338



Mr. Charles Barrett,



Yanko Creek is a fine stream, whose banks are lined with big

eucalypts, while the trunks of dead gum-trees rise like twisted grey

columns from the water. We camped in a pleasant spot, where the

ashes of old fires told of former camps enjoyed by my friend and

others. On the morrow, a voyage among the dead gums in a

“ flattie ” took us to the nests of Ducks, Cockatoos, and Parrots.

Thousands of Rose-breasted Cockatoos (Cacatua roseicapilla ) were

breeding in the hollows, and the clamour made by the birds when

they returned from the feeding grounds was deafening. But their harsh

cries were forgiven, because of the birds’ beauty, Wheeling above

the trees, the noisy flocks presented a picture that will not soon fade

from memory. Rose-pink and silver-grey in the early sunlight

glowed and gleamed alternately against a pale blue sky. The

nestlings offered a harsh contrast to their parents : they are grotesque

and querulous creatures, at the very antipodes of grace and beauty.

Taken from a hollow, two infant Galahs protested vigorously, and,

when placed on a stump, menaced each other as well as the

photographer. Placing my bare hand and arm deep into a Galah’s

nesting hollow, I wondered how the young birds could stand the

high temperature during the blazing November days. One would

hardly be surprised to find their flesh baked brown ; but the heat

really agrees with them. There were hollows in every tree, which

in the great majority of cases were occupied by Galahs. In one tree

we noted seven nests, and many each had three or four.


Several pairs of Cockatoo-Parrots (Calopsitta novce-hollandice)

were nesting in the hollow limbs of dead trees in the creek. One

nest contained young birds, and we watched them at dinner. The

parent birds shared the duty of feeding the brood. Flying to the

end of the broken branch, the male was greeted with gaping beaks,

and into these, in turn, he regurgitated food. Then he flew away,

and presently the female appeared, and the process was repeated.

Unfortunately, a camera could not be used, as the nursery was in

a slender bough, about 30 feet above the water. Later, a more

accessible nest was discovered, and photographs of young Cockatoo-

Parrots were secured.


Continuing our voyage in the flattie, we next examined the

nest of a pair of Yellow Parrots (Platycercus flaveolus) in a deep



