PEDIONO.MUS. 10;) 



Sa\ille presented an adult male he had procured at Orange, in March, icjtj2, Mr. Herbert 

 Garrett forwarded an adult female from Narrahri, in July, 1904, and Mr. W. [. llalloran brought 

 an adult female to the Museum he had obtained fifteen miles out of Forbes in the followinf,' 

 September. The last addition to the collection was made by Mr. 'I\ A. Gabriel, who procured 

 ayoung female on the loth ^fay, 1913, at Condobolin, on the Lachlau Kiver, about two hundred 

 and (ifty miles in a straight line almost due west of Sydney. 



The late Mr. K. II. Bennett, writing in issri from the Mossgiel District, in South-western 

 New S juth Wales, remarked as follows :^" In isij^, when these vast plains were first occupied, 

 and for some years after, PiiUoiwinin /,n;/iidtiis was tolerably abundant in the tliick and luNuriant 

 vegetation that clothes them here in good seasons. For the last twelve or fourteen years, 

 however, I have not seen a bird of this species. This is no doubt due to the stocking of the 

 country with sheep, for they ha\e not only eaten off the dense foliage that afforded the bird 

 shelter, but the flocks of sheep in roaming about compelled it to take flight. Doubtless, too, the 

 presence of the domestic cat (gone wild) has in some cases proved another factor. From its 

 feeble powers of fliglit it soon becomes an easy prey to Ivdcons, and even Crows, that constantly 

 attended the moving flocks of sheep, e\er ready to pounce upon anything disturbed by them. 

 The last e.\ample of this bird I saw was in 1872, which I captured. It rose from some 

 dense herbage almost under my horse's feet; before it hid gone far a Black Falcon (Faho 

 siihniger) made a swoop at it, but the terrified bird dropped into a scanty saltbush, where it could 

 be plainly seen. It would have eluded the Falcon's grasp but for a very short time had it not 

 been for my close proximity, for so frightened was it that it allowed me to dismount and pick it 

 up without attempting to move. I took it home and kept it for a week, but as it would not eat 

 I reluctantly liberated it. I am inclined to think this species is nocturnal in habits, as the bird 

 in question was perfectly quiet all day, remaining crouched in one corner of the large cage in 

 which it was confined, but at night it was intensely active, running backwards and forwards, 

 and flying up to the top and scrambling up the wire netting that formed the front of the cage." 



The late Mr. 11. G. Evered,of Melbourne, \'ictoria, wrote me as follows on the nth Sep- 

 tember, 1895 : — " I shot more exa.mple9, of Pi'diomvims toyquatiis last season than ever I saw before. 

 I was only out three days, through pressure of business, but obtained altogether in that time about 

 ten brace. On the first day I was out at Bendigo, Coburg and Bulla on the second day, and 

 Bulla again on the third day, and as you know these latter localities lie to the north of Melbourne, 

 at a distance from about six to fifteen miles. I also caught six birds alive, and have them in my 

 aviary. Wiien my pointer used to set these birds, they would squat on the ground or in a tuft 

 of grass. I would then take olf my soft felt hat and pounce down on, and nearly always secured 

 them ; I had three tries at an old cock bird, and caught him the last time. The third day I was 

 out the dogs (a pointer and a setter) got on to a Blain- Wanderer in young wheat ten inches 

 high, and that bird took us at least two hundred yards before he rose, the dogs setting and 

 following it a half dozen times. They make splendid pets, becoming very tame. When in 

 the field these birds are forced into the open, they run exactly like the ' Plain Turkey ' (Eupodotis 

 ausiralis) with their heads up and watching cheir pursuers all the time. I found a nest of this 

 species last week containing one fresh egg, and expect to get the full set on Saturday. The nest 

 is an open one made of grass, and is formed in the ground at the base of a small tuft of grass 

 about nine inches high and six in diameter. It was found by my dog setting the bird on the 

 nest." \\'hen in Melbourne I saw these birds in Mr. Evered's aviary, but a little later I received 

 a letter from him telling me that a fox-terrier from next door had torn away the wire in front, 

 got in and worried all the birds to death. 



From Melbourne, Victoria, Mr. G. A. Keartland wrote me: — "The Plain-Wanderer 

 {Pedionomiis toi'qnatus) is usually a solitary bird, except at mating time, and is found in either 

 short grass or on the bare plains. Its food consists of insects and small seeds. It runs very 



