I/tO Cornwall, Notes on the Great-billed Heron. \_i^^un. 



vicinity, and a Barred-shouldered Dove {Geopelia humeralis) 

 was sitting on a pair of eggs just chipped. Out on the plains 

 were hundreds of Native Companions {Antigone anstralasiana), 

 and one pair of eggs was found. Other birds noted in the open 

 country were Night- Herons {Nycticorax caledonicus), near a 

 lagoon; Wedge-tailed Eagles {Uroactiis audax), Brown Hawks 

 {Hieracidea ot'ientaiis), Harriers {Circus gouldi), Egrets {Herodias 

 tinioricnsis), White-fronted Herons {NotopJioyx novcE-Jwllandics), 

 Black Ducks {Anas superciliosd), Bustard {Eiipodotis austj'alis), 

 Straw-necked Ibis {Geronticus spinicollis), and White Ibis {Ibis 

 molnccd). 



The weather had now become very dirty, heavy south-east 

 squalls, with rain, making things very unpleasant ; but a move 

 was made to the O'Connell River, which, at its mouth, is 

 separated from Thompson's Creek by a sandbank at low water 

 only. On the morning of 15th April Mr. Nielson spent many 

 hours rowing about the river and the branch creeks in the 

 dinghy, searching for the coveted nest ; but when he returned, 

 tired and a bit disappointed, to the yacht, his companions, who 

 had been left to hunt for crabs and other delicacies (the while 

 keeping their eyes open for nests), handed him a pair of eggs 

 which they had taken from a large nest in the mangroves, and 

 which he at once saw could be none other than those so 

 ardently wished for. Under his companions' pilotage he 

 struggled through nearly a mile of slimy mangrove mud, and 

 when the nest was reached he was delighted to see the bird 

 close to it. 



The nest was composed of coarse sticks, many being y% and 

 y^ of an inch thick. There was practically no lining, and the 

 nest was so flat it was strange that the eggs did not roll out. 

 Dimensions of nest, 48 inches across and 19 inches thick, placed 

 in a mangrove tree overhanging a small gutter, and about 

 15 feet above low water. The eggs, two in number, were fresh. 

 They are swollen oval in shape, and rather pointed at one end. 

 Colour, a beautiful light bluish-green. Shell coarse and slightly 

 glossy, minutely yet distinctly pitted all over. Measurements. 

 — {a) 2.72 X 1.85 inches ; {b) 2.81 x 1.9 inches. 



Situated in the same tree — in fact, on the same branch, and 

 only some 18 inches from the first nest — were the remains 

 of one which had evidently been used the previous season. 



After leaving the O'Connell River the Lassie ran on to the 

 Proserpine River, where several days were spent among the 

 birds. No more nests of Ai'dea sumatrana were found, though 

 one or two pairs of birds were noted. 



The next mention of Ardea sumatrana is under date 15th 

 May, 1909, and comes from Clairview Creek, in Broad Sound, 

 some 70 miles to the southward of Mackay and 5 miles south 

 of Flock-Pigeon Island. Where did this islet get its name? 



