I08 Berney, Birds of the Richmond District, N.Q. [,sf"jan. 



Pectoral Rail {Hypotccmdia pJtilippinensis). — May be seen occa- 

 sionally, generally during the summer months, but its movements are so 

 uncertain that I cannot say whether it is migratory or not. I have one 

 winter record— June, 1903. 



The only sound I have heard from it is a sharp slate-pencil-like squeak. 

 They are hard to flush, being so very loth to fly ; they are, too, most stupid 

 birds, and fall an easy prey to cats. 



A pair nested during January, 1904, within 150 yards of the house here— 

 we had no cat then. The situation chosen was the margin of a small, shallow, 

 rush-grown swamp, formed by irrigation waters. Nest was formed of dry 

 grass in the centre of a tussock of rank growth, the upright stalks of which 

 closed in overhead, making a slight break to the sun's rays ; eleven eggs 

 were laid, but the traffic about became too much for the birds' nerves, and 

 they deserted. 



When walking they carry the tail very erect, and keep flicking it, like the 

 Porphyrios. 



Dimensions of three brought in by a cat : — 



Total 

 No. Date. Sex. length. 



Inches. 

 83 ... Nov., 1904 ... Male ... i2}-g 

 89 .. Jan., 1905 ... Male ... la^*^ 

 97 ... Feb., 1905 ... Male ... ii^'^ 



In 83 and 97 the testes were fully developed 

 were portions of small crabs and insects. 



Spotted CK\v^¥.{Porsa/iaJIii»i!/iea).--}r{ii?, only come under my notice 

 once. I shot a female at Spring Valley, 25 miles north-west of Hughenden, 

 on the 29th April, 1905, where I had had it and a mate under observation 

 for a fortnight. They kept to the thick beds of bulrushes on some bore 

 water, only showing out to feed along the edge in the early morning and 

 evening, and got back to cover, wading through the w^ater, as soon as 

 disturbed, but not displaying any great shyness. 



Their small size, the white under tail coverts, and black vent feathers, 

 which show very conspicuously as they turn their backs towards you, pro- 

 claim their species. Total length, 7^^ inches ; wing, 3 \l inches ; tail, 

 i\l inches ; tarsus, i f ^ inches ; bill, j|-inch ; middle toe, 1,% inches. Eggs 

 in ovarium the size of pins' heads. 



Black-tailed Native-Hen {Microtrihonyxvcntralis). — As a rule, these 

 birds show up in January, but they are most erratic in their visitations, 

 sometimes only a few putting in an appearance, while occasionally they come 

 in overwhelming numbers — 1905 was a Water-Hen year ; just why I could 

 not say, for our wet season, January to March, was a failure that year. We 

 only registered 4''< inches of rain, when we should have had ten or twelve, 

 and it was the same all over this part of Queensland. 



But the Native-Hens came — came in thousands ; no water-hole was too 

 small, every puddle had its mob ; from hole to hole along the creeks they 

 had tracks worn like sheep pads. It was a common sight for a horseman 

 to have five or six thousand running in front of him along a creek, like a mob 

 of sheep ; they over-ran the Chinamen's gardens, eating out the young 

 vegetables and quite ruining them for the time being At the homestead 

 here a flock of some hundreds waited daily for the domestic fowls to be fed ; 

 a man had to stand by to keep them off, else they would have had the lot 

 and the fowls none. As it was they got away with a good deal — they were 

 too tame to frighten. The house cat here- a black she-cat with a family to 

 provide for — would have grabbed the Water-Hens without hesitation had she 

 met them down the paddock, but here, as they walked past her under the 

 verandah, she could only sit and watch them with a worried look, for she 



