^I'^^^J WHITLOCK, Notes from NnUarhor Plain. 181 



ture males of P. rufiventris should follow the same rule. Without 

 wishing to cast any doubt on the decision of such an experienced 

 ornithologist as Mr. Campbell, I confess myself a l)it puzzled, 

 and if any other ornithologist should visit Naretha I hope he 

 will try to observe the birds further. 



'I'he White-browed I>abbler {Pomatostomus superciliosa) was 

 as far out on the plain as Haig. It was breeding freely both at 

 Zanthus and Naretha. Nests were usually placed in large prickly 

 Hakea bushes. The eggs were embedded in rabbit fur. 



Pallid Cuckoos (Cucuhts pallidus) were very common on my 

 arrival at Naretha, but they appeared to be chiefly migrants. I 

 saw an occasional bird in the timber on the plain. The Black- 

 eared Cuckoo {Mesocalius osciilans) was distinctly rare. I 

 found one egg in a deserted Red-throat's nest at Naretha. 



In no part of the west have I observed the small Bronze Cuckoo 

 (Clialcites basalis) so common as on the plain near Haig. It 

 was fairly i>lentiful around Naretha too, and I found its eggs in 

 the nests of Whiteface {Apheloccphala leucopsis) and White- 

 winged W'Ven- Warbler {Malurus leuconotus). One was an 

 especially large and boldly blotched egg; but, though I examined 

 numbers of the local Bronze Cuckoos with the aid of a field- 

 glass, and listened carefully to their notes, I have no reason to 

 think there was another species at Naretha. At Haig the young 

 were on the wing, and haunting the verges of the timber belts. 

 I had over a dozen in view at one time in some small trees grow- 

 ing in an isolated clump. Every day I met with individuals being 

 fed by foster parents — Malurus leuconotus, .iphclocephala leu- 

 copsis, Bpthianura tricolor, and B. aurifrons, Epthianurcc being 

 the most frequent guardians. The female of E. aurifrons 

 fluttered on the ground in front of me if a young Cuckoo was 

 about. 



The only species of Tree-runner noted was the Black-capped 

 {Neositta pileata). I used to see this Tree-runner at my Boorara 

 camp, so no doubt its range extends eastwards to the edge of the 

 plain. I met with a few parties near Naretha, but none on the 

 plain proper. 



Two species of Tree-Creepers (Climacteris) were noticed. 

 But had I not read Mr. Gibson's list, I should not have been 

 prepared to find the Rufous Tree-Creeper (C. rufa) so far east 

 as Zanthus. Years ago, at my Boorara camp, which was situated 

 in a tract of countr}^ where the tea-tree of the interior was plen- 

 tiful, I occasionally saw a pair or two of Climacteris. One pair 

 was nearly always around the camp. The birds became very 

 fearless, and I often saw them feeding on ants attracted by the 

 discarded jam tins. This pair was undoubtedly the White- 

 browed (C. superciliosa). After leaving Boorara, I went to the 

 Murchison goldfield, in the neighbourhood of Lake Austin. Here 

 I did some collecting for the Perth Museum, and obtained speci- 

 mens of C. superciliosa. My next experience was to find the 

 latter species, with C. rufa, in a tract of York gums, 100 miles 



