34 Campbell, Rambles Round the Grampians. [^"^jlm?^'" 



mornings in rowdy companies of fifty or sixty to feed on the 

 Cranberries, Sty^ohelia humifusa, and on the insect Hfe of the 

 orchards, and makes off back in the evening, calling and 

 chattering the whole time. A list of the birds observed at the 

 State School, Pomonal, on last Bird Bay, 29th October, 1909, and 

 recorded in the Emu for January last {Emu^ vol. ix., p. 169), will 

 be found of interest when interpreted according to the style of 

 country the several birds inhabit. One may read into such a list 

 all the conditions obtaining, or throwing influence upon the district. 

 Thus the presence of the Magpie, Laughing Jackass, and 

 Ground-Lark indicate that the country is being opened up, as 

 these birds increase with settlement ; while the Black Cockatoo 

 and Crimson Parrakeet point to the immediate vicinity of wild 

 and secluded mountain ranges. The Grey Crow-Shrike, White- 

 throated Tree-creeper, Scarlet-breasted Robin, Grey Thrush, 

 Brown Flycatcher, and White-shafted Honey-eater belong to 

 quiet forests, as do the Striated and Brown Tits and Scrub-Wren. 

 The Ground-Thrush, Yellow-breasted Robin, White-throated 

 Thickhead, Yellow-faced Honey-eater, and White-shafted Fantail 

 inhabit thickets and such cover as deep and undisturbed gullies 

 afford, while the Tawny-crowned Honey-eater indicates the 

 presence of heath and short scrub. The White-winged Chough, 

 the Bell-bird (Oreoica), and the Red-capped Robin show that the 

 locality is near enough to the box-tree and red gum flats of 

 the Wimmera to admit of occasional visits from typical local 

 representatives of that warmer area. 



Mount Redman is about two miles north and 670 feet lower than 

 its neighbour, Mount William, being 3,160 ft. above sea level. Its 

 sharp contour bears a remarkable likeness to a man's face, and is 

 in great contrast to the more bulky rounded dome of Mt. William. 

 From a geological point of view it is perhaps the more interesting 

 of the two, being a typical example of a Grampian sandstone 

 peak. Its face escarpments are very fine, both in colour and 

 form. Some of the cliffs are fully 500 feet in height. Here and 

 there the rocky battlements are splashed with white, marking the 

 spot where some owls have found a nesting hole, or perchance an 

 eagle or falcon has its eerie. The back slopes are even in grade, 

 and make a striking picture. Perched rocks are common. 

 Other portions weather into curious and fantastic shapes. Some 

 are like oysters or turtles in shape ; others are like cheeses or 

 armadillos. 



Watercourses commence high up on the slopes and gradually 

 deepen until they become veritable canyons, rugged and rock- 

 ribbed. The clefts are so moist and shaded that the ferns 

 Polypodium punctatum and Aspidium capense, also the filmy 

 fern, Hymenophyllum nitens, grow and flourish in them. These 

 plants have not, I think, been previously recorded for this part 

 of the State. Of orchids there is a great variety, and I have seen 



