S'he £mu 



®Uxcmi dDrijan ^f ike .^tistralasian (Dmithologists' Enton. 



" Bir«as of a fczit^er.' 



Vol. VI.] 1ST APRIL, 1907. [Part 4. 



Field Notes on Birds of the Richmond District, 

 North Queensland. 



Part V. {concluding). 

 {Continued fro>ii Vol. F/., p. 113) 



■ By Fredc. L. Berney. 



Black-necked Stork {Xenorhyjiclms asiaticus). — I have but few records 

 of this fine Stork, and ihey are confined to the summer months of the years 

 1899, 1900, 1903, and 1906. Solitary individuals on each occasion, though 

 last year there were two in the district at the same time, but I never saw 

 them together. 



Little Black Cormorant [Phalacrocorax sukirosfrls). — While 

 carrying the gun one day for the benefit of the pot, one of these was dropped 

 with some Black Duck as the birds rose together. I was glad of the oppor- 

 tunity to examine it. It was a male bird in fine feather, the marking and 

 sheen on the base of the neck, the wing coverts, and scapularies giving 

 these portions of the plumage a very handsome appearance. The foot is 

 webbed to its fullest extent, the three front toes and the hind one, which 

 comes round on the inside of the foot, being all connected by a soft, black 

 membrane, which extends to the extremities of the phalanges, and forms an 

 excellent foot for swimming with. The inner edge of the claw of the middle 

 toe is pectinated. Measurements of this specimen : — Total length, 26j"s 

 inches ; tarsus, \\% inches ; wing, lOxg ; bill, i\l inches ; tail, 6yV inches. 



Contents of the stomach consisted of a large quantit}' of small fish bones. 

 It may be seen pretty frequently in ones and twos, while last November I 

 counted 140 together at a waterhole in the Flinders ; but this is a most 

 unusual number for these parts. 



Little Cormorant {PJialacrocorax melanoletccus). — The Little 

 Cormorant may often be seen on the waterholes, where it appears to subsist 

 chiefly on fresh-water crabs. 



Darter {Ploius nova liollandke). — This species is seen occasionally, but 

 is far from common on our larger and deeper waterholes. When chasing 

 fish beneath the surface of the water it pierces its prey through the centre 

 with the upper bill, and coming to the surface tosses it into the air, catches 

 it, and swallows it. 1 think the prey is taken by impaling every time. 



Pelican {Pelecanus conspicillatus). — There appears to be no regularity 

 in the movements of the Pelicans that visit us, summer or winter, good 

 seasons or bad. As often as not it is a solitary bird that is seen ; from that 

 to half a dozen, while in midwinter of 1902 I saw between forty and fifty 

 together, which constitutes my record mob for these parts. Their visits, 

 though fairly frecjuent, are of short duration. When soaring in wide circles 



