l8o Kershaw, A Naturalist in Northern Queneland . [v^'^xxxi. 



reptiles, as they were now breeding, and were more tlian 

 usually venturesome. Later on, while rowing down the river, 

 our blacks pointed out one of these nesting-mounds, situated 

 close to the edge of the river. The freshly-scraped earth all 

 around showed that it had just been covered, and on opening 

 it up we found 43 fresh eggs, deposited in a mass about a foot 

 below the surface. The mouncl consisted of a dome-shaped 

 mass of sand, leaves, sticks, and other debris, scraped together 

 from a space of some 10 feet all round, and measured 4 feet 

 in diameter and 3 feet high. Some of the eggs were taken for 

 blowing, and the remainder given to our blackboys, who im- 

 mediately cooked them. 



Leaving the mangroves and traversing the open forest for 

 some distance, we reached one of the extensive, shallow, tea- 

 tree swamps, margined in places with thick growths of ferns — 

 Aspidium cordifoluim — which grew to a height of about 3 feet, 

 and spread over an area of several chains wide, with here and 

 there fine examples of Screw Palms. Growing in the water 

 was a forest of Paper-bark trees, Melaleuca leiicodendron, whose 

 tall, straight, white trunks stood out prominently against the 

 dark waters of the swamp, in which they were beautifully 

 reflected. Dozens of dragon-flies darted swiftly to and fro 

 among the tree-trunks, the bright sunlight, gleaming through 

 the foliage, catching their gauzy wings, and making them to 

 appear like small birds. Here and there were great Fan Palms, 

 forming small plantations in the deeper parts of the swamp, 

 among which we more than once disturbed a crocodile. The 

 blacks warned us of " plenty alligator " in these swamps, and 

 we kept a sharp look-out for any sign of them while wading 

 through water, usually up to our knees, but often to our waists. 

 The bottom was thick mud, and we had great difficulty in 

 keeping on our feet owing to the great quantity of submerged 

 trees and branches. The water was quite warm, and at times 

 almost hot, while at every step evil-smelling gases arose from 

 the surface from the masses of decaying vegetable matter 

 beneath. In these swamps we took several nests of the Brown- 

 backed Honey-eater, Glyciphila modesta, loosely-built struc- 

 tures of strips of bark, and lined with soft flakes of the same 

 material (three of which contained the egg of the Brush- 

 Cuckoo), and the Buff-breasted Fly-eater, Gerygone Icvvigaslcr ; 

 the nest of the latter was also built of fine strips of bark, inter- 

 woven among the leaves of the tea-tree, and lined with finer 

 bark material and a few feathers. On the edge of the swamji 

 was obtained a White-bn)wed Water-Crake. Poliolininas 

 Icucoplirys, and the White-quilkd Pigmy-^'Oose, Neitapiis 

 albipennis. 



In the open forest several nests of Cockerell's Honey-eater 



