8o Macgillivray, Ornithologists in North Queensland: [i^f'^ct. 



the skin. Its crop, a very large one, was crammed with wild fruits 

 and leaves, some of the fruits being two inches in diameter. The 

 intestines contained a number of tape-worms. 



Their tracks were often noted in the beds of creeks where the sand 

 or soft mud would take an impression. We on several occasions 

 heard their call, which seemed to be a short but deep booming 

 grunt. 



Megapodius tumulus (Alegapodius duperryi assimilis). — The Scrub- 

 Fowl was plentiful, and both old and freshly-attended mounds were 

 very common. Some of these were ?o feet in height from the base. 

 These are old nests, and are added to year after year. The bird 

 burrows down into these mounds to deposit her egg, and then fills 

 the burrow up. When searching for the egg one has to find these 

 " pipes " and follow them down. This is one of the noisiest birds 

 of the scrub, and may be heard both day and night. The call is 

 loud, harsh, and screaming in character. Though essentially birds 

 of the scrub, they are sometimes met with in open forest, and often 

 wander to it at night, especially in the wet season, when the scrub 

 is saturated with moisture. On one or two occasions they came into 

 the trees near our camp and woke us with their raucous calling. 

 They are shy birds, but we often got glimpses of them in the scrub. 

 Once, when sitting quietly on the bank of a creek, we had a good 

 view of one which strolled up on the other bank, walked jerkily 

 about for some time, and then went her way. Once, when examining 

 a Pitta's nest, a pair rushed past without taking any notice of our 

 presence. They often served to replenish our larder, but are not 

 nearly so palatable as the next species. 



Catheturus purpureicollis {Alecturus lathami purpureicollis). — 

 Plentiful in the scrub. Their mounds are much smaller and more 

 loosely built than those of the Scrub-Fowl. The naked skin of the 

 neck is of a bright red colour, with a few white spots on the lower 

 and upper parts. The wattle is of a lavender colour, instead of 

 yellow, as in the southern form. The birds are an excellent addition 

 to the menu. 



Synoicus australis {Synoicus ypsilophorus queenslandica). — Several 

 of these birds were flushed from the long grass, but no specimen was 

 obtained. 



Excalfactoria australis {Excalfactoria chinensis cairnscs). — On 

 several occasions we flushed this species from the grassy plain near 

 our top camp, and obtained one specimen — a male. 



Turnix melanotus {Turnix maculosa melanota). — We flushed these 

 birds on many occasions, and obtained several specimens before the 

 grass grew too long. In the wet season we found it a difficult matter 

 to raise any of the Quail. 



Ptilinopus swainsoni (P. regina regina). — Not at all common ; 

 noted on Haggerstone Island. In my previous notes I identified this 

 bird as P. ewingi ; this latter species, however, does not occur on 

 the eastern coast-line, being found in the Northern Territory. 



Lamprotreron superba. — A common bird in the scrub, where it 

 usually nests and feeds on the wild fruits. 



Megaloprepia assimilis (M. magnifrca assimilis). — Frequently seen, 

 and their throaty " Bol-be-coo " note more frequently heard, in the 



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