I06 Stray Feathers-. [^^^ 



Emu 

 Oct. 



Queensland they undoubtedl}.' consumed large quantities of 

 Cormorants' eggs, but in the days of the blacks there were 

 numerous large swamps where the birds bred freely. Now, Hke 

 the blacks, these swamps are gone, and the Cormorants breed 

 there no more. Queensland is fast becoming a " dry " country ; 

 by " dry " I mean that the surface water is fast disappearing — 

 not merely for a time, but for good. Thirty or forty years ago we 

 had numerous large creeks, which formed chains of large water- 

 holes and swamps, wliere the various kinds of waterfowl bred in 

 considerable numbers, and which were teeming with fish, and 

 which even a protracted drought could not dry. What do we 

 find to-day ? Where these large holes existed are beds of sand. 

 One can follow the creeks from end to end, even after rain, and 

 not find a drop of water ; consequently the fish are restricted in 

 their breeding-grounds, and the Cormorants are forced to remain 

 at those waters that do not dry vip, with the result that they are 

 rapidly cleaning the fish out. Nor are the Cormorants the only 

 culprits ; the PeUcan takes his toll — and it is not a small one.— 

 H. Greensill Barnard, R.A.O.U. Rio Station, Edungalba, Q. 



The Black-listed Shag. — While in the Monaro district of New 

 South Wales, in April and May last, I noticed a considerable 

 number of Black Shags fishing in the rivers — ^probably in quest 

 of the fry of " Enghsh " perch, which are fairly abundant. The 

 rivers in that quarter were at one time well stocked with trout — ■ 

 Brown, Loch Leven, and Rainbow — but now, apparently, only 

 the Rainbow trout is present. These fish, in the main, seem to 

 have died out during severe droughts, when the streams became 

 abnormally sluggish, and therefore unsuited for the healthy 

 existence of the trout. Their disappearance cannot fairly be 

 attributed to Cormorants, as the carcasses of many adult fish 

 were found lying near the banks. Yet the Cormorants were, 

 say, 30 years ago, much less numerous in that quarter. The 

 presence of tasty introduced fish has no doubt attracted these 

 birds thither in greater numbers, though they always, to some 

 extent, fed in these streams on the native minnows and young 

 eels. Cormorants have, I think, at any rate two good points — 

 viz.; they include the young of the lagoon or river tortoise {Chelidon 

 longicollis) and those of the brown eel {Anguilla reinhardtii) in 

 their diet. The adults of both tortoise and eel are themselves 

 greedy devourers of the spawn and fry of our valuable food fishes, 

 which, by the way, do not include the dainty and fastidious trout. 

 The latter fish is, I think, too difftcult to catch ever to be of much 

 economic value. — H. V. Edwards. Bega, N.S.W. 



Macpherson Range Scrub-Birds. — In his interesting description 

 of his expedition to the Macpherson Range {Emu, April, 1920), 

 Mr. Sid. W. Jackson, R.A.O.U., mentions that specimens of the 



