1^0 Mellor, The A.O.U. in Tasmania. [isfAprii 



being noted, the most plentiful being the Yellow-throated, 

 a conspicuous bird in nearly all parts of Tasmania, which 

 is its sole habitat. The Crescent Honey-eater could be 

 seen and heard on all sides, giving forth its loud call of 

 " Egypt," uttered with a liquid sound that corresponded well 

 with the damp and dewy surroundings. The White-bearded 

 Honey-eater was also present, identical with the low-level bird 

 and those found on the mainland. The Tasmanian Shrike- 

 Thrush, a bird confined to the island State, occupied the thicker 

 leafy bowers, its beautiful liquid notes of exceptionally strong 

 sound ringing out again and again. It was pleasing to identify 

 the Spotted Ground-Bird [Cinclosoma punctatiiin) in these 

 localities, and it would rise with a whirr-r like that of a Quail 

 and alight a few dozen yards ahead, running along the ground 

 with great rapidity. Out on the swampy flats several large 

 Snipe {Galiinago aiistralis) were flushed from their feeding 

 grounds, which somewhat resembled localities on the slopes of 

 Fusiyama, in Japan, where these birds repair every year to nest 

 and bring up their brood of young. One could hardly think 

 that they need go to such distant climes to carry on their 

 nidification, and the question is asked "Why?" but as with 

 others of the Snipe family we can onl}^ conjecture their motives 

 for so doing. Amongst the bushes which grow near the small 

 streams crossing the open flats the Long-tailed Blue Wren, with 

 its sombre female, was often seen, and brought out of its hiding 

 place by gently twittering with the mouth. In these places also 

 a few specimens of the Striated Field- Wren {CalaniantJius 

 fuliginosus) were observed, but they were extremely shy, and 

 kept well to the cover. The Welcome Swallow {Hh-imdo 

 neoxena) skimmed over the surface of still pools in search of 

 gnats and small insects, while the Tree-Martin {^PctrocJielidon 

 nigricans) was also present. There seemed to be a great 

 scarcity of water birds, and only occasionally they were met 

 with, in the shape of a White-fronted Heron (Notophoyx novce- 

 Jiollandice) or one of the Duck family. Perhaps the season was 

 too early for these, as it is stated that numbers of Cormorants 

 and Silver Gulls are to be seen at certain times of the year, but 

 during the middle of winter the water freezes to the extent of 

 12 or 15 inches thick. A sharp look-out was kept for a species 

 of Diver that Colonel W. V. Legge states having seen on the 

 lake on one occasion, but nothing further could be ascertained 

 as to its identity.* The absence of house flies here was 

 noted, but they are more than replaced by the common brown 

 meat fly, while at night a small, darkish sandfly proves a 

 nuisance. The waters of the small rivers and inlets of the lake 

 are plentifully supplied with the duckbill platypus, and as 



* See Emu, vol. iv., p. 109. 



