^°'i9io^'] Whitlock, On the East Murchtson. 187 



contained was much discoloured, and, as there were from 500 to 

 600 cattle watering there, the fluid resulting became more and 

 more unwholesome. This, combined with the great heat, the 

 swarms of bush flies and other vermin, made my stay of six 

 weeks at this centre the reverse of a picnic. However, com- 

 pensation was to be found for all these discomforts in the 

 presence close at hand of a party of Yellow-spotted Bower-Birds. 

 Watching them with the ultimate hope of securing this rare nest 

 and eggs comprised my most exciting and interesting occupation 

 at Milly Pool. Success came at length, and on 6th November I 

 said good-bye to Milly Pool, taking my last nest — a Nankeen 

 Kestrel's — the previous day. This proved also to be the last 

 nest taken on the trip. All the smaller birds had ceased to breed 

 at this late date. The heat was becoming intense, a ther- 

 mometer hanging in a bough shed at a neighbouring cattle- 

 station having already touched n6° in the shade. 



I must say a few words about the weather experienced during 

 my four months' travelling on the East Murchison. Teamsters 

 and others who had been on the roads since the goldfields 

 " broke out " were unanimous in their opinion that there never 

 had been such a season for regular rains. This part of the 

 Murchison lies in the zone of the summer tropical rains, and the 

 fall had been exceptionally good for the previous few months. 

 During both my visits to Bore Well I encountered further heavy 

 rain, accompanied by strong gales. However acceptable the 

 rain, the accompanying winds proved to be a great hindrance in 

 working the spinifex for nests of such secretive and feeble- 

 flying birds as Aniytornis and Stipittirus — the chief objects of 

 my search for the time being — and my difficulties were much 

 enhanced thereby. The mornings were usually bitterly cold, the 

 frost often severe. I shall always remember with a shiver 

 awaking on 30th July. We had arrived in camp at sundown 

 the previous evening, too late to put up a tent, and I slept on 

 the ground near our waggon. In the morning my rugs were 

 white with hoar frost, a bucket of water had thick ice on it, and 

 even the water in a billy-can with the lid on was coated with ice. 

 Nannine, according to the railway survey, is 1,470 feet above 

 sea-level. Lake Way, being further inland, averages perhaps a 

 hundred or so feet higher. It is no doubt this elevation which 

 produces such severe cold in a locality at no great distance south 

 of the tropic of Capricorn. 



Before giving a detailed account of the birds observed during 

 my trip, I must add a few words relating to the aborigines. 

 Around Wiluna, which is on the outer fringe of civilization, they 

 are fairly numerous, and their numbers are frequently augmented 

 by the visits of " wild blacks" from the little-known interior to 

 the north and east. Taking an average, I found them inferior 

 to the blacks of the north-west both in physique and intelligence, 



