06 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXV. 



mia-mia, and pitched our tent alongside. In the top of a huge 

 gum-tree, fully 200 feet above the ground, were seen several 

 nests of the Pacific Heron, Notojohoyx pacijica, quite safe from 

 molestation from below. Further on we find the objects of our 

 search — several White Egrets, Herodias timoriensis, sitting on 

 their bulky stick nests, which, however, are somewhat less in size 

 than those of the Nankeen Night-Herons ; but these also were out 

 of our reach. We paddled round the heronry, and reckoned 

 that it contained from 100 to 150 birds — less than one-sixth of 

 its former size, owing to the depredations of the plume-hunters. 

 The disastrous nature of this traffic I dealt with at length in the 

 Emu for October last (vol. vii., part 2), and unless some means 

 is found to enforce its discontinuance the utter annihilation of 

 this heronry is only a question of a few seasons. But our desire 

 is to get a photograph of the nests and their contents, so, after a 

 long search, a nest is located in a tree about seventy feet above 

 the water, and we proceeded to fix the rope ladder, which proved 

 no easy task. At length the ladder is fixed, and the limb 

 reached, but the climber has still higher to go before he gets 

 sight of four delicately shaded blue eggs in a stick nest. No 

 time is lost in getting up the camera, but fixing it in such an 

 aerie position is a difficult matter. However, this is in turn 

 accomplished and a picture secured. Before leaving this spot 

 we encircle the heronry of the Nankeen Night-Herons, and 

 estimate the number of birds to amount to several thousands. 



Next morning, after diligent search, several nests of the Night- 

 Herons were found nearer camp, in trees which were more easily 

 climbed, and we were enabled to make a close investigation of 

 them. In the centre of the heronry we found that a pair of 

 Black-cheeked Falcons, Falco melanogenys^ had placed a nest, 

 and doubtless as soon as the young herons appeared would be 

 ready to turn them to account ; in the meantime that black egg- 

 stealer, the Raven, Corone australis, hovered about the heronry, 

 and robbed the birds of their eggs whenever the nests were left 

 temporarily unguarded. 



Further investigations showed that there were here both the 

 large White Egret, Herodias timoriensis, and the lesser Plumed 

 Egret, Mesophoyx plumijera, as well as the Little Cormorant, 

 Phalacrocorax melanoleucus, nesting in close proximity to one 

 another, in some cases in the same tree. Having taken a number 

 of photographs of different phases of the life-histories of the birds, 

 we returned to camp. Several nests of the little Blue Wren, 

 containing eggs, were noticed close by in a Native Cherry tree. 



Setting our boat once more towards home, we had before us a 

 hard day's paddling against stream, and there was little time for 

 ornithological observations. We passed several broods of young 

 Wood-Ducks, Teal, &c. A small collection of nests of the Little 



