^"'i,^o'^'] lioyal AiistnilasiaH Ornithologisls' Uniun. 227 



than can hv adcqnatcly dealt with : ;iiul is a small return ti) the 

 species of birds concerned, the members sacrihced being utilized 

 as far as possible for the advance of knowledge, the knowledge 

 thus gained perchance benefiting in some way the species as a 

 whole. There is no greater check on collecting birds than the 

 self-imposed necessity of skinning each specimen obtained — a 

 task rarely taking less than half an hour, and frequently neces- 

 sitating work late at night, or even into the early hours of tlie 

 morning, after a hard day in the field. 



I have frequently given the following as an indication of the 

 various ways in which valuable information may be collected 

 and nearly every possible use made of the dead bird. The speci- 

 men was a Wonga Pigeon, killed under a permit. When the 

 bird was picked up, blood slides were at once made from a small 

 wound, and were afterwards searched for parasites. The colours 

 of the iris and other soft parts were then noted. Before skinning, 

 the feathers were searched for Mallophaga and mites. The skin 

 was then removed and prepared as a specimen. The crop was 

 retained for identification of its food contents, and the intestines 

 and body were searched for parasitic worms. Finally, my wife 

 ate the carcass. I do not remember whether the cat was given 

 the bones ! In the above enunciation, one item is omitted — one 

 of some moment that Captain White has been employing for 

 some while. This consists in noting the total length, spread of 

 wings, and other measurements, to which, perhaps, weight might 

 be added. If, as far as possible, these various observations are 

 made on every bird collected, in the course of a few years a large 

 amount of valuable data will have accumulated, and our know- 

 ledge of» Australian birds and their ecology greatly extended. 

 During the visits to Stradbroke Island and the Bunya Mountains 

 it was the endeavour of those amongst us, who had permits to 

 collect, to strive after this ideal as far as possible. I think we 

 all feel satisfied that not one of the few birds collected was 

 sacrificed needlessly or without making full use of its poor 

 mortal remains. 



The Food of the Birds. — The stomachs or crops of all specimens 

 obtained were saved, labelled, and handed over to Mr. Henry 

 Tryon, Government Entomologist, Brisbane, for full investigation 

 and submission (where necessary) to various authorities for the 

 identification of seeds, &c., present. As Mr. Tryon is preparing 

 a report on these results, they need not be further considered 

 here as a whole. Attention may, however, be drawn to two matters 

 of interest in connection with this subject. 



In examining several specimens of Pennant's Parrot {Platycercus 

 ■pennanti), the crops were found to contain a number of grubs. 

 It was also noted that the birds frequented the tops of the bunya 

 pines {Arancaria hidwelli). Anyone standing quietly under one 

 of these trees would often hear something falling — now on this 

 side, now on that — around him. W^atching w^hat these were, he 

 would find they were the cylindrical male flower "cones" 



