(JHENI':in—\(>i<s on iiirds. 83 



jet be .seen in places between the .sandstone I'uyers. It was 

 probably worked out and abandoned, but an lmmen.se amount 

 of labour must have been necessary, with the primitive imple- 

 ments at their disjiosal, to make the excavation tliere today. 

 Singing Honey -eaters Avei-e plentiful on these sparsely timbered 

 uplands. These birds appear to me to prefer more open 

 country. A solitary pair of Hooded Robins had a nest with 

 two fledged young in a gidgea tree. The following day the 

 \Vhole party, including Mr. (Jlive and Mr.s. Courick, set out on 

 horseback for a more extended insj>ectioii of this interesting 

 country. No J)e.sert Cliats were seen, which rather surprised 

 us, as the country apj)eared ideal for them. A l^.ennett's 

 Crow's ne.st Avith young was examined, and the usual (ralahs 

 and Bare eyed Cockatoos Hew from nearly evei-y hollow when 

 we approached a gum creek. Thecountry traversed was rough 

 and hilly and the jtrevailing timber mulga. A peculiar rock 

 formation was examined on one ridge, hardened sandstone, 

 which had evidently with.stood the weathering effects of ages, 

 stood up in various curious formations, most of them hollow, 

 not unlike chimneys. Some were as liigh as four feet. Of 

 course I do not attempt to explain this formation geologically, 

 but the cause mentioned may hnve accounted for them. During 

 our ride we had evidence of some evidently contageous disease 

 that was playing havoc with the kangaroos. Four recently 

 <lead ones were seen and others, almost too weak to move out of 

 the way. They appeared to be in good condition and there 

 v/as abundance of feed and water. Mr. Conrick attributes this 

 sickness amongst the kangaroos, which he has only noticed in 

 good seasons when green feed is abundant, to the scourge of 

 sand flies which cause glandular swellings in the throat. 

 Tlnfoi'tunatelv, we did not have time 1o jierform a post-mortem 

 examination on any of the victims. A well-grown Joey — left 

 an orphan by its mother's death — was run down and captured 

 but died next morning at the homestead. 



Amongst the birds seen during to day's ride were a i»air 

 of young Crow Shrikes (captured), a pair of Ground Cuckoo 

 Shrikes, and Orange-fronted Chats. On the jjrevious 



evening, during a walk along St. Ann's Creek, we flushed 

 a delicate mv1. T believe the only one seen during the trij), and 

 also identified Collared Ci-ow Shrike, Ked-ra])]ie(l Kobin, Ulack- 

 throated Grebe, and Rufus breasted Thickhead. A Red-backed 

 Kingfisher's burrow was examined containing one fresh egg. 

 The aboriginal name for this bird is ''Chula" and for the Red- 

 lored Tardalote "Poopa tella lilla." both names apiK'aring to be 

 descriptive of the bird's note. 



