^"'i^is"'"] ^^ SouEF. Queensland Notes. ^g 



tected. It is astonishing how quickly these birds find out water 

 where they are not disturbed. The same evening I gave an 

 illustrated lecture on " Bird- Life," under the auspices of their 

 local Bird Protection Society, to an audience of about 400, mostly 

 young folk, and next day (Tuesday) I left for Brisbane, arriving 

 there on Wednesday morning. I was able to see several of our 

 members there, and Mr. Longman, the Director of the Museum, 

 kindly showed me the cases of mounted birds ; they have been 

 much improved, and form an instructive exhibit. In the evening 

 I gave a lecture before the Field Naturalists' Club, and met many 

 members well known in Victoria. 



On the following day I was enabled to visit the aviaries of our 

 member, Mr. T. C. Marshall. He has twenty-six kinds of native 

 birds doing well. These include the Yellow-eared Honey-eater 

 [Ptilotis chrysotis), Brown Honey-eater {Stigniatops ocularis), Noisy 

 Pitta {Pitta strepitans), and Scaly- breasted Lorikeet {Trichoglossus 

 chlorolepidotus). In the evening I lectured before the Royal 

 Geographical Society on the birds found on our southern islands, 

 and left next morning for Glen Innes, N.S.W'., arriving there in 

 the evening ; and early next day went by motor to Inverell. On 

 the way we saw a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles perched on a tree 

 by the roadside, also Galahs {Cacatua roseicapilla) and Grey 

 Jumpers {Struthidea cinerea). I caught the 9.30 a.m. train for 

 Warialda station, and here our member, Mr. S. A. Hanscombe, 

 kindly met me. In the evening I gave a lecture in the local hall 

 to about 200 persons, mostly school children. It was interesting 

 to notice that a pair of Variegated Wren-Warblers [Malurus 

 lamberti) nested, not only in a rose-bush in Mr. Hanscombe's 

 garden, but also on a creeper on the wall of his verandah, and close 

 to a window where the family frequently sat during the day, thus 

 showing how tame these little birds become if not disturbed. Next 

 day (Sunday) Mr. Hanscombe drove me to Warialda itself, about 

 4 miles from the station township. On Monday I took a long 

 walk over the poor sandstone country at the back of the town, 

 but birds were not plentiful, and only the commoner kinds were 

 noted. In the evening I gave a lecture in the local State school 

 to the children and their parents-; about 250 attended. 



Next day I went on to Moree, and met our member, Mr. Morse, 

 there, and gave a lecture in the evening in the Council Chamber, 

 but it could not accommodate all those who wished to attend, 

 which clearly shows how interested people are in natural history 

 generally and in our birds especially. On leaving this town for 

 Sydney I had the pleasure of seeing four adult Bustards {Choriotis 

 australis) not far from the hne. They are being thinned out by 

 foxes, along with so much of our other native game. The railway 

 lines frequently had no fences on either side, and whistling had 

 to be done by the driver to frighten stock off the lines. Large 

 flocks of Galahs were seen on the plains, also some Emus {Dromaiits 

 novce-hollandice) and kangaroos. 



I finished up by giving a lecture in Sydney, and arrived back 

 in Melbourne on 8th April. 



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