No. in 
Data Ca 
No. 
664 
665 
A.J. 
eapoeLe No. of 
ook, Eggs. 
THE JACKSONIAN OOLOGICAL COLLECTION. 
Specimen B. measures = 3'04 x 2°13. Only once have I taken the eggs of this fine bird, and that 
was near Toowoomba, Queensland, during 1889. I saw several of the birds on the Darling Downs, 
Queensland, in September of 1906, among the sheep runs, and as the train passed along they would 
leisurely fly a few yards, and then settle on the ground again. I only saw the bird once in the Clarence 
River district of New South Wales. It is very rare in that part, as the locality is not suited to it. 
One egg, of a green variety, forming a clutch in this case, as incubation was four days old. It 
was taken by C. Woodlands in the Nicholson River district, North-west Queensland, on the 17th of 
October, 1898. Frequently only one egg is laid. It measures = 2°92 x 2°12, and is smaller than 
those of the pair in the former set. 
YELLOW-LEGGED SPOONBILL, 
Platibis flavipes, Gould. 
(With notes on the Koala or Australian Native Bear, Phascolarctos cinereus.) 
This splendid set of four eggs was taken at Lavadia, near South Grafton, Clarence River, New 
South Wales, by W. McEnerny and myself, on the 2oth of September, 1896. The nest was rather a 
flat structure of sticks, lined with green Eucalyptus leaves, and measured nineteen inches across, being 
placed in a Swamp Mahogany (Eucalyptus vobus/a) at a height of 35 feet. The four eggs were quite 
fresh when taken, and are devoid of markings, with the exception of a few nest stains. Two other 
nests were found in adjoining trees on the edge of the swamp, but contained incomplete clutches. 
These Spoonbills were very plentiful about Grafton some seasons, and usually arrived in company with 
the White Ibises, making the swamps about Lavadia their stronghold. During October of 1899, they 
were also found breeding near Lawrence, Lower Clarence River district, and several sets of their 
eggs were taken there by L. Vesper, the nests in this case being placed in Swamp Oaks (Casuarina 
glauca). Specimen A. measures = 2°90 x 1°80. Specimen B. = 2°76 x 1°80. An opportunity here 
occurs for me to make a few remarks with reference to the recent press comments concerning the 
wanton destruction of the Australian Native Bear or Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), and as this destruction 
is apparently about to receive a very much needed check, I think my observations will not be out 
of place. They were quite familiar objects in the forests, particularly in my early nesting days, but of 
late years, during my ramblings, I have rarely come across them. They used to be quite numerous 
amongst the tall Eucalyptus trees about the swamps and ridges at Lavadia, and other parts of the 
Clarence River district of New South Wales. My brother and I have frequently come across them 
comfortably nestled in an upright fork of a tree, and perhaps within only a few feet of the nest we were 
after. They hold on most tenaciously, and if you attempt to capture them will climb to thé topmost 
branch. They are, however, harmless creatures, and it is really grievous to see the way they are at 
times hunted and killed ; when in pain or frightened, they utter a pitiful child-like cry, and at other 
times a peculiar guttural grunt or noise. I was successful in obtaining an excellent photograph of a 
splendid specimen from life near Grafton, N.S.W., and the picture is reproduced as the frontispiece to 
this volume. It would appear, however, that this Native Bear is being rapidly exterminated, especially 
in New South Wales, a fact which is much to be regretted. Indeed, if there has been a law in existence 
for their protection, it has been in name only, and certainly not in effect. The last one I met with was 
at Ourimbah, near Gosford, N.S.W., during November of 1905, and that was actually the first I had 
seen for several years previously. I am credibly informed by friends in the Mudgee, Armidale, Cooma, 
and Newcastle districts that this ornamental bush creature is now rarely ever seen, and is fast becoming 
extinct, a fact to be deeply deplored, for all lovers of nature will much regret the disappearance of this 
species of fauna, which so admirably adorns our Australian bush, and at one time was a source of the 
greatest pleasure for enthusiastic oologists in the procedure of their naturalistic studies. I can recollect 
in 1883 they were very plentiful near Toowoomba, on the Darling Downs, Queensland. If not hunted 
or interfered with they become quite tame, often coming into houses and country schools, naturally 
causing great amusement. They, of course, get about on all fours, and are quite comical in their 
movements. They have very sharp claws, and their food consists chiefly of Gum or Eucalyptus leaves. 
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