Vol. IV. 

 1905 



1 MiLLiGAN, Notes on Trip to Ymidanooka District, W.J. i 57 



being held uppermost in position. Either foot is used, but the 

 right one usually. The amount of water that he drinks is remark- 

 able. The tender branches of a young red gum {Eucalyptus) are 

 considered a tit-bit by him, and the young leaves, the bark, and 

 young sapwood are all eagerly devoured. The Grass-Parrakeet is 

 not such an adept in holding his food. His is seized, in the first 

 place, by all the claws of the left foot, and then placed and held 

 against one of the cage wires. He drinks very little. The native 

 name of the Grass-Parrakeet is " Choogin," and that of the 

 Collared Parrakeet " Peel-baal." 



Australasian Ornithologists' Union. 



EXCURSION TO N.S.W. NATIONAL PARK. 



By J. W. Mellor, A.O.U. 



Upon the completion of the general business of the fourth Congress 

 of the Union, held in Sydney, those members whose business per- 

 mitted proceeded by train to the National Park, situated about 

 20 miles south of Sydney, which from its varied and lovely scenery 

 presents a picturesque spot for those requiring a quiet rest after 

 the toil and bustle of a city life. 



The wild and rocky nature of the ground within the Park boun- 

 daries, with its deep ravines and inaccessible heights, its rivers and 

 dense foliage of original sub-tropical scrub, makes it an ideal spot 

 for all kinds of bird-life, and it is pleasing to relate that all fauna 

 and flora are rigorously protected, so that a visit to this paradise 

 is a fine opportunity for taking observations in ornithology. The 

 limit of the Park is extensive, comprising as it does 36,300 acres, 

 with a sea frontage to the South Pacific Ocean, and numerous 

 inlets and bays, forming the home of waterfowl, and breeding- 

 grounds for a large variety of fish. The work of the excursion 

 was facilitated in every way by the energetic and courteous chair- 

 man of Trustees, Mr. Frank Farnell, who did all in his power to 

 assist the members in making their observations. The inlets on 

 the lower reaches of the Port Hacking River were explored by the 

 naturalists in company with Mr. Farnell, who conveyed them 

 into the nooks and crannies of the watercourse in the Trustees' 

 oil launch Kiwi, and further hospitably entertained them at lunch 

 at the Park select abode, " Warumbul." A second day's outing 

 was hospitably provided to the upper regions of the Park, when 

 the visitors were driven by conveyance along the road and track 

 that skirt the freshwater portions of the Port Hacking River. 

 Here the scenery is d^ense and charming in the folds of virgin scrub. 

 Giant turpentines and other trees tower aloft to the height of 2C0 

 feet, and the cabbage palm in its luxuriance tries to race for 

 supremacy, while beneath, the soft-wood trees and fruit-yielding 

 shrubs, entwined with the cables of the " supplejack," make the 



