184 



level plain covered with Flinders grass. The eggs were 

 scattered, as though they had been washed from the nests by 

 recent tropical rains. Both birds and eggs were identical with 

 those found in Victoria. 



No. 88. TuRNix VELOX (Swift Fl3dng Turnix). 



These birds are found in North- West Australia throughout the 

 year, frequenting alike the Flinders and Mitchell grass plains, 

 the spinifex of the desert, and the tall kangaroo grass along the 

 creek flats, but are most numerous near the junction of the 

 Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers. At the latter place they get the 

 credit of eating off the young plants in the gardens of the 

 settlers as soon as they show above ground. Whether the 

 charge is a just one I cannot say, but I was taken into the 

 garden by Mr. Harris to see some young melon and cucumber 

 plants that had just come up. On approaching the cucumber 

 bed, three of these birds flew away, and we found that nearly all 

 the plants had been eaten off. The bird may be driven to this 

 practice by the scarcity of green food, which they take in 

 conjunction with seeds and insects. After rain falls they 

 become extremely numerous in the green grass which immediately 

 springs up. As these birds are only occasional visitors to the 

 southern portions of the continent, it is highly probable they are 

 driven south by protracted drought. They seem to breed 

 nearly all through the year, four eggs being the usual com- 

 plement. 



TuRNix LEUCOGASTER ( White-breasted Turnix). 

 Throughout the whole of the journey from Cue to Derby these 

 birds were noted. Whether we traversed the dense kangaroo 

 grass near the creeks, the scattered herbage in the timbered 

 country, or the arid spinifex flats between the sandhills, they 

 rose beside our track nearly every day. In some places they 

 were so numerous that they were flushed every flfty yards. On 

 one occasion, soon after daybreak, I counted no less than fifteen 

 birds all in sight at one time feeding on a patch of very short 

 spinifex. Their eggs or young were frequently found from early 

 in July until March. They were often found at a great distance 

 from water ; on several occasions, however, I disturbed them 

 whilst drinking. 



JNo. 89. Dromaius irroratus (Spotted Emu). 



These birds were very plentiful in the vicinity of Lake Way, 

 and their tracks were frequently noticed wherever water or 

 Quondong- trees existed. The fruit of the latter appears to be a 

 favourite food of the Emu, as from twenty to thirty nuts were 

 frequently seen in the bird's droppings. Several nests, in which 



