Vol. XVII 1. 

 1919 



] " Down Mario Way."' 267 



long, snaky necks, were, we were informed, newcomers to the 

 district this season — a remarkable fact considering its suitability 

 to their requirements. At all events, they were very much at 

 home. There were dozens, if not hundreds of them, to be seen 

 along the rivers and down the backwater. Sitting in the limbs 

 of the dead trees along the river banks, craning their serpentine 

 necks about, they look strange enough ; but perhaps they seemed 

 even more grotesque squatting on the sand-hills with their wings 

 spread out in the sun to dry, and, when disturbed, waddling 

 clumsily to the water's edge. Once in the water, however, all 

 clumsiness disappears. Of the Cormorants, the Large Black, 

 Little Black, and Little Black-and-White were all plentiful ; the 

 Pied was comparatively uncommon. The only Gulls seen were 

 Silver Gulls, whilst Caspian, Crested, and Little Terns were all 

 frequent. The only visiting Waders, the Sea Curlews, were very 

 numerous ; otherwise, the inhabitants of these waterways were 

 all Australian natives. In addition to those already mentioned, 

 White- faced Herons and Spur- winged Plover were common, and 

 Black-fronted Dottrels were seen on one occasion. Coots and 

 Hoary-headed Grebes showed themselves occasionally, and once 

 a glimpse of a small Crake (possibly a Spotless Crake) was obtained 

 before it vanished amongst the reeds. 



Up the Brodribb River to Lake Curlip, a distance of 8 miles 

 by motor launch, was a lovely outing. For the greater part of 

 the way the river is fringed by a bank of reeds {Phragmites 

 communis), and almost to the water's edge in the lower reaches 

 grew boobialla {Myoporum florihundnm), lilly-pilly {Eugenia 

 smithii), blackwood [Acacia melanoxylon), musk [Olearia argo- 

 phylla), Pittosporum, and nvmierous other trees and shrubs, the 

 whole bound together by garlands of seeding Clematis and Teconia. 

 This jungle type of country is quite distinct from the more usual 

 open eucalypt forest, and doubtless harbours a distinctive fauna, 

 though our stay was not long enough to reveal this. We were 

 told of visits to it, when the fruits are ripe, by Wonga and 

 Topknot Pigeons and flying foxes, but we saw none of these. 



In the fine gum-trees along the banks several pairs of Whistling- 

 ■ Eagles had their headquarters, whilst Nankeen Night-Herons 

 often flew out from them on our approach. Reed-Warblers 

 were plentiful in the reeds, and over the more open country Gould's 

 Harriers were constantly circling. The monarch of the bird 

 world appeared to be a fine White-bellied Sea-Eagle, which 

 ranged over all the waterways. On one occasion, on the 

 Brodribb, we were fortunate enough to see a Grey Falcon. An 

 interesting inhabitant of the district, occasionally seen sprawling 

 on boughs overhanging the water, is the large water-lizard 

 [Physignathus lesiicuri), commonly known in the district as the 

 " Snowy River alligator." 



Soon after our arrival we heard that numbers of Parrots were 

 feeding in an orchard close to the township, and a visit to the 

 spot revealed the presence of some 150 Blue-bellied Lorikeets. 



