438 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION D. 



. Eggs — Clutch, 4 ; inclined to pyrif orm in shape ; of soft appear- 

 ance; and texture of shell, thin; ground color, stone, marbled closely 

 and in a decided manner almost over the whole surface with line 

 wavy hair-like markings and blotches of dark sej)ia or black. In 

 some examples the fine hair-like markings predominate, which, 

 running together and interlacing, form irregular-shaped blotches in 

 places. In shajje and size the eggs exactly resemble ihose of the 

 black-fronted dottrel fjEgiaiitis niqrifrons). Dimensions — '1) 

 2-97 X 2-17 cm., (2) 2-92 x 2-3 cm. 



Observations — The red-kneed dottrel is a rare bird, and a 

 dweller of the interior, where it prefers muddy flats and the borders 

 of lagoons to the shingly river beds. Gould could never discover 

 its eggs, nor could his two intelligent natives aid him with any infor- 

 mation on the subject. It was not until 1882 that Dr. Ramsay 

 described the eggs, which wei'c collected by Mr. K. H. Bennett, 

 in the Lachlan district. Mr. Bennett says he found the egg;?, in 

 several instances, on the damp ground at the water's edge of 

 lagoons, and smeared over with mud. as if the birds had been 

 shifting them from place to place, or, perhaps, as Dr. Ramsay 

 suggests, they were purposely smeared over to prevent the eggs being 

 detected. The eggs in my own collection, which were taken the 

 same season as Dr. Ramsay's, but near a Murray River swamp, 

 were smeared in the manner indicated. 



The breeding months, so far as recorded for this species, are 

 October. November and December. 



GLAREOLA GRALLAKIA. 

 Australian Pratincole. 



Figure — Gould : Birds of Australia, foL, vol. vi., pi. 22. 



Ramsay's Tab. List — Glureola grallaria,Tem.m.. 



Previous Descriptions cf Eggs — Ramsay: P.L.S., N.S.W., 

 vol. VII. (1882). Campbell: Southern Science Record (1883). 



Geographical Distribution — Australia in general (probably). 



Nest — Usually a bare spot where the earth or sand assimilates 

 the coloration of the eggs. 



Eggs — Clutch, 2-3. At first sight are not unlike those of the 

 lighter colored type of the black-fronted dottrel f^gialitis 

 nigrif'ionsj, with the exception of being proportionally larger, 

 inclined to oval, and not so pyriform in shape. Ground color, 

 usually yellowish-buff or stone-color, but sometimes of a deep 

 ■stone shade, lightly marked almost all over with spots and 

 splashes of umber, intermingled with patches of grey. Dimensions 

 in centimetres— (1) 3-28 x 2-34 ; (2) 3-2 x 2-34; (3) 3-08 x 2-42. 



Observations — Authors agree that this swallow-like plover is 

 the most elegant of its gfenus. It may be deemed a rare bird, and is 

 particularly an inhabitant of the red plains and sandhills of the 

 interior provinces of the continent. The eggs in my collection 



