14 PAR^'^ON^S — A Motor Trip to Western QueenslLiad. 



boggy, uecessitating the use of chains ou the wheels, and at 

 times tlie >sliovel had to be resorted to. 



A wallv along the bore stream was full of interest, because 

 it was lined with timber, and as very few trees grew away from 

 the stream, the birds had congregated here for nesting. The 

 bare-eyed cockatoos and rose-breasted gallahs were nesting 

 freely. They didn't mind if the hollow was only a foot or 18 

 inches from the grimnd, so long as it was large enough to receive 

 their white eggs. The red-browed pardalot was seen entering a 

 spout, but had not completed its nest. Odd nests were noticed 

 of the fork-tailed kite, containing two eggs. 



Tlie yellow minah had a nest with four eggs, and a pair of 

 pied Grallina were rearing five chicks. A patch of reeds har- 

 boured several reed warblei-s, which appeared to be each trying 

 to sing louder and sweeter than its neighbour, while white- 

 lieaded stilts, with their pretty pink legs were wading in the 

 shallows with a pair of black-fronted dotterel, darting after 

 insects on the edge of the water, and a little distant was a pair 

 of mountain duck. On returning to the homestead a little back 

 from the bore stream, the desert chat was again met with, and 

 a pair of Australian dotterel, while at any time a dozen fork- 

 tailod kites could be counted hovering just overhead. 



We follow^ed the Birdsvillo track over the Cooper River, 

 and in trying to cross the bore stream we got hopelessly bogged, 

 the rear wheels and petrol tank coing clean under the mud and 

 slush. This meant three hours' liard work in building a small 

 coffer dam nnd baling out the slush before we were safely across 

 and on firm ground again. Cooper's Creek at this point, is 

 thickly timbered with Coolibah, and although a sharp lookout 

 was kept for the new sub-species of tree creeper that was col- 

 lected from Cooper's Creek by Capt. S. A. White, nothing was 

 seen or heard of it. Several red-backed grass imrrots and blue- 

 bonnets were noticed, and the bare-eyed cockatoos and rose 

 breasted cockatoos had taken possession of nearly 

 Jill the suitable nesting hollows. Soon after leaving 

 the Cooper's Creek wp came into country that was 

 flooded by the flood waters of the Diamantina, 

 which forced us to leave the regular track and rtick our 

 way. making a big detour around the margin of the flood. 

 While skirting this flooded country we came across a great 

 number of Ausfralian dotterel and Australian Pratincoles, and 

 several fine pairs of the native companions were passed wn'thin 

 about ."^0 yards of the <'ar. They were not at all alarmed by 

 the motor, and in most cases did not trouble to flv unless we 



