8 Chandler, With Camera in Nnyth-West Victoria. [i^f'juiv 



fact that I did not observe the chicks at any time being fed. 

 That they were well fed was evident from their full, crops. The male 

 Pigeon was either too shy or too wary to approach the nest while 

 I was near. Perhaps the young Pigeons were fed in the mornings 

 or evenings. My observations were always interrupted by the 

 mysterious disappearance of the young birds. I often disturbed 

 a Pigeon nest-building, and on no occasion was the nest completed. 

 In this respect they were remarkably shy. The material used in 

 the construction of the nest varied considerably. One nest, in a 

 pepper-tree, had the base composed of twigs of the prickly salt- 

 wort {Sahola kali), and was built up of dry sticks and lined with 

 the seed-bearing twigs of the pepper-tree. Another, placed in a 

 lignum bush, was composed of lignum and eucalypt twigs, and 

 lined with the leaves of an acacia. The old birds and fully-fledged 

 young have a curious habit of jerking the head in a nervous 

 manner when disturbed or alarmed. 



Ground-Doves {Geopelia tranquilla) were numerous at Kulkyne, 

 but when I came to set up the camera the eggs had disappeared 

 from the nest in several instances. They are noisy little birds, 

 and a much-used note sounds like " Orioler." The soft cooing 

 of the Diamond Dove {Geopelia cuneata) was pleasant to hear, 

 but the species was not plentiful. At one spot where the sea- 

 green tobacco grew thickly on a low sand-hill I could, alwaj'S find 

 two pairs of these birds, and I found both nests : one was on the 

 horizontal fork of a box-tree and the other where the main bole 

 of a tobacco tree had broken and the top spur bent over, forming 

 a suitable hollow for the nest. I had a long wait to secure a 

 photograph, but it was a wait full of interest. Indeed, it is rarely 

 that the bird-photographer has an uninteresting moment, and 

 when he reviews his notes at the end of a day's work the dis- 

 comforts endured through cramp, &c., are voted minor matters. 

 My camera was camouflaged with leaves and branches, but the 

 Ravens, Crows, and Hawks passing over were quick to notice 

 the addition to the landscape, and in many instances circled 

 slowly above the spot and viewed it carefully. Fearing for the 

 safety of the eggs, I had several times to scare them away. 

 When a Whistling-Eagle hovered near, the Dove remained 

 perfectly still, and did not move until the Eagle had passed. The 

 most pleasing experience of the wait was when a flock of five or 

 six dozen Black-backed Magpies {Gyninorhina tibicen), including 

 young birds, settled on the tree under which I was hidden and in 

 adjacent trees, and for half an hour kept up a glorioiis warble of 

 their flute-like notes. It was marred only by an occasional 

 " Carr-r-r " from an old Raven who had settled on the tree to- 

 make a detailed examination of my camera or the eggs. This 

 nest of the Diamond Dove was a frail structure, and was com- 

 posed of twigs of the sea-green tobacco, with a few horsehairs 

 woven in as a slight attempt at lining. 



White-browed Babblers {Pomatorhimis siipcrciliosus) were 

 plentiful, and several nests were under observation. After careful 



