Vol. XXI 

 1922 



] WHITLOCK, Notes from Nidlarbor Plain. 175 



attempts to catch them failed, .\nother pair at one time, accom- 

 panied by three young ones, was also observed, and it is thought 

 the female nested in the firebox of a derelict portable boiler 

 standing a little distance from the railway. I visited a series 

 of the blow-holes similar to those described by Captain White, 

 which exist some miles to the west of Loongana. The upward 

 current of air in some of them was very strong, and possibly this 

 was the cause of their not being tenanted by any Owls. In one 

 only did I see traces of bird-life. (J)wls are known at the large 

 railway depot at Rawlinna, and are said to roost in cavernous 

 hollows there. But at Naretha the only evidence of their pres- 

 ence was the record of one being caught by the foot in a trap 

 set for rabbits. Evidently they have not spread so far west- 

 ward on the plain, up to the present. Barn Owls, for all 

 that, occur in the south-west of this State, as I have seen indivi- 

 duals in a dense tea-tree swamp near my own home. 



At Zanthus I shot one or two Crows for identification purposes. 

 In point of size they agreed closely with those obtained by Air. 

 Sid. W. Jackson, on the Diamantina River, Western Queensland. 

 At Haig a nest in a large bush was pointed out to me as a Crow's 

 nest, and I met with one or two young birds near at hand. But" 

 viewed through a field glass they looked more like Ravens. The 

 species was rare out on the plain proper. 



]\Ir. Gibson records a second species of Cuckoo-Shrike, seen 

 but not obtained. I saw only the Black-faced {Graiicaliis novcc- 

 hollandicc), but both at Zanthus and Naretha small parties of the 

 Ground Cuckoo-Shrike (Pteropodocys niax'una) were noted; and 

 I obtained a nest of three typical eggs, placed in a half -dead tree, 

 standing in a large area of dead and bleached bushes. The nest 

 was the usual substantial structure of very fine grasses thickly 

 interwoven with fur and spiders' webs. 



At Zanthus I noted four species of the genus Meliphaga, 

 viz. — sonora, ornata, phimida, and leucotis. The last named 

 species was very local. At Naretha, only the Singing Honey- 

 eater {M. sonora) was present. It was breeding commonly, 

 and I found a number of nests containing both eggs and 

 young. The eggs varied much in size and shape, and in one 

 case were nearly colourless. This species probably extends right 

 across the plain, as I found pairs in the dongas at Loongana. 

 During August the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys 

 rufogidaris) was very common at Naretha. Numbers passed on 

 migration, and odd pairs, I think, remained to breed. A nest 

 that had been disturbed by a lizard or other marauder was 

 noticed. Near Haig I noted a few pairs in the dongas, and 

 occasionally in the timber, w^here they were feeding amongst the 

 large clumps of mistletoe. 



The only other Honeyeater observed on the plains were one 

 or two White-fronted Honeyeaters (Glyciphda albifrons), pos- 

 sibly blown out of their course by the heavy westerly gales in 

 October. 



