^°\g"-] y\.\i:()\\A.\\'\<\\. .lustraliau I'dlcan. 171 



Leaving the island we row back past the Cormorant colonies, 

 and find the heronry of Egrets had been extended since our last 

 visit, as also that of the Little Black Cormorants. Numbers of 

 the nests of the latter species were on small saplings bordering 

 the creek, and the birds themselves were perched all over se\eral 

 dry trees. 



It was soon after this that a White-breasted Sea Eagle 

 (HaliacUis leitcogaster) flew across the stream in front of our 

 boat. This is my first record of this species hereabouts, though 

 Dr. Chenery has recorded it •from the Murray Ri\er not far 

 from Wentworth. 



Three weeks later, I again visited the Pelicans. After cam[)- 

 ing on the creek, Mr. Allison and I were ferried across and 

 walked along the margin of the lake, whilst the rest of our ]iarty 

 proceeded by boat. 



When opposite the island we sat down and listened to the 

 continuous groaning noise coming from it, caused by the multi- 

 tude of young birds calling in their harsh tones for food. The 

 island was a scene of busy and ceaseless activity, old birds con- 

 stantly arriving and departing from the mass of birds on the 

 island, where there seemed to be little or no standing room left. 

 The water on either side and for a distance out from the island 

 swarmed with the birds . The sandbank extending out at right 

 angles to the island had dried ofi^, and was fully occupied. Seve- 

 ral of the birds were i)erched on the red-gum trees. 



The odours wafted to us by the breeze had heightened since 

 our earlier visits, and the increased number of young birds here 

 made the place a noisy one. 



The older chicks, from four to five weeks old, were covered 

 with .short down, and showed dark sprouting feathers on the 

 scapular tracts and over the humerus w'ith the primaries just 

 indicated. 



These young were now massed in mobs of anything from 10 

 to 40 or 50. On being approached they waddled off together with 

 unsteady gait, balancing themselves with their featherless wings, 

 and tumbling over all obstacles in their efforts to escape in droves, 

 or crowded together in a closely ]Kicked mass, in which each bird 

 was making frantic efforts to get .to the centre of the mass, as 

 in a Rugby football scrum, or they are huddled all together at 

 the water's edge, afraid as yet to take to the water, although they 

 seena to recognise it as their safest refuge. Many have over- 

 come this, and are sw-imming out either singly or in small and 

 compact companies. The gregarious instinct seems to assert 

 itself so soon as the chicks leave the nest. Many nests were 

 still being found, and numbers of old nests that had been vacated 

 by the earlier hatched young were reoccupied, and contained 

 fresh clutches. 



The long, narrow bank before mentioned had several com- 

 mencing nests on it, and also two nests of the Black Swan, each 

 containing six eggs. 



