o n • ( Emu 



148 Review. l_3t,, j^,,. 



Mr. North's " distributions " have been exceedingly carefully 

 recorded, but he has inadvertently omitted Western Australia 

 from the range of so common a bird as Mcgalurus gramincus 

 (Grass-Bird), and New South Wales from the range of Cala- 

 manthus albiloris {fuliginosus).* He has, however, endeavoured 

 to appropriate priority of Sericornis magnirostris (Large-billed 

 Scrub-Wren) for Victoria (compare Campbell's " Nests and Eggs," 

 p. 247, 1900). x'\l though Pomatorhitiiis ruficeps (Chestnut- 

 crowned Chatterer) is found in North-Western Victoria, it has 

 never been found south of " The Divide," as Mr. G. A. Keartland's 

 field note indicates. P. superciliosus is evidently the species 

 intended. Mr. Keartland, to whom Mr. North must be greatly 

 indebted, has contributed quite a fund of field observations to 

 the " Special Catalogue." Here is a very graphic, if not exciting, 

 one on page 328, which might be entitled " Egg-collecting Under 

 Difficulties." Writing about the Cinnamon-coloured Ground- 

 Thrush {Cindosoma cinnamomcuni) of the great interior, Mr. 

 Keartland states : — 



" During the journey of the Calvert Exploring Expedition in Western 

 Australia, I took my first clutch of these eggs, under rather peculiar 

 circumstances. I was staying behind collecting, when Mr. C. F. Wells 

 called out that he had discovered a nest of this Ground-Thrush containing 

 two eggs. He offered to mind my camel whilst I waited for the return of 

 the bird. My camel became restive, and Mr. Wells called me to 'Come on.' 

 I secured the eggs ; but the nest, which was simply a few acacia leaves 

 placed in a slight depression under a low bush, fell to pieces on being lifted. 

 I wrapped one egg in my handkerchief, and had placed it in the quart-pot 

 on my saddle, when ' Warrior ' (the camel) tried to get away. I mounted 

 with the egg in one hand, my gun in the other, and the reins in my teeth. 

 The camel bolted after the caravan, which was about a mile away on the 

 opposite side of a boggy clay-pan. Instead of following the track, he tried 

 a short cut, with the result that he floundered through the mud, and 

 nearly lost his rider, but on nearing the team he became steady, and the 

 eggs were safely packed." 



Notes and Notices. 



AnenT " Lighthouses and Bird Observations," and continuing 

 Mr. Superintendent Johnston's reminiscences (from page 64) 

 on King Island, he writes : — " A few years ago numbers of ' Grey 

 Duck ' visited us, appearing the end of December and leaving 

 again in March. A peculiarity about these Ducks was that 

 when shot at in the small lagoons they never rose, but fluttered 

 ashore and took to the scrub, consequently a good dog scored 

 against the gun. Early in January 12 of these Duck struck 

 the Cape Wickham lantern as one bird. The keeper on watch 

 got 8 on the balcony and 4 more were picked up at the base of 

 the tower in the morning. Of late years they have been very 

 scarce." 



* Rec. Aust. Mas., vol. iii., p. 14 (1897). 



