46 Berne Y, Birds of the Richmond District, N.Q. [ ^f'o'ct. 



birds I wanted, five-and-twenty of these Cockatoos, and in every instance 

 they have proved to be gymnopis (or, as it seems to me it should be, 

 sanguinca). The only difference that I could discern between the individuals 

 was due, I take it, to difference of age, the old birds having a more exten- 

 sive plaque of bare skin round the eye, the extension taking place chiefly 

 below the eye. The base of the head feathers of all the specimens was rosy 

 salmon, the colour varying in richness from age, I think — certainly not from 

 sex. To make sure of the identification I sent skins to authorities in four 

 of the States, who all reported that they were gymnopis. As regards the 

 colour of the bare skin on the face, I never saw an instance anywhere in 

 which it could be called white ; it is always bluish-lead colour, with a floury 

 surface, the lead colour being darker in old birds. The average length of 

 the males is a trifle over 15 inches, and that of the females i^Yz inches. 



Galah {Cacafi/a roscicapt'/ld). -Like the last species, the Galahs are 

 plentiful at any time, and congregate in great numbers during the winter 

 months ; like them, also, they do not appear to have any fixed nesting 

 season, but they show a preference for the period from March to October 

 inclusive. Although they are chiefly seed-eaters, I have watched them 

 feeding freely on the succulent and somewhat fleshy leaves of the " fat hen " 

 {Atrip/cx spojigiosa). At times this and the preceding species cause a 

 good deal of annoyance 10 the western telegraph ofiicials by sitting on the 

 telegraph wires in such numbers that they weigh the upper wires down 

 until they come in contact with those beneath, which produces chaos in 

 the department. As the interruption may occur 30 miles from the office, 

 " shooing ■' the birds off is out of the question, and the public just have to 

 wait until the Cockatoos get hungry and leave of their own accord. 



There is a white powder through the crest and head feathers of 

 C. roseicapilla that I have not noticed in other Cockatoos ; it is not present 

 in young birds up to five months old, and only appears slowly after that. 



Cockatoo-Parrakeet {Calopsittacits novcE-Jwllandicf). — This is gener- 

 ally a fairly common bird, but its numbers vary in an irregular manner ; 

 the)' nest here during the winter months. 



Red-winged Lory {Ptistcs erytliropicriis). — This is to be seen fairly 

 frequently, but not commonly, generally in small parties up to three or four, 

 but I have seen five-and-thirty together. They are fond of the fruit of the 

 wild fig and the berries of the mistletoe {Loro7it/ii/s). 1 have seen 

 youngsters taken from the nest in the river timber on 18th May. 



Pale-headed Parrakeet {Platyccrctis pallidiceps). — This is another 

 coastal bii'd that makes the basalt ranges its western limit. I have never 

 come across them about Richmond, yet up the Flinders some 40 or 50 miles, 

 where spurs of basalt meet the river, I saw them frequently, generally in 

 pairs. 



Budgerigar {Mclapsilfacus undula/us). — Their numbers vary ; generally 

 a few are about, but the winter is the time of their visitation. From 

 March to July last year we had a wonderful invasion. Their numbers 

 were such as it would be hard to credit without actually seeing them ; every- 

 where you went flocks rose out of the grass, and the air was full of the rush 

 and whirring of their wings. Some of the immense flocks seen at a dis- 

 tance across the open downs were hard to tell from dust storms, even by 

 men who knew their bush well. At one station I heard of forty or fifty 

 being picked up one morning, killed or maimed, beneath a telephone wire 

 that connected two buildings 1 50 yards apart. 



Ground Dove {Gcopch'a tranqinlUi). — This is generally to be seen, or 

 its mournful notes heard, about the timbered country along the Flinders, 

 where, too, I have found their frail nests. I have often at night flushed 



