Vol. XVIII. 1 w^ijE_ Birds of Lake Victoria and Murray River. Q 



known as the " Murray Basin." It is stated by geologists that 

 the plains of the great basin have been formed by the silting-up 

 of a large arm of the sea which opened out to the ocean not far 

 from where the present Murray mouth is, and that the arm or 

 inlet extended as far into the interior as Menindie. For the first 

 two hundred miles fossiliferous remains are found in great 

 quantities in the river cliffs. These cliffs constitute a notable 

 feature of the country. It is seldom the cliffs come in to face each 

 other, on either bank of the river ; but in the general case there 

 are cliffs or high lands on one bank and low flats (which at flood 

 time are all under water) on the other. Sometimes the river 

 passes through flats covered in Eucalyptus rostrata (Red Gum) 

 and E. microtheca (Swamp Box) to the cliffs on either side which 

 mark the valley. The cliffs in many places are hundreds of feet 

 high. Those for the first two hundred miles are of marine lime- 

 stone formation, of Miocene and Eocene age ; then further up 

 a great change takes place, and they become unfossiliferous sand- 

 stone, also of Tertiary age, and strongly coloured with oxide of 

 iron. Here the plain or flat through which the river has cut its 

 twisting course is much wider, the cliffs being much further apart. 



Lake Victoria occupies an area of 25,600 acres, and at the time 

 of our visit was full to overflowing. Lake Victoria was discovered 

 and named by Mr. Howden in 1838, and will soon play a very 

 important part in the locking of the Murray River ; the water 

 finds its way in and out of the lake by the Frenchman and Rufus 

 Creeks. The Rufus Creek was the scene of a fierce but very 

 unequal conflict between the natives and a force of police and 

 overlanders in the early days. The blacks were almost exter- 

 minated ; only one woman with a child on her back escaped by 

 swimming across the river. The creek ran red with the un- 

 fortunate natives' blood. That this district should have been 

 a stronghold of the natives can easily be understood, for it 

 abounded in game and wild fowl of all kinds. The red gum 

 timber is very fine all along the creeks. The distance separating 

 the lake from the river is about four miles. 



On 28th September, 1917, the writer left by rail for Morgan, 

 then on by car to Renmark. Many birds were observed as the car 

 passed through the mallee or dashed along the bush track out 

 in the open, with a waving mass of spear-grass, 3 to 4 feet high, 

 on each side. In one place a small party of Emus afforded me a 

 lovely sight, as they kept up with the car for quite a distance. 

 Reaching Renmark that night, I was a day ahead of my medical 

 friend ; this was arranged so that I might see to the equipment, 

 cook, stores, boats, &c. Next day kept me busy arranging 

 matters, and that evening my mate joined me. 



The following day being Sunday, we walked along the edge 

 of the flooded country and made many bird observations. Along 

 the edge of the long backwater or lagoon grew fine red gum trees 

 up to their first branches in water ; out further there was a mass 

 of water plants, out of which came the harsh call of the Bald- 



