Vol. XVII. 



"] Macgillivray, Ornithologists in North Queensland. 83 



and crevices for Tropic-Birds. We flushed one from a nest under 

 some dry grass, the nest being a circular depression in the grass, with 

 the eggs, four in number, resting on the sand. From dissections of 

 other females, it was evident that many of them were breeding. 



Ralllna tricolor (Tomirdus tricolor robinsoni). — We heard nothing 

 of this species until the 20th December, when they were heard flying 

 over our camp at night. After this they were frequently heard 

 flying over every night, and they always seemed to be coming from 

 the east. About this time we left for the Reef, and on our return 

 we frequently heard them calling in the scrub at night, but never once 

 did we get a glimpse of one. 



Poliolimnas leucophrys (P. cinereus leucophrys). — When following 

 the bank of a deep tea-tree swamp we shot one of these birds perched 

 in a bush growing in the water, and in doing so disturbed a large 

 crocodile from a clump of nipa palms about 5 vards from us. 



Amaurornis ruficrissa {A. moluccanus mficrissus). — -We heard the 

 first of these birds on the night of the 22nd December, flying over 

 our camp ; a few more were heard on the 23rd, and on the 24th they 

 could be heard passing over at intervals throughout the night. After 

 this date we heard them nightly for the remainder of our stay ; it 

 was then the wet season. During the day we often heard them in 

 the long grass, either by the river or on the flats. 



On 6th March, after our departure, Mr. M'Lennan made the 

 following note : — " I flushed a Rufous-tailed Moor-Hen from a nest 

 containing six eggs, and whilst I was packing the eggs the bird 

 returned and kept walking about within a few feet of me, uttering 

 a hissing and grunting note. The nest was 2 feet from the ground ; 

 the blades of grass were bent over and trampled down, forming a plat- 

 form slightly hollowed in the centre, with a few pieces of dry grass 

 for a lining." 



Pufflnus sphenurus {Thyellodroma pacifica royana). — We were on 

 Raine Islet for the first week in December, and during that time we 

 found many burrows of this Petrel in the soft sandy soil of the top 

 of the islet, where it was covered with a dense, down-trodden layer 

 of dry and wiry grass and herbage, which contained many thorny 

 burrs. This layer had to be removed before the burrows could be 

 located, and, as the soil into which the birds had burrowed consisted 

 of a mixture of loose, floury guano and fine sand, the task of ex- 

 cavating them proved to be hot, dusty, and disagreeable. Some of 

 the burrows went deeply, and pursued a tortuous course, on the 

 average, for about 6 feet, and were difficult or impossible to follow ; 

 others, again, were shallower and more open, and ran along close to 

 the surface ; many ran under the limestone ledges, and were safe 

 from interference. The birds uttered a grunting call on our nearing 

 them in the burrows ; some scurried out, and others remained in. 

 Most of the burrows contained a fresh egg ; several eggs were in- 

 cubating, others just hatching, and a few nests were occupied by 

 downy young, the down being of a smoky grey, with the feet, bill, 

 and legs whitish. Each burrow containing an egg had a bedding of 

 dry grass for its reception. When caught, some of the old birds 

 vomited up the partly digested remains of small Meduscs, the same 

 kind being found in the stomachs of those taken for specimens. At 

 a later date we found this jelly-fish in the sea, inside the reef. These 



