184 Macgillivray, Notes on Some N. Qupensland Birds, [j^f "}"„. 



There was a shelly beach 3 yards away, but shells were never used 

 for decoration, though so near at hand — ^always some kind of berry. 

 When playing about the bowers the birds make a rustling noise with 

 the throat. 



^, irides brown, bill black, legs greenish-olive. Stomach contents, 

 berries. Jardine River Ti^th March, 191 1). ?, irides greyish-brown, 

 bill black, legs slate colour. Stomach contents, seeds and skins of 

 wild fruits and berries. 



Ptiloris alberti. Albert Rifle-Bird. — This bird, although fairly 

 common still in the Cape York scrubs, has suffered a great diminu- 

 tion in numbers, mainly through the depredations of scientific 

 collectors. One man alone obtained over 70 skins. It is difficult 

 to imagine why any museum or investigator should require so large 

 a number. The number of skins taken for scientific purposes should 

 be limited, and the large areas of scrub on this Peninsula should be 

 made a sanctuary for the birds, else in a few years they will be a thing 

 of the past, as well as many other rare and interesting species. 



They keep to the scrub, where their ordinary call, two sharp 

 whistles, is often heard. During the nesting season this call alters 

 to three sharp whistles and a long, sonorous one to iinish up with. 

 They feed mostly on wild fruits of various kinds. 



Phonygama gouldi. Trumpet-Bird (Manucode"^. — A fair number of 

 these birds is to be found in the scrubs at Cape York. They seem 

 to arrive early in August, and take their departure at the end of 

 March, or early in April, when they gather together in flocks. Building 

 as they do a frail nest high up in a scrub tree, it is a difficult matter 

 to locate one through the tangle of vegetation overhead. The first 

 nest found by Mr.- M'Lennan proved rather a difficult proposition. 

 After watching a pair for some time, on the 24th November, loio, 

 the male bird was seen to chase other birds from a certain tree, which 

 was watched, when one of the birds returned to it with building 

 material. The nest was soon located, at a height of about 90 feet 

 from the ground. The bird was sitting on the nest on the 2nd 

 December, and on the 5th the tree was climbed during a thunderstorm. 

 " I thought my last hour had come. The limb I was on swayed 7 or 

 8 feet when the wind caught it ; one flash of lightning rattled my 

 nerves — it seemed so close ; rain started to pelt down when I was 

 descending the tree, and continued for the rest of the day. The 

 nest contained two eggs." 



Another nest, found on the 6th December, 1910, was 50 feet up 

 a1 the top of a bushy tree; it contained a fully fledged young bird, 

 which flew off and came to the ground. This young bird Mr. M'Lennan 

 succeeded in rearing for several months, when it died. A third nest 

 was found on the 2nd February, 191 1, at the top of a tall, thin 

 sapling, 60 feet from the ground ; it contained two hard-set eggs. 



After this, acting on Mr. Barnard's note that this bird's nest is 

 usually in the vicinity of the nest of Cr adieus rufescens (quoyi), Mr. 

 M'Lennan was more successful. 



On the i6th November, 191 1, at Lockerbie, the following note 

 was made : — " Searched through the scrub near the house, as I had 

 frequently heard a Butcher-Bird calling there. I soon discovered 

 its nest in a large fork of a leafless scrub tree ; it contained four very 

 pretty eggs. I had almost made up my mind to take them when I 

 heard a Manucode call close by, so I came down and investigated. I 

 soon located the nest in a bushy tree 50 yards from the Butcher- 



