1^0 Royal Australasian Orniihologisis' Union. [i^f"jnii. 



species than actually occur or have occurred in the Swan River 

 district. Many of the species found throughout the rest of 

 AustraUa are either entirely absent from the South-West or have 

 been met with only occasionally in this large region, whilst a 

 considerable proportion of the species which occur in the South- 

 West are either confined to the interior districts or are limited 

 to the country near the south coast. 



It has often been a matter of surprise to me that there are 

 practically no accounts to be foimd of the birds which occur in 

 the neighbourhood of the principal cities of the Commonwealth. 

 North's " Birds of County Cumberland (Sydney) " and Belcher's 

 " Birds of Geelong " are, I think, the only exceptions. If we add 

 to these Carter's " Birds of the North-West Cape " and Berney's 

 " Birds of the Richmond District, North Queensland," we shall 

 almost exhaust the list of works on the avifauna of particular 

 districts of Austraha written by men who have been residents in 

 the districts concerned. 



The writer was from 1912 to 1920 on, the staff of the Western 

 Australian Museum in Perth as biologist. For nearly three years 

 (from 1916 to 1919), however, he was absent from Perth, so that 

 he can only claim to have been observing the birds about Perth 

 for five years. As he has now left Western Australia, he thinks 

 it may meet with the approval of Austrahan ornithologists if he 

 attempts to place on record his views as to the status of tlie 

 species found in the area which he knows best. 



II. — ^Bibliography. 

 In compiling these notes the writer has supplemented liis own 

 observations by adding records of all specimens from the district, 

 in the collection of the Western Austrahan Museum, of species 

 he has not met with. He has also utiUzed information previously 

 published, but this is comparatively scanty. The following is, 

 as far as he is aware, a complete bibhography of ornithological 

 articles on the Perth district : — 



" Notes on Lake Yanchep," by A. W. Milligan, Ejjiu, vol. iii., 



p. 20, 1903. 

 " Notes from Guildford, W.A.," by H. E. Hill, Emu, vol. iii., 



p. 226, 1904. 

 " A Visit to Rottnest Island, W.A.," by F. Lawson Whitlock, 

 Emu, vol. iv., p. 129, 1905. 

 In addition, records of observations of a few species in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Perth will be found in Gould's " Handbook to the 

 Birds of Australia " and Campbell's " Nests and Eggs of Aus- 

 tralian Birds," as well as in the following papers : — 



" List of Birds Collected by the Calvert Exploring Expedi- 

 tion," by G. A. Keartland, Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aus- 

 tralia, xxii., p. 125, 1898. 



" List of Birds Collected in Western AustraUa," by E. Ashby, 

 Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Australia, xxv., p. 132, 1901. 



