Vol. IV. 

 1905 



1 MiLLiGAN, Notes on Trip to Yandanooka District, W .A. I 53 



The foregoing notes are not intended by any means to represent 

 every species worthy of reference upon the hnes indicated. 



The following field notes on the rarer or less known forms secured 

 during the trip may prove interesting : — 



Ptilotis carteri (Campbell). — These birds were invariably found 

 in the " York gum " belts, both at Yandanooka and Ebano. In 

 habit and disposition they are restless and pugnacious, chasing 

 each other from tree to tree in noisy quarrel. They have a habit 

 similar to that of Ptilotis ornata (which they resemble in their notes 

 and general characteristics) of rising frequently into the air from 

 the top of a tree, uttering a distinct note. We secured a series of 

 some 12 skins, and in every one (except a fledgling) the black 

 auricular line and yellow throat and chest striations (distinguishing 

 marks already recorded by me*) were always present and con- 

 spicuous. Lately I have had the opportunity of comparing the 

 above with two skins of Ptilotis leilavalensis (North), from tlie 

 Carpentaria district, kindly lent by Dr. W. M'Gillivray, and in neither 

 of these skins do the black line and striations appear. The white 

 plumes in the latter, also, are less strongly developed. I have there- 

 fore not the slightest hesitation in pronouncing the two species 

 distinct. Fortunately, when I was making the comparison, Mr. 

 Tom Carter, formerly of Point Cloates, was on a visit to Perth, 

 and he, after making a critical examination of the skins of both 

 species, expressed himself as entirely in accord with my pronounce- 

 ment. Certainly, the general pattern of the plumage of the two 

 species is very similar, but the same remarks apply with equal force 

 to Ptilotis plumula, which appears to be an inland representative 

 of Ptilotis carteri. Convert the yellow plumes of Ptilotis plumula 

 into white, and you have P. carteri. I cannot admit P. penicillata 

 as being as near an ally to P. carteri or to P. leilavalensis as is 

 either P. plumula or P. flavescens. 



Oreoica cristata (Lewin). — This species was very common every- 

 where, and I was fortunate in finding two nests containing eggs. 

 One nest was placed in the fork of a large prickly mimosa bush 

 about 2 feet above the ground ; the other in a " prickly reminder " 

 bush, at about the same height. The occupant of each nest sat 

 very closely, and did not seem disposed to move on my near 

 approach. Each nest abounded with black hairy caterpillars — 

 a circumstance which has already been observed and recorded by 

 field naturalists in regard to the species. The presence of such 

 life has not hitherto been satisfactorily accounted for, and the 

 suggestion that the caterpillars are placed there by one of the pair 

 as food supplies for the sitting bird has been rejected. I am unable 

 to concur in the rejection. The fact of each bird sitting so closely 

 led me to the conclusion that they could not be there for any pur- 

 pose other than food. However, subsequently I shot one of the 

 species (not one of the nesting birds) and had the contents of its 

 stomach preserved for examination on my return. Such examina- 

 tion, with the aid of a strong magnifying glass, revealed the presence 



* Emti, vol. iv , p. 51- 



