•J80 ('IIAKAI)HIIN.E. 



blackisli-bruaut increasing to/vards tlie cetdral fi'ullu'.rs : crou-n nf Imad and najie like thf ljnrk\ 

 bordered, aruiin.d ivith a narrotv while baitil, ivhich is again miirijiiird aroand /ri//i a broader band 

 (if black, and tltis iridcns ont, into a bliickis/i /latc/i on the lon-fr side of llu' liimlin'ck ; lorrs, J'orrliead 

 and centre of fore part of crown bbick, breaking the uiliite hand ill front encircling the broicit, cron-n 

 anil na/ie ; all the under snrfa.ce mhitc, the fore-neck crossed n'ith a crescetUic black collar, mideniiLg 

 lint on the centre of Uf breast and terminating in a point : iiiuh'r tail corerts white, one or tico of the 

 lateral feathers n-ith a blackish s/iut or streak on. tlieir outer ivebs .- bill deep orange oil, tke basal 

 portion, black at the lip : legs anil feel jles/ii/-orange : iris dark broirn : ei/elid bright red. Total 

 length in the /les/i 0-(i inches, luing '/'.'/, tail :'-j, bill t)-t!, larsii.g 1 . 



Adult FKMALK. Similar in plumage I,, the male. 



Liiitribntion. — North-western Australia, Northern Territory, Oueeiisland, New Soutli Wales, 

 Victoria, South Australia, Central Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania. 



T«) IKE the preceding species, the Black'-fronted l')otterel is distributed in favourable situations 



J X throughout Australia, but whereas the Red-capped Dotterel is chielly an inhabitant 



of the sea-beaches and marshy contiguous lands, the present species is more common m the 

 inland portions of the States, even to the very centre of the continent. The margins of shallow 

 waters and rivers, dry watercourses covered with small stones and shingle, and adjacent grass 

 lands are its favourite haunts, being suitable places both for obtaining its food, which consists 

 chiefly of various kinds of small insects and molluscs, and also for the purposes of breeding. 

 Gould states that " no member of the genius is more tame than the present;" this is the reverse 

 to my experience, for I have generally found it shy and wary, except on occasions when one is near 

 its young. As a rule it tlies and remains away when one approaches the vicinity of its nest, 

 even when it contained eggs on the point of hatching; however, there have been exceptions, 

 and I have watched the birds return to their eggs. 



There is hardly need to mention any especial locality where this species may be found. 

 I have taken its eggs and procured young in Albert I'ark, near Melbourne, and also at Cook 

 River, near Sydney, and have noted it in swampy lands at Windsor, near Brisbane. The 

 Australian Museum contains specimens from all parts of the .'Xustralian Continent, but more 

 especially from inland localities. Unlike the Red-capped Dotterel it is considered a rare species 

 in Tasmania. 



Mr. S. Ivobinson wrote me from Burrenbilla Station, Cunnamulla, Queensland : — " I am 

 forwarding you a photograph of a curious nesting site of .Egialitis niclnnops, which I found on 

 the 23rd August, 1906, containing three nearly fresh eggs. I was busy classing some stud rams, 

 and on turning round I noticed the spouting on the woolshed had given way, and the 

 water would not run into the tanks. When I had finished the sheep I got a ladder and went 

 up to see what was the matter. I foimd the spout quite full of sand, the weight of it being the 

 cause of its breaking away. While looking along I saw the Dotterel sitting (|uite contentedly 

 only about twelve feet away. I stayed looking at it for a minute or two, then moved the ladder 

 to the place, when off she went leaving three eggs behind, which 1 now have. Tiie woolshed is 

 built on the point of a large sandhill, and I think the high winds that blow here at times put the 

 sand on the roof, and the rain washed it down into the spout." 



Mr. George Savidge wrote as follows from Copmanhurst, New South Wales : — " The Black- 

 fronted Dotterel (.Egiiditis mdanops) is found throughout the Clarence River District. I have 

 seen it close to the coast and right up to the rough remote parts of the Upper Clarence. It is very 

 fond of the sandy gravelly margin of the river, where it runs over the rough stones with amazing 

 rapidity. I have found the nest and eggs of these birds many times. As one approaches their nest 

 the parent birds show a good deal of agitation, flying up and down, lighting on the ground close 

 by, feigning lameness or a broken wing to draw one away. I have watched them bullet cattle 



