38 GHEK KEY— Notes on Bir>h of South-West Qaeenslnmf. 



I 

 which we had come, two small yum creeks were carefully 



worked and many galahs, bare-eyed .cockatoos, yellow-throated 

 minahs, tree martins, whistling eagles, white-shouldered cater- 

 pillar eaters, warbling grass parrakeets. owlet night jars, all 

 nesting, were met with. One nest of the little eagle containing 

 one egg partly incubated was taken, and a second one ready 

 for eggs Avas found. This was my first .introduction to this 

 fine bird in its native haunts. T have never seen them on the 

 Darling or on the ^lurray. They are nowhere plentiful and sit 

 fairly closely when they have eggs. I believe either one or two 

 eggs is a full clutch for this species. T also met with the 

 Allied Kite at Tdune for the first time. This bird,Avas not 

 nesting there, but old nests were seen and the 1)iids visited the 

 hotel each day from the creeks. Their swallow tail renders 

 them easy of identification. Along the road we flushed one 

 pair of Australian dotti-ells and saw one ]>air of crested wedge- 

 bills, zebra finches, Avhite-winged Avrens, yelloAv-fronted chats, 

 and of course the ubiquitous ground lark, grallinas, black- 

 backed magpies, ravens, and an occasional Avedge-tail eagle 

 Avere seen. We met Avith one family of grey jum])ers {^truthi- 

 dUn at Iduna Creek, the only ones Ave saw during the trip, and 

 a solitary pair of (/It/ri/phild (nhifroris. Probably these last 

 tAvo sj)ecies were migrating because I have generally found 

 ^striithidrd ])artial to pine country, and (ihjvjiphUd lo ti<>wery 

 scrub. Although our hosts i\i fduna, Mr. and Mrs. Bai-ra- 

 clougli, had made us most comfortable, we were not sorry to 

 board the coach when it did arrive, and continue our journey 

 on to Mil])arinka via ( 'obham Lake. Our car and driver Ave had 

 to leave behiiul. as we had broken our, only two back axles and 

 could see that it Avas not strong enough for the load ovim' such 

 roads as aac antici])ated having to negotiate. 



After a , rather trying journey ]\rilparinka Avas reached at 

 midnight, and the journey continued next morning on from 

 there, some 25 miles to Tibooburra 220 miles north of .Broken 

 Hill. There is a fine growth of gidgea passed through after 

 leaving ^lil])ariuka, and there is also a. good gum creek well 

 lined Avith gum and box tind)er that would Avell re])ay working 

 lor the hawk family, as it seems to extend most of the AA'ay to 

 Cobhani Lake. Mount T'oole is seen on the left after leaving 

 .Milparitdca. This is named after a surveyor of Sturt's party, 

 who died there frcun scurvy after the party had been held up 

 by drought conditions in a camp on some permanent AA'ater 

 for over six months. The country in the neighbourhood of 

 Tibooburra is hilly with outcrops of granite boulders and low 

 ra.nges sparsely timbered, but now rendered most <'heerful by 



