^""kn^'] EDWARDS. ./ South-Coastal Sclhoruc. 43 



PuRinus tenuirostris. Short-tailed Petrel, Mutton-Bird.— Passed by 

 in an apparently never-ending- stream about October, journeying south. 

 Also common at times on the sea. 



Bruchigavia nova'-hoUandiae. Silver Gull.^ — Very common. Cas- 

 pian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) and White-fronted Tern (Sterna 

 striata). — Fairly common about shores, also other sea fowl which i 

 could not with certainty identify. 



Haeniatopus ostralegus. Pied Oyster-catcher. — Occurred in odd 

 couples only. This bird is harassed a good deal by gunners. Was 

 at one time common about the sea and lake shores. 



Lobibyx novae-hollandiae. Spurwing Plover. — Small companies or 

 odd couples appeared at times on swampy flats, and occasionally bred 

 there. I discovered one nest by chancing to observe the plovers keep- 

 ing off vagrant pigs with fierce wing-buff"etings. 



Charadrius ruficapillus. Red-capped Dottrel. — Hooded (C. cucuUa- 

 tus), and Black-fronted (C. melanops) were common. Latter nested 

 much under sage brush, the other two varieties more on the open 

 sands. But sometimes the Black-fronted Dottrel nested on grassy 

 plots or among debris left by high tides, w^hen the nest was not easily 

 found. 



Xumenius cyanopus. Australian Curlew. — Fairly common in sum- 

 mer on the shores of Murrah Estuary. As these sombre-plumaged 

 birds stood with backs bent and long sickle bills probing in the damp 

 mud and sand, they always struck me as presenting an appearance of 

 intense dejection. 



Pisobia acuminata. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. — Small companies ap- 

 peared one season about October, feeding about surface pools near the 

 salt lake. Eastern Little Stint (P. ruficollis). — One seen feeding in 

 a swamp. Greenshank (Glottis nebularius). — One example seen. 



Gallinago australis. Australian Snipe. — Occurred singly in swamps 

 about October. 



Burhinus grallarius. Southern Stone-plover. — Once ran in the open 

 country in considerable flocks, but now occurs only in odd couples. 

 The advent and great increase, in this quarter, of foxes has been fatal 

 to this bird. 



Eupodotis australis. Australian Bustard. — Many years ago, when 

 this fine bird flocked each summer to the Monaro plains to breed, odd 

 pairs and single birds sometimes penetrated as far as Bunga, and were 

 seen on open grassy hills. In the Bega district, about 12 miles (crow^- 

 flight) further inland, the bustard was also at that time fairly 

 common. 



Notophoyx novae-hollandiae. White-fronted Heron. — Common about 

 the salt lake and estuary. 



Demiegretta matook. Reef Heron. — Usually occurred singly along 

 the coast or about the salt-lake and estuary. 



Nycticorax caledonicus. Nankeen Night-heron.' — Appeared occasion- 

 ally about Murrah Estuary, where a pair nested in a river oak of 

 moderate height. 



Botaurus poiciloptilus. Australian Bittern. — Flushed occasionally 

 from reed and rush beds about the lake and estuary. Little Bittern 

 (Ixobrychus minutus). — Very rare. Saw one example standing in 

 the shallows of the estuary. For fully a minute the bird uttered a 

 peculiar call. It then flew off. I did not see one of these birds 

 again. 



Chenopis atrata. Black Swan. — Nested twice in Eurungonia (Bunga) 

 Lake. One nest, found on 10th June, 1920, had seven eggs, even then 

 fairly well incubated. They varied a good deal in size and shape. 



