Vol. IV. 

 1904 



] KiLGOUR, A Trip to the Ord River {N.-W.A^ \\ 



we were not sorry when the roofs of the homestead came in 

 sight. 



I had to wait in all six weeks on the Ord station before I 

 could obtain the horses I required, and whilst there I had many 

 opportunities of renewing my accjuaintance with my feathered 

 friends. Along the river the modest " queep " of the Little 

 Flycatcher {Sisuya nana) was heard. A nest I discovered in 

 February, 1903, was on the branch of a very slender cajeput 

 about I 5 feet from the ground ; it was constructed of fibres and 

 rootlets, bound together on the outside with cobwebs and 

 ornamented with small pieces of " paper bark." The Buff-sided 

 Robin {Pa'cilodryas cervinivcntris) is also common along the 

 river banks ; it has a very mournful note, although it is a bright- 

 looking and active little bird. With reference to Gould's Rhi pi- 

 dura picata, I am of opinion that such a species exists, as well 

 as the smaller race of R. tricolor. One bird has the plain black 

 throat and the other has the throat mottled and a distinct line 

 of white feathers from the gape along the side of the throat ; 

 beside this I have taken eggs from a " Chigareet's " (native 

 name) nest that were white with a belt of distinct spots around 

 them. My only regret is that circumstances have prevented 

 me from solving the question. One of the commonest birds 

 around the station is the Red-throated Honey-eater {Entomo- 

 phila rufigularis). During the wet season its pendulous nest 

 is to be seen everywhere. The diversity of markings of separate 

 clutches of eggs is indeed remarkable, but the commonest 

 markings are of chocolate, lightly sprinkled. Wherever there 

 is a fair-sized hole on the river one is sure to find a pair of White- 

 headed Sheldrakes or " Burdekins " {Tadorna rajah). They 

 appear to breed al-1 the year round, but the favourite time is 

 about June to August. My opinion is that they mate per- 

 manently. 



During the wet season the Oriental Pratincole (Glareola 

 orientalis) makes its appearance in large flocks. They may be 

 seen skimming over the plains until they strike a suitable patch 

 of young locusts. Unlike Mr. G. /\. Keartland's experience* 

 in West Kimberley, they never make their appearance in East 

 Kimberley until the wet season has well set in. When the plains 

 are well soaked and the grass a good height the grasshopper 

 tribe are to be found in immense numbers on the plains ; it is 

 then that the Straw-necked Ibis {Car phibis spinicollis) is to be 

 seen in flocks of tens of thousands, feeding on the pest, and 

 beside them Wild Turkeys {Eupodotis australis) and the Kites 

 and Falcons, all of which get extremely fat. 



In the beginning of the wet season the Black-faced Wood- 

 Swallow {Artamus nidanops) constructs its nest in the small 

 timber on the plains, almost every tree having at least one nest. 



Almost wherever there is water the Purple-crowned Wren 



* Troc. Roy. Soc. , S.A., vol. xxii. (1898), p. l6c. 



