176 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



campbeUi, in all its phases, together with nest and eggs ; and 

 Strepera plumhea, right in the heart of the forest. 



Albany and its environments form a veritable " Garden of 

 Eden," and the vegetable kingdom is too much in evidence for 

 my present purpose. It is a botanists' country, rich in flowers, 

 and especially so in the composites, hakeas, and grevilleas. Why 

 such dry-flowered and leaved plants should be so abundant in 

 what is actually a damp district needs further thought than I 

 have been able to give it. Possibly they have encroached from 

 the drier parts further north. I was delighted, ten minutes after 

 being ashore for the first time, to see the Honey-eaters Acantho- 

 rhynchus superciliosus and Zosteroj)s gouldi among them. By the 

 rich appearance, and the difference between it and the Eastern 

 flora, one quickly sees that the late Professor Tate had a good 

 reason for calling this the Autochthonian sub-region. The birds, 

 however, appear to lend him but meagre support, though the 

 invertebrates may. 



Leaving Albany by train for Katanning, some 150 miles north, 

 I calculated upon getting into a drier district, with a certain 

 portion of it under cultivation. Forty miles up the line Mt. 

 Barker was passed, and in many respects it is similar to Albany 

 and Tor Bay. It is just about the dividing line of the two climates, 

 that of the dry to the north and of tlie damp air to the south. 

 The timber now begins to shorten and become more sparse. 

 Upon arrival at Katanning I found the most plentiful tree to 

 be an acacia called the "jam-wood," on account of the likeness 

 of its odour to the flavour of raspberry jam when the bark is cut 

 away. Here I spent three days, which were particularly windy 

 and wet. However, with the ardour of a member of this Club, I 

 saw much of what can be seen under the circumstances. The 

 " Qwoolyibruk," or Magpie Lark {Grallina picata, Lath.), was 

 teaching its young how to call when it wanted company, as well 

 as other signals. The Eastern birds of this species are vocally 

 far in advance of the Western, which came quite as a surprise 

 to me. The " Coolbardie,"* or Common Magpie, Gymnorhina 

 leuconota, Gld.), was crowing like a barn-door rooster, without 

 any true musical strain in its voice. 



Birds in general in Western Australia do not talk much, yet it. 

 was the spring when I met them. The " Puer," or Yellow- 

 throated Minah, Manorhina Jiavigula, Old., was at home in the 

 district of Katanning, and the nature of the country also suited 

 the " Dongrruck " (burr the r's), or Wattle-bird, Acanthochcera 

 carunculata, Lath. Both were nesting. Some 15 miles west of 

 the town is a creek that should prove very interesting. I was 



* This would closely compare with Coolgardie. Bardie is a native name 

 for a grub, and I suspect the name means a good grub-eater. 



