Vol. II. 

 1902 



j MiLLlGAN, Field Observations on W. Australian Birds. 69 



exclusive homes for the Emu Wrens, Spotted Scrub-Wrens, 

 Black-throated Coachwhip-Birds, and Bristle-Birds. The 

 " stinkwoods " and dryandra scrubs furnished similar homes for 

 the " Gnous " and Broad-tailed Tits ; the banksias and red 

 gums for Spine-bills, Red-tipped Pardalotes, and Red-capped 

 Parrakeets ; the jarrah trees for the Rufous Tree-Creepers ; the 

 karri belts for the Melithrepti and Spotted Pardalotes ; and the 

 brook flats for the Red-eared Finches. 



My great surprise on my first trip was the abundance of bird- 

 life in the locality above indicated, both in species and indi- 

 viduals, and I declare that neither in Victoria nor Queensland 

 have I seen so many species and individuals within a similar 

 area to that traversed. Upon the coastal hills I can say without 

 the slightest exaggeration that there were tens of thousands of 

 Leaden Crow-Shrikes and " Twenty-eight " Parrakeets. The 

 brook thickets were literally alive with the restless, pugnacious 

 Long-billed Honey-eaters, whose querulous voices drowned 

 all other sounds. In the dryandra scrubs hundreds of Wattle 

 Birds gurgled and barked, and in the karri forests the continuous 

 scold of the Melithrepti and the ceaseless repetition of the 

 monotonous " sleep-baby " call of the Spotted Pardalote became 

 distinctly wearisome. 



On the other hand, the whole or partial absence of many 

 species common in and around Perth, and even at Busselton 

 (only 30 miles northward of the Margaret River) was most 

 noticeable. For example, the Brown Honey-eaters, so common 

 about Perth, were not to be seen. Of the Long-billed Magpies 

 I only saw two pairs, although at Busselton they were very 

 common. Of the Singing Honey-eaters, another very common 

 form at Perth, I only saw one pair, and of the Pallid Cuckoos, 

 which two months before had arrived at Perth, I never saw or 

 heard one. It would almost appear as if the Pallid Cuckoos 

 never entered the forest country, but left it wholly to the Fan- 

 tailed Cuckoos, which were fairly numerous. The Bee-eater, 

 which is so common about Perth from October to March, is 

 unknown in the district under notice. 



Although I failed in achieving the primary object of my first 

 expedition — namely, that of securing a skin of the female 

 Atrichia claniosa, nevertheless I was gratified with the general 

 result, for I not only secured a new species of Sphemira (see 

 Emu, vol. i., p. 6']'), and many uncommon birds hereafter noted, 

 but I also collected a lot of interesting botanic specimens, 

 included in which I believe there will prove to be a new orchid. 

 In addition, I learned and recorded some of the folk-lore and 

 legends of the south-west aborigines, and also the calendar by 

 which they know the arrival of certain fish to the local waters 

 by the blossoming of certain trees and shrubs. Being in the 

 neighbourhood of the now famous Margaret River caves I did 

 not miss the opportunity of seeing them, although from an 



