94 Wilson, Ornithological Trip lo Nhill District. [voi.'^'xxxV 



he usually does in a tree some distance from the nest. Having 

 delivered one beakful, he always seemed to have some difficulty 

 in regurgitating the next lot, and would keep bobliing his head, 

 first down and then up, in his effort, the time taken in 

 regurgitating a beakful averaging about ten seconds. These 

 birds an^ exceptionally tight sitters, and it is almost impossible 

 to flush them from the nesting hollow by the usual method of 

 hammering the tree with a tomahawk. They are very fond of 

 charcoal, and I have vivid recollections of pilgrimages of these 

 l^eautiful birds to a charcoal heap in the Gunbower district. 

 Malice Parrots, Barnardiiis barnardi, Rosellas, Platycercus 

 eximius, and Yellow- vented Parrakeets, Psephotus xanihorrhous, 

 also breed locally, and Mr. Oldfield informs me that the Many- 

 coloured Parrot also occasionally visits the district. I was 

 disappointed in not meeting with species of the genus Euphema, 

 but, from the description of a parrot supplied to me liy a 

 resident, I feel convinced that a more diligent search would 

 have rewarded me. On one occasion I saw a flock of al:)Out 

 sixty Black Cockatoos, Calypioyhynchus fiinereits, feeding on 

 the seeds of eucalypts and Hakeas. The hollow trees were 

 also tenanted by Boobook Owls, Niiiox boobook, and Owlet 

 Nightjars, JEgothelcs nova-hollandicc , but neither of these birds 

 was at all plentiful. 



The White Gums and a species of mallec were out in full 

 flower, and thousands of Lorikeets had congregated to feast 

 upon the nectar, the Purple-crowned species, Glossopsitta 

 porphvroccphala, being by far the most numerous. A few 

 Musk Lorikeets, G. concinna, and Swift Parrots, Lathamus 

 discolor, were also identified in the flocks. When first I saw 

 Purple-crowned Lorikeets entering a hollow I thought I had 

 located a nest, but further observation, together with an 

 examination of the hollow, showed me that the}^ were only 

 using it as a roosting-place, and had evicted a pair of Ked-tipped 

 Pardalotes, Pardalotiis siriatus, to furtlier their convenience. 

 In the case of two hollows observed, the birds would be away 

 all day and return just before nightfall. Unlike other birds, 

 instead of pausing before entering a hole, they dash straight 

 in, and one- wonders how they avoid injuring themselves owing 

 to their impetuosity. 



Red-tipped Pardalotes were calling everywhere in the White 

 Gum timber, and every available knot-hole seemed to be 

 occupied by them. Some had only started buiUUng, whilst 

 occasional nests examined contained fully-fledged young. I 

 discovered three nesting'hollows of the dainty little Tree-Martin, 

 Pciyochelidon nigricans, one l)eing occupied by four birds and 

 the other two by three birds each. One of the latter I was 

 a;ble to reach, and found it to contain a nest constructed of dry 



