178 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Mahirus assimilis, North, had young abroad by the middle of 

 October. A few days previous to this another Wren, Malurus 

 elegans, Gld., had paired at Denmark in the extreme south. 



The " Cherruck," or Pipit, Anlhus australis, Vig. and Hers., I 

 found near Geraldton to be ahnost uniform rufous, and in several 

 parts of a deep shade of rufous ; others were not so rufous, and 

 some were greyish-brown. 



The " Birringos," or Bee-eaters, Merops ornatus, had started to 

 lay their eggs in the flat, grass-covered sand within nine yards of 

 the Geraldton-Northampton railway line. One bowl, containing 

 two eggs, had a tunnel horizontally bored 56 inches, the entrance 

 to which was 2 inches by 1 3^ inches broad. There was no floor- 

 ing to the bowl, and no insect food had yet been stored. 



I met " Weeloos," or Curlews, Bwhinus grallarius, Lath., in a 

 lightly-timbered paddock. Being in pairs, they were shy, and 

 probably were nesting. The Western Tit, Acanthiza apicalis, 

 had its second brood, the first being 28th July and 3rd September, 

 in two pairs. Very few water birds were met witli, and I could 

 only guess at two species of ducks upon the pools in the river 

 beds. It is a thirsty country in this part for them. I heard of a 

 duck, between Cue and Yalgo, that tried to alight on a con- 

 tractor's train that was carrying a tank of water. The truck 

 being behind the engine, the driver hurled coal at it. It kept 

 darting towards the tank, and tried to land in it. After several 

 efforts it was unkindly forced to leave. 



Where I met water birds in great numbers was on the Coral 

 Islands, adjacent to Geraldton, the most southerly coral islands in 

 the southern hemisphere. I arrived on the jetty at midnight to 

 embark, but learnt the cutter was at anchor and would not start 

 before 3 a.m. Accordingly, I went to sleep, just as any waif 

 would, in a quiet corner of the landing-stage, and woke up a 

 little sooner than the arranged time. The tide and wind were 

 earlier risers, and I felt somebody was becoming wet. With a fair 

 breeze we sailed (15/10/99) across the 40 miles, arriving there just 

 in time next evening to find the anchorage. Messrs. Broadhurst, 

 M'Neil and Co. made me comfortable on the central group, and 

 that evening I made my acquaintar;ce with the greatest rookery of 

 sea-birds on our continent. The night was calm and beautiful, but 

 the air was filled with weird and wind-howling noises, enough to 

 make the hair of the superstitious stand on end. The moaning 

 was quite different to any other I have heard, and it took me a 

 few minutes to form conclusions. It was the Allied Petrel, 

 Fuffinus assimilis. In the daylight an occasional moan only 

 would be heard, and one might easily mistake it for the wail of a 

 strange cat. The note in the noonday was also different from 

 any sound I had previously heard, and I have numbered it 

 among the strange experiences I enjoyed on that occasion. 



