1;j4 CHENERY-^Binis <,f Western Daiiiiiij. 



Ford and a I'Ojje ou th<' l)ack axlo, before wc had it out again. 

 It was a weai-y i)ai-t.v of explorei-s who made camp iu the dark 

 and tni-ned in that night. No bii'ds of any intew^st were met 

 witli during this day's journey ex(e])t another pair or two of 

 <'innain<m-baeked Ground Birds. 



Owing to threatening rain, of which a few dro})s fell, we 

 weiv up at daylight next morning to get our bedding rolled 

 up, and after breakfast moved back to a hut a mile away which 

 we had passed on the jirevions evening, thinking that there 

 was no water nearer than the well. Howe\er, a rain-water 

 lank was in evidence, as this hut is occupied al times by a 

 luan who rides the Queensland fence. Here we left Mr. and 

 Mrs. Heywood to rest, give the Dodge car a look over, and to 

 remove some of the black mud which had accumulated on the 

 wlKHds. The other three started to walk r(mnd the lake 

 called IMnnaroo on the majis. Bird life was not i)lentiful, 

 altluutgh the combination of water with timber and ti-tree 

 and much grass hearing seed apjteared to ]ii-ovide all necessary 

 foi- a large bird population. Amongst the bii'ds seen during 

 our walk were a Little Eagle. Podargus with two eggs in a 

 h(^x-tree. nmny Zebra Finches, Pacific Herons, White-fronted 

 Herons, a ]»air of Brolgas. Leadbeater's Cockatoo with two 

 <'ggs, Caterpillar eaters, a solitary Pelican, and the usual 

 Min.ihs, Cockiifjos. (lalahs, and Honey-eaters. On the far 

 side of the Lake we had the good fortune to Hush a Black Fal- 

 <-on from a tree, tlu' bird, as usual, fiying straight away, and 

 Jiot ascending to soar over the nest. This contained four 

 fre.sh eggs — now in Dr. McOillivray's collection. When 

 irearing the cam]* we flushed a Masked Owl from a large hol- 

 low in a green box-tree. This contained se\en eggs. T»artly 

 incubated — Hie first nest of this s])ecies the writer has met 

 with, and only the second bird \\-e had sc^n during our travels. 

 Captain Start «'stablished a l)as<' dei)()t at this sp(n in LS4r) 

 <in -Inly 2Sth. From here he made journeys to Lake Torrens — 

 isbout 11") miles fi'om the original depot near ^lilparinka — 

 and back to Forf C.r<^y ; then nor'-west for 4()() odd miles over 

 the Strzelecki Cre<'k and the Stony Desert to Eyre's Greek, 

 ,'nid to within l.")!! mih's of the centre of the Conlinent, accord- 

 ing to his reckoning, and within one degree of latitude of the 

 Troijic. Drouglit conditions forced hin\ to return to the 

 dt'pol at Fort (Jicy. leaclied on Octobei- iMI. His third attem]»t 

 to rcacli his objeclivi' was made more due north and to the 

 i'asi of north nntil lie struck a fine creek, which he followed 

 f(u- some distance, and which he named Ooo}km-'s Creek, after 

 Judge CoopiM-. of Sonth .Xusfrnlia. He struggled back from 



