32 Barnard, Field Notes from Cape York. [i.^'juiy 



the scrub. I soon located the Butcher-Bird, and, after watching 

 her a while, had the satisfaction of seeing her fly on to her nest, 

 which contained eggs. I then began to search every tree, and 

 found the Manucodes' nest in the top of a thick bushy tree. The 

 nest was not complete, and I did not touch the Butcher-Birds' eggs. 

 Eight days later I took a very fine pair of Manucode's eggs from this 

 nest. 



Corvus coronoides. Crow. — Few birds observed. 



Strepera graculina. Pied Crow-Shrike. — One pair observed, which 

 had evidently got astray, and remained for a short period only in 

 the locality. 



It is a pecuUar fact, noticeable in the scrubs, that nests found in 

 an unfinished state, or containing incomplete clutches, and left for 

 further observation, were invariably destroyed before a second visit 

 to them was made. All the complete clutches I secured were taken 

 from nests that had not previously been visited. I attribute the 

 damage to bush rats, snakes, and lizards, but why these creatures 

 should be specially attracted to nests visited by human beings I am 

 at a loss to understand. In very few cases were young birds found 

 in a nest. The long breeding season of the Cape York scrub birds 

 is probably owing to the fact that very many of their nests are de- 

 stroyed in the manner described. 



In conclusion, it would appear from the foregoing list of birds that 

 the following are recorded for Cape York for the first time, viz. • — 

 Peaceful Dove, Black-fronted Dottrel, Native Companion, Yellow- 

 billed Spoonbill, White-fronted Heron, Little Cormorant, Black- 

 breasted Buzzard, Pale Flycatcher, Shafted and Rufous-fronted 

 Fantails, Red-breasted Babbler, Black Butcher-Bird, Little Friar- 

 Bird, Pied Crow Shrike. Regarding the two Fantails, alhiscapa and 

 rufifrons, possibly they were Northern forms of those better known 

 kinds. I was unable to procure their skins for examination. Also, 

 one small Quail was noted, but not identified. — H. G. B. 



On Yorke Peninsula. 



By (Capt.) S. a. White, R.A.O.U., Adelaide. 



On 14th April, 1911, four members of the R.A.O.U. left Port 

 Adelaide in one of the Gulf Steamship Co.'s boats, the Juno, for 

 Stansbury. The annual camp-out of the Union in 1909 was held 

 on Eyre Peninsula, which was partly worked : but as Yorke 

 Peninsula had never been thoroughly investigated ornithologically, 

 the members of our party had some interesting work before them, 

 if it were only in ascertaining if any of the western forms find 

 their way over Spencer Gulf on to Yorke Peninsula. The })arty 

 consisted of Mr. J. W. Mellor, Mr. H. D. Griffith, Mrs. S. A. White, 

 and the writer. We reached the little township of Stansbury early 

 in the afternoon. After changing, we walked out on the main 

 road to Yorketown for some distance, then cut across country 

 into stunted peppermint gums (£. odorata), with little or no 



