^°'i9lFj D'OMIiRAIX, J Trip to the Rizrr-Scnibs. 119 



amongst the hills, along roads very well made and maintained, 

 but with thrilling, narrow, hairpin bends cut out of the moun- 

 tain side, with the beautiful gleaming and swiftly flowing 

 Macleay down at the foot. With a constant dropping to the 

 lower levels, we came at last to the river, passing on our right 

 a reservation for aborigines on a flat bordering the river. On 

 past Blackbird school, an ideal place for Satin Bower-Birds, 

 which fact leads one to assume that the name doubtless was 

 taken because these birds were evidently plentiful in the locality, 

 "black" in this case meaning dark blue. 



Towards the end of the afternoon we reached Comara Store 

 and P.O., and soon our guide, Mr. Purkiss, had decided where 

 we should cam]) on the Five Day Creek, a swiftly flowing, large- 

 sized creek, a tributary of the jMacleay. On our left rose steep 

 hills, in the general tree-top colour of which could be seen 

 darker and denser areas denoting big scrubs — i.e., those in which 

 figs and vines and all the sub-tropical growths occur, places be- 

 loved of Pigeons of several species. Pittas, Log-runners, and 

 perhaps even the shy Scrub-Birds (Atrichornis), and who knew 

 what bird treasures ! 



Soon ridge, and other tent poles were cut, and the tents 

 erected on a shady, grassy flat, close to a small feeder of the 

 Five Day Creek, from the opposite side of which towered a 

 steep, scrub-covered mountain, which we hoped to investigate 

 in due course. For the moment we could hear the calls of many 

 birds, one of the first we noted being that of the little Crimson 

 ("Blood") Honeyeater. As we ate our evening meal, the queer, 

 monotonous notes of the Wonga-Wonga and the Brown Pigeon 

 could be heard, and an inquisitive Coachwhip-Bird was making 

 himself heard in a tangle of wild raspberries and scrub close by. 



Up early next day, the party split up and tackled the sur- 

 rounding hills from various gully ends, and soon all found that 

 we had happened on one of the most tiring and dangerous rocky 

 ascents in tangled scrub — a queer combination — we could pos- 

 sibly have selected. It was as though there had been a giant 

 mine-shaft at the summit and all the huge slaty rubbish had been 

 dumped down the hillsides into the gullies at the bottom. Of 

 birds there was such a scarcity that it almost suggested bird ex- 

 tinction, except that hundreds of feet up in the leaves of the 

 fig trees a pigeon or some other fruit-eater would at intervals 

 drop a purple fruit as it fed. 



Those ahead of one would slip on the shifting stones, which 

 would come crashing down, a danger to those on the lower levels, 

 and one was constantly slipping and falling and hurting one's 

 ankles, etc. Also the heat was stifling, and there was not a 

 breeze to cool one or drive away the sand-flies and mosquitoes. 

 Tired, cross, and disappointed, all by degrees returned to camp, 

 thoroughly disgusted with our non-success, and somewhat doubt- 

 ful of our guide's knowledge of this bit of scrub at least. How- 

 ever, we were determined to give the place a good "try-out," 



