THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



which generally have honey in their combs, build in hollow 

 stumps, and the humming noise they make, which can be heard 

 when close to, warns one not to approach nearer, as they sting 

 badly. Another small species build a large nest on the under 

 side of the branch of a tree, generally high up, and any birds' 

 nests situated near them we came to the conclusion we did not 

 want. On several occasions I noticed that the boughs of one 

 gum tree growing close to another seemed to have been leaning 

 against its neighbour until the bark of the other tree had grown 

 over it, making it appear as part of the same tree. 



On another occasion we rode out to some other swamps, and 

 while passing by some cattle camps often disturbed Maned Geese, 

 Chlamydochen jubata, feeding on the short green grass, also 

 Squatter Pigeons, Geophaps scripta, the latter frequently running 

 out of our way instead of flying. A flock of nine Black 

 Cockatoos, Calyptorhynchus funereus, flew over our heads. 

 They utter a different note to those found in Victoria, and breed 

 in June and July. A few Pacific Herons were noticed building, 

 and a nest with two eggs in of the Falco frontitus secured. 

 These birds seemed to feed on dragon flies and other insects, as 

 well as small birds, such as quail, &c. We found the nest and 

 three eggs of the Little Friar Bird, Philemon citreogularis, sus- 

 pended from a thin fork of a sapling, and not far off, on a tall 

 tree, the nest of a Crow with its first egg in it ; while on a thin 

 branch of a big gum, near the water's edge, the bulky nest of a 

 Whistling Eagle was seen with the bird sitting on it, but it was 

 so situated as to be unobtainable, so was not disturbed. A flock 

 of Spoonbills, Platibis Jlavipes, rose as we approached one swamp, 

 but they do not seem to breed here, and the long-necked Plotus 

 Bird soared high into the air, very seldom flapping its wings, but 

 ascending by circling round and round till almost out of sight. 

 A few freshwater shells were obtained, but only of two kinds, 

 found on the under surface of the leaves of the Blue Water Lily. 

 We also observed a caterpillar on the under surface of the leaves, 

 which consequently lives under water, but found no cocoons, 

 In some places the water was thickly covered with the leaves of 

 the lilies, and the bright green formed a pleasing contrast to the 

 gaunt dead gum trees standing in their midst. On a dead tree 

 near the middle of a swamp a Blue Crane, or White-fronted 

 Heron, Ardea Novo>-Hollandice, had its flat nest with four eggs. 

 On our return we noticed a pair of Crested Oreoicas, Oreo'lca 

 cristata. These birds have the curious habit of placing dead 

 caterpillars on the outside rim of their nest, for what purpose I 

 am unable to say. We passed through a thicket of flowering 

 Melaleuca trees, Melaleuca leneadendron, on the banks of a creek; 

 the scent of their flowers was very strong and by no means 

 pleasant ; hawks and crows seem to use the soft bark to line 



