122 D'OMIiRAlX, J Trip to the Rlzrr-Scnibs. RfS" 



most branches of llie tall trees. The call note was unfamiliar, 

 and we consequently tried to secure a specimen, hut the best 

 shots of the party failed to secure one owing to the great height. 

 Here we saw the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, mostly in threes, 

 two adults and a young one. We thought this would be a good 

 spot for the 1921 R.A.O.U. camp, but we decided it would be 

 difficult of access. 



We returned to Billy's Creek, and next day left there, re- 

 turning on our tracks along the head waters of the Xymboidea 

 River (where we sighted a Koel and a Black-breasted Buzzard) 

 for Dorrigo, a very long journey, necessitating some terrific hill- 

 climbing, from the tops of which we had magnificent views of 

 miles of forest stretching away to the Pacific Ocean. Passing 

 through North Dorrigo, we came to Dorrigo township, and were 

 now in the middle of the "cow country, ' thousands of acres of 

 which a few years back were covered with dense vine scrub. 



Having laid in a fresh stock of provisions, we went on a few 

 miles and made camp on some private i)roi)erty close to the long 

 descent of winding road which leads down to the coast on the 

 Bellingen River, which could be seen in the cleared river flats 

 miles away, winding among the farms to the I>ellingen Heads. 

 Soon we saw and heard the beautiful Rifie-Birds of Paradise. 

 Again we heard the call of the Wonga-Wonga, and the red 

 Pigeon, and here too the familiar Cat-P^ird call and the Satin 

 Bower-Birds. Flock Pigeons were sighted, but in small numbers 

 only. Swainson's Purple-crowned Pigeons were numerous, as 

 also were the Green-winged Pigeons. 



Almost immediately w^e were at work reconnoitring our new 

 surroundings with the eagerness of schoolboys, and some of us 

 crossing the road, which was hewn out of the hill-side, essayed 

 a descent to the deep gully below. This proved a most hazar- 

 dous, if not dangerous, feat owing to the tangled growth and 

 loose stones and precipitous slope, and the thick tree tops 

 hundreds of feet above our heads almost shutting out the light. 



A scramble up through dense wild raspberry vines and Lan- 

 tana brought us hot, tired, and dusty on to the road again, and 

 all we had learnt w^is that in these dense, dark gullies bird life 

 is scarce, whereas the birds we expected to find were away up 

 in the sunlit treetojis, with the exception of some few ground 

 dwel'ers, such as the Scrub Turkey, Log-runners, and the 

 Sjiotted Ground-Bird. 



F(jr davs we worked the dense scrubs and gullies and climbed 

 trees without number after Cat-Birds and Satin Bower-Birds, 

 but mostly we looked out for Scrub-l')irds and l\ine-]'>irds. We 

 were constantly finding nests of Cat-Birds and Bower-Birds, 

 which were neither old nor new — that is, they ])resented the ajv 

 pearance of being recently inhabited. The same with the Log- 

 runners, and one of our party, though not an ornithologist, soon 

 became so si^ecialised in finding the nests of these birds that it 

 became alnir)st uncanny. AH or nearly all the birds seemed to 

 us to have nested and hatched out their broods, and vet this was 



