Vol. XXII. 

 192.S 



i AicGlLl', Jrircis of Lake I'rowc Pislr'ul 237 



Birds of Lake Frome District, South Australia 



By J. XKIL -McC-IIJ'. K..\.().l'.. Kin-'s i'ark, Adelaide. 

 I 'art. I. 



The l^ake Fronie Districl coiiipri.ses al)()m six thousand ,^(|uare 

 miles of country. It we lake a map oi South Australia and 

 draw a line from h'arina through the centre of Lake Frome 

 and on to the New South Wales border, this would very nearly 

 represent the middle of the district. If we travel along this 

 line in imagination, we will gain some knowledge of the country. 

 First we start in the high rugged hills of the Flinders Range, 

 then pass over "gibber" (small stones) tablelands, and open 

 plains, till we reach Lake Frome, which is a lake in name only, 

 it being nothing more than a saltpan, and containing water only 

 in its deepest parts after a heavy rainfall. Passing over Lake 

 Frome, we reach the sandhills, a collection of high red sand 

 dunes, running in an east-west direction. \Ve travel through 

 these till we reach the New South Wales border. In the sand- 

 hills many small lakes are to be seen, unfortunately usually dry, 

 and containing water for a few months only after rain. Several 

 artesian bores form channels of water several miles long. These 

 are the only permanent waters ; in fact, with the exce])tion of 

 a few rock springs and a small area of mud springs in the Flin- 

 ders Range, the whole district is devoid of permanent natural 

 waters, though water is easily obtained by sinking wells. The 

 district is unfortunately subject to severe droughts. At the 

 time of writing it is eleven months since the last fall of rain. 



The average yearly rainfall is 5 inches. To compile a list 

 of birds in this part on a given date would not be fair to the 

 district, for in drought time few birds are to be seen, they hav- 

 ing sought better cjuarters, and in a good season the list would 

 contain many species that visit the locality only at long intervals. 

 The writer, from observations made during a i)eriod of 15 years' 

 residence, endeavours to record every sj^ecies identified during 

 this time. Some of the notes may not agree with observations 

 made in a country with a higher and more regular rainfall, but 

 they tend to show that many birds alter tlieir haliits to conform 

 with the conditions ruling in their habitat. It will be noticed 

 that the breeding season is very irregular. In bad years, few 

 birds. attempt to breed; in fact, most of them seek better quar- 

 ters, but, when a break-up of the drought occurs, they return 

 and commence nesting operations at once. The best rains 

 usually fall in the summer months, so that birds which breed in 

 the spring about Adelaide are often found nesting in this district 

 at the end of the summer or in autumn or winter. In good 

 seasons some birds nest practically all th=? year, and in this way 

 make up for the non-breeding years. 



