140 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA : 



inegular steps or terraces formed by the tops of the rushes 

 being split or frayed out, then trampled or matted together 

 to within a few inches of the watex*. Hastily looking at 

 these nearest to us, we see a nest with five eggs, another 

 with four, and four with three each. Out of the scores of 

 nests on the rookery, only a few are occupied with helpless 

 young birds, not many days old. Their heads are black, 

 and the pinkish skin of the rest of their bodies shows 

 strongly through a moderate coating of white down." 



This bird is one of the best of our insect-destroying 

 birds, and, like the White-fronted Hexon (or Blue Crane 

 of the colonists), it is very partial to the small shell hosts 

 of the dreaded " fluke," and thus its great reputation as a 

 useful bird is well preserved. Found also in Australia 

 generally, also in the Molucca group and Papua. 



