THE BIRDS OF COOLABAH AND BREWARRINA — NORTH. 125 



piece of straiglit iron wire, which he carried in his right hand, 

 and gradually drove the fish, if any, into the shallow water in 

 the narrow bent end of the trap, where lie secured it in the 

 beforementioned wire purse-like net. " Steve " met with 

 varying success ; on the first morning after my arrival he 

 secured five fair-sized Murray- Cod (Oligoru^ macqaarieiisis), 

 the next day nothing, he informing me " the fish were all on 

 the other side of the river " ; the day following he told me he 

 he had caught only a few Bony Bream (Dorosoma erebi), which 

 he had cooked and eaten, and the day after that, some Fresh- 

 water Cat-fish (Copidoglanis tandanus). On the 19th October, 

 the day 1 was photographing "The Fisheries," "Steve" was 

 fortunate enough to secure a "Yellow-belly" or Grolden Perch 

 (Plectroj)lites anibigims), about five pounds in weight, which I 

 photographed — " Steve " holding it up in his left hand, in 

 one of the yards — but the fish is hardly discernible in the 

 picture (Plate xxvi). There are several fiat grassy patches in 

 the river, adjacent to " The Fisheries," which, together, with 

 the surrounding rocks and stones are resorted to by birds, 

 princi[)ally fish eating ones. Conspicuous among them was a 

 pair of White Ibis (Ibis molacca), sometimes to be seen stand- 

 ing in the water watching for their prey, or motionless, resting 

 on one leg, on the bank. From the tops of stones, the lai'ge 

 Black Cormorant or "Shag" (Phalacrocoraz' cm-bo), s\ee^ in 

 body, slipped noiselessly into the water, pi'obably anxious to 

 secure some passing fish, disappearing for some seconds, and 

 half rising to the surface again some distance away ; the little 

 Black and White Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Dielanuleucics) was 

 also noted " fishing " in the river. The higher parts of the 

 river above " The Rocks," I was informed, was called the 

 Barwon, and that below on the lower level the Darling. The 

 rush of water as it passed throagh the stone walls at the latter 

 point could be heard over two hundred yards away, in a low 

 dull murmur at night, when all was otherwise quiet. The 

 river yielded not only fish as food to the aborigines, but the 

 lai'ge Fresh- water Mussel {Diplodou (Unio) aiigasi) and the 

 Black River Tortoise (E viT/diira macq^iarice) , occasionally caught 

 on fishing lines. The carapace of one caught in the Barwon, 

 at the Aboriginal Mission Station, nine miles from Brewarrina, 

 measuring 10.5 inches in length by 8 inches in breadth, was 

 subsequently presented by the then Manager, Mr. Geo. F. 

 Evans, to the Trustees. 



