161 



from tlie West, and later in the evening returning in that 

 direction. They came in a similar manner to a flight of Swifts, 

 scattered over a wide area and circling or dashing along in 

 pursuit of insects. Those shot had their gullets filled with beetles 

 and grasshoppers. Owino; to their tender skin 1 found it difficult 

 to obtain specimens. Although a number was shot those \vhich 

 fell any distance were ruined by striking the ground, as the con- 

 cussion invariably knocked off large pieces of skin. The examples 

 secured were shot whilst skimming over a swamp, from which 

 they were retrieved by a little black urchin about eight years old. 

 The natives were very indignant at my shooting these birds, and 

 a deputation from the blacks' camp explained for my edification 

 that if I killed any more a big rain would come and never stop 

 until it had washed everything away. Although I was responsible 

 for the death of about a score of birds the deluge had not occurred 

 in the district at the time of writing. Perhaps because I left.] 



No. 57. NuMENius MiNUTUS (Little Whimbrel). 



Numenius minutus, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1840), p. 176 ; 

 id. Bds. Austr., foL, vol. VI., pi. 44 (1848). 



Mesoscolopax itiinutus, Sharpe, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., vol. 

 XXIV., p. 371 (1896). 



An adult male, shot in an open plain twenty miles south of 

 Derby. This species breeds in Eastern Siberia and Mongolia, 

 and winters in Australia. During its stay here examples may 

 be obtained in the same month in districts exhibiting the 

 extremes of temperature. Specimens have been procured during 

 March in the Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, at an alti- 

 tude of 3,700 feet, also on the hot plains of the Northern Terri- 

 tory of South Australia. 



[On the open plains, near Derby, these birds were often 

 noticed. Their mode of flight against the wind closely resembles 

 that of the domestic Pigeon. In alighting on the ground they 

 immediately become very active in their search for food, which 

 consists of insects, especially grasshoppers, and a few small 

 seeds.] 



No. 58. Tribonyx ventralis (Black-tailed Rail). 



Gallinula ventralis, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1836), p. 85. 



Tribonyx ventralis, Gould, Bds. Austr., fol., vol. VI., pi. 72 

 (1848) ; Sturt, Exped. Centr. Austr., vol. II., App. p. 53 (1849); 

 Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., vol. II , 2nd series, p. 172 

 (1887); North, Nests and Eggs Austr. Bds., p. 424, pi. 17, fig. 

 4 (1889). 



Microtrihonyx ventralis, Sharpe, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., vol. 

 XXIIL, p. 165 (1894). 



