Vol. IX. 



1909 



] Stray Feathers. 39 



what goal .'* In September I have seen parties of the same bird 

 coming from the north-west, and, as our species is said to be 

 unknown on the mainland, I can only think of King Island, or 

 some other similar spot in the Strait, as their " camping- 

 ground." At the same moment that the Summer-Birds crossed 

 our town a large flight of Ducks passed at a much greater 

 altitude, making about north-north-east. I do not know whether 

 there is any interchange of communication between our Ducks 

 and those of the mainland ; possibly those noted were making 

 to the Furneaux Group of islands, which would not be a great 

 journey. 



The Wood-Swallows {Artamits tenebrosus) left us about the 

 middle of April, after first mustering for two or three weeks in 

 some paddocks by the sea-front ; but on 2nd May I noted a 

 pair of Tree-Martins {PetrocJielidon Jiigricans) over Devonport, 

 and on loth May a Swallow {Hirundo neoxend) was flying low 

 about the streets. 



[The scientific names given above are those adopted by Mr. G. 

 M. Mathews in his recent " Handlist " (Supplement Emu, 

 vii.)] — H. Stuart Dove. 



An Oologist's Paradise. — Shortly previous to the last 

 A.O.U. Congress (November, 1908), I took a trip to the lower 

 reaches of the Murray River and out back into the adjacent 

 Mallee scrub. 



Accompanied by my wife, I left Adelaide one afternoon by 

 the Melbourne express, reached Murray Bridge that evening, 

 made arrangements for a boat, and left early in the morning, 

 going down stream. The first halt was made at Monteith's 

 Flat, and, after landing our kit and forming camp, we struck in 

 over some pine-clad sand-hills. Birds were fairly numerous. 

 The Varied Parrakeet {Psephotus multicolor) was observed 

 nesting in a hollow branch of a box-tree (eucalypt), and near 

 by a little Brown Flycatcher {Microeca fascinans) had her frail 

 nest, perched high up on the horizontal fork of a pine bough, 

 and alm.ost in the next tree was a nest of the White-shouldered 

 Caterpillar-eater {Lalage tricolor). Again within a stone's 

 throw was the pretty pendent nest of the Spiny-cheeked Honey- 

 eater {Acanthochcsra nijigularis), while almost every other tree 

 contained a nest in this warm and sheltered corner between 

 two sand-hills. Red-capped Robins {Petraxa goodenovi) were 

 nesting very plentifully this season, and their beautifully 

 constructed nests were difficult to discover in the forks of the 

 pine-trees, owing to particles of the bark and lichens being 

 fastened on to the outside of the nest to deceive their enemies. 

 Great Brown Kingfishers {Dacelo gigas) were brooding in the 

 hollows of the old gum-trees (eucalypts) on the edge of the 



