IQO White, Ornithological Trips to Nullahor Plains. {^^"un 



Water has been procured all across the plains, but it is all salt. 

 The numerous caverns with small openings in the limestone crust, 

 which are generally called " blow-holes," are a characteristic 

 feature of these vast plains, but of these I shall speak again later 

 on. It must be borne in mind that the region dealt with in this 

 paper is from 90 to 120 miles from the coast line. 



When the East-West railway line had reached within 30 miles 

 of Ooldea and the Nullabor Plains I made up my mind to visit 

 the district. My entomological friend, Mr. Arthur M. Lea, 

 expressed a wish to accompany me, so we went up together. 



Leaving Adelaide in the early morning, we reached Port Augusta 

 the same evening. Next day we were shown over the loco, works, 

 and Mr. Lea made an attempt at collecting, but had little success. 

 We left Port Augusta at midnight by a so-called express bound 

 for the " head of the road." During that night and the following 

 day I met with one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have 

 travelled in many countries and amongst many peoples, but the 

 train-load (many hundreds) of navvies returning to the " head 

 of the road " after having spent a holiday was beyond description. 

 Anyway, we reached the end of the line in the early hours of a 

 January morning of 1917. Pulling out our blankets, we were 

 glad to lie down and snatch a few hours of sleep. Almost before 

 there was any light in the sky, Mr. Lea was out with his sweep net, 

 and came back in great delight with a very rare fly. There were 

 few bird calls that morning ; those which I identified were the 

 Butcher-Bird, the Singing Honey-eater, the White-browed Babbler, 

 and a few others. After a battle with the flies for some breakfast 

 we left the head of the road in a conveyance drawn by four 

 powerful horses. At first this seemed an unnecessarily strong 

 team, but when we got into the high sand-hills, which rose one after 

 another for hours and hours, there only being a few hundred yards 

 between each ridge, we soon found the team was none too powerful 

 for its work. 



Reaching Ooldea condensers in the afternoon of 8th January, 

 we started our work. The country for some distance round the 

 camp was searched — my friend and companion after beetles and 

 other insects, the writer bird and plant life. Birds were not 

 plentiful, this being no doubt due to want of water. Some desert 

 forms were met with, such as the Red-backed Kingfisher ; the 

 plaintive call of this bird, which resembles the words " Chow, 

 chow," came from many directions that still, hot morning. As 

 the day advanced the heat became more intense, and the King- 

 fishers, like many other birds, became silent. A small party 

 of Black Magpies {Strepera) attracted my attention by their loud 

 calls, but they were so wary that it was impossible to identify 

 the species to which they belonged. In the earl}^ morning the 

 Rufous-vented Shrike-Tlirush was calling loudly ; this species, 

 closely allied to our C. harmonica, is an overlapping western form. 

 Although the western bird has a fine note, still it is not so liquid 

 and musical, in my opinion, as that of our more eastern form. 



