offices of the Society shall be at the office of the Hon. Secretary 
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may appoint. 


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ANIMALS OF AUSTRALIA ee e@ e2 | Q | 
By A. H. S. LUCAS and W. H. D. LE SOUEF. 
Price 15/- Demy 8vo. Splendidly Illustrated. 


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Price 7/6 Crown 8vo. Full of Illustrations. 


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Vol. X.] 


APRIL, 1911. 


So @ O& & 


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A Quarterly Magazine to popularize the Study and Protection 
of Native Birds. 


3 << a Geo 


Official Organ of the ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


sn oh Fs 


+ 
© 


ee ee 


Sy anes 


A. J. CAMPBELL, Col. Mem. B.O.U 


Editors | CHARLES BARRETT. 


AWHelBourne : 
WALKER, MAY & CO., PRINTERS, 25 MACKILLOP ST 


LONDON AGENT: 
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[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] 


P 


) 19k 


CONTENTS 


- oi Le Le 
(The author of each article is responsible for the facts recorded haraie, and 


deductions he may draw.) 
Py 


IN THE STIRLING RANGES, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. By F. Lawson 
Whitlock, Young’s Siding, D.R., W.A. - Siete 3 A 


ALTERATIONS IN THE NOMENCLATURE OF “HANDLIST OF THE 
BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.” By Gregory M. Mathews, F.R.S.E., &c. 


THE HAUNT OF THE RUFOUS SCRUB-BIRD (ATRICHORNIS — 
RUFESCENS, RAMSAY). ay See oom Uae es Oa 
Chatswood, N.S.W. - 


NOTES ON THE MALLEE EMU- WREN. By, & E. oats, FZ, ic Y 
Melbourne - - - : . 


ANNOTATIONS. By A. J. Campbell, C.VU.B.0.U., Melbourne - - 


DESCRIPTIONS OF New Ecos. Sy A. L. White, R.A.0.U., — 
Belltrees, N.S.W. - - - - - : a ee aS 


STRAY FEATHERS.—Coots breeding in Tasmania, 326; Flight of Swifts, 340; Nesting 
Sites of Pardalote, 340; Petreca phenicea breeding in Gippsland, 340; Nest and 
Eggs of Collyriocichla superciliosa (Masters), 341; Amytornis gigantura v. 
A. macrura, 341; Description of the Nest and Eggs of Gerygone cinerascens 
(Sharpe), 341- 


FROM MAGAZINES, &C.—The Outer’s Book, 342; Journal of the New York Zostocieal s 
Society, 342; The Philippine Birds, 342; New Australian Birds, 342; Distribution of 
Australian Land Birds, 343 ; Curious Nests, 343; Destruction of Pelicans, 3445 Game 
Protection in the United States, 344; ‘‘The Agricultural Gazette of N ew South 
Wales,” 345. 


REVIEWS - i e : gi SSRs 3 : 4 TORRY 5 


SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL OEE 


ORNITHOLOGICAL FIELD RESEARCH - . - - - - aa 
NOTES AND NOTICES - Ee : a 3 2 JSS eee 
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED - = 2 X = b a ae 


LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ 
UNION - - . - - - - - - - 


ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


Articles (technical papers should if possible be type-written) and — 
communications intended for publication, also books and publications for 
notice, should be addressed to the Editors, Zhe Emu, c/o MR. a oe 
CAMPBELL, Custom-House, Melbourne. 


MSS. of general articles should reach the editors at least six weeks, 
prior to the issue of the number for which they are intended. 


Occasionally, when funds permit, it is intended to issue Coloured 
Plates of hitherto unfigured Australian Birds. Voluntary subscriptions to — 
a “COLOURED FIGURE FUND” are courteously invited from members. 


The price of The Emu to non-members is 4/= per copy. : Extra | | 
copies may be had by members at half-price. “ag 


Official Organ of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 


“ Birds of a feather.’ 


Ole, oX.)] ist APRIL ron [PART 5. 


In the Stirling Ranges, Western Australia. 
By F. LAwson WHITLOCK, YOUNG’s SIDING, D.R., W.A. 


THE Stirling Ranges lie a little over 50 miles to the north of 
Albany, and may be conveniently reached from Cranbrook rail- 
way station, on the Great Southern railway. 

The first hills rise abruptly from the surrounding plains about 
8 miles to the east of Cranbrook, the latter township, according 
to the railway survey, having a height of 835 feet above sea level. 
The ranges run almost due east for about 40 miles, when they 
cease just as suddenly as they appear at their western extremity. 
A little to the north a series of undulating downs run parallel 
to the main ranges, but their height is much dwarfed by the latter. 
I had no time to examine these lower ranges, but I have no doubt 
they would prove very interesting from a scientific point of view, 
owing to the proximity of numerous salt lakes to the foot of 
their northern slopes. From Donelly Peak, on a rather un- 
favourable day, I counted upwards of 60 of these salt lakes. I 
was only able to work Lake Balicup, a sheet of water of about 
3 square miles in area and nowhere deeper than 3 feet. Lake 
Balicup lies at the eastern extremity of the lower ranges which 
themselves merge into the undulating sand-plain about 20 miles 
east of Cranbrook. 

The main Stirling Ranges are by no means a ferra incognita 
from a scientific point of view. In September of Igo2 Mr. A. W. 
Milligan, then a resident of this State, organized an expedition 
to the ranges. He was accompanied by Mr. C. P. Conigrave 
and Dr. Alex. Morrison, the latter gentleman then holding the 
position of Government Botanist to this State. The party did 
excellent work in a limited period (see Emu, vol. iil, p. 9). 
Other scientists have visited the ranges since that date, but, as 
far as I know, they had other researches in view, and did little 
or no ornithological work. 

At the request of Mr. H. L. White, of Belltrees, New South 
Wales, I undertook this trip. My special quest was certain rare 
and little-known birds believed to still exist in the extreme south- 
west of our State. Mr. White approved of my suggestion that 
my search might as well commence on the northern slopes of the 
Stirling Ranges, and, after spending as much time there as | 


‘Sivas 


hi 
By 


Fon ert te re ary DS E 
300 WuitLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. She: April 


could reasonably spare, I should work my way back to the coast. 
I followed this plan as well as circumstances allowed. 

Before giving an account of the results of my trip, I must refer 
to the remarkable season recently experienced, from a meteoro- 
logical point of view. After an unusually dry and hot summer, 
the weather broke early in April, and the amount of rain falling 
gradually increased in volume, until over 7 inches were recorded 
for May, followed by over Io inches in June, and nearly 11 inches 
for July. Our mean annual rainfall is but 36 inches, so the 
reader will get a good idea of the weather erpeneuted previous 
to my starting. 

I left home 22nd August, and, until I reached the main Albany— 
Perth road, nearly 30 miles away, I had a hard struggle to get 
my turn-out through. Despite a driving accident experienced 
between Albany and Mount Barker, I had my camp erected at 
the foot of Donelly Peak by 31st of the same month. I may as 
well state that this accident resulted in rather severe injuries to 
both my legs, and that for several weeks I got over the rough 
ground with pain and difficulty. 

I do not propose to give a complete list of the birds I observed, 
as this would only entail a recapitulation of Mr. A. W. Milligan’s 
list already published. I shall, therefore, merely enumerate 
additions to his list, and give an account of my observations on 
the more interesting species encountered during the trip. I must 
add that I did not penetrate so far east as Mr. Milligan and his 
party, neither did I climb any peaks cther than Mount Donelly. 
On the other hand, I put in some time around Lake Balicup, and 
what other country I explored I subjected to a more detailed 
examination than was possible on their part, owing to the limited 
time at their disposal. I regret also to add that much of the 
country on the north side of the ranges has recently been ravaged 
by fires. Miles of country have been swept, and the land is only now 
showing signs of recovery. In an area set aside as a public park 
this is much to be regretted. It can hardly fail to have an 
adverse effect on the abundance of the feebler birds’; but, to look 
at it from a selfish point of view, I may have been aided in my 
researches by the enforced concentration of the more robust 
species in the tracts of scrub which escaped the general destruction. 

There are two species mentioned by Mr. Milligan of which I 
saw nothing whatever—viz.. Meliormts sericea and Malurus elegans. 
With regard to the latter, Mr. Milligan records that he “shot a 
beautiful male when a fourth of the way up Mount Toolbrunup.”’ 
I did not reach so far east as this, but I consider it much to be 
regretted that this specimen, and also other equally interesting 
ones, were lost, owing to an accident to a pickle-tank. I think 
it very probable that a careful examination and comparison with 
the south coast form would have revealed differences in plumage 
due to climate, as I have never found the coastal bird in other 
than low, wet situations. It breeds on my own ground, but so 
closely does it hug the swamps that I have never seen it on the 


Vol. X. 7 


see WuitLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. 307 
adjacent jarrah hills, despite the fact that the latter are clothed 
with plenty of low-growing scrub. 

There are three species for the discovery of which Mr. Milligan 
may claim special credit—viz., Calamanthus montanellus, Meli- 
threptus leucogenys (both new to science), and what may be termed 
the re-discovery of the Malurus pulcherrimus of Gould—the Wren 
with the “intense indigo breast.’’ I met with all three, and 
propose to add a few notes to what Mr. Milligan has already 
written. I was fortunate enough to obtain nests of two out of 
the three. 

Regarding the Blue-breasted Wren (Malurus pulcherrimus), one 
wants a calm, sunny day to find it, for it is by no means vociferous, 
and I regard it as one of the most secretive of the whole family. 
The favourite haunt appeared to be some low, rounded hill 
littered with ironstone, and clothed with a not too dense and 
rather low growth of marlock, or mallee, and other smaller shrubs. 
Naturally, at the foot of the slopes of such a hill one finds a 
shallow creek. I found it a good plan to follow up the creek, 
keeping a sharp look-out and having both ears open for the feeble 
but high-pitched alarm note. With the aid of a little artifice in 
the imitation of the call-note, or, failing that, with a representa- 
tion of the cry of a wounded bird, the female may generally be 
induced to show herself, and, after a time, in most cases, the male ; 
but the latter, perhaps being devoid of what is termed “‘ feminine ”’ 
curlostty, soon retires again. I was very anxious to obtain an 
authentic nest and eggs. Though the latter were described as 
long as over 70 years ago, no other nests have been recorded 
since; and, despite the respect all Gilbert’s observations are 
entitled to, I have always thought that the position of the nest 
he describes, which he found in the Wongan Hills, was somewhat 
exceptional. 

In the light of Mr. Milligan’s re-discovery of the present species, 
Mr. A. J. Campbell has retracted, in part, his account of the nest 
and eggs in his well-known work, the specimens from Pine Creek, 
Northern Territory, to which he alludes being referable to some 
other species—very probably, I think, to Malurus dulcis (Mathews). 
M. pulcherrimus is, 1 believe, strictly confined to the south-west 
of this State; but I hardly think it touches the coastal districts 
anywhere, its place being taken by M. elegans, also a dark blue 
breasted bird, but easily distinguished by the very pale blue (or 
bluish-white) of the back. I may also state that in the brown 
plumage both sexes of these species are readily separable In the 
adult male the beak, once it becomes black, remains black ; but 
in females and young males the beak of M. elegans is of a light 
cinnamon-brown, in contrast with dark hazel-brown in the case 
of M. pulcherrimus. Also, the loral stripe differs in the same 
degree, being deep chocolate in M. pulcherrimus and warm brown 
in M. elegans. I may add that these features in another species 
found also in localities frequented by both the former — viz., 
M. splendens—are still lighter, the beak being cinnamon and the 


, 


308 WuittLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. 


Emu 
ist April 


loral stripe of quite a pale ferruginous tint. But in the cases of 
M. pulcherrimus and M. elegans a surer guide exists in the colour 
of the upper parts. M. pulcherrimus has these more like M. 
splendens, being rather ashy in tint, whereas in M. elegans the 
whole of the wing is of a dull snuff colour. I also find that 
the throat and breast of M. elegans are much paler than in the 
case of M. pulcherrimus, the same tendency towards “ ashiness ”’ 
being observable in the latter. 

_I had one curious experience in searching for this Wren. It 
was rather late in the afternoon when I first arrived at my 
camping ground at Mount Donelly, and I had no time to put 
up a tent. Next morning I was having breakfast under the lee 
of a clump of mallee, when four Maluri approached quite closely. 
Though the male was not in full nuptial dress, I was able to 
identify him as of the present species. It was about a month 
after this encounter before I saw another party. 

On 23rd September I was at the foot of a low hill, such as I have 
before described, when I encountered a party of four. There were 
two males and two birds in brown plumage, presumably females. 
One male was obviously a more mature bird than the other. 
The latter showed considerable brown on the head, and the deep 
blue of the breast was streaked with greyish-brown. The older 
bird, on the other hand, had the crown wholly blue and the 
breast of a deep velvety indigo-blue. I followed them quietly 
up the hill. Presently one of the brown birds appeared with a 
piece of grass in her bill. I watched the direction she took, and 
cautiously moved towards it. She soon appeared with her bill 
empty. I waited again, and after a brief time she passed me 
as before, with another piece of grass, and I was able to locate 
the clump of mallee to which she was making. Waiting until she 
reappeared, I walked to the spot, and at a distance of a few feet 
could discern a half-finished nest, placed very low down, and 
just on the outside of a clump of scrub. Carefully marking the 
place, I at once retired. Hardly had I reached the foot of the 
hill before I encountered another party. This comprised two 
old males, two younger males in half-nuptial plumage, and only 
two brown females (?). The whole party appeared to be labouring 
under great excitement, the males chasing one another to and 
fro to the accompaniment of much shrill chirruping. Even the 
females were equally active. But I saw no actual conflict take 
place. I watched this party for a quarter of an hour, and that 
was the last I saw of it. Despite frequent visits to the same spot, 
and close searches of the neighbouring hill, I could not afterwards 
find a single bird. 

I took the nest before mentioned on 3rd October, with a full 
clutch of three fresh eggs. The female sat closely, and the fully 
adult male was in attendance too, but I saw nothing of the 
younger male or of the second female. On 8th October I found 
a second nest. This, too, was very low down, and not very care- 
fully hidden. The situation was in low, dead scrub, on a sand- 


ee 


Vol. X. 
IQIrT _ 


WHITLOCK, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. 309 
bank overlooking Lake Balicup. Only one male was comprised 
in this family. Unfortunately, these eggs were heavily incubated ; 
but the chick in one egg had died, and this was the only one out 
of the three I managed to save. 

On 2nd November I found my third and last nest some distance 
from the foot of the main ranges, and not far from the township 
of Tenterden. My attention was attracted by a beautiful old 
male. It was early in the morning, and I presently enticed a 
second male and two females from low scrub in which they were 
feeding. The locality looked promising, and I soon found an 
empty, and possibly last year’s, nest. Further search revealed 
a second. This was low down, as before, and contained three 
nearly fresh eggs. Nests of this Malurus do not differ essentially 
from those of other members of the family, though individually 
they differ a little in the skill or otherwise with which they are 
woven. This last nest was the most substantial and neatly made 
of the three, and was warmly lined with Parrot and other feathers. 

The eggs of the three clutches were much alike; in all, the 
ground colour pure white after blowing. The markings were 
distinctly blotched, and distributed irregularly over the whole 
shell. In colour they were of a dull ferruginous brown. The 
shape of the eggs showed a tendency, in all cases, to the elongated 
ellipse type. | 

Not far from this nest was that of a “ Gnou”’ (Lipoa ocellata). 
The mound was of the usual type. Occasionally I saw one or 
other parent. They frequented the nest for about a month 
before an egg was laid. 

Another interesting species not mentioned by Mr. Milligan was 
Hylacola pyrrhopygia (Chestnut-rumped Ground-Wren). This 
species was local, and inhabited similar country to: Malurus 
pulcherrimus. It is interesting to note that wherever I found 
the present species I found M. pulcherrimus ; but, on the other 
hand, the haunts of the latter were more varied than those of 
the former, which seemed restricted to low-growing scrub on 
stony hillsides. The Chestnut-rumped Ground-Wren is an early 
breeder. Fully-fledged young (they call to one another with a 
plaintive cry) were on the move early in October. Possibly the 
species is double-brooded. In our State it has a wide range, for 
I met with it in the Wongan Hills, 4oo miles to the north, and 
again some 300 miles to the east, in the Lake Dundas country. 

I found a kindred species—viz., Sericornis maculata (Spotted 
Scrub-Wren)—present at Yetermirrup, but very local. The young 
were on the wing at the end of September. 

Of the Acanthize I saw but little. A. chrysorrhoa (Yellow- 
rumped Tit) was much the commonest, whilst A. masterst (or A. 
inornata) and A. apicalis were far from numerous. 

I found two species of Thickheads—viz., Pachycephala occt- 
dentalis and P. rufiventris. The latter was breeding near Lake 
Balicup, the males being in fully adult plumage. P. occidentalis 
was less common. I did not find a nest, and it was not until I 


310 WuitLock, Jn the Stirling Ranges, W.A. ae 


was much nearer the coast that I saw the handsome fully- 
plumaged male. 

Only one species of Tree-creeper was present—Climacteris rufa. 
I found four or five nests, all rather low down in hollow trunks : 
but in every case the nests contained young. 

Rock Field-Wren (Calamanthus montanellus).—This is a cheer- 
ful and fearless little bird, which seems to prefer rather than shun 
the presence of man or other animate being. It has a simple but 
pleasing song, the cadences, though brief, being uttered in a very 
musical tone. When singing it usually perches on some point 
of vantage, and will continue its song despite the presence of an 
intruder within only a few feet of its perch. It inhabits the stony 
foothills of the ranges or the sparsely-clothed sand-plains, showing 
a preference for those tracts either devoid of vegetation or 
where the scrub is of the most stunted character. I never saw 
it amongst timber, but it was not uncommon on the sand-banks 
on the eastern side of Lake Balicup, where there was a sparse 
growth of salt-bush and samphires, and a more luxuriant crop 
of tussocky grasses. I did not see a single specimen west of the 
sand-plain which terminates with the belt of timber at Solomon’s 
Well. It was present as far east as I penetrated, but did not 
seem to ascend very far up the slopes of the various peaks. On 
4th September I found my first nest, quite by accident. My 
horses had strayed, but I could hear their bells in the distance. 
In following them up I walked right over a nest, the female 
fluttering off her eggs within a few inches of my foot. The 
locality was a stony spur of the main peak, and just within the area 
recently swept by a fire. Cover for the nest there was none, but 
a short, thick piece of half-burnt timber formed a little shelter, 
though I could look down right on the exposed dome of the nest. 
On closer examination the latter proved to be oval in shape, very 
well woven of dried grasses on the outside, with a lining of finer 
grasses, a few feathers, and kangaroo hair. The entrance was 
flush with the surface of the ground, and I found a deep 
cavity had been excavated in the sand to contain the structure 
of the nest. There were three eggs, blunt ovals in shape, 
of a creamy ground colour, very warmly washed with reddish- 
brown. They reminded me somewhat of certain varieties of the 
eggs of the English Redbreast, but still more of those of our Red- 
throat (Pyrrholemus brunnea), but the cloudy markings were 
much lighter in tone than in eggs of the latter. I obtained a 
similar nest on the shores of Lake Balicup on 12th September. 
This nest was also amongst very sparse vegetation, and within a 
yard or two of the water’s edge. The female sat close, as before. 
The nest was similar, and contained four fresh eggs. A third 
nest was almost on the main track to the Salt River, and had been 
disturbed by a dog or some other marauder. The parents were 
near, but the nest was partly torn from its site, and only con- 
tained a newly-hatched young bird. The latter had a sparse cover- 
ing of neutral-coloured down. 


Vol:* X. 


et WuitLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. 311 

Another pair were, I knew, building a nest near my Mt. Donelly 
camp ; but the female was very cunning, and threw me off the 
scent by conveying her materials to the nest in a roundabout way. 
I had to shift camp before clearing the matter up, but on returning 
to the locality ten days later I at once found the site, which I had 
passed and repassed every time I went to fetch water to the 
camp. The nest, however, was deserted, and appeared to have 
been trodden upon by a horse. 

This Calamanthus must be an early breeder, as young were on 
the wing when I arrived in the ranges. Young in nestling plumage 
hardly differ from adults. Probably the species is double-brooded. 

Western Brown-headed Honey-eater (Melithreptus leucogenys).— 
This Honey-eater seems to prefer the open country rather than 
the forests of gums. I did not find it common anywhere. Where 
it occurred it was usually flitting about in little parties of less 
than half a dozen. It is a fussy, animated bird, and is constantly 
uttering its rather unmusical and rattling notes. Its favourite 
haunts appeared to be the sand-plain which had escaped the 
general destruction and where there was a growth of stunted 
jarrahs. Certain creeks whose banks were well clothed with 
scrub of the mallee type were also much favoured, and it was in 
such localities this bird seemed to find its food. I cannot recollect 
ever having observed it extracting the nectar from flowers. Its 
quest seemed to be more insectivorous, and the sprays of foliage 
were assiduously searched in pursuit of its prey. It must be a 
late breeder, as I saw the sexes more than once in the act of 
pairing. This was in the beginning of October, when many 
species had eggs. Unfortunately, I had to leave the locality a 
few days later, otherwise I feel sure I should have obtained the nest 


and eggs. 
Wattle-cheeked Honey-eater (Ptilotis cratitia).— Mr. Milligan 
describes this bird ‘‘as local in a pronounced degree.’”’ I, on 


the other hand, found it not uncommon. This may have been 
due either to concentration brought about by the recent bush- 
fires or to my having made a closer examination of the country 
than was possible in his case. Wherever any extensive patches 
of marlock or mallee had escaped the general destruction, there 
I found this beautiful Honey-eater. 

It is hardly a bird likely to escape observation. If it may not 
be described as inquisitive, like Ptilotis sonora, it is equally deter- 
mined to make its presence known. In its general habits it re- 
minded me of Ptilotis leucotis, or rather P. nove@e-norci@, as our 
interior form is called. It was equally noisy and active, and its 
notes are heard here, there, and everywhere when an intruder 
invades its haunts. Sometimes a single bird, or even a. pair, 
would approach closely and peer through the intervening branches 
at the stranger, but more often they flew from point to point 
in a circular course, continually calling to one another with their 
unmusical notes. 

I found eight or nine nests in all, but their discovery was by 


352 WuitLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. [sae 
no means an easy task. The first I obtained was situated in a 
very small dwarf Banksia. The nest was suspended from the 
foliage of the bush in a little recess, and I considered myself lucky 
not to pass it by unobserved. It contained two fresh eggs. All 
the other nests I found—some with eggs, others with newly- 
hatched young—were very low down; none higher than 3 feet. 
All were very neatly made of green grasses, held together by 
spiders’ webs and lined with the same soft material. I marked 
the situation of one I found building by fixing a piece of cotton 
wool to a dry twig. This was promptly seized by the female and 
used as lining for her nest. 

The eggs have been accurately described in Mr. A. J. Campbell’s 
work (see p. 401), but both eggs and nest appear to be remarkably 
small for the size of the parent bird. Generally, I think, however, 
the female is the smaller of the two sexes in this species.* I was 
not able to obtain a full-grown nestling. I watched a pair I found 
when newly hatched for more than a week, but their growth was 
slow, and at that period they showed no signs of a wattle. When 
I returned to the nest still later both were gone, and only a few 
shreds of the nest remained. 

Of the other species of Péilotis mentioned in Mr. Milligan’s list— 
viz., P. sonora and P. ornatus—I only encountered the latter. 
I can thus confirm his note that P. sonora is absent from the north 
side of the ranges. 

Graceful Honey-eater (Péilotis ornatus).—This bird first appeared 
in the white gums a few miles to the north of Mt. Barker. In the 
Stirling Ranges it frequented the white gums, and, despite the 
fact of some thousands of acres having been ringbarked around 
Solomon’s Well, the species still clings to the locality. It is a late 
breeder, and it was not until I had found half a dozen nests of 
the previous year that I got one with eggs. This was suspended 
from the foliage of a Melaleuca at a height of about ro feet. All 
the nests I found were very neatly woven of green grass-stems, 
but little else being used in their construction. The eggs are 
very dark coloured—the shell of a brownish tint, sparsely dotted 
with checolate or purplish spots. A second nest of the present 
season overhung the main road near Tenterden, but it was empty. 
I observed individuals pairing as late as the beginning of 
November. 

Referring to other Honey-eaters, I found the Meliormis group 
represented by M. longirostris and M. mystacalis. In the ranges 
proper the former was rare, and I only obtained one nest. As 
usual, this was near water. In the swamps of the lower lands, I, 
however, found the species more plentiful. 

M. mystacalis (Moustached Honey-eater) was by no means 
uncommon around Donelly Peak. It was one of the first birds 
to attract my attention on arrival in the ranges. A favourite 
haunt was a very steep hillside thickly clothed with dwarf Banksia 


* This is usually the case in the genus P/zéo¢is,—Eps. 


Vol. xX. 


ae Wuittock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. 313 
and other shrubs. Here I found nests with young, and also 
young on the wing, early in September. This hill was in a 
sheltered situation and faced the north. On the sand-plain below 
I obtained several nests with eggs a little later. All the nests 
were low down. They were rather loosely constructed of dried 
grass-stems and lined with vegetable down. The eggs varied 
even in the same nest. Some were pure white in ground colour, 
and others had a distinct warm tint about them so pronounced 
in tone that it might be called very light brown, and resembling, 
in this respect, eggs of M. longirostris. This tint was very 
apparent in a nest containing a pure white egg and one of the 
present type. The markings on the eggs were rather small and 
sparse and in the form of dark brown spots. Some eggs closely 
resembled those of Glycyphila fulvijrons, but eggs of the latter 
were always white in ground colour, and generally distinctly 
larger. I did not find the Moustached Honey-eater a close sitter. 

The Tawny-crowned Honey-eater (Glycyphila fulvifrons) was the 
commonest bird of the sand-plains. I found many nests. All 
were within a few inches of the ground, and could hardly be 
called concealed. The only variation in the eggs was in the 
character of the markings. In the majority they partook of the 
form of cloudy, rust-coloured dots and dashes, but in some the 
place of the latter was taken by very fine points of deep chocolate. 
This species seems to be able to protect its nests from the visits 
of the various species of Cuckoo inhabiting the ranges, as, despite 
the number of nests I found, none contained a Cuckoo's egg. 

Referring to other Honey-eaters, I met with all mentioned by 
Mr. Milligan, but only saw one pair of Manorhina obscura east of 
Solomon’s Well. I obtained a nest with one egg of Acanthochera 
lunulata near Mt. Donelly, but I saw nothing more of this species. 

Of the Falconide 1 saw few, and only noted one clutch of eggs. 
These were referable to the common Brown Hawk (Hvzeracidea 
berigora), and were laid in the hollow of a truncated white gum. 
There was no attempt at a nest. Of the other Hawks, an occasional 
Sparrow-Hawk (Accipiter cirrhocephalus) or Kestrel (Cerchnets 
cenchroides) was seen, and in one instance I saw a White- 
fronted Falcon (Falco lunulatus) flying at great speed towards the 
ranges. There were untenanted nests of the Wedge-tailed Eagle at 
Lake Balicup and also at Yetermirrup, but I saw none of these 
Eagles on the wing. Like Mr. Milligan, not a single Crow or 
Raven did I see during the whole trip. 

Parrots were not common, but an interesting addition to Mr. 
Milligan’s list is the Grass-Parrakeet (Neophema elegans). I saw 
a single pair at Lake Balicup. Barnardius semitorquatus — the 
common “ Ring-neck”’ of settlers—was distinctly rare. The Red- 
capped Parrakeet (Porphyrocephalus  spurius) was more in 
evidence, and I was fortunate enough to locate a nest. I fre- 
quently met with pairs, or even small parties, of this species away 
from the timber on the sand-plains, and think it quite possible 
they were last year’s progeny, and not breeding. The nest I 


Emu 
ist April 


314 WuitLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. 
obtained was found near Lake Balicup, and gave me a lot of 
trouble. Every morning the parent birds fed near my camp. 
The difficulty was to follow their flight with the eye through the 
intervening timber to the nesting tree. After exercising great 
patience I gradually tracked them down to the point where I 
usually lost one bird and saw the other fly off to a distance. At 
length, by hiding in some bushes, I located the tree, which was 
a large dead white gum, containing more than one likely-looking 
hole. Next morning I waited till the birds appeared, as usual, 
to feed, and then hurried down to my lair near the tree. I waited 
what seemed an interminable time till the birds appeared, and 
the female immediately popped into a hole in the main stem of 
the tree. JI beat on the trunk with my tomahawk, but she 
refused to budge. I! soon had my rope-ladder at work, and the 
sight of the dangling fishing line, which must have been visible 
to her as she sat, caused her to leave her eggs at once. After 
half an hour’s hard chopping I secured five fine eggs. They were 
somewhat nest-stained and heavily incubated, but I am glad to 
say were eventually blown. They were a little larger than typical 
eges of Barnardius. This is a very handsome Parrot, and I think 
I never saw a finer pair than the proprietors of this nest. The 
native name is “ Chelyup,” which is, no doubt, a rendering of 
the call-note. 

I met with a single pair of the Many-coloured Parrakeet 
(Psephotus multicolor). This species is another interesting addition 
to Mr. Milligan’s list. I also secured a clutch of four eggs of 
Platycercus icterotis—the local “‘ Rosella.” The entrance to the 
nest was on the top of a -thick horizontal limb of a white gum, 
at a height of about 4o feet. 

The Stirling Range birds differ somewhat from our coastal 
birds in having the feathers of the mantle edged with red. In the 
latter, even in old birds, the colour of the mantle is a combination 
of black and green, with very slight or no trace of red ; but further 
east, in the Lake Dundas district, I secured a fine old male with 
the edges of the feathers red and with no trace of green at all in 
the mantle. In our coastal birds the latter colour predominates. 
Perhaps the extreme eastern form would be Salvadori’s P. 
xanthogenys. 

Leaving the Parrots, another addition to Mr. Milligan’s list is 
Pteropodocys phasianella (Ground Cuckoo-Shrike). A pair were 
nesting in a white gum near Yetermirrup. The Black-faced 
Cuckoo-Shrike (Graucalus melanops) was not uncommon, but I 
could detect no difference in habits or general appearance from 
birds found farther north. The Lesser Brown Flycatcher 
(Micreca assvmilis) was rather local, but I saw several nests. 
These were at heights varying from 3 to 15 feet from the ground. 
They are miniature nests of the Grvaucalus. J was rather surprised 
to meet with a pair or two of the White-shouldered Caterpillar- 
eater (Lalage tricolor) breeding at Lake Balicup. 

On the latter lake were a good many Ducks, of three species— 


Vol. X. 


oie WuitLocr, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. B15 
viz., Black Duck (Anas superciliosus), Teal (Nettion castaneum), 
and Mountain-Duck (Casarca tadornoides). Of the two former 
I found several nests, photographing a Teal’s nest with thirteen 
eggs 7m situ. There were three nests of this species on a very small 
islet in the lake. I also captured two young, in down, of the 
Mountain-Duck. In England the Common Sheldrake (Tadorna 
casarca) breeds in rabbit burrows in the coastal sand-hills. There 
were a good many burrows of the dulgete (Peregale lagotis) around 
Lake Balicup, and I think it probable that a pair or two of the 
local Mountain-Ducks may have been breeding in them. 

The only Waders on the lake were a few Red-fronted Dottrels 
(#gialitis ruficapilla) and a flock of about 150 Banded Stilts 
(Cladorhynchus australis). The latter seemed to consist of adult 
birds only. A few pairs of Black Swans (Chenopsis atrata) were 
also present. At Lake Matilda, a sheet of fresh water near Ten- 
terden and some 8 miles from the foot of the ranges, were some 
pairs of Musk-Ducks (Biziura lobaia). 

I found Wood-Swallows (Artamus) fairly plentiful, especially 
around Lake Balicup, but only of one species—viz., A. sordidus. 
Amongst other situations, I saw a nest on the top of a broken 
stump. Other pairs, again, were breeding at a considerable 
height. 

The Restless Flycatcher (Siswra inguieta) was not uncommon 
in the same locality, and it was an agreeable experience to be 
able to examine nests almost within reach, and without any climbing 
at all. One nest I examined was at a height of not more than 
& feet, and contained mummified young birds. Possibly the 
parents had fallen victims to their curiosity, for I saw a pair 
flitting about the head of a large monitor lizard, who was plainly 
only watching his opportunity to make a capture. 

Another bird mentioned by Mr. Milligan is the White-bellied 
Shrike-Tit (Falcunculus leucogaster). The nest of this species was 
one of the special objects of my quest. I found the species dis- 
tinctly rare ; but it is a difficult bird to find, and, moreover, from 
its very quiet and unobtrusive manners, lable to be overlooked. 
In all, I do not think I saw more than four pairs. I spent hours 
in watching them. Generally, they were in the tops of white 
gums, but once or twice I saw a female in small acacia scrub. I 
often, at first glance, mistook Melithveptus whitlocki for this species. 
Both birds have the same habit of hanging from the slender twigs 
of eucalypts, which they search for food. With its powerful beak 
the Shrike-Tit strips off any loose bark it may find, and under 
which spiders spin their cocoons. When I observed this habit 
first I was in hopes the birds were collecting building material ; 
but in all cases the strip of bark was carried to a convenient 
perch, and there the spider or its eggs was devoured. The call- 
note is a single “ko,” or ‘kod,’ very softly uttered. Once or 
twice I was successful in calling the birds up, but more often than 
not I brought pairs of the Hooded Robin (Petreca bicolor). Of the 
latter I found nests with eggs, and also observed young on the 


316 WuitLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. Sabi 


wing. Its congener, the Western Scarlet-breasted Robin (P. 
campbelli) was by no means common, but one pair built a pretty 
nest in a tea-tree near my camp at Yetermirrup. 

I am able to confirm Mr. Conigrave’s note as to the presence of 
the Chestnut-backed Ground-Bird (Cinclosoma castanonotus) in the 
ranges. I saw individuals more than once near Solomon’s Well, 
and on one occasion a male was calling from the limb of a dead 
white gum at a height of 25 feet. 

Amongst other nests observed at that locality I must mention 
three of the Grey-breasted Shrike-Robin (Fopsaliria gularts). 
One of these was low down, but the others, on the contrary, 
were at heights varying from 15 to 25 feet. All the nests were 
somewhat loosely constructed, but were cleverly disguised on the 
outside by longitudinal strips of grey bark. An easy way to find 
these nests when the female is brooding is to watch the male. 
He feeds his mate assiduously as she sits on the nest. At 
Solomon’s Well, Lake Balicup, and almost as far south as Mt. 
Barker, I saw some beautiful Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus). The 
native name is “ Berrin-berrin’’—an adaptation of the call-note. 
Though our coastal sand-hills would seem to present an attractive 
haunt to this species, I have only once met with it there. I refer, 
of course, to our south coast, east and west of Albany. 

When camped near Lake Matilda my attention was attracted 
by the harsh and guttural notes of a local Reed-Warbler (Acro- 
cephalus). 1 had hitherto regarded the notes of this bird as 
amongst the sweetest uttered by our native songsters, but these 
Lake Matilda birds could hardly be called songsters when their 
efforts were contrasted with those of Swan River or other Reed- 
Warblers heard further north. Lake Matilda, however, was 
exceptionally high, and things were not improved by a further 
fall of 5 inches of rain in 48 hours whilst I was camped _ there. 
Though it was the first week in November, building operations 
were hardly in full swing. I found three nests, which were only 
reached by swimming out to the circle of reeds encompassing 
the lake. I failed to get a bird to make identification certain. 
The nest and eggs seemed typical of Acrocephalus longirostns. 
Possibly the harsh notes had been learned from the swarms of 
frogs inhabiting the lake; but the matter is worthy of the atten- 
tion of any other ornithologist who may visit the locality. 

Among other birds on Lake Matilda were a few pairs of Blue 
Bald-Coots (Porphyrio bellus). 1 caught a pair of newly-hatched 
young. I also noticed nests on the branches of half-submerged 
trees that looked like those of the pied Little Cormorant 
(Pyrrhocorax melanoleucus). Wading and swimming in these lakes 
are not altogether a pleasant pastime. I came out after one 
attempt with my legs streaming with blood and with repulsive- 
looking leeches clinging to my skin. 

The heavy rains made the exploration of the various pools and 
swamps between Mt. Barker and the coast a matter of great 
difficulty, and I have no doubt the sudden rise of water brought 


Vol. X. 
IQII 


WuitTLock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. 7 
about by the storm of 31st October and 1st November drowned 
out nests of some of the aquatic species. I was anxious to obtain 
eggs of the Spotless Crake, but it was too late in the season before 
I got tangible proof of this bird’s existence in a series of large 
swamps to the west of Albany. A cat brought in a freshly-killed 
specimen, and the owner of the cat told me it was quite a common 
occurrence. Far too many cats are running wild in our scrubs, 
and the local disappearance of more than one exceptionally 
interesting species may be safely set down to their depredations. 

My researches near the south coast did not result in anything 
of special interest, but I paid some attention to a newly- 
described species of White-eye (Zosterops shortridget), Grant. The 
types were procured on Rabbit Island, King George’s Sound. 
The latter island is only a huge mass of granite, whose area is 
limited to a couple of hundred acres or thereabouts, and only 
separated from the mainland by a very narrow channel. It was 
out of the question, therefore, that such conditions, with the 
absence of isolation, could produce a local species. Z. shortridget 
is said to differ from Z. gowldi in having the middle of the breast, 
as well as the belly, thighs, and under tail coverts, pale yellow, 
the sides and flanks greyer and only slightly washed with cinnamon. 
In Z. gould: the thighs are always white (/is, ninth series, vol. ii1., 
p- 650). I found birds answering to this description both to the 
north and to the west of Albany, and it may be noted that the 
cinnamon wash on the flanks in one or two I procured was 
absent. Again, I shot others with the latter characteristic very 
pronounced. I can only say at present, with certainty, that the 
birds with the grey flanks and yellow thighs were breeding birds. 
Possibly the other type may have been breeding too; but I am 
rather inclined to think the differences are due to age, and are 
not of specific value. 


Alterations in the Nomenclature of “ Handlist of the 
Birds of Australia.” 
By GREGORY M. MATHEWs, F.R.S.E., &c. 


Now that the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union is to 
bring out a “‘ Checklist’ of the birds of Australia, and is to use 
my “‘ Handlist’* as a base, I have thought it necessary to bring 
this work up to date. 

I have looked up the original description of every bird and 
genus to see if the spelling, &c., is correct. My object in doing 
this was that the ‘‘ Checklist’ may be as correct and up-to-date as 
possible. That other changes will be necessary is a foregone 
conclusion ; the ones here pointed out are the most obvious. 

I have recognized that the only means of attaining finality in 


* Emu, vol. vii., Supp. 


Emu 
rst April 


318 MatTHEws, Alterations in Nomenclature. 
the nomenclature is the acceptance of the laws formulated by the 
International Congresses of Zoologists. My resolve to endeavour 
to establish the nomenclature of the Australian avifauna upon 
a secure basis has entailed a tremendous amount of research 
work, and until my work is completed I cannot promise even an 
approach to finality. I am desirous of accurately fixing the 
specific appellation of each bird, and am sparing no time and 
method to obtain this result. I do feel that, when I have com- 
pleted my work, the nomenclature therein accepted will, in the 
main, be that which will stand the test of time. 

With regard to the genera, it soon became obvious to me that 
too much splitting had been done. Dr. Hartert, of Tring, has led 
the way in the non-recognition of such genera as almost require 
a microscope for their detection. My own experience has led me 
to endorse Dr. Hartert’s views, and I am suppressing many of 
the genera I recognized in my “ Handlist.” I anticipate that 
later I shall not maintain some of those at present included ; but 
the question of generic rank is not one that can be settled off- 
hand. The generic names I herewith reject are only such as I 
am absolutely satisfied (from examination of abundant material) 
are unnecessary for exact working. I believe that the elimination 
of these superfluous generic names will lead to the better grasp 
of the realities of the Australian fauna. 

As to the spelling of generic names, I am only accepting the 
original name as written by its author at its introduction. I 
have experienced the vagaries of emendation, and also the foibles 
of the would-be amender, and cannot countenance any correction 
save such as was made by the author in the same article or work 
as the name first appeared in. The recognition of later so-called 
improvements allows of irregularities, and affects, to a great 
extent, the stability of our nomenclature. The acceptance of 
the changes herein indicated in the forthcoming “ Checklist ” 
will greatly aid in the production of a stable code. I do not in- 
clude the avifaunas of Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands, as these 
certainly are not Australian. 

PAGE 
5. Genus I.—Dyvomazus is the original spelling. 
Species 3.—D. parvulus, Gould, replaces D. perom, Roths- 
child. 
Species 3A.—Add D. minor, Spencer. 
Genus I].—The authority for Casuarius is Latham. 
Species 4.—C. johnsoni, Muller, replaces C. australis, Wall. 
(preoccupied). 
6. Genus III.—The authority for Megapodius is Temminck. 
Genus 1V.—Lezpoa is the original spelling. 
Genus V.—Alectura, Latham, replaces Catheturus, Swainson. 
7. Genus VII.—Synoicus is the original spelling. 
Species 12.—Omit; is not Australian. 

8. Genus XII.—Pitlinopus is the original spelling. (Ptlopus is, 

moreover, preoccupied.) 


Vol. 


1910 


PAGE 


Q. 


14. 


15. 


TO: 


eed 


x. MatHeEws, Alterations in Nomenclature. 329 


Species 24.—P. regina, Swainson, replaces P. swainsoni, Gould. 

Genus XIII.—Omit. Lamprotreron is not separable from 
Ptilinopus. 

Genus XVI.—Lopholaimus is the original spelling. 

Species 30A.—Add L. minor, Mathews. 

Species 31.—C. norfolciensis, Latham, replaces C. leucomela, 
Temminck. 


. Species 364.— Add C. longirostris, Gould, with which C. 


occidentalis, North, is synonymous. 


. Species 45A.—Add L. leucogaster, Gould. 
. Species 47.— L. melanoleuca, Latham, replaces L. pficata, 


Latham. 
Genus XXVIII.—Omit. 
Genus XX X.—Omit. 
Neither Hypotemdia nor Rallina is separable from 
Eulabeorms, to which genus must therefore be referred 
Species 48, 49, 50, and 51. 


. Genus XXXIIJ.—Omit. I do not consider the genus Polio- 


limnas recognizable, therefore refer Species 56 to Porzana. 

Genus XXXVI.— Omit. The characters upon which this 
genus are founded are not of sufficient value to ensure its 
retention, therefore I refer Species No. 59 to Tribonyx. 

Genus XXXVII.—The authority for Gallinula is Tunstall. 

Genus XX XVIII.—The authority for Porphyrio is Bonnaterre. 

Genus XXXIX. and Species 63.—Omit. 

Genus XLI.—Podiceps is the original spelling. 

Genus XLII.—Omit. I do not consider the retention of this 
division necessary. Should it be deemed advisable, then 
Dytes, Kaup, must be used in place of Lopfheikyia, 
Kaup. 

Species 68.—Omit forsieri, Gray, as not yet definitely re- 
corded from Australia, but replace with fatagonica, 


Miller. 

Genus XLIV. and Species 69.—Omit. Not yet recorded from 
Australia. 

Genus XLV.—Penguinus, Brunnich, replaces Catarrhactes, 
Brisson. 

Genus XLVIII.—Omit. Not separable from Genus XLVII. 
—Oceanites. 


Genus LI.—The authority for Pufinus is Cuvier. 

Species 78.—A very doubtful Australian record. 

Species 84.—P. hrevicaudus, Gould, replaces P. tenuirostris, 
Temminck. 

Genus LII.— Omit. Not separable, in my opinion, from 
Genus LV. 

Genus LIII. and Species 86.—Omit. I can trace no definite 
record yet for Australia. 

Genus LV.—Pyrocellaria, Linne, replaces Majaqueus, Reichen- 
bach, and hereto should be referred Species 85. 

Genus LVI.—#strelata is the original spelling. 


320 Matuews, Alterations in Nomenclature. Hives 


18. 


se 


21. 


i) 
Go 


ist April 


Species 93, 95, and 96.— Omit. There are no Australian 
records as yet. 

Genus LVII. and Species 99.—Omit. Has not yet occurred 
in Australia. 

Genus LX.—Omit. Inseparable from Genus LXI., Prion, to 
which genus species 102 must be attached. 

Species 108, 110, and 111.—Omit. Not definitely recorded 
from Australia. 

Genus LXIV.—Omit. No characters available for generic 
separation from Diomedea. 

Species 114.—D. chrysostoma, Forster, replaces D. culminata, 
Gould. 

Species 117.—P. palpebrata, Forster, replaces P. fuliginosa, 
Gmelin. 

Species 119.—H. fluviatilis, Gould, replaces H. hybrida, Pallas. 

Species 120.—G. macrotarsa, Gould, replaces G. anglica, Mont. 

Genus LXVIII.—Omit. Hydroprogne is not separable from 
Sterna. 

Species 121.—The authority for S. caspia is Pallas. 

Species 123.—Omit. No Australian record. 

Species 126.—S. striata, Gmelin, replaces S. frontalis, Gray. 

Species 128.—S. fuscata, Linne, replaces S. fuliginosa, Gmelin. 

Genus LX XIJI.—Omit. Not separable from Anous ; if it were, 
Megalopterus, Boie, replaces Micranous, Saunders. 


. Genus LXXVI.—Catharacta, Brunnich, replaces Megalestnis, 


Bonaparte. 
Species 140.—Omit. Not yet recorded from Australia. 
Genus LXXVII.— Omit. The authority for Stercorarius is 
Schaeffer, but this genus is not separable from Catharacta. 
Species 142.—C. parasiticus, Linne, replaces C. crepidatus, 
Banks. 
Genus LXXVIII. — Morinella, Meyer and Wolf, replaces 
Arenaria, Brisson. 

Though this genus is a very well marked one, there 
appears to be no reason to place it in a special sub- 
family. 

Genus LXXXI.— Lobibyx, Heine, replaces Lobivanellus, 
Strickland. 

Species 147.—L. nove-hollandia@, Stephens, replaces L. 
lobatus, Vieill. 

Genus LXXXIII.—The authority for Squatarola is Cuvier. 

Species 150.—S. squatarola, Linne, replaces S. helvetica, Linne. 

Genera LXXXIV., LXXXV., LXXXVI., and LXXOSViiE 
should be united, and the whole of the Species Nos. 151 
to 160 inclusive referred to Charadrius. To those who 
would retain the divisions as genera the following changes 
are necessary :— 

Genus LXXXIV.— Pluvialis, Schaeffer, replaces 

Charadrius (of authors), not Linne. 


ae 


Nik 2 


IQIl 


PAGE 


20. 


28. 


MatHews, Altevations in Nomenclature. 321 


Genus LXXXV.—Eupoda, Brandt, replaces Ochtho- 
dromus, Reichenbach. 

Genus LXXXVI.—Charadrius,  Linne, _ replaces 
Aigialitis, Bote. 

Genus LXXXVII.— Eudromas, Brehm,  repiaces 
Peltohyas, Sharpe; the characters used for separa- 
tion of the latter are of insufficient value. 

Species 151.—C. fulvus, Gmelin, replaces C. dominicus, Mill. 

Genus LXXXVIII.— Hypsibates, Nitzsch, replaces Himan- 
topus, Brisson. 

Genus XCI.—The authority for Nwmenius is Brunnich. 

Genus XCII.—Omit. No differential character of sufficient 
value to generically separate this from the preceding, 
and Species 166 must be referred to Numenius. 

Genus XCIII.—The authority for Limosa is Schaeffer. 

Species 167.— JL. bauert, Naumann, replaces L. nove- 
zealandia, Gray. 

Species 168.—L. melanuroides, Gould, replaces L. limosa, 
Linne. 

Genera XCIV., XCV., XCVI., XCVII., XCVIIL, XCEX Pang 
C., must all be included under one genus, the name of 
which is Tvinga, Linne, which will include Species 169 to 
176. To those who would prefer to retain these divisions 
as genera the following changes are necessary :— 

Genus XCV.— Tvringa, Linne, replaces Helodromas, 
Kaup. 

Genus XCVI.— Heteroscelus, Baird, replaces Heter- 
actitis, Stejneger. 

Genus XCVII. — Actitis, Illiger, replaces Tvingotdes, 
Bonaparte. 

Genus XCVIII.— Xenus, Kaup, replaces Terekza, 
Bonaparte. 


. Genus CII.—Arenaria, Bechstein, replaces Calidris, Mliger. 


Species 178.—A. leucophea, Pallas, replaces A. arenaria, Linne. 

Genera CIII., CIV., and CV. must be united, the earliest name 
for which is Evolia, Vieillot, which will include the extra- 
Australian species commonly referred to Pelidna. To 
those who would retain these divisions as genera, the 
only change necessary is the displacement of Ancylo- 
cheilus, Kaup, by Evolia, Vieillot. 

Species 182.—E. ferruginea, Brunnich, replaces FE. subarquata, 
Gueldenstaedt. 

Genus CVI.—Canutus, Brehm, replaces Tringa, auct. 

Species 184. —C. magnus, Gould, replaces C. crasstrosiris, 
and S. 

Genus CVII.—The authority for Gallinago is Koch. 


. Genus CXI.—Trachelia, Scopoli, replaces Glareola, Brisson. 


There is no necessity to separate the genera Tvachelia 
and Galactochrysea. 


322 MATHEWS, Alterations in Nomenclature. eet 


PAGE 
29. Species 189.—T. maldivarum, Latham and Davies, replaces 
T. orientalis, Leach. 
Included in Genus CXII., Burhinus, is the genus Gidicnemus. 
30. Genus CXIII. — Esacus, Lesson, replaces Orthorhamphus, 
Salvadori. 
I cannot recognize the validity of the latter divi ision 
as generic. 
Genus CXIV .—Choriotis, Gray, replaces Eupodotis, Lesson. 
Genus CX V.—Mathewsia, Iredale, replaces Antigone, Reichen- 
bach (preoccupied). 
Species 193.—M. rubicunda, Perry, replaces M. australastana, 
Gould. 
Genus CX VI.—The authority for /bzs is Lacepede. 
31. Genus CXVIII.—Egatheus, Billberg, replaces Plegadis, Kaup. 
The specific name autwmnalis, Hasselq., has no standing, 
as it is only a reprint of a pre-Linnean name. 
. Genera CXXIIL, CXXIV., and CXXVI. must) be junited 
The oldest name is Egretta, to which is referable Species 
202, 203, and 208. If the divisions be retained as 
generic, Egvetta, Forster, displaces Garzetta, Kaup, for 
Genus CXXVI. 
33- Genus CXXVII.—Demugretta is the original spelling. 
Genus CXVIII.—The authority for Nycticorax is Forster. 
Genus CXXX.—Ixobrychus, Billberg, replaces Ardetta, Gray. 
Genus CXXXI.—Ardeiralla, Gurney, replaces Dupetor, Heine 
and Reichenow. 
Genus CXXXII.—The authority for Botaurus is Stephens. 


34. Genus CX XXIII.—Chenofis is the original spelling. 
34. Genus CXXXV.—WNettapus is the original spelling. 
Genus CXL.—Omit. Not separable from Genus CXXXIX., 
Tadorna. 
Genus CXLII.—WNettion is the original spelling. 
36. Genus CXLVII.—Nyroca, Fleming, replaces Aythya, Boie. 
Genus CXLVIII. — Oxyura, Bonaparte, replaces Evismatura, 
Bonaparte. 

7. Genus CL.—Carbo, Lacepede, replaces Phalacrocorax, Brisson. 

8. Genus CLII.—The authority for Sula is Scopoli. 

Genus CLIII.—The authority for Fregata is Lacepede. 
Species 250.—Omit. 

40. Genus CLVIII.—Omit. I cannot admit the validity of this 
genus, which, moreover, should bear the name Nisus, 
Lacepede, and would refer Species 260 te Genus CLVIL., 
Astur. 

41. Genus CLXV.—The authority for Mzlvus is Lacepede. 

2. Genus CLXXI.—Jeracidea is the original spelling. 

43. Species 284. : 

44. Genus CLXXV.—Tyto, Billberg, replaces Strix, auct. 
Genus CLXXVI. and Species 299 and 300.—Omit. 


t 
SF) 
i) 


Vol. 


X. 


oe MATHEWS, Alterations in Nomenclature. 323 

PAGE 

45. Species 305 is very doubtfully separable from Species 304, 
chlorolepidotus, Kuhl. 

Genus CLXXIX.—The authority for Ptilosclera is Gould. 
Genus CLXXX.—Glossopsitta is the original spelling. 

46. Genus CLXXXI.—Cyclopsitta is the original spelling. 

Genus CLXXXII. — Solenoglossus, Ranzani, replaces Micro- 
glossus, Vieillot. 

47. Genus CLXXXIV.—Callocephaion is the original spelling. 

Genus CLXXXV. — Cacaties, Dumeril, replaces Cacatua, 
Vieillot. 

Species 325. —L. tenwirostris, Kuhl, replaces L. nasica, Tem- 
minck. 

Genus CLXXXVII.—Calopsitta is the original spelling. 

48. Species 329.—P. anthopeplus, Vigors, replaces P. melanura, 
Vigors. 

Species 3311.—Add P. coccineopterus, Gould. 
Species 333.—Omit. Not Australian. 

49. Species 338.—P. browni, Kuhl, replaces P. flaviventris, Tem- 
minck, 

Species 341.—P. venustus, Kuhl, replaces P. browni, Tem- 
minck., 

Species 342.—Omit. The bird upon which this species was 
founded is a hybrid. 

Genus CXCIII.—Purpureicephalus is the original spelling, and 
the authority is Bonaparte. 

50. Species 354. — P. hematogaster, Gould, replaces P. hema- 
torrhous, Bonaparte. 

Species 3594.—Add P. cucullatus, North, of which P. blaauwt, 
Van Oort, is a synonym. 
51. Species 363.—N. chrysostoma, Kuhl, replaces N. venusta, Temm. 
Genus CXCVII. and Species 369 and 370.—Omit. 

51. Genus CXCVIII. — Lathamus, Lesson, replaces Euphema, 
Wagler. 

52. Species 376A.—Omit. I have now thirty-five skins of sup- 
posed P. brachypterus, Gould, from various localities in 
Western Australia, and I cannot find any constant 
characters whereby they can be separated from P. 
sirigoides, Latham, from Tasmania, Victoria, and New 
South Wales. 

53- Species 380.—Omit. More material proves this form to be 

inseparable from Species 379. 

54. Species 392.—Omit. The differential characters assigned to 
this form prove to be inconstant. I have also examined 
the type of Species 392. 

55. Species 393.—Omit. 

Genus CCXI.—Eurostopodus is the original spelling. 
56. Genus CCXIII.—Collocalia, Gray, replaces Salangana, Thunb. 


Genus CCXV.—Apus, Scopoli, replaces Cypselus, Illiger. 


324 MatuHews, Alterations in Nomenclature. igeaeee 


57. Species 405.—C. pallidus, Latham, must replace C. inornatus, 


Vigors and Horsfield. I have very carefully examined 
the Watling drawing, and there cannot be the slightest 
doubt that it was drawn from an immature specimen of 
this species. As a matter of fact, it is a much better 
representation than the majority of the drawings. I 
propose to deal in detail with this matter later. 


57. Genus CCXVIII.—Misocalius is the original spelling. 
58. Species 413. —C. minutillus, Gould, replaces C. malayanus, 
Raffles. 
Genus CCXX.—Eudynamys is the original spelling. 
59. Genus CCXXIII.—The authority for Menura is Latham. 
Species 418.— M. nove-hollandie, Latham, replaces M. 
superba, Davies. 
60. Genus CCXXVI.— Chelidon, Forster, replaces Hvtrundo, 
Schaeffer. 
61. Genus CCXXX.—Petroica is the original spelling. 
62. Species 441.—Omit. 
Species 445.—Omit. This supposed form is not constant, and 
equals No. 444. 
63. Genus CCXXXII.—The authority for Gerygone is Gould. 
Species 453, 454, and 458.—Omit. 
Genus CCXXXIII.—Omit. The characters assigned to this 
genus are not of generic value ; therefore, Species 451 to 
467 are referable to Genus CCXXXII. 
Add 459A, P. cantator, Weatherill. 
64. Species 463.—Very doubtfully separable from Species 462. 
Species 467.—Omit. Not separable from 466. 
Species 473.—P. albigularis replaces P. albifacies, Sharpe ; the 
latter is the New Guinea form. 
65. Species 481 and 482.—Omit. 
66. Species 487.—R. motacilloides, Vigors and Horsfield, replaces 
R. tricolor, Vieillot. 
Genus CCX XXIX.—Seisura is the original spelling. 
67. Genus CCXL.—The authority for Arses is Lesson. 
68. Genus CCXLV.—Edolisoma is the original spelling. 
Genus CCXLVII. and Species 512.—Omit. 
69. Species 518A.—Add C. alistert, Mathews. 
70. Genus CCLI.—Drymodes is the original spelling. 
71. Species 536A. — Add C. howeit, Mathews, and separate C, 
rubiginosus, Campbell, from C. campestris, Gould. 
72. Genus CCLVI.—Cincloramphus is the original spelling. 
Genus CCLVII. and Species 540 and 541.—Omit. Merula is 
unavailable, even if this division be retained. 
Genus CCLVIII.—Turdus, Linne, replaces Oveocichla, Gould 
(the original spelling of the latter name is Oreocincla). 
The species 540 and 541 should be referred to Turdus. 
73. Genus CCLIX.—Epthianura is the original spelling. 
74. Species 559A.—Add A. mathewsi, Hartert. 


Vol. 


IQII 


PAGE 


75: 


70. 


71: 


78. 


79: 


80. 


8I. 


82. 


88. 


go. 


= MATHEWS, Alterations in Nomenclature. 325 


Species 564.— A. archibaldi, Mathews, replaces A. magni- 
rostris, Campbell (preoccupied). 

Species 566A.—Add A. whitlocki, North. 

Species 574A.—Add A. flaviventris, Ashby. A. leigh, Grant, 
is doubtfully separable from Species 574. 

Species 5754.—Add A. australis, North. 

Species 579.—Omit. Cannot be separated from Species 577. 

Species 581.—S. barbata, Latham, is the correct spelling. 

Species 586a.—Add S. balstoni, Grant. 

Species 599.—M. cyanotus, Gould, replaces M. leucopterus, 
Ox and G. 

Species 603A.—Add M. dulcis, Mathews. 

Species 603B.—Add M. bernieri, Grant. 

Species 609.—M. leucopterus, Q. and G., replaces M. edwardt, 
Campbell. 

Species 610A.—Add S. mallee, Campbell. 

Species 619.—A. gigantura, Milligan, replaces A. megalurus, 
Sharpe. 

A. varia, Carter, is not separable from A. macrurus, Gould. 

Species 620A.—Add A. whiter, Mathews. 

Species 620B.—A. owent, Mathews. 

Species 626.—Omit. Cannot be separated from Species 625. 

Species 627.—Omit. Cannot separate this from Species 628. 

Species 632.—Omit. Is not separable from Species 631. 

Genus CCLXXV.—Colluricincla is the original spelling. 

Genus CCLXXVI.— Omit. Not generically separable from 


Colluricincla. 
Species 644. —C. rufigaster, Gould, replaces C. rufiwentnis, 
Sharpe. 


. Species 661A.—Add F. whiter, Campbell. 
. Species 668.—Omit. 
. Species 678.—Omit. 


Species 682.—I do not consider this species ought to be in- 
cluded in the Australian avifauna. 

Species 687.—Omit. This form is not separable from Species 
684. 

Species 700A.—Add N. magnirostris, Ingram. 

Species 701A.—Add C. wellsi, Grant. 

Species 703A.—Add C. obscura, Carter. 

Species 713.—Omit. Is not a valid form. 

Species 714.—Omit. Referable to Species 712. 

Species 716.—Omit. Cannot be separated from Species 717. 

Species 715, 718, 719, and 720.—Omit. 

Genus CCLXXXIX.—The authority for Diceum is Cuvier. 


. Species 728a.—Add P. pallidus, Campbell. 
. Genus CCXCIII.—Plectoramphus is the original spelling. 
. Genus CCXCVI.—Gliciphila is the original spelling. 


Genus CCXCVIIa.—Add Lacustroica, North. 
Species 760A.—Add Lacustroica whiter, North. 
Certhionyx occidentalis, Grant, is not separable from Species 


763. 


326 MATHEWS, Alterations in Nomenclature. Paces 

PAGE 

g6. Species 786.—P. nove-hollandia, Latham, replaces P. ornata, 
Gould. 

98. Species 801.—Meliornis nigra, Bechstein, replaces M. sericea, 
Gould. 


Genus CCCV.—Manorina is the original spelling. 
g9. Genus CCCIX.—Acanthagenys is the original spelling. 
Genus CCCX.—Entomyzon is the original spelling. 

100. Species 821.—M. flava simillima, Hartert, replaces M. 
barnardt, North. 

IOI. Species 8244.—Add M. woodwardi, Milligan (quite distinct 
from M. secunda, Sharpe). 

Genus CCCXVI.—Stagonopleura is the original spelling. 

102. Genus CCCXX.—Stizoptera, Oberholser, replaces Stictoptera, 
Reichenbach (preoccupied). 

Genus CCCXXI.—The authority for Munia is Hodgson. 

Species 8344.—Add M. assimilis, Mathews. 

Species 835.—M. flaviprymna replaces M. xanthoprymna, 
Mathews. 

Species 838a.—Add 4. minor, Campbell. 

103. Species 842.—Omit. Inseparable from Species 841. 

Species 847.—P. atropygialis, Diggles, replaces P. nigrotecta, 
Hartert. 
Species 847 and 848.—These should follow Species 841. 

104. Genus CCCXXVII.—Mimetes, King, replaces Oriolus, Linne. 

Species 850.—M. sagittata, Latham, is the correct name. 

Species 850A.—Add M. viridis, Latham. (Separable from 
Species 850.) 

Species 853A.—Add S. stalkeri, Ingram. 

Genus CCCXXX.—Retain for species 856. 

Species 855.—Omit. 

105. Genus CCCXXXI.—Aflomis may be used. Calornis is pre- 
occupied, and it has been proposed to use Lamprocorax, 
Bonaparte, for the birds heretofore referred to Calornis ; 
but I do not consider that there are characters available 
to justify the separation from A plonis. 

Genus CCCXXXIV.—Ailuredus is the original spelling. 
Genus CCCXXXV.—Chlamydera is the original spelling. 

106. Genus CCCXXXVII.—Ptiloris is the original spelling. 

106. Genus CCCXXXIX.—Omit. Not separable from Ptiloris. 

107. Genus CCCXLII.—Omit. Not separable from Corvus. 

Species 874.—Corvus mariane, Mathews, replaces C. australis, 
Gould (preoccupied). 


Coots BREEDING IN TASMANIA. — Referring to Miss J. A. 
Fletcher’s interesting notes on the Coot (Fulica australis) breeding 
in Tasmania (Emu, vol. xi., p. 138), several Tasmanian  orni- 
thologists aver that this is the first authenticated record of the 
finding of eggs of the Coot in its insular quarters. 


Mole s Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. 227 


IQII 


The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird (Atrichornis 
rufescens, Ramsay). 
By-SIDNEY Wm. JAckson, R.A.O.U., CHatTswoop, N.S.W. 


I LEFT Sydney on the 19th September, 1g1o, for the elevated 
Dorrigo scrubs at the head of the Bellinger River, New South 
Wales, where I arrived on the 24th of the same month, and 
pitched my camp in the forest, near the Little Murray River, on 
the same spot where my brother and | had camped during 
October of 1898, when we found the type nest and eggs of the 
Rufous Scrub-Bird (Atrichornis rufescens). My mission this time 
was on behalf of Mr. Henry L. White, of Belltrees, Scone, New 
South Wales, and was undertaken for the purpose of procuring 
the female of this interesting species, hitherto undescribed, and 
securing another nest and clutch of eggs, as the types of these 
still remained the only specimens extant. I walked through and 
carefully examined the scrubs day after day without getting the 
slightest indication as to the existence of the Aérichornis therein. 
It was not until the 7th October that I met with any success, and 
heard an Aérichornis calling out. On this date I had just left 
a tree wherein I found a new nest of the Rifle-Bird (Ptilorhis 
paradisea) situated in a dense clump of vines at the unusual height 
of 74 feet from the ground, and was walking slowly through the 
scrub in a northerly direction, and when I arrived at a sloping 
part I heard a note which immediately brought me to a halt, for 
I felt convinced that it emanated from an Atrichornis ; only one 
single note was rendered. I went quietly in the direction of the 
sound and towards an immense mass (No. I mass in plan) of 
fallen trees and other scrub débris, and hid behind a rosewood 
(Dysoxylon fraseranum) log. Very soon the shrill note issued from 
the confused mass of débris and only about Io feet away. The 
bird was moving about, mouse-like, amongst this heap of rubbish 
in the heart of the scrub (see photo.) It went through the same 
antics as I had frequently noticed in 1898 and 1899, walking 
stealthily under the heaps of débris and along under the sides of 
large logs as it called out, and moving cautiously from place to 
place. I have always noticed that this noisy little bird inhabits 
the most impenetrable parts of the scrub, and where the under- 
growth is thick and the ground is strewn in many places with 
great masses of débris, consisting of an accumulated entanglement 
of trees, branches, vines, and other rubbish (see photos.) 

After I had waited for some time the Aérichornis suddenly 
showed itself out of the débris for a second or two, and stood on 
a dead stick about 20 feet away, with its tail erect and wings 
rather drooped. Then in a flash it disappeared again in the 
rubbish, and continued at intervals to call out as it travelled about 
completely hidden from view under the heap. From what I saw 
of the bird, it was typical of the male birds that I collected pre- 
viously. While still under the débris, it accurately imitated the 


WN? 2 Mhiss > 


Showing the area rreguented by 3 Vida {Son 2) 
of the kifous Scrub birds Wtnchoms rifescers, 


bonsyy) tn he Lorrgo sities of the ypperbeltiger 
her dbsttict, Mew South Wales, curing Cot, Won, 
ond LL LV0. Lie BL “le, 1S HOM GE Ly eT a ti? 
AASACS and MESHES. made on fhe On Mire 


Me len (ill stenting broken oF tees ar bites 
ae sho t Peay rep(estlil ell green [ees.A 
Mhe otter Lanber dbnitted 1s dead and fying onthe 
Sound. the space toptted by le8e niles, gid the 
Yt Hit Laas Gt ples Genie dense scrub 

Ske atcompinping relerentt pase [ir panlalars 
telilis 10 lhe iHtas. 

Sew ta le plep. 


A Scate avo Compass 


ACCOMPANIES T?US ORA WING. 


PLAN OF AREA FREQUENTED BY ATRICHORNIS. 


1.—Indicates spot, No. 1 Mass, where male was first heard (7th October, 1910). 
.—Nest found 16th October (see photo.) 
-—Large sheets of old pine-bark which were examined, with other lots, for 
No. 2 nest (supposed). 
4.—Part No. 2 Mass of débyis, where female was seen in company with male 
(22nd October, 6th November). 
5.—Where male was shot (4th December), in thick débris. 
6.—Where male uttered single note at 7 p.m. 17th November. 
7-—Where I made five attempts to capture the female with the net (16th October) 
when she was in the nest. 
8.—Where male sunned himself 14th November. 
9.—Where best view of the male was obtained, when he was feeding on the ground 
No. 2 Mass (17th November). 
10.—Play-ground of the Lyre-Bird (see photo.) 
11.—The roost of male Atrichornis, on small limb under pine log, about 30 ft. 
from nest. 


w WN 


’ 


Notre.—Shading of black dots denotes areas where large quantities of fallen 
trees, vines, and other débvis were removed when searching for female and No. 2 
nest. The upright lines and black dots together indicate where débris was searched 
but not carried away. Shading of black upright lines denotes the large, confused 
masses of fallen trees, vines, &c., under which the Atrichornis lives (see photos.) The 
male frequented the heaps of débris marked A, B, C, D, and E, Nos. 1 and 2 Masses. 


THE EMu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXXV. 


male 


y 


y frequented b 


scrub débris daily f 


1.—Portion of 
Atrichornis, and where it was first observed (7/10/10). 


Mass No. 


Mass No. 2.—Portion of scrub débyis where female Atvichornis was 


observed twice upon the ground below white cross on tree. 


FROM PHOTOS. BY S. W, JACKSON, SYDNEY. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXXVI. 


Site where Atvichornis Nest was found (16/10/10). 


ss.) 


(Nest below white cro: 


SYDNEY. 


JACKSON, 


FROM A PHOTO. BY S. W. 


Vee Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. 329 


IgIt 


notes of the following birds : — Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren 
(Sericornts barbara), Spine-tailed Log-runner (Orthonyx temminckt), 
King Lory (Aprosmictus cyanopygius), Yellow-rumped Robin 
(Eopsaliria chrysorrhoa), White Goshawk (Astur nove-hollandiea), 
White-throated Tree-creeper (Climacteris scandens), White-throated 
Thickhead (Pachycephala pectoralis), White-fronted Scrub-Wren 
(Sericorms frontalis), Lewin’s Honey-eater (Ptilotis chrusotis), &c. ; 
and when imitating the note of the Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren 
these fussy little birds came over to the heap of débris and sat on 
a twig over the Aférichormis as it called out beneath them. The 
loud alarm note of the Spine-tailed Log-runner it very frequently 
utters to perfection, and it is most difficult to discriminate which 
bird is calling—an Adrichornis or a Log-runner. On account of 
tne breast bone and muscles of the voice apparatus being unusual, 
the Atrichornithid@ have been classed ‘* Abnormal Song-Birds.”’ The 
discovery of the male Adrichormis to-day gave me encouragement, 
and I naturally expected the bird had its mate somewhere in the 
vicinity. I first heard the bird to-day at 3 p.m., and I remained 
at the spot observing until after 4 p.m. I named this part of the 
scrub “‘ Atrichia Slope,’ and it hes a few miles from my camp. 
Before leaving this locality to-day I examined a great many tufts 
of scrub-grass or sedge (Gahnia and Carex longifolia) close about 
the large heap of débris which the bird frequented, but I saw no 
sign of the nest or female. I then travelled through more scrub, 
and returned to camp before dark. I have never at any time 
seen an Atrichornis in a tree or bush; they live entirely on the 
ground, partly hidden amongst the masses of fallen timbers and 
débris, and never for a moment do they leave these places, and 
therefore appear quite terrestrial in their habits. Their strong 
legs and very small wings prove that they spend most, if not all, 
of their time on the ground. 

After this date (7th October) I worked on and hunted day 
after day, and thoroughly searched all the dense scrub, tufts of 
scrub-grass or sedge, heaps of débris, &c., at ‘‘ Atrichia Slope,”’ 
and immediately surrounding the place where I had first seen 
the male bird ; but my efforts were fruitless. 

On the morning of the 16th October I sat on a log and listened 
for three-quarters of an hour at one of the large piles of débris, 
but there was no indication of or sound uttered by the Aérichornis, 
much less getting a glimpse of the bird. This silence was rather 
disappointing, so at about 9 a.m. I made a fresh start, and once 
again continued a systematic search. Shortly after Io a.m. the 
area of my operations brought me to a small open space in the 
scrub, which was well covered with many tufts of a narrow, flat 
grass (Carex), which varied from 1 foot to 2 feet 6 inches in 
height, growing rather closely together. Through the western 
side of this growth the large section of the topmost portion of 
a fallen hoop pine (Avaucaria cunninghamt) was lying on the 
ground. This top part of the tree measured 65 feet long, and 
was about 3 feet thick at the larger end. This looked to me 


330 Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. ot Ren 


a very promising spot, as the broken and tangled mass of branches 
and débris on the ground at the head of the tree would form a 
safe and natural retreat for the Aérichornis. I worked all the 
eastern patch first, which was much more extensive than that on 
the western side of the log, and I began to lose hope regarding 
success in this patch; so at 10.30 a.m. I visited the growth on 
the western side of the log, and in the centre of the third tuft I 
examined—which was rather close to the log and much spread 
“out and open—TI found a rounded mass of dead and thoroughly 
bleached grass (Carex). This was really a dome-shaped nest, and 
the material from which it was constructed was so old-looking 
and thoroughly weather-worn that it had the appearance of 
having been built a few seasons ago. At first glance I thought 
it might belong to some small scrub marsupial or rodent, so I knelt 
down, and, on examining it closely, found it had a neat, round 
opening on the north-west side, and that the nest resembled that 
of an Atrichornis. In order to view the interior of the structure 
through the small round opening, I had to bend the tuft of grass 
back a little, and was thus enabled to look in, finding, to my delight, 
that it was undoubtedly the nest of Atrichormis rufescens, and 
contained two eggs, typical of those I took 12 years ago. The 
nest was situated down the slope, 65 yards westward from the 
western side of the large heap of débvis wherein I had first seen 
and heard the male Aérichornis on Friday, 7th October. It did 
not stand quite upright in the grass, and had a slight inclination 
to lean westward. Possibly a scrub wallaby or other animal may 
have walked over the tussock, thus causing it to be opened out 
so much and the nest moved from the perpendicular. 

The nest was constructed of dead grass (Carex longifolia) and 
leaves, and lined inside with the same _ hard, cardboard-like 
material or dried wood-pulp as before, and the eggs rested in 
this rounded and hardened receptacle, devoid of any other lining. 
On close examination of this hard and remarkable lining, one 
finds that it is dried pulp of soft and decayed wood and grass 
that the bird had probably worked up and put together while in 
a wet state. To remove the eggs I took the lid off a small round 
matchbox and fastened it to the end of a large straightened 
safety-pin, which acted admirably as a sort of ladle. They 
were heavily zoned at one end with reddish-brown markings, and 
were typical, but appeared somewhat incubated—probably about 
seven days. The pair of eggs measure in inches—(a) 0.87 x 0.69, 
(b)0.87.x 0:40: 

My next most important endeavour was to capture the female, 
so I returned to camp and got the lantern and butterfly net. 
After a long, hot walk I arrived back at the scrub. I cut a 
strong stick, about ro feet long, and securely tied the green 
butterfly net to it. I put both eggs back into the nest, and got 
under cover to watch developments. It was now 12.30 p.m., 
and at 1.15 I heard a gentle rustling in the grass and dead leaves 
on the ground along the western side of the thick log of pine, near 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXXVII. 


Nest in situ of Rufous Scrub-Bird (Atvichornis rufescens). 


FROM A PHOTO, BY S, W. JACKSON, SYDNEY 


_ = a ee a : 


E : 
7 — _ a eo 
‘ a 7 : . 
Pole. 
a 
: ‘ 
- 
2a ’ & 


= ¢ 
~ - 
¥ 
a . 
Pk 
* a 
rt 
: ‘ 
© * 
- 
. 
: . 
- . “ 
* ed 4 *, 
se ~“y O44 “4 
let Are he if et) (ine Wik ee . 
7 
x , aT oe a 
, 
, 
~ . 
. 


Ps Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. 332 
the nest, but no note of any kind. After a while the bird slowly 
entered the nest, but I could only see her head from where I sat, 
and I plainly noticed the nest shake as she entered and turned 
round. I was sitting almost at the back of the nest. I now raised 
my body slowly, and, taking careful aim with the long net, dropped 
it down over the nest and tussock; but to my amazement and 
disgust the bird escaped before I got over. She was as quick as 
a flash, and I could hardly credit that she had gone. I examined 
the grass around the nest in case I had accidentally hit and 
stunned her, but no such fortune. While I was thus engaged 
trying to capture the female, I could plainly hear the male bird 
calling loudly some 70 yards away up the slope of the scrub, and 
at the same large heap of débris (mass No. 1) as I had first seen 
him in on 7th October. From that date on he had taken par- 
ticular care never to call or utter a sound anywhere in proximity 
to the nest. I sat down again in hiding, and in about half an 
hour I heard the female creeping about again like a mouse or 
small lizard in the grass and dead leaves. With the field-glasses 
at this close range I faintly caught sight of her twice as she moved 
along under the side of the log, close to the nest. I could not 
see her colour well in such subdued light, but from what I saw 
she did not appear to differ from the male in general colouring. 
However, after she had carried on some good manceuvring’ (in 
a crouched position) under the side of the log, inside the edge of 
the grass, she cautiously went on the nest once more; and, 
although I was most careful in using the net, I lost her again, 
notwithstanding that I had actually seen her fluttering in the 
net as I rushed over. I was now trembling with eagerness, 
thinking I had captured her beyond doubt this time. I was 
perplexed to know what to do for the best. I certainly could 
not safely shoot her at such a close range without blowing her to 
pieces, and there was the danger of destroying the nest and eggs ; 
and if I removed the eggs from the nest the chances were that 
she would abandon the spot altogether. My previous experience 
with these shy birds was that they usually showed themselves at 
very close range when they did appear. This female went into the 
nest five times, at intervals ranging from half an hour up to an 
hour and a half, and all my care endeavouring to capture her went 
for nothing saye disappointment. What I really required in the 
first place was a heavy iron hoop, with the net attached, so 
that when it was placed over the nest it would press its way 
through the surrounding grass and go right down flat on the 
ground. There can certainly be no doubt that the bird got away 
owing to the space between the rather limp ring of the net and 
the ground. Certainly I could have cleared a space all around 
the tuit of grass, and so let the net go flush to the ground, but 
the chances were that the bird would never have gone near the 
place again. 

The nest was built about 16 inches from the side of the pine 
log, and in a tuft of scrub-grass or sedge about 2 feet high, which 


332 Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird: Rea 


Mr. J. H. Maiden, Government Botanist of New South Wales, 
has kindly identified and named for me from samples of the grass, 
flowers, and seed which I collected on the spot. The grass, which 
is also common in some of our forests, is known as Carex longi- 
/olia (R. Br.) In all probability, if the eggs had been fresh instead 
of so heavily incubated, then the female might not have returned 
again to the nest, as was the case with the type clutch, which 
was quite fresh when found. The nest I left for the time being, 
~ as I wished to photograph it 2m sztw later ; and, in order to pro- 
tect it from the impending hail and rain, I stood a long sheet of 
pine bark over it on a slant from the ground against the pine log. 
During the whole time I was near the female Atvichornis she 
did not utter any sound, though the male called out frequently 
in No. 1 mass of débris some 70 or 80 yards away. The male 
never appears to leave his haunt in this large heap of débris (as 
far as I can detect) ; consequently, he is perhaps something like 
the Lyre-Bird (Menura superba) in this respect, and does not 
feed the hen on the nest, and she has to go out and collect her own 
food. I would not be surprised if this is the case, and also that 
the construction of the nest is carried out entirely by the female. 
The opening of the nest was about g inches from the ground, 
and a platform of grass and dead leaves sloped up towards it, 
and on this the female went to and fro The opening was un- 
usually small, and measured 1} inches across; height or length 
of nest over all, 74 inches ; width, 44 inches. In the case of the 
type nest the opening had been enlarged through removing the 
eggs from it by inserting the fingers. The bottom of the present 
nest was 6 inches from the ground in the tussock, and such was 
the case with my other finds of these interesting structures in 
1898 and 1899.* After photographing the nest I had decided 
to dig the tussock up containing it. Some 30 feet along the 
western side of the log from the nest, and close to an old cedar 
saw-pit, and at part marked “11” on the plan, I found a place 
that was undoubtedly the roosting-spot of the male Aérichornis, 
and the loose feathers and excreta found there proved it to be such. 
The roost consisted of a small limb a few inches long, which 
projected from the pine log low down, and well underneath it, 
and where the log was up from the ground several inches. The 
nest was about 30 feet south from the old cedar saw-pit (see plan), 
where cedar logs were sawn up some 20 or 30 years ago, and the 
area of sedge-like scrub-grass (see plan and photos.) was growing 
on the small open part where the scrub trees had been cut down 
in order to make room and light for the men when at their work. 
The Lyre-Birds (Menura swperba) live in the scrub here, and one 
of their large dome-shaped nests which I found, and which the 
young bird had recently left, was picturesquely placed up against 
the foot of an old red cedar (Cedrela australis) stump at a steep 
* The nest found in 1899 was in the Richmond River scrubs, and the young had 


gone from it. The nest is now in Mr. H. L. White’s collection, and is constructed 
of dead scrub-grass (Gaknia).—S. W. J. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XXXIX. 


Nest of Lyre-Bird (Menura superba), within 30 yards of Nest of Scrub-Bird (Atrichornis vufescens). 


FROM A PHOTO. BY S, W. JACKSON, SYDNEY 


Emu, Vol. X. 


THE 


PLATE XXXVIII. 


(suaIsa{na SIUAOYIIAJ FY) PITT 


-qu 


*pojuenbeary Arep 


IOS oyeUur sy} aTayYM IedU ‘( 


pqaadns 


“AANGAS ‘NOSHOVP *"M 'S AB ‘OLOHd VY WOXS 


vANUa YT) PITT 


r) 


Bi 


{7 JO punoss-Avlq 


eye Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. 333 


IQII 


part, and within 30 yards of the nest of the Atrichornis (see photo. 
and plan). It is remarkable that this pair of Lyre-Birds, which 
I frequently noticed at ‘‘ Atrichia Slope,” should have their nest 
so close to that of the Airichornis, and the male to have his hillock 
or play-ground within 15 yards of the large heap of débris (mass 
No. 1) which the male Aévichornis daily frequented when carrying 
on his mimicry. 

The ordinary note of the Aévichornis is a prolonged and shrill 
note, resembling “ Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp,”’ and usually re- 
peated four times or more (generally four) in succession, with 
about half a second duration between each call; but sometimes 
the interval is a little longer, and the sound gradually lowers in 
pitch towards the last “ chirps.”’ The male only calls, but I have 
often known him to remain silent for a whole day. Another note 
which he utters here is ‘‘ Sweet-sweet-sweet,’’ rendered often 
slowly, and with a pause of 3 or 4 seconds between each of the 
‘““sweets.”’ This note is apparently copied from the White- 
throated Thickhead (Pachycephala pectoralis), and I have often 
heard this bird answering the Atrichornis’s call. 

Owing to their being incubated, the ground colour of the eggs 
is lighter than those of the type set, which were perfectly 
fresh ; so, judging by this, I would conclude that the nest must 
have just been ready for eggs on 7th October, when I first saw 
the male bird in No. 1 mass of débris. 

On the following day (17th October) I again visited “ Atrichia 
Slope,” and found the nest safe under the bark, but I saw no 
sign of the birds, and the male was silent. Next day (18th 
October) I visited the locality again, and photographed the nest 
in situ, also the pine log and surrounding area. In one of these 
photos. a few fallen scrub saplings, which le close together, 
happen to appear somewhat like a fence, but I want to point out 
that they are lying just as they fell. I also took other photo- 
graphs, showing the heaps of confused débris frequented by the 
Atrichorius. 

I visited ‘“‘ Atrichia Slope ’”’ daily, in hopes of again seeing the 
female, and on 22nd October I discovered both birds in a mass 
of fallen trees and débris (see figure 4 in No. 2 mass on plan, also 
white cross in black square in photo.) about 80 yards north-east 
from where the nest was. I only once got a glimpse of the birds 
as they peeped out of the débris. After the “shocks” the female re- 
ceived when I tried to capture her, I fancied she would not build 
in such a place again. The birds kept well out of sight in the 
débris, and from what little I saw of the female again to-day there 
appears to be very little (if any) difference between her and the 
male in general colouring. Only the male bird made any call or 
note, and he left the female and travelled through the tangled 
rubbish to the northwards, from where he called, the female 
remaining perfectly silent. Here the male rendered a_ peculiar 
note resembling the squeak of a frog; then, again, rather a clear 
and loud flute-like whistle. Getting another sight of the female 


334 Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. raga 


Alrichornis to-day pleased me very much, and it was my intention 
to carefully watch, and later on remove and thoroughly search 
this mass for No. 2 nest; I would then lose no opportunity of 
shooting the female. If No. 2 nest should be in one of these huge 
masses of débris, then the chances of finding it are very remote 
indeed, for to remove one of these large heaps of confused rubbish 
and trees is a big undertaking (see photos.) 

I still continued to hunt day after day, and removed tons of 
- débris, sometimes spending several hours at a time, following the 
male Atrichornis as he called and continued his wonderful mimicry. 
I walked to and fro over these heaps for days, with gun ready 
with extra small charges of dust shot, in case the female might 
possibly be in company with the male. I saw the male many 
times, but did not want him unless I ultimately failed to secure 
the female. When following him it is often very difficult to 
locate the sound on account of his ventriloquial powers. Some- 
times he sounds quite close, whereas the bird is perhaps many 
yards away; again, the notes often appear to be overhead 
though they are actually issued on the ground. 

The food of this Scrub-Bird consisted chietly of snails’ eggs, 
young tender-shelled scrub snails (Helix and Panda), worms, 
insects, and the larve and pupz of various Cavabid@ and other 
Coleoptera living in the masses of débris and under the damp 
leaves on the ground. 

On 6th November I heard the male calling out at 11.15 a.m. 
in the mass of débvis marked No. 2 in the accompanying plan, 
and 80 yards north-east of the spot where I had found the nest 
on 16th October. However, suddenly he became silent, and 
remained so until about noon, when he started, and frequently 
imitated the scolding and other notes of the Yellow-rumped Robin 
(Eopsaltria  chrysorrhoa), White-fronted Scrub-Wren (Serzcornis 
frontalis), and other species, and he gradually ran along through 
the pile of rubbish towards the western end, and I followed and 
saw him several times. Now, under the débris here, and close to 
a tall green ironwood tree * (Tarnetia, sp.) which was growing 
up through the rubbish, he made a scolding cry, for possibly he 
saw me; then he became silent, and later on went away un- 
observed to the eastern end of the heap, and, while he was calling 
out loudly there, I suddenly saw the female for a few seconds at 
the extreme western end of No. 2 mass of débris (see plan), and 
in the same place as the male had made the scolding cry just 
previously, and where I had seen the female also on 22nd October. 
This was encouraging, as I concluded that No. 2 nest was in this 
heap of rubbish or its immediate surroundings. When the female 
vanished under the débris she gave three faint and feeble whines 
or cries similar to those uttered by a very young domestic kitten ; 
this was the first and only sound I ever heard her make. 

The following day (7th November) I was about shortly after 


* Not to be confused with the ironbark tree (Zzcadyptus) of our forests. —S. W. J. 


pee Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. 335 


1QII 


daybreak at “‘ Atrichia Slope,’”’ with the view to removing large 
quantities of fallen trees, vines, and entangled rubbish at the 
western end of No. 2 mass, where I had twice seen the female 
Atrichornis. The scrub was hot and steamy after the continuous 
and heavy rains, and scrub leeches troublesome. After spending 
some hours watching for a shot at the female, I finally set to 
work with axe and hoe to remove more of the débris, in hopes 
of finding No. 2 nest, if there were one. 

On 14th November I watched the male Aétrichornis in a mass 
of débris (“B” in plan), and at the part numbered 8 in the 
plan, and standing behind an ironwood tree, ready in case the 
female should also show herself. He called again and again, and 
I saw him move in a mass of dead pine twigs and limbs on the 
western side of the long fallen tree. I felt hopeful the female was 
with him, as he was ruffled and cleaning his plumage and behaving 
in an unusual manner, and until he called again I was beginning 
to think he was the female. He ventured out into the sunlight, 
kept silent, and sat on a twig with his feathers puffed and wings 
drooped, just as a domestic fowl will often do when she has 
chickens feeding about. He did not see me, and I got a really 
splendid view of him. He remained in the sun for several seconds, 
and, shaking his plumage, broke the silence with a loud and shrill 
“chirp,” and disappeared in the mass of débris. I remained 
watching, and again saw him a few times before I made another 
search in that heap for No. 2 nest. While I was watching the 
male here, a Dollar-Bird (Eurystomus pacificus) was calling in a 
tall tree near, and the Aérichornis promptly answered by imitating 
its notes. I never on any previous occasion got such a good 
sight of the Adtrichornis as I did to-day. My radius of search 
had by this time (14th November) extended to a distance of 250 
yards from the locality of the nest found on 16th October, and 
most of the work was carried out in rain. On the 17th November, 
when removing débris in No. 2 mass, I heard a strange noise at 
the pine log which lies through the northern side of this heap, 
and the sound resembled a bird in an excited state, and as if it 
had young ones. It came from beneath the log, where it was up 
6 inches from the ground. After much heavy work moving tangled 
masses of débris, limbs, &c., away, I discovered that the sound 
emanated from a small grey frog, which was sitting on a dead vine 
caught under the log. 

This day I again tried to follow the male Scrub-Bird to his 
roosting-place, and so get an idea where the female and No. 2 
nest (if it really existed) were. But this I found impossible. He 
was in No. 1 mass of débris at 6.30 p.m., when he called, and, leaving 
it, he apparently worked his way through the dense scrub and 
débris (silently) and crossed the southern end of the narrow timber 
track and entered the mass of débris shown in the bottom letft- 
hand corner of the plan, for here he uttered one note at the part 
marked 6 about 7 p.m., and the scrub at that hour was very 
dark. This was the only time that I heard this bird call on the 


336 Jackson, The Haunt of the Rufous Scrub-Bird. oot At 


western side of the narrow timber track, as the heaps of débris 
it daily frequented were on the eastern side, and are all shown on 
the plan and marked “A,” "B,” ~G,~ iD} and > andsimear 
include Nos. 1 and 2 masses. I obtained a still better view of the 
male Atrichornis to-day, when it was feeding on the ground in 
No. 2 mass of débris, and I watched it for 3 or 4 moments, ready 
if the female appeared. The spot is shown on the plan by the 
figure 9. 

I still continued to visit the locality, and examined numerous 
places and turned over numbers of large sheets of loose curled 
pine bark (see plan), in hopes of finding No. 2 nest. I often sat 
on top of the remaining parts of No. 2 mass of débris and other 
heaps for hours with gun ready, sometimes in pouring rain, 
waiting to get a shot at the female Advichornis ; but I never saw 
her again during my visit. Failing to procure her after having 
seen her several times was very tantalizing, and it was now my 
painful duty to shoot the male in order that my find of the nest 
be thoroughly authenticated, because there are sceptics even 
amongst naturalists. On the 4th December the opportunity 
came, and I have the body of this wonderful feathered mimic 
preserved in formalin. The eyes are dark brown, with a jet black 
centre. The wings are unusually small, and when folded have 
the same appearance as those of the Lyre-Bird. The legs are 
strong, and, strange to say, the three front toes of the right foot 
were missing, evidently having been lost for some time by 
accident. 

From personal observations, and from the evidence of other 
persons who have also investigated the matter, this remarkable 
bird is fast becoming scarcer. What is to be learnt of its natural 
economy should be done soon, or it will be too late. 


[Members will appreciate the art and technique of Mr. Jackson’s 
excellent illustrations. Thanks are also due to Mr. H. L. White 
for his goodness in defraying the cost of the blocks, so finely 
engraved by Messrs. Patterson, Shugg and Co.—EDs. | 


Notes on the Mallee Emu-Wren. 
By F. E. Howe, F.Z.S., MELBOURNE. 


THE Mallee Emu-Wren (Stipitwus mallee, Campbell) is an in- 
habitant of the vast tracts of porcupine grass in the Mallee, in 
the north-west corner of Victoria, and doubtless extends its range 
to similar country in South Australia. The species was described 
by Mr. A. J. Campbell.* In company with Messrs. J. A. Ross, 
A. Mattingley, and C. M‘Lennan, I first made its acquaintance 
near Wonga, about 25 miles east of Hopetoun, on 22nd September, 
1907. A nest was noticed in the heart of a dead porcupine bush, 
from which the young had already flown. Mr. Ross and I again 


* Emu, vol. vill., page 34. 


Wal Howe, Notes on the Mallee Emu-Wren. 337 


IQII 


met with the species in the same class of country about 70 miles 
further west, at Kow Plains, during October, Igog, but were 
unable to secure specimens. In September, rg10, our party was 
made up of Messrs. J. A. Ross, A. Mattingley, C. F. Cole, and 
myself. We reached the Mallee on 4th September, but it was 
not until the oth that we found the birds, as usual in the porcu- 
pine, on a sand-ridge bordering the Kow Plains road, about 38 miles 
from Ouyen. We saw them all through the spinifex. I saw 
what I took to be a female fly from a porcupine bush, and as I 
discharged my gun a male rose to join the female, which was 
riddled with the shot; the male, however, was perfect. 

Mr. Campbell says that this bird is much smaller than S. mala- 
churus, and on measuring my specimen in the flesh I made the 
dimensions (in inches) as follows :—Total length, exactly 5 inches ; 
culmen, ;°,; wing, 13; tail, 2?; tarsus, 8. We were unable to 
secure a specimen of the still undescribed female. Since leaving 
the locality I have secured a set of three fresh eggs, taken on 
18th September, at Underbool, by Messrs. Geo. Dunn and F. 
Estick. 

Description of Nest.—Oval in shape, with the entrance at 
the side, the opening having the top built out and forming a 
verandah ; outwardly composed of very fine shreds of bark, soft 
and light-coloured grasses, and the down of thistles and flowering 
shrubs, and decorated here and there with a few spiders’ cocoons. 
Interior lined with feathers and fur. The nest was placed in the 
heart of a bunch of porcupine grass (Triodia). Dimensions :— 
Length, 5 inches; breadth, 3 inches; opening, 2 inches long by 
I+ inches wide ; interior, level! with opening to bottom, 1 inch. 

Description of Eggs.—Clutch three, oval in shape; texture of 
shell very fine; surface slightly glossy; colour white, with a 
pinkish tinge, and moderately blotched or spotted all over with 
reddish-brown or rufous. The markings are thickest about the 
larger end, where they form a zone. Dimensions in inches :— 


lae5o x 44, (0) .58 x .44,, (c) 56 x .42. 


$$$ - — = 


Annotations. 


By A. J. CAMPBELL, C.M.B.O.U., MELBOURNE. 
(Published in “‘ Bulletin No. 2”’ of the R.A.O.U., 21/2/11.) 


CRACTICUS MENTALiS (Black-backed Butcher-Bird). — Through 
the enterprise of Mr. H. L. White, New South Wales, and the 
energy of Mr. Harry Barnard, Queensland, this New Guinea 
species is now established as an Australian bird also. Mr. 
Barnard observed several of these birds at Lockerbie, Cape York, 
and discovered a pair breeding, 1/12/10. Mr. White describes 
these eggs in the next article. 

In the * Catalogue of Birds’ * (British Museum) C. spaldingi + 


* Vol. viili., p. 102. + Proce Linn. soc. NossW.,, Volo is, ps 271 (1877): 


Emu 
ist April 


338 CAMPBELL, Annotations. 
(Masters) is indicated as synonymous with C. mentalis (Salvadori). 
At the time I wrote “Nests and Eggs” Mr. Masters’ original 
description was not accessible to me, therefore I accepted the 
official ‘‘ catalogue’’ as being correct, with the qualification— 
“Tf C. mentalis be really an Australian species, it is somewhat 
strange it has not been recorded for North Queensland, as it is 
found on the opposite coast of New Guinea”’ (‘‘ Nests and Eggs,”’ 
- 306). 

: C. mentalis is a small Butcher-Bird (about ro inches _ total 
length), and is black and white, similar to C. argenteus of North- 
West Australia, but having a black back instead of silvery-grey, 
whereas C spaldingi is larger (14 inches), and black, resembling 
C. quoyi (Lesson). While regretting I imadvertently overlooked 
Mr. Masters’ new sub-species, I apparently strayed in very good 
company, for Dr. E. Hartert (whose critical work on Australian 
birds is much appreciated by students here) also missed the same 
reference, or else he would probably not have created his sub- 
species C. quoyt tunneyi * from the type locality of C. spaldingt, 
the birds being apparently alike. 


STRANGE Hatcyon. — Another of Mr. Harry Barnard’s inter- 
esting discoveries in the rich region of Cape York has been an 
apparently new Kingfisher, which nearest resembles Halcyon 
macleayi, but is different owing to its darker-coloured head and 
the absence of the conspicuous white bars on the wings. 

On 6/11/10 Mr. Barnard observed a pair breeding, and secured 
the male bird, which may be described as follows :— 

Ear-coverts black ; head and nape bluish-black, or black with 
a wash of Prussian blue ; wings brownish-black ; primaries edged 
with brilliant ultramarine blue, secondaries and coverts washed 
with the same colour ; upper back and tail coverts also brilliant 
ultramarine blue; mantle and lower back (rump) a_ beautiful 
shade of verditer-blue or metallic ccerulean blue, the ultra- 
marine of the upper back blending with the verditer-blue of the 
mantle ; spot before the eye, broad collar (hind-neck), and all 
under surface white, except lower flanks, which are slightly 
tinged with buff; tail brownish-black, upper surface washed with 
Prussian blue. 

Iris dark brown; bill black, except base of lower mandible, 
which is white; tarsus brown (Barnard). 

Length, 74; wing, 32; tail, 2}; culmen, 13; tarsus, 4 inches. 

Halitat—Lockerbie, Cape York. 


At present the type is solitary, but should more examples prove 
the foregoing description to be constant, no doubt ornithologists 
will readily agree that the bird be named the Barnard Kingfisher 
(Halcyon barnardi), after its discoverer, Mr. H. G. Barnard— 
one of the Barnards of ‘‘ Coomooboolaroo’”’ fame. 

Mr. H. L. White describes the eggs in the following article. 


*““Nov. Zool,” yol: xii., p. 228)(T905): 


Valo xX: 


dons CAMPBELL, Annotations: 339 
PLATYCERCUS AMATHUSIA (Blue-cheeked Parrakeet).—Amongst 
the collection of Cape York skins made by Mr. Barnard, and kindly 
loaned by Mr. White, is a series of this beautiful yellow-headed 
Parrot. As Gould states, it is nearly allied to the paler-headed 
P. patlidiceps, but differs in “the greener tone of the colouring 
of the body and in the rich blue cheeks.’”” However, the blue 
upon the cheeks is variable in the specimens under notice, there 
being more or less white on the upper part of the cheek. This 
variableness is apparently due to age, because in two specimens 
(¢ and 9), evidently immature, the cheeks are almost wholly 
blue, while there are patches of red feathers upon the head. 
Regarding the fine black-headed P. browni (venustus), recently 
collected by Mr. G. F. Hill, and mentioned in his notes in the last 
issue of The Emu, p. 270, Mr. Gregory M. Mathews has created 
for it a new sub-species—P. venustus hilli*—partly because the 
white feathers of the cheeks are “ reduced to a narrow line, the 
blue spreading nearly all the way up to the black below the 
eyes.’ In some specimens (Hill’s) I have examined the extent 
of the white patch is variable, even on the same bird, one skin 
showing a larger patch of white on one cheek than on the other ; 
also, like P. amathusia, P. browni has red feathers occasionally 
on the head. I fear Mr. Mathews’ new sub-species is not admissible. 


Descriptions of New Eggs. 


By He LY Waite, R.A:0.U., BELLTREES, N.S.W. 
(Published in “ Bulletin No. 2” of the R.A.O.U., 21/2/11.) 


CRACTICUS MENTALIS (Black-backed Butcher-Bird). — Clutch, 
two eggs, much incubated, taken at Lockerbie, Cape York, North 
Queensland, by H. G. Barnard, 1/12/10. Nest composed of 
sticks and lined with strong grass-roots, placed in the fork of a 
‘“ bloodwood ”’ (eucalypt) tree growing in hilly, stony country. 

Shape of eggs, round oval; shell fine, surface glossy. Ground 
colour greenish-grey, one specimen being of a darker shade; 
sparingly marked over the greater portion of the shell with spots 
of reddish-brown, which, with splashes of light slate, form an 
irregular ring near the larger end of the egg. Dimensions in 
inches :—(a) 1.06 x .8, (b) 1.05 x .8. 


XANTHOTIS FILIGERA (Streak-naped Honey-eater).—Clutch, two 
eggs, taken by H. G. Barnard at Lockerbie, Cape York, 18/11/Tro. 
Nest composed of strips of bark and fibre, woven together, and 
lined with fibre ; placed in a mango-tree. 

Shape of eggs, long oval; shell fine and very glossy. Colour 
pinkish-white, freckled all over with small spots of bright brownish- 
red, these spots being thicker towards the larger end, where they 
are mixed with small splashes of pale purple. 


* Bull. B.O.C., No. clxiv. 


340 WuiteE, Descriptions of New Eggs. [ en 


The eggs are different in colour from those of any other Honey- 
eater I have seen, and approach rather closely to those of 
Piezorhynchus gouidi, but are larger and more glossy. Dimensions 
in inches :—(a) .93 x .69, (b) .97 x .69. 


TRICHOGLOSSUS SEPTENTRIONALIS (Northern Blue Mountain 
Lorikeet).—Clutch, two eggs, taken by H. G. Barnard at Lockerbie, 
Cape York, North Queensland, 22/10/10, from a hollow spout of 
a Melaleuca tree. Eggs placed 18 inches from entrance of spout, 
which was 58 feet from the ground. 

Shape of eggs round oval; surface of shell rather coarse, pitted 
and dull. Colour white, but stained by decayed wood. Dimen- 
sions in inches :—(a@) 1.0 x .84, (b) .96 x .84. 


HALCYON BARNARDI, Campbell (Barnard Kingfisher).—Clutch, 
five eggs, taken by H. G. Barnard at Lockerbie, Cape York, North 
Queensland, 5/11/10, from a hollow scooped out of a termites’ 
nest in a tree, 20 feet from the ground. 

Shape of eggs, round oval; shell very fine and glossy Colour 
pure or pearly white. Dimensions in inches:—(a) .9 x .84, 
(0)'2-0) 283; (0) :92%x-Bsn (a): -O2ax.O.0(e) Oexe. O28: 


Stray Feathers. 


FLIGHT OF SwIFTs. — From II a.m. to 12 noon a flock of 
perhaps 1,000 Spine-tailed Swifts (Chetura caudacuta) were flying 
overhead to-day, at heights varying from a few yards to 300 yards. 
They immediately preceded a change in the weather to rain. 
Should you receive word of this flock from others, it would help 
to determine their line of flight and rate of progress.—A. CHAS. | 
STONES | Prospect,*wie Sale. 9/2/11. 


* * * 


NESTING SITE OF PARDALOTE.—In illustration of the curious 
position birds will sometimes select for a nesting site, I may 
mention two instances connected with the little Spotted Pardalote 
(Pardalotus punctatus). At Tobay, W.A., I found a tunnel driven 
into the sands hardly above high water mark. Indeed, the spray 
from only a moderately large roller would have washed right into 
it. The second instance was a tunnel actually driven under a 
sleeper of the Denmark railway. Both nests contained eggs.— 
F. L. Wuittock. Young’s Siding, D.R. (W.A.) 


* * 3% 


PETR@CA PHG@NICEA BREEDING IN GIPPSLAND.—On the 13th of 
last October, when wandering along a secluded creek in the hilly 
district of Callignee, I observed a male Flame-breasted Robin 
feeding his mate. Thinking there must be a nest close at hand, 
I watched them. The female soon flew to a bank, where I dis- 
covered her sitting on a clutch of three eggs, which greatly 


Vol. X, 


gens Stray Feathers. 341 
resembled those of P. leggii. On the 12th of December I noted 
other pairs with young fully fledged. These instances show plainly 
that not only an exceptional pair stays to breed in Gippsland, 
but probably numbers.—ArTHUR P. INGLE. 5/3/I1I. 


* * * 


NEST AND EGGS OF COLLYRIOCICHLA SUPERCILIOSA (MASTERS). 
—Nesit.—A stout structure, composed of strips of bark and lined 
with grass-stems, built in a cluster of small twigs growing from 
a tree in forest country. Eggs.—Clutch three; in shape stout 
ovals; surface smooth and very glossy; colour pure white, 
blotched and spotted all over, but more thickly at the larger end, 
with markings of blackish-brown and grey, the former pre- 
dominating. Dimensions in inches :—(a) 1.06 x .79, (b) 1.08 x .77, 
(c) 1.06 x .79. Identification Collected by H. G. Barnard at 
Lockerbie, Cape York, North Queensland ; skins forwarded with 
eggs.—H. L. WuiTeE. Belltrees, N.S.W. 


* * * 


AMYTORNIS GIGANTURA v. A. MACRURA.—I have recently had 
the opportunity of inspecting, at Belltrees, the skins, nest, and 
eggs of A. gigantura obtained by Mr. F. L. Whitlock at Wiluna, 
Western Australia, on behalf of Mr. H. L. White. After a brief 
comparison of these skins with those of A. macrura which I 
obtained near Kalgoorlie, I have not the slightest hesitation—while 
not posing as an expert—in giving as my opinion that the birds 
are distinct. The greatest point of difference, however, is in the 
nests. Irrespective of the general shape and lack of the character- 
istic dome in Mr. Whitlock’s nest—already fully referred to by him 
in The Emu (vol. ix., p. 202)—the most marked difference is in 
the material used in the making of the nest. In the nest of A. 
gigantura the materials used consisted chiefly of twigs of salt-bush 
and pieces of bark—all ‘“‘heavy’”’ material—while all the nests 
of A. macrura were composed entirely of fine, light grasses, and 
this in spite of the fact that the same materials are equally easily 
procured in both districts. —CuHas. G. GiBson. Perth, W.A., 


February, IgII. 
* * * 


DESCRIPTION OF THE NEST AND EGGS OF GERYGONE CINERASCENS 
(Sharpe).—The nest was situated in a paper-bark tree (Mela- 
leuca), about 4 feet from the ground, and was suspended from a 
pendent twig. It was composed of fine strips of paper-bark, 
cowhair, and pieces of native silk, and the edges of the nest were 
woven on to the branch from which it hung. It was first lined 
with a layer of fine rootlets and stiff grass, and then a layer of 
cowhair and rootlets, and then some silk-like native cotton. The 
entrance was in the side, and had a hood over the hole. A “ tail- 
piece,’ about 5 inches long, hung from the bottom of the nest. 
Dimensions : — Outside, 23 inches x 2% x 5% deep; _ inside, 
1% inches x 1 x 23 deep. Taken 6th December, 1910, at Derby, 
North-West Australia. 


342 Stvay Feathers. cst Ra 


The eggs are three. Ground colour white, with a zone of red, 
irregular-shaped spots round the larger end, and these spots also 
sparingly distributed over the rest of the surface. Dimensions— 
16.5 x II mm. 

This clutch also contained the egg of Chalcococcyx minutillus, 
which is a lighter colour than the eggs of C. plagosus. The 
measurements are I9 X I2 mm.—GREGORY M. MATHEWs. Wat- 
ford, England. 3/2/11. 


From Magazines, &c. 


The Outer’s Book for January, 1911, contains, among articles of 
interest to sporting readers, a pleasantly written account of a 
camp-out at Clam Lakes, a charming locality in the United States, 
where nature is still wild and free. 


* * * 


JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—We are 
glad to see that the New York Zoological Society is bringing out 
a most useful publication, entitled Zoologica, and it is to be heartily 
congratulated on the work. The whole “ get-up”’ of the journal 
is excellent, and it deserves all prosperity. The articles by Mr. 
C. W. Beebe, both on the habits of the Hoatzin and on the tail 
feathers of the Motmot, are of much interest, as well as the field 
notes of the birds he found in North-Eastern Venezuela, and the 
photographs with which each article is illustrated are of value. 


* K ** 


THE PHILIPPINE BIRDS.—The first and second parts of the 
“Manual of Philippine Birds,’ by Richard C. MacGregor, 
published by the Bureau of Science, Manilla, have lately been 
issued. The birds mentioned in part i. that are found in 
Australia are Czstecola exilis and Hzrundo javanica. The two 
numbers deal with 739 birds, fully described, 360 birds being 
mentioned in part ii. The numbers are well indexed, both with 
vernacular as well as scientific names. The books are of great 
value to ornithologists, and the Bureau of Science is to be 
congratulated on bringing out this important work. 


* * * 


NeEw AUSTRALIAN Birps.—The Bulletin of the B.O.C., No. clxiit., 
mentions that Mr. G. M. Mathews exhibited a new sub-species of 
Tree-creeper which had been collected by Mr. Tom Carter, who 
proposed to describe it as follows :—Climacteris obscura.—Differs 
from typical examples of C. rufa, Gould, in being very much 
darker in colour, both above and below. The bill is longer and 
more curved, and the measurement of the wing is less, being 
86 mm. In an example of C. rufa from Broome Hill the wing 
measures 93 mm. Habitat——Warren River, South-West Australia. 


Vol. X. 


aoe From Magazines, &c. 343 
Mr. Mathews also exhibited and described a new species of 
Ground-Bird, which he named Cuinclosoma alisteri. Habitat.— 


Western Australia. 
* * * 


DISTRIBUTION OF AUSTRALIAN LAND-BirpDs.—On this very 
fascinating subject Mr. Robert Hall, Col. M. B.O.U., has con- 
tributed a thoughtful paper to the Royal Society of Tasmania 
(read 8/8/10). Mr. Hall expresses the opinion that the Aus- 
tralian Passerine birds had their origin in the old Papuan 
sub-region, and distributed themselves down Cape York Penin- 
sula, some turning to the north-west, and others continuing 
southward to Victoria, then sheering west in lesser numbers of 
species ; but the westward extension does not join the north- 
west stream, because of the Great Desert barrier. For the same 
reason the water barrier of Bass Strait limited the southern flow 
into Tasmania. However, the present-day Parrot families do not 
lend themselves to these lines of expansion, a recent evolutionary 
centre appearing to have occurred in the great interior of the 
continent. Mr. Hall supports his views with comparative tables 
and many details concerning genera and areas, which are most 
interesting to follow for students concerned in geographical 
distribution. Want of space alone prevents Mr. Hall’s article 
being mentioned at greater length. 


* * * 


Curious NESTS.—Nearly all the native birds now and then 
build what may be called freak nests. Sometimes, for example, 
the Magpie (Gymunorhina) builds her nest actually on the ground, 
and sometimes she uses fencing-wire with which to construct 
the main edifice. I have just got a curious note, with reference 
to the present nesting season, regarding the Grallina picata or 
Mud-Lark. Two of their nests have been found built on an 
ordinary post-and-rail fence, where they were, of course, con- 
spicuous as well as curious objects. The district, however, is 
unsettled, although there is a certain amount of traffic along the 
roads. This is the first time that I have heard of the Grallina 
building its nest on a fence. Some time ago I referred to the 
habit which the Yellow-rumped Tit (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) has 
of building its nest beneath that of a Magpie. The Tit’s nest is 
joined on to the Magpie’s nest, and from a distance seems to be 
part of it. This season I found one Magpie’s nest underneath 
which were built no fewer than three Tits’ nests, all adjoining. 
The curious thing is that in no case which I have observed has 
the Magpie objected to this close companionship. On the other 
hand, the Magpie, apparently, encourages the practice, and acts 
as a protector to the little Tit. There is no doubt at all that the 
Tit could not very well have hit upon a safer situation in which 
to build her nest—“ F. R.,” Zhe Australasian, 24/12/10. 


: Emu 
344 From Magazines, &c. rst April 


DESTRUCTION OF PELICANS. — Under the caption, “ Pity the 
Pelican,” the following article was published in the Adelaide 
Evening Journal of oth February, 1911 :— 

“When Pelicans were removed from the protected list the 
Ornithologists’ Association expressed its strong disapproval and 
indignation that what amounted to the first step towards the 
destruction of this quaint Australian bird should have been taken. 
Led by Capt. S. A. White, every effort was made to induce the 
authorities to reconsider their cruel decision. The effect of the 
withdrawal from the protected list of the Pelican has now been 
brought home with dastardly force. The reason given for per- 
mission to destroy the bird was that it ate enormous quantities 
of fish, to the detriment of fishermen’s livelihood. Capt. White 
informed a reporter on Thursday morning that, from what he had 
heard from the Coorong, it appeared that blood-money was now 
being paid for Pelicans, and that so much a head was _ given. 
“Some scoundrels,’ he said, ‘allowed the whole rookery on 
Pelican Island to hatch, to the extent of 2,000 birds. The rookery 
has now been swept away, because somebody has secured the 
heads of the 2,000 fledglings. There are only two rookeries in 
South Australia, and this means that if wholesale destructions like 
the one so brutally perpetrated are repeated once or twice it 
practically amounts to the extermination of this remarkable bird. 
It is one of the most dastardly acts I have ever heard of, and the 
Ornithologists’ Association is going to take prompt action. The 
Pelican is a very timid bird, and is easily destroyed. We can 
prove that Pelicans do not consume the enormous quantities of 
fish they are alleged to do. The same thing has been said about 
Cormorants—that where they are fish decrease. It has been 
found that where Cormorants have been destroyed fish have 
diminished in number. In America they allowed the Pelicans to 
be almost exterminated; but about 3 or 4 years ago the authori- 
ties awoke to the fact that these birds were not injurious to the 
fishermen’s trade, and the authorities set to work to re-establish 
the birds. Only a few were found on an island on one of the 
rivers. This was proclaimed a bird sanctuary, and latest reports 
show they are multiplying most satisfactorily.’ ” 


** * * 


GAME PROTECTION IN THE UNITED STATES.—The United States 
Department of Agriculture Bureau of Biological Survey has issued 
a series of circulars dealing with game protection. Circular No. 72, 
“Private Game Preserves and their Future in the United States,” 
is of special interest to Australian ornithologists, in view of the 
number of landowners in the Commonwealth who have had their 
estates declared sanctuaries for wild life. Of course, the private 
game preserves in North America are formed primarily for owners’ 
exclusive enjoyment of the sport to be obtained within their 
boundaries, and “ opposition to them has frequently been mani- 


Vol. X. From Magazines, &c. 345 


IQTI 
fested in the form of hostile legislation ;’’ but these preserves 
“constitute a very important factor in modern game protection, 
and, as the country becomes more thickly settled, may become one 
of the chief means of preserving game for future generations.” 

Circular No. 71 deals with ‘“ National Bird and Mammal Reser- 
vations in Alaska.’”’ Seven reservations, it is stated, have been 
set aside and placed in charge of the Department of Agriculture. 
With one exception, the reservations comprise small islands at 
several points along the coast of Alaska and in Behring Sea. All 
the reservations are used as breeding places by sea birds, or Ducks 
and Geese. All the species are protected by the Alaska game law, 
and the birds on the reservation are protected by Act of Congress. 

Circular No. 73 is entitled ‘“‘ Progress of Game Protection in 
1909.’ The year in question, it is stated, was marked by a general 
awakening “‘in the movement for the increase of game, both in 
experiments in propagation and in the establishment of game 
refuges and private preserves. Several States made provision for 
the establishment of State preserves, or game farms.” Minnesota 
and Ontario set aside adjoining tracts, comprising altogether over 
2,000,000 acres. No fewer than 26 bird reservations, distributed 
in 14 States and Territories, were created in 1909, making the total 
51. Two reservations in Florida were enlarged during the year. 
On most of the reservations the birds bred successfully. Nearly 
half a million birds were imported into the United States during 
the year. Of this number 371,910 were Canaries. Of the re- 
maining hundred thousand, more than half were non-game birds, 
and 37,511 were game birds. 


* k * 


“THe AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE OF NEW SoutH WALEs.”’— 
This journal is still giving prominence to “ Insectivorous Birds 
of New South Wales.” Vol. xxii, part 3 (March), gives two 
excellent three-colour blocks (after Gould) — namely, Diamond- 
Bird (Pardalotus punctatus) and Shrike-Tit (Falcunculus frontatus), 
with appropriate letter-press. 

The same journal has an article, “On a New Genus of Aus- 
tralian Birds,” by A. J. North, Col. M. B.O.U., Ornithologist of 
the Australian Museum, Sydney. 

Mr. North’s own words are:—‘‘In December, rg10, Mr. 
Edwin Ashby, of ‘ Wittunga,’ Blackwood, South Australia, 
wrote to my private address and asked me to examine a skin of 
a bird he had sent to the Curator of the Australian Museum, and 
to pass an opinion on it. This I did, replying, “A new bird, 
possibly allied to Ephthianura. Early in February, rg11, I 
received from Mr. Ashby a printed ‘Description of a New 
Ephthianura’ (in galley form), in which he had described the 
specimen in question under the name of Ephthianura lovenstis, 
thus associating it with the name of its discoverer, Mr. J. R. B. 
Love ; but there is nothing in the description to indicate whether 


5 46 From Magazines, &c. ee ‘April 


it is a reprint from any publication.* Mr. Ashby hesitatingly 
referred it to the genus Ephthianura, and states it ‘may, after 
further investigation, exhibit generic differences.’ I beg to 
state emphatically that it is not an Ephthianura, and I have much 
pleasure in substituting for it the generic distinction of Ashbyia, 
thereby connecting with it the name of Mr. Edwin Ashby, who, 
for a number of years past, has been doing good work in Aus- 
tralian ornithology. 

‘“ ORDER.—PASSERES. 

“ Family.—TIMELIID. 

“ Sub-Family.—Timeliine. 

“ ASHBYIA, gen. nov. 

“ Generic characters.—Like Ephthianura, to which it is possibly allied, 
but it is easily distinguished from that genus by its larger and 
more robust bill, especially at the base, and its longer and 
more pointed wings. 

“ Type.—Ephihianura lovensis, Ashby. Habitat.—Leigh’s Creek, 
South Australia.”’ 


Reviews. 

[‘‘ Protected Native Birds of South Australia” : Special Bulletin, Department of 

Intelligence, South Australia. ] 
Tus bulletin, which was compiled by Mr. T. Duffield, secretary 
and intelligence officer, with introduction and descriptions by 
Mr. A. G. Edquist, lecturer in nature study to the Education 
Department, is a brochure of 30 pages, with a dozen coloured 
plates from drawings by Mr. C. Wall, Government artist. Both 
letter-press and illustrations are good, and the pamphlet should 
prove useful to young South Australians who are beginning to 
take an interest in the bird-life of their State. A copy of the 
Bulletin and two wall-plates of the illustrations have been sent 
to each school in South Australia for the help and guidance of 
teachers and scholars. It is hoped that they will foster a love 
of native birds and develop the spirit of protection in the young. 
In his introductory remarks Mr. Edquist says :—‘‘ Fortunately, 
we have in South Australia an ever-increasing number of bird 
observers, who regard bird protection not only from the point 
of view of the bird-lover, but also from that of the economist, and 
do all that les in their power to prevent the extinction of our 
most valuable birds; yet it is feared that, unless the importance 
of bird-life be made more widely known, the extermination of 
some of the species will become inevitable.” 

A list of protected species is given, and also one of those 
species which are not afforded protection by law. In the latter 
it is surprising to notice that Silver-eyes (Zosterops) are included. 
The statement that the plates in the Bulletin are good must be 

* Reprinted pages (251, 252) of Ze Emu, vol. x. Mr. North is correct in stating 


that the reprint should have shown its origin, but, in his official capacity, it was his 
business to ascertain the source of any such matter. —EDs, 


Viole 5 
ee Reviews. 347 


qualified in regard to the colouring of some of the figures, which 
is not quite satisfactory ; but with the process of reproduction 
used this was probably unavoidable. Perhaps the best plate is 
that depicting a pair of Spotted Bower-Birds (Chlamydodera 
maculata) and their bower. 


[‘‘ Foreign Birds for Cage and Aviary,” 2 vols., 4to, in cloth. Part I., ‘“‘ Smaller 
Foreign Birds,” post free, 6s. 4d. ; Part IL, ‘‘ Larger Foreign Birds,” post free, 
7s. 10d. The Feathered World Office, 9 Arundel-street, Strand, London, W.C.] 


No author having come forward to do similar work for British 
aviculturists to that performed by the late Dr. Karl Russ for 
their German brethren, Dr. A. G. Butler, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., 
decided to supply the long-felt need. He has kept and studied 
in captivity more than 200 species of foreign birds, and is there- 
fore eminently qualified to undertake a task of this kind. That 
Dr. Butler has succeeded admirably may be easily judged by an 
inspection of the work, which consists of two quarto volumes of 
closely-printed matter, describing about a thousand species of 
birds. 

In order to render the work instructive as well as useful to 
bird-keepers, Dr. Butler treats the relationships of the various 
families, indicating their structural peculiarities. He has devoted 
a considerable time to collating information respecting the wild 
life of the various species, which necessarily entailed much re- 
search, not to mention expense, on his part. 

The plan of this work has been carefully thought out—each 
family is first treated, every group follows in its natural order, 
each species is represented by its popular and scientific name, a 
careful description, the various habitats, an account of the wild 
life (when obtainable), and, lastly, observations on its behaviour 
and treatment in captivity. The text is interspersed with about 
140 illustrations, mostly from the pencil of Mr. A. F. Lydon, but 
a few by the author, and others reproduced from photographs, 
with a frontispiece in colours to each volume, the coloured plate 
to vol. ii. being an Australian bird—the little “ Budgerigar ” 
(Melopsittacus undulatus). However, the illustration represents 
the birds as being more yellowish than they usually seem in the 
open—the yellow is probably accounted for by in-breeding in 
captivity. Another interesting and artistic plate is “‘ A Group of 
Cockatoos,”” while many other Australian birds are figured. 

In their proper places, the following groups or species of Aus- 
tralian birds are treated comprehensively :— 

Vol. I. —Spotted Pardalote (P. punctatus), called ‘ Panther- 
Bird” ; Honey-eaters (Meliphagide), Grass-Finches, &c., Ground- 
Thrushes (Geocichla), Pied Grallina (G. ficata), White-eyes 
(Zosterops), and Wood-Swallows (Artamide). Vol. II. — Bee- 
eater (Merops), Bower-Birds (Ptilonorhynchide), Cockatoos 
(Cacatuwide), Crow-like birds (Corvide)—including Strepera, Mag- 


Emu 


348 Reviews. lai April 


pies, and Butcher-Birds, and even the unique White-winged 
Chough (Corcorax)—Kingfishers (Alcedinid@), Lorikeets, Birds-of- 
Paradise (Paradiseide), and the numerous and glorious families of 
Parrakeets, Pigeons, and Pittas. 

Dr. Butler, in his letter-press, has liberally quoted from Aus- 
tralian authors and ornithologists, and has as liberally made due 
acknowledgment of the same, much to the credit and value of 
his work. 

Every bird-lover, whether field observer or aviculturist, should 
possess Dr. Butler’s pair of well-got-up volumes. Perhaps avi- 
culturists should be ranked first, because the author himself 
forcibly writes :—‘‘ Bird-life can only be partially studied by the 
field naturalist, owing to the skulking nature of many birds and 
their amazing cunning in not only concealing their nests but in 
enticing the investigator from the neighbourhood of the same. Of 
such birds the habits can only be studied in aviaries; and any 
seeker after self-advertisement who strives to prevent such a 
means of acquiring knowledge is an offender both against God 
and man, and deserving of the severest punishment.” 

Mrs. Comyns-Lewer, editor of The Feathered World, has been 
so good as to send, for the library of the R.A.O.U., Dr. Butler’s 
two valuable books ; but those members desiring copies for them- 
selves, especially at such moderate cost, will do well to apply 
to the London office, at the address given above. 


[‘‘ An Australian Bird Book’”’ (Introduction by F. Tate, M.A., I.S.0O., 
Director of Education, Victoria), by J. A. Leach, M.Sc., First Class 
Honourman and University Exhibitioner in Geology and Biology, University 
Scholar in Biology, Organizing Inspector of Nature Study (Education 
Department), Member of Council of R.A.O.U., Vice-President Field 
Naturalists’ Club of Victoria. Published by arrangement with the Education 
Department. Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, Christchurch and Melbourne. 


IQII.| 


CONNOISSEURS never judge by size. Art and excellence may be 
found in small pictures as well as in pictures great in size; so in 
the case of the little volume—‘‘a pocket book for field use ’’— 
at present under review. Its small size by no means limits its 
usefulness, nor are its small illustrations of less value than the 
classical plates of Gould and others. This little “ bird book”’ is 
probably the best of its kind extant—a compendium of orni- 
thology, showing Australian birds in their proper setting and 
treatment among the birds of the world. 

Mr. Leach follows the system of classification laid down in 
the late Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe’s “‘ Handlist of Birds,” which 
commences with the lowest forms of avifauna (Emu, &c.), building 
up to the highest (Bower-Birds, &c.) Australia thus possesses 
both top species and bottom. The comparative reference of 
figures and letters with each family and species in Mr. Leach’s 


Volk. “X. 
pee Reviews. 349 


work may at first sight be confusing to students, but the ex- 
planatory ‘‘ Notes”’ after the preface will make the connections 
clear, thus :— 


“Where one number is placed over another at the left side of the 
page, the lower number denotes the number of species of that genus 
found in the world ; the upper denotes the number of species found 
in Australia and Tasmania. The number at the right side of the 
page is the length of the bird in inches (from the tip of bill to the tip 
of tail). The families are numbered consecutively—F. 11, F. 12, and 
so on. The number after a family name denotes the number of 
species recorded from Australia and Tasmania. The distribution of 
the species of each family amongst the six zoo-geographical regions 
is also shown :— 


“FF 17. COLUMBIDZ: (2), WOOD PIGEONS, Passenger-Pigeon, 
Rock-Dove, 119 sp.—41 (40) A., 25 (17) O., 18 (10) P., 
TON). AO)ING 249(z0) NI- 

“This should read :— Family number 17 of the world’s birds, 
COLUMBID (two of which are found in Australia and Tasmania) 
contains the Wood-Pigeons, including the Passenger-Pigeon of North 
America and the Rock-Dove of Europe. It comprises 119 species, 
of which 41 are found in the Australian region, 40 of them being con- 
fined to this region ; 25 are found in the Oriental Region, 17 being 
confined to it; 18 are found in the Palearctic Region, 10 of which 
are not found outside the region; 19 have been recorded from the 
Ethiopian Region, 17 being peculiar to that Region; 4 have been 
recorded from the Nearctic Region, none of which is restricted to the 
region ; 24 have been recorded from the Neotropical Region, 20 being 
peculiar to it.” 


The accepted vernacular name of the species in bold type 
readily catches the eye; synonymous vernaculars—many of them 
trivial, however—are given less conspicuously in brackets. Then 
follow the technical name, distribution, chief points or marks of 
plumage, and size, for identification, food, &c. No reference is made 
to nests and eggs, which are designedly omitted, in case school- 
boys and scouts should be tempted to lay up treasures of eggs.* 

irustedd: Sol the, usual ‘“ Remarks’ or °“ Observations.” vai 
“Popular Lecture,’’+ runs through the work, which, in a clever 
manner, fits the pages where the particular order or families of 


* It is a matter of history that nearly all famous ornithologists were egg-collectors 
in their youthful days. It is feared that, from his wonted enthusiasm, Inspector 
Leach is no exception to the rule.—A. J. C. j 

+ Victorian Naturalist, vol. xxvii., No. 8. Lecture subsequently delivered at 
Brisbane (Amz, vol. x., p. 176) is amplified and brought up to date. Here is one 
interesting amplification :—‘‘It is interesting to note that Australia contains repre- 
sentatives of twenty-eight families of Song-Birds. Representatives of but nineteen 
families have been recorded from Britain. The Indian Empire, including Burmah 
and Ceylon, contains representatives of twenty-two families, North America, also, of 
twenty-two families, while in South America twenty-three families are represented in 
this highest division of birds. Again, while only 89 Song- Birds have been recorded 
as permanent residents of, or regular visitors to, Britain, almost 500 species of Song- 
Birds have, so far, been recorded from Australia and Tasmania. Of these, 157 have 
been recorded from Victoria, and are illustrated in this volume. And yet we are 
told this is a land of songless birds.” 


Emu 
ist April 


350 Reviews: 
birds are considered. Thus, the heavier or more technical matter 
is agreeably sandwiched with racy and interesting non-scientific 
writing which captivates the reader. 

Photography is fast establishing itself as an indispensable hand- 
maiden to the sciences. Illustrations (set in groups, and most 
excellently engraved in half-tone) are given of over 400 Aus- 
tralian birds, while 20 “ tricoloured’”’ blocks depict 177 species 
in natural colours—a complete triumph in photo-mechanical skill 
by the etchers, Messrs. Patterson, Shugg and Co., from paintings 
by Miss Ethel M. Paterson. The only drawback noticed is that 
the birds appear stuffed and mounted—none the less valuable as 
illustrations than skins and mummies in an ornithologist’s cabinet 
or museum. 

How this ornithological compendium, or ‘“ Australian Birds in 
a Nutshell,’ was written and published for 3s. 6d. is marvellous. 
Its author and his enterprising publishers have indeed given to the 
world a unique book. Australians especially will be greatly 
indebted to Mr. Leach for his untiring labours, and to the long- 
sightedness of his department in sanctioning the publication of 
such a useful “ bird book,” the just reward of which must surely 
be many editions. 


South Australian Ornithological Association. 


Tue usual monthly meeting was held at Dr. Pulleine’s rooms, North- 
terrace, on Thursday evening, 2nd March, when Capt. S. A. White 
presided. There was a large attendance. The secretary (Mr. J. W. 
Mellor) reported having liberated Mallee-Fowl on Kangaroo Island, 
and stated that he had examined the country composing the reserve 
on the west end of the island. He found it very sterile and rough, 
and quite unfit for grazing, much less agriculture. The Government 
should extend the area of the reserve. Votes of thanks were passed 
to the Marine Board for having conveyed the birds to Kangaroo 
Island, and to the lighthouse officials for their assistance. The good 
service rendered by Mr. Mellor for his care of the birds was much 
appreciated. Dr. Morgan stated that sufficient money had been 
promised to procure another batch of Mallee-Fowl. The subject of 
the Pelican was discussed, and it was agreed to invite other scientific 
bodies to send representatives to wait upon the Government, re- 
questing that the bird be placed upon the partially protected list, 
at least. All deeply deplored the wretched slaughter of young 
Pelicans on the Coorong. Mr. Robert Zietz was of opinion that the 
Australian Crane, or Native Companion, should be protected, as it 
was becoming very scarce. Mr. Edquist, of the Education Depart- 
ment, reported that 116 bird clubs had been established in conjunction 
with the schools, and the roll showed over 4,000 members, who had 
pledged themselves to protect our native birds. He also stated that 
he wished to start a competition in the schools for the best essays 
on birds. He would like to have a silver cup to be competed for as 
first prize. A subscription list was started, and the money required 
was raised in the room. 


Vol. X. Ornithological Field Research: Sor 


IQII 


Ornithological Field Research. 


THE Western Australian scientific expedition, under Mr. C. P. 
Conigrave, F.R.G.S. (late of the Perth Museum, and a member of 
the R.A.O.U.), is to spend six months exploring new country in the 
Kimberley district, accompanied by Mr. Lachlan Burns, as naturalist. 
Mr. Conigrave leaves Perth 27th March for Wyndham, where he 
will add two white men and some native boys to the party, which 
proceeds south from Wyndham, crosses the head of Cambridge Gulf, 
goes west to Pentecost River, and then circles north into unexplored 
tracts. The Government of Western Australia supplies scientific 
instruments and part of the equipment. The expedition’s journal 
and botanical and geological collections will be handed to the 
Survey Department. It is expected that zoological collections will 
reimburse expenses, and that Mr. Conigrave’s field observations 
on birds will be published in The Emu. Mr. Gregory M. Mathews 
is to secure the bird-skins to aid him in his new work, ‘* The Birds 
of Australia.” Members of the R.A.O.U. will therefore await the 
result of Mr. Conigrave’s adventurous expedition with unusual 
interest. They will also commend the wisdom of the State Premier 
(the Hon. Frank Wilson) for endorsing the recommendations of his 
responsible officers in granting Mr. Conigrave monetary assistance, 
thus placing the expedition on a sure footing. The expedition 
will consist of six whites, incluaing an experienced police trooper 
and Mr. Roy Collison, of Adelaide, who joins at the last moment, 
which should be strong enough to cope with any “ brush” from 
hostile aborigines. 


Notes and Notices. 


REED-WARBLERS IN TASMANIA.—Mr. Robert Legge writes to 
state that this summer Reed-Warblers (Acrocephalus australis) 
were visitors to the reed-beds on the river at Cullenswood—the 
first time in that locality, so far as he is aware. 


COLOURED FIGURE Funpb.— Acknowledgment was  uninten- 
tionally omitted to be given to Mr. Gregory M. Mathews for his 
goodness in defraying half the cost of the fine coloured plate (B) 
in The Emu, vol. viii., p. 113. Mr. Mathews has also defrayed 
half the cost of the coloured plate (C) in this present volume. 
With the discovery recently of so many new Australian birds, 
will other enthusiasts emulate Mr. Mathews’ good example ? 


Ecc CoLLectTinGc.—At a meeting of the British Ornithologists’ 
Club held roth October, 1gto, the following resolution was carried 
almost unanimously :—‘‘ That this meeting strongly disapproves 
of the collecting and exhibiting of large series of clutches of eggs 
of British-breeding birds, or of British-taken eggs of our rare 
breeding species, except for the purpose of demonstrating some new 
scientific fact.” 


352 Notes and Notices. Pear 

Birps AND Poison Baits.—In February, 1910, the Bird 
Observers’ Club (Melbourne) discussed the subject of the harm 
alleged to be done to native bird-life through the system of 
poisoning rabbits with baits, and it was decided to bring the 
matter under the notice of the Victorian Department of Agri- 
culture. This was done, and subsequently the hon. secretary of 
the Club received from the Secretary of the Department, Mr. E. G. 
Duffus, a copy of a report from Mr. F. E. Allan, Chief Inspector 
of Vermin. In a letter accompanying the report (a copy of which 
was also received), Mr. Allan stated that he had not heard of the 
death of any insectivorous birds since May, 1gog (the date of the 
report). He considered the scare to be quite unwarranted, and the 
statement that “ thousands of useful birds are destroyed annually ”’ 
as greatly exaggerated, if not without foundation. But, even if 
the grain caused the death of a few birds, the poisoning of rabbits 
must proceed. In his report Mr. Allan states that the system of 
poisoning with apples destroys very few birds, and certainly still 
fewer valuable ones. A few Magpies and Crows fall victims. 
Grain destroys more birds than fruit does, “and it is my desire 
to make the latter take the place of the former as much as possible.”’ 

The Bird Observers’ Club, after discussing the matter again in 
the light of these statements by the Chief Inspector of Vermin, 
decided to take no further action; but since then evidence has 
been accumulating, and competent observers, as well as orchardists 
and farmers, are at variance with Mr. Allan in the view he takes 
of the matter. Writing from Mansfield, a member of the Gould 
League of Bird-Lovers states that large numbers of birds are 
being destroyed by poison laid for rabbits. An orchardist at 
White Hills says that ‘“‘something should be done to stop the 
killing of birds by rabbit poison.’ At meetings of the Bird 
Observers’ Club it has been stated that the present system of 
poisoning rabbits is undoubtedly inimical to the bird-life of the 
Commonwealth. 


ARTICLES, &C., RECEIVED.—The following articles and notes 
from members have been received, but are unavoidably held 
over :—“‘ Birds Noted at Wyroona and St. Heliers”’ (Mr. Isaac 
Batey), ‘““Some Mallee Birds”’ (Mr. A. M. Sullivan), “ Trip to the 
Tunnel District, Tasmania’’ (Mr. P. C. Thompson), “‘ Nesting of 
the Red Wattle-Bird, &c.’’ (Mr. H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S.), ““ Descrip- 
tions and Dimensions of Eggs” (Mr. P. A. Gilbert, Sydney), 
“Notes on Honey-eaters’”’ (Miss J. A. Fletcher), ‘‘ Birds of the 
Bush” (Mr. J. C. M‘Lean, M.B.O.U., New Zealand), “ When did 
the White-eye (Zosterops) Migrate to New Zealand ?”’ (Mr. A. H. 
Chisholm), ‘* Birds of Lake Boga District ’’ (Alex. Stone), “‘ Liberat- 
ing Mallee-Fowl on Kangaroo Island’ (J. W. Mellor), ‘* Nesting of 
Psephotus hematonotus in Captivity’ (Mrs. A. F. U. Hardy). 


Vol. X. Publications Received. 353 


IQIL 


Publications Received. 


Agricultural Journal of N.S.W., The, April to December, r9I0, 
and January and February, tort. 

Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institute, 1909. 

Arbor and Bird Day : Supplement to Education Gazette. 

Auk, The, January, April, July, and October, 1910; January, 
IQIl. 

Australian Naturalist, April, July, 1oro. 

Avicultural Magazine, January-December, tg10 ; January, IQII. 

Banfield, E. J]., The Confessions of a Beachcomber. 

Bird Lore, January-April and November—December, 19009 ; 
March—October, November—December, 1910. 

Bud News, January-April, 1909. 

British Birds, March and April, 1909, February—December, 1910 ; 
January, IgIt. 

Buckland, James, The Birds of Our Colonies and their Pro- 
tection. 

Bulletin of the B.O.U., XXVI., October, r1gro. 

Butler, A. G., Ph.D., F.L.S., Foreign Birds for Cage and Aviary, 
Parts I-II. 

Chisholm, A. H., Save the Birds. 

Clarke, Austin, The Birds Collected and Observed during the 
Cruise of the Steamer of the United States Fisheries. 

Condor, January, February, Igto. 

Coward, T. A., The Fauna of Cheshire, Vols. I. and II. 

Geelong Naturalist, September, Igto. 

Gladstone, H. S., The Birds of Dumfries-shire. 

Haagner, Alwin, F.Z.S., The South African Birds of Prey. 

Hall, R., The Educational Value of Museum Collections. 

Hawkesbury College Agricultural Journal, to date. 

Hull, A. F. Basset, Further Notes on the Birds of Lord Howe 
and Norfolk Islands. 

Ibis, The, April, July, and October, r1gto. 

Iredale, Tom, Additional Notes on the Birds of Lord Howe and 
Norfolk Islands. 

Journal South Ajrican O. Union, IV., No. 3; V., Nos. rand 3; 
Viw Not 1. 

Jouy, P. L., The Paradise Flycatchers of Japan and Korea. 

La Revue du Mois, Tomes V. and VI. 

Littler, Frank, F.E.S., The Birds of Tasmania. 

Macgillivray and Thomson, Life of William Macgillivray. 

Mattingley, A. H. E., C.M.Z.S., Some Points of Similarity of 
Birds and Fishes. 


Emu 


4 thlicatt f i 
54 Publications Received. rst April 


=) 

Mearns, E. A., A List of Birds Collected by Dr. P. Bartsch in 
the Philippine Islands. 

Memoirs of the National Museum, Melbourne, No. 3. 

National Association of Audubon Societies, The. Leaflets 19, 
35, and 39-44. 

National Parks Association, 1909. 

Ornithologischen Gesellschaft in Bayern, 1908. 

Ornithologisches Jahrbuch, April, 1909, and April and October, 
IQIo. 

Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 1908 
and 1909. 

Parkin, Thomas, An Account of the Shooting Decoy in the 
Parishes of Beckley and Peasmarsh, Sussex. 

Parkin, Thomas, Beauport, near Battle, and its Rookery. 

Proceedings Linnean Society of N.S.W. for the year IgIo. 

Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 
1909. 

Producers’ Review of Western Australia. 


Ray, Milton S. (California), Discovery of Nest and Eggs of the 
Gray-crowned Leucosticte. 

Records of the Western Australian Museum and Art Gallery. 

Review, A, of Mining Operations in the State of South Australia, 
Nos.) 9,7 irs ar: 

Revision, A, of the Kingfisher Genus Ramphalcyon. 

The Children’s Hour : Bird Day numbers, IgIo. 

The Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand, Vols. I. and II. 

Ticehurst, N. F., A History of the Birds of Kent. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture Publications :—Game Laws for 
1910. Directory of Officials Concerned with the Protection of 
Birds and Game, 1910. Private Game Preserves and their Future 
in the United States. Legislation for the Protection of Birds, by 
T. S. Palmer. Progress of Game Protection in 1go9. Introduc- 
tion of the Hungarian Partridge into the United States. National 
Bird and Mammal Reservations in Alaska. 


Victorian Naturalist, The, to date. 
Zoologica, I., Nos. 2-6. 
Zoologist, The, January, Igro. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XL, 


His Majesty KING GEORGE V. 
(Co-Patron R.A.O.U.) 


FROM A PHOTO. BY W. AND D. DOWNEY, LONDON, S.W. 


THE Emu, Vol. X. 


PLATE XLI. 


Her Majesty QUEEN Mary 
(Co-Patron R.A.O.U.) 


FROM A PHOTO. BY W. AND D. DOWNEY, LONDON, S.W 


Vol. X. 
IQII 


| Members of Royal Australasian Oynithologists’ Union. 355 


List of Members of the Royal Australasian 
Ornithologists’ Union. 


The notification of any correction, omission, or change of address will be esteemed 
a favour by the Honorary Secretary. 


VICTORIA. 


1902 ARMSTRONG, W. J. T., Hexham Park, Hexham. 

1904 ANDERSON, Major, 14 Armstrong-street, Ballarat. 

1904 AvusTIN, E. G., “ Borri Yalloak,’’ Skipton. 

1901 Barrett, CHAS. L., Herald Office, Melbourne. 

1902 BRYANT, Dr. H. W., Collins-street, Melbourne. 

1908 BaTeEy, Isaac, Drouin. 

1909 BUCKLAND, LEONARD, Solicitor, Camperdown. 

1909 Barr, J., c/o Mt. Lyell Mining Co., Queen-street, Melbourne. 

1910 BELL, TuHos., State School, Antwerp. 

1910 Brew, HEnry, “‘ Dytiscus,’’ 321 Lyons-street, Ballarat. 

1910 BARRETT, Dr. J. W., Collins-street, Melbourne. 

1901 CAMPBELL, A. J., C.M.B.O.U., 10 Elm-grove, Armadale. 

1901 CAMPBELL, A. G., Pomonal, via Stawell. 

1901 CHENERY, Dr. A., Sale. 

1905 Curator, The, Public Museum, Warrnambool. 

1906 CORNFORD, W. H., “ Tuerong,’’ Mornington. 

ro06 Coon, L. €., ~ Holbrook,” Poowong. 

1907 CHisHoLM, A. H., Maryborough. 

1908 CHRISTIAN, E. J., ‘‘ Wingi Park,” Milloo P.O., via Prairie. 

1909 CoLeE, C. F., 28 Currajong-road, Auburn. 

1910 CHANDLER, L. G., 56 Dixon-street, Malvern. 

1910. CRAWLEY, Rorr, Canterbury-road, Warrnambool. 

1got<, DE Lirtre, E. P.:, Caramut. 

1902 Dennis, G. L., “‘ Eeyeuk,’ Kolora. 

1906 DeENNIis, R. V., Warncoort. 

1907. DeaseEy, D., ‘ Hollins,’ Glenhuntly-road, Elsternwick. 

1908 Dove, H. Sruart, F.Z.S., “Ocean View,’ Cunninghame. 

1909 Dyer, G. A., 21 Kneen-street, North Fitzroy. 

1910 D’Arton, St. ELroy, Shire Engineer, Dimboola. 

1908 Forp, H. W., F.G.S., 9 Freeman-street, North Fitzroy. 

1910 Fisheries and Game, Department of (MAJOR SEMMENS, Chief 
Inspector), Melbourne. 

1901 GRAHAM, G., Scott’s Creek, Cobden. 

1905 Gray, Z., ‘‘ Gambonia,’’ 190 Bridport-street, South Melbourne. 

1906 GREENWAY, J., Mansfield. 

1908 GriImMwaDE, E. RussELlL, c/o Felton, Grimwade and Co., Mel- 
bourne. 

1908 GIBSON-CARMICHAEL, His Excellency Sir THos., Bart., 
K.C.M.G., State Government House, Melbourne. 

1909 GoprFRey, R., 70 Avoca-street, South Yarra. 

1901 Hoop, R. A. D., ‘“‘ Merrang,’ Hexham. 

1901 HeEppinc, J. W., ‘‘ Toowong,’ Wentworth-avenue, Balwyn: 

1901 HutcuHinson, Mrs. F. H., Tallangatta. 

1901 HALL, Jas., Solicitor, 17 Queen-street, Melbourne. 


356 


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1909 
1908 


Members of Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. esa 
HILL, JosErH A., “‘ Pine Rise,’’ Kewell, via Murtoa. 
Harpy, Mrs. A. D., “ Yarralangi,’’ Studley-avenue, Kew. 


Hore, Dr. W. W., Colac. 

Horne, Dr. G., 59 Heidelberg-road, Clifton Hill. 

Howarp, Miss, Bridge Hotel, Mordialloc. 

Howe, FRANK, F.Z.S., 263 Park-street, South Melbourne. 

Hitt, GERALD F., 305 Dandenong-road, Windsor. 

HUTCHINSON, REGINALD, Raglan-parade, Warrnambool. 

INGLE, P., “ Inglenook,”’ Rosedale. 

IsRAEL, Mrs. J. W., Sackville-street, Kew. 

KENDALL, H., Melbourne Veterinary College, Brunswick- 
street, Fitzroy. 


1901-3 | KersHaw, J. A., F.E.S., c/o National Museum, Russell-street, 


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f Melbourne. 

Linton, A. F., “ Brenda,’’ Maffra. 

LE SouEr, D., C.M.Z.S., Parkville. 

Linpsay, Mrs. JAMES, “‘ Quamby,’’ Woolsthorpe. 

Librarian, Library of Commonwealth, Melbourne. 

LeacH, J. A., M.Se., “ Eyrecourt,” Canterbury. 

LAWFORD, W., Benalla. 

Lone, Dr. W. J., ‘‘ Kent House,’’ 121 Wattle-street, Bendigo. 

MattTincteEy, A. H. E., C.M.Z.S., ‘‘ Koonwarra,” Barrington- 
avenue, Kew. 

MANIFOLD, W. T., “‘ Purrumbete,’’ Weerite. 

Mac ean, C. W., C.E., “ Bronte,’’ Strand, Williamstown. 

Mann, S. F., “ Lawrenny,’” Caramut. 

Morrison, Scott, c/o Walker, May and Co., Mackillop-street, 
Melbourne. 

M‘LENNAN, J. P., 34 The Parade, Ascot Vale. 

NICHOLLS, E. Brooxe, Victoria-street, North Melbourne. 

O’SHANNASSEY, P. L. C., Police Station, Cunninghame. 

PIKE, Miss A., “‘ Woorara,’” 639 Burwood-road, Upper Haw- 
thorn. 

Peck, H. H., 3 St. James’s Buildings, William-street, Mel- 
bourne. 

PETHERICK, E. A., F.L.S., 254 Albert-street, East Melbourne. 

QuInEY, H., Mortlake. 

Ryan, Dr. CuHas., 37 Collins-street, Melbourne. 

Ross, J. A., Crown Solicitor’s Office, Lonsdale-street, Mel- 
bourne. 

ROSENHAIN, O., 17 Robe-street, St. Kilda. 

ROSENHAIN, R. O., 17 Robe-street, St. Kilda. 


Simson, Mrs. J., “‘ Trawalla,”’ Toorak. 
SHEPHERD, G. E., ‘‘ Malurus,’’ Somerville. 
SmitH, A. J., Port Albert. 

SMITH, J. V., ‘‘ Bundoora Park,’ Preston. 


STEPHEN, W. J., 32 Robinson-road, Auburn. 
SMITH, FRANK S., Noorat. 
Sutton, Dr., Rathdown-street, Carlton. 
Scott, ANDREW, Elmore. 


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| Members of Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 357, 


SULLIVAN, A. M., Neill-street, Maryborough. 

SHONE Av C., Sale: 

TOWNSEND, 5S. P., “‘ Garrycloyne,’’ Mornington. 

TINDALE, T., “‘ Lowlands,” Apollo Bay. 

TuHompson, Dr., Violet Town. 

TuRNER, Miss E. J., Domain-road, South Yarra. 

detomrson, Jj M:, “ Bare: Park,’” Cohuna, P.O: 

VROLAND, A. W. R., State School, Princes Hill, North Carlton. 

Wituiams, W. D. C., Surgeon-General, Victoria Barracks, St. 
Kilda-road. 

Witson, H. W., Teachers’ Training College, University Grounds, 
Carlton. 

WILson, C. W., Scott’s Hotel, Melbourne. 

WILDES, FRANK, Lang Lang. 

Witson, F. E., 78 Albert-street, East Melbourne. 

YounG, W., “ Drumrossie,’ Winton North. 


NEW SOULE) WALES: 


Austin, Tuos. P., Cobborah Station, Cobborah. 

ANGUS AND ROBERTSON, 89 Castlereagh-street, Sydney. 

BRENNAN, J., Public School, Cessnock. 

BurRRELL, H., ‘‘ La Mascotte,’ Manilla. 

BuRRELL, Mrs., ‘“‘ La Mascotte,” Manilla. 

CLELAND, Dr. J. Burton, Bureau of Microbiology, Macquarie- 
street, Sydney. 

Cotes, CLIFFORD, Victoria Arcade, Castlereagh-street, Sydney. 

CAMPBELL, A. J., Schoolmaster, Bowning 

CHARLTON, HERBERT C., 157 Macquarie-street, Sydney. 

CHISHOLM, Dr. E. CLAUDE, Riverstone. 

D’OmprRaIN, Dr. E., 205 Macquarie-street, Sydney. 

DogpByn, Dr. E. H., Broken Hill. 

EGcER, Max, Jerilderie. 

FEerRGuSON, Dr. E. W., Hospital, Sydney. 

Fry, D. B., Australian Museum, Sydney. 

Gray, JoHN E., Kentucky, vza Cowra. 

GILBERT, P., 9 Forbes-street, Redfern. 

GUBANZzI, CHas., Box 57, Wagga Wagga (Sandy Creek, near 
Uranquinty). 

Hurst, Dr. G., ‘“ Viwa,” Burlington-road, Homebush. 

Hore, A. F. Basset, Box 704, G.P.O., Sydney. 

HiInpER, Dr. H. CritcHiEy, “Carleton,” Liverpool-road, 
Summer Hill. 

Jackson, S. W., Gordon-road, Chatswood. 

KEENE, H., 23 Tupper-street, Marrickville. 

ane. sb, ~~ Wlanello,”’ Orange. 

Librarian, Australian Museum, Sydney. 

LE Sour, A. S., C.M.Z.S., Director Zoological Gardens, Sydney. 

MacGILiivray, Dr., Broken Hill. 

M‘Lennan, W., Fire Station, Blende-street, Broken Hill. 

Peir, P., Box 504, G.P.O., Sydney. 


358 


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Members of Rovai Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. [se ee 


PRENTICE, A. J., West Maitland. 

ROBINSON, SEP., Piper-street, Bathurst. 

SAVIDGE, GEO., “‘ Copmanhurst,’’ Clarence River. 
SHERRIE, W., Advertiser Office, Best-street, Wagga Wagga. 
Tuomas, Dr. Bowen, Ashfield. 

Waite, H. L., Belltrees Station, Scone. 

Waite, Master A. H., Belltrees Station, Scone. 

WENz, PauL, Nannama Station, via Forbes. 


QUEENSLAND. 
BARNARD, H. G., “ Binbi,’’ Duaringa, via Rockhampton. 
BARNARD, C. A., ‘‘Coomooboolaroo,’’ Duaringa, via Rock- 


hampton. 
BARNARD, E. D., c/o G. W. Barnard, ‘“‘ Kurrajong,’’ Koonigal, 
via Gladstone. 
BERNEY, F. L., “‘ Sylvania,’ Boree; 
BANFIELD, E. J., Brammo Bay, Dunk Island, via Townsville. 
CorNWALL, E. M., Mackay. 
CoLEMAN, W., Atherton, vza Cairns. 
CRUISE, RICHARD, Toowoomba. 
Cook, C., jun., Bundaberg. 
CaRGEEG, Miss S., Girls’ High School, Ivanhoe, Toowoomba. 
CHIPPENDALE, A. H., Bourbon-street, Bundaberg. 
DE Vis, C. W., M.A., Agricultural Society, Brisbane. 
Dopp, FrREDK. P., Kuranda, via Cairns. 
DornNBuscH, C. G., Warwick. 
Douatas, A. S., Cooroy, Blackall Ranges. 
Even, D. R., Dentist, Brisbane. 
Forp, F. B. CAMPBELL, Staff Surveyor, Lands Office, Brisbane. 
GULLIVER, T., Postmaster, Townsville. 
Harvey, W. G., Glen Orkney, Mackay. 
Harris, Wm., Forest Gate, Toowoomba. 
HurwortH, Dr., Dentist, Edward-street, Brisbane. 
HocartH, Miss A. C., ‘‘ Kerrielaw,’”’ Toowoomba. 
Harris, Dr. Hamriyn, F.Z.S., &c., Director, Museum, Brisbane 
JARDINE, B., Somerset. 
Jounston, Major Jas., State School, Bundaberg. 
JopreL, Miss Apa, Innisfail, Johnston River, N.Q. 
LAMBERT, C. A., Warwick. 
M‘CuLraGcH, F., “ Goondi,’ Geraldton. 
M‘ItwraitH, WmM., Morning Bulletin Office, East-street, Rock- 


hampton. 

MACGREGOR, SIR Wm., G.C.M.G., C.B., Government House, 
Brisbane. 

MusGRAVE, Hon. ANtTHoNy, C.M.G., Government House, 
Brisbane. 


MAYNARD, LEwis H., Bundaberg. 
M*‘LEan, J. A., Box 51, P1O., Mackay. 
NIELSON, Henry, Alfred-street, Mackay. 


Val. X. 


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| Members of Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 359 


Netson, A. H., Secretary, Brisbane School of Arts, Ann-street, 


Brisbane. 

PricE, Dr. Tuos. ArtTHuR, ‘‘Ceeumbi,” Herries-street, 
Toowoomba. 

PRice, HEcTorR Eustace; ‘“‘ Ceeumbi.” Herries-street, 
Toowoomba. 


PARKER, A., Edward-street, Brisbane. 

PEars, P. W., Police Magistrate, Warwick. 

SMEDLEY, JoHN H., Homestead R.S., Northern Railway. 

SCRYMGEOUR, Jas. T., ‘“‘ Callendoon,’”’ Goondiwindi. 

Rog, Recrnacp, M.A., Inspector-General of Schools, Brisbane. 

Tryon, H., c/o Department Agriculture, Brisbane. 

WHITE, J. N., Bundaberg. 

YounG, ARNOLD, “ Fairymead,’”’ Bundaberg. 

Younc, Mrs. Horace, “ Fairymead,”’ Bundaberg (temporary 
address, Commercial Banking Company, 18 Birchen- 
lane, London, E.C.) 


SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 


AsHBY, Epwin, Wittunga, Blackwood. 

ANGOVE, DR. W. V., Tea-tree Gully 

CrarK, M. Symonps, 15 Australasia Chambers, King William- 
street, Adelaide. 

CROMPTON, ALFRED, Charles-street, Norwood. 

CROMPTON, Rost., Gawler-place, Adelaide. 

Epguist, A. G., Nature Study Instructor, Education Depart- 
ment, Adelaide. 

ELKAN, E., “‘ Unsere Heimath,” Semaphore. 

GriFFiTH, H. H., 61 Hurtle-square, Adelaide. 

HoskING, J. W., 82a Parade, Norwood. 

MELLor, J. W..,. ‘“‘ Holmfirth,” Fulham. 

MincuIN, A. C., Director, Zoological Gardens, Adelaide. 

Morcan, Dr. A. M., 46 North-terrace, Adelaide. 

Mertor, Mrs. J. FB... ““ Hohnfirth,” Fulham. 

Martin, R. H., William-street, Norwood. 

Wacom ui: i Py c/o Clarke: and! Co; Grenfell-street, 
Adelaide. 

PULLEINE, Dr., North-terrace, Adelaide 

RawE, ALBERT, Kalangadoo. 

SANDERSON, Miss H. L., “ Killingworth,” Strangways-terrace, 
North Adelaide. 

STOKES, S. S., Stephen-terrace, Walkerville. 


Waite, Captain S. A., “‘ Wetunga,’”’ Fulham. 
Way, Sir S., Bart., Chief Justice, Chief Justice’s Chambers, 
Adelaide. 


WuitTincton, E., The Register Office, Adelaide. 


“WHITE, Mrs. S. A., “‘ Wetunga,” Fulham. 


Zirtz, A. H. C., C.M.Z.S., Natural History Museum, Adelaide. 
ZiETz, F. Rosr., Natural History Museum, Adelaide. 


360 


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Members of Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. (eneel 


WESTERN AUSTRALIA: 


BairD, Patrick D., Head Light-keeper, Cape Naturaliste. 

Burns, LACHLAN, Catherine-street, Subiaco. 

CarTER, T., M.B.O.U., Broome Hill, Wensleydale, Great 
Southern Railway. 

CaLpDER, F. K., Merchant, Fremantle. 

CONIGRAVE, C. P., F.R.G.S., c/o Agricultural Department, Perth. 

Gites, H. M., South Perth Zoological Gardens. 

Gipson, Cuas. G., Geological Survey Office, Perth. 

HasseELL, E. A., Warrup, via Cape Riche, Albany. 

HorpTEN, C. H. von DER, E. Ex. A. and China Telegraph Co., 
Broome. 

Le ‘Sovpn i, Southererth. 

Le Souer, E. A., Director, Zoological Gardens, Perth. 

LEAKE, B. W., Cardonia, Woolundra. 

Orton, C. E., Petworth Park, Moora. 

Ropcers, J. P., Wyndham P.O. 

SANDLAND, P. T., Burrabidgy Station, Moora. 

TUNNEY, JOHN T., “ Gracefield,” Kojonup 

WoopWARD, BERNARD, F.G.S., Director, Museum, Perth. 


TASMANIA. 


ARCHER, R. H., ‘‘ Landfall,’ East Tamar. 
Apams, O. L., 87 Elphin-road, Launceston. 
Brumsy, Miss, William-street, West Devonport. 
Butter, A. L., Cathedral Chambers, Murray-street, Hobart. 
Evans, Lirut.-CoL., 28 Murray-street, Hobart. 
Extiot, E. A., Agricultural and Stock Department, Hobart. 
FLETCHER, Miss J. A., State School, Springfield. 
Harrison, M. W., Glenorchy, Hobart. 
Harr, R., C:M.B.0.U;, Museum), Hobart: 
LiTTLER, F. M., Box 114, P.O., Launceston. 
EGGE, Cort. W..V., €.M.B,0.U., “ Cullenswood silences 
Cullenswood. 
May, W. L., Forest Hill, Sandford. 
Roperts, Mrs., “‘ Beaumaris,’ Sandy Bay-road, Hobart. 
SWINDELLS, A. W., “‘ La Vista,’ Ordnance-place, Battery Point, 
Hobart. 
Tuompson, H. C., Electric Sub-station, Launceston. . 
YounG, P. Ho Ba] Waiharajay 4 (Ther Steppes. 


NEW ZEALAND. 


Hamitton, H., Director, Dominion Museum, Wellington. 
GUTHRIE-SMITH, HERBERT, Tatira, Hawke’s Bay. 
M‘Lean, J. C., M.B.O.U., Te Karaka, Gisborne. 
OLIVER, W. R., H.M. Customs, Christchurch 
STEAD, EDGAR, “ Strowan,”’ Papanui-road, Christchurch. 


FLT. 
SMITH, A. F., Labasa, via Lautoka. 


Vol. X. ] Members of Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. 361 


IQIL 


UNITED KINGDOM AND EUROPE. 


1910 DEIGHTON, BELL AND Co., Publishers, Trinity-street, Cam- 
bridge. 

1901 DULAU AND Co., 37 Soho-square, London, W. 

1909 Dames, FELIx L., Natural History Bookseller, Steglitz, 
Humboldstrasse 13, Berlin, Germany. 

1902 FRIEDLANDER, R., AND Soun, Buchlandlung, Karlstrasse 11, 


Berlin. 

1902. GRONVOLD, H., Natural History Museum, South Kensington, 
London, S.W. 

1905 MatHEws, GrEeGorRY M., “Langley Mount,” Langley-road, 


Watford, Herts. 
1901 NEHRKORN, HeRR A., Amstrath, Adolfstrasse 1, Braunschweig, 


Germany. 

1901 Parkin, THos., M.A., “ Fairseat,’’ High Wickham, Hastings, 
England. 

1901 Porter, H. R., AND Co., 7 Princes-street, Cavendish-square, 
London, W. 

I901 SETH-SMITH, W., Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, London, 
N.W. 

1901 WRIGGLESWORTH, Dr., Rainhill, Liverpool, England. 

1903 WorRKMAN, W. H., “ Lismore,’’? Windsor-avenue, Belfast, 
Ireland. 


UNEEED SST ATES: 

1908 BaKkeEr, H., c/o University Club, Chicago, Ill. 

1903 BEEBE, C. W., Zoological Park, New York. 

1907. Director Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, III. 

1903 M‘Grecor, R. C., Bureau of Science, Philippine Islands. 

1901 OBERHOLSER, Harry C., Department of Agriculture, Washing- 
ton, (DC: 

1908 THompson, C. S., A.B., A.M., Principal, High School, Glen- 
wood Springs, Colorado. 


EDITORS AND EXCHANGES. 
VICTORIA. 
Editor Geelong Naturalist (Chas. Daley), Bucklands-avenue, New- 
town, Geelong. 
Editor Victorian Naturalist, c/o F. G. A. Barnard, High-street, Kew. 
Secretary, Royal Society, Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria-street, Mel- 
bourne. 
Librarian, Public Library, Swanston-street, Melbourne. 
Curator, National Museum, Russell-street, Melbourne. 
Director, Education Department, Melbourne. 
NEw SoutH WALES. 
Secretary, Linnean Society of N.S.W., 23 Ithaca-road, Elizabeth Bay, 
Sydney. 
Librarian, Public Library N.S.W., Macquarie-street, Sydney. 
Secretary, Hawkesbury Agricultural College, Richmond. 
Secretary, N.S.W. Naturalists’ Club, 300 George-street, Sydney. 
Secretary, Agricultural Department, Sydney. 


362 Members of Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union. ere, April’ 


QUEENSLAND. 
Secretary, Royal Society, Brisbane (J. F. Bailey). 
SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 
Librarian, Public Library, Adelaide. 


WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
Editor Producers’ Review, Perth, W.A. 
Natural History and Royal Society of W.A., Department of Agri- 
culture, Perth. 
TASMANIA. 
Secretary, Royal Society, Hobart. 


New ZEALAND. 
Jas. Drummond, Lyéttelion Times, Christchurch. 


UNITED KINGDOM AND EUROPE. 

Editor Avicultural Magazine (D. Seth-Smith, F.Z.S.), “ Glengarry,” 
Canning-road, Addiscombe, Surrey, England. 

Editor Ibis, 3 Hanover-square, London, W. 

Editor Zoologist, c/o W. L. Distant, Gr. Steine House, Selhurst-road, 
South Norwood, Surrey. 

Editor Nature, c/o Macmillan and Co., Fleet-street, London. 

Hon. Sec., South African Ornithologists’ Union, Dynamite Factory, 
Modderfontein, Transvaal. 

Chairman, Ornithologischen Gesellschaft in Bayern, P.A. Zoolog., 
Staatssammlung, Neuhauserstr. 51, Munchen, Germany. 
Count Victor Ritter von Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen, Editor Ovnz- 

thologisches Jahrbuch, Hallein, Salzburg, Austria. 
Editors British Birds, 326 High Holborn, London, W.C. 
Editor German Ornithological Monthly Journal, Gera (Reuss), 
Germany. 
UNITED STATES. 
Librarian, Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California. 
Editor Auk (Dr. J. S$: Allen), American Museum of Natural History, 
Central Park, New York City. 
Editor Bird Lore (F. M. Chapman), Englewood, New Jersey. 
Secretary, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Librarian, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. 
Librarian, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 
Librarian, U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C. 
Director, Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, Ill. 


HONORARY MEMBERS. 


ALLEN, Dr. J. A., Curator Birds and Mammals, American Museum of 
Natural History, Central Park, New York. 

RipGway, Pror. Rost., Curator Division of Birds, U.S. National 
Museum, Washington, D.C. 

SALVADORI, Count Tommaso, Turin, Italy. 

SCLATER, DR P. L., Zoological Society, Hanover-square, London. 

KENDALL, H., 14 Rathmines-grove, Auburn, Victoria (Hon. Consulting 
Editor, Emu). 

MacbDonaLp, Donan, Argus Office, Melbourne. 


I. 


|| ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


_CO-PATRONS: 
Their Majesties the King and Queen. 


OFFICE-BEARERS: 
President: Mr. A. J. CAMPBELL, Cor. Mem. B.O.U. 


(Mr. J. W. MELLOR. 
\Mr.. ROBERT HALL, C.M.Z.S. 


Hon. Secretary: Mr. H. W. WILSON. 


(c/o Zoological Gardens, Melbourne. Private Address—xos Drummond Street, 
Carlton, Victoria.) - 


Hon. Treasurer: Mr. J. A. ROSS. 
(Address—Crown Solicitor’s Office, Lonsdale St., Melbourne.) 


Hon. Librarian: Mr. W. H: D. Le SOUEF, C.M.Z.S. 


ab ak ak ; sMr. A. J. CAMPBELL, Cot. Mem. B.O.U. 
peditors of The Ear vs. CHARLES -BARRETT: 


Hon. Press Correspondent: Mr. E. BROOKE NICHOLLS. 


Local State Secretaries: 


Vice=Presidents: 


Victoria—Mr. H. W. WILSON S.A.—CapTain S. A. WHITE © 
N.S.W.—Mr. A. S. LE SOUEF W.A.—Mr. T. CARTER, M.B.O.U. 
Queensland— Mr, H. TRYON -Tasmania—Mr. A. L, BUTLER > 


New Zealand—Mr. H. HAMILTON. 


Members of Council: Victoria—Mr. A. H. E. MATTINGLEY, C.M.Z.S., 
Dr. C. S. RYAN, Mr. J. A. LEACH, M.Sc., Dk. GEO. HORNE; New 
South Wales—Dr. WM. MACGILLIVRAY, Mr. L. HARRISON ; Queens- 
land—Mr. WM. M‘ILWRAITH; South Australia—Dr. A. M. MORGAN, 


OBJECTS, &c.- - - - 


SVHE objects of the Society are the advancement and popularization 
of the Science of Ornithology, the protection of useful and. 
ornamental avifauna, and the publication of a magazine called 


The business of the Society shall be conducted by a Council, con- 
sisting of a President, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, 
Editors of Ze Emu, and six members; each office-bearer and member 
of the Council shall retire at the end of each financial year, but shall 
be eligible for re-election. 


The Annual Meeting shall be held in one or other of the principal. 
towns of the different States, such State to be decided at the previous — 
Annual Meeting. 


Every member shall be required to pay an annual subscription of 
fifteen shillings, due on the first of July each year. (The usual exchange 
to be added to Foreign, Interstate and Country cheques, drafts, &c.) — 


The offices of the Society shall be at the office of the Hon. Secretary 
of the Society for the time being, or at such other place as the Council 
may appoint. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


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