Vol. IX. 



IQIO 



Whitlock, On the East Murchison. i8q 



Bronzr-wing {P/taps chalcoptera). — \&xy common when the hot 

 weather set in, in October, at Milly Pool. They came to drink in dozens at 

 sunset, and later on, as the country dried up, I often flushed them from 

 under shady bushes. 



Crested Pigeon {pcyphaps lophotcs). — A few around Milly Pool, and 

 near a clay-pan, prior to its drying up, some seven miles away. I noticed 

 they came to drink at any time of the day. In flight their wings produce a 

 peculiar whistling noise. In point of speed they do not approach the 

 common Bronze-wing. 



Black-tailed Native-Hen (^Microtribonyxventralis). — A pair or two at 

 Milly Pool, but no signs of nests. 



Red-capped Dottrel {^^ojalitis ruficapilla). — Fairly common on the 

 margins of the lagoons comprising Lake Violet. I shot a pair for identifica- 

 tion. They both showed signs of early breeding, but I did not trouble to 

 hunt for the eggs of such a common species. 



Dottrel {Pcltohyas australis).* — As I met with this species at Lake 

 Austin, 1 looked forward with a certain amount of confidence to not only 

 seeing it again but to finding its eggs. I had been at work just a week 

 before I encountered the first pair. They were feeding amongst the 

 samphires growing on the margin of an arm of the largest lagoon in Lake 

 Violet. Four days later, and some two miles away, I came across a flock of 

 quite twenty. Under the circumstances 1 felt justified in dissecting a single 

 bird to ascertain as near as possible the probable date of their breeding. I 

 judged 1 must wait fully three weeks before I could expect eggs. I deter- 

 mined, therefore, to keep watch, without disturbing them more than was 

 absolutely necessary. On 19th August I was on the same samphire flat 

 again, and after searching it carefully I saw a single bird running away to 

 the left in a rather suspicious and suggestive manner. If I stood still she 

 would halt too and watch me. On my moving nearer to the point from 

 which she appeared to have run, she tripped a little further away, always 

 keeping an eye on me. Feeling sure I was near the nest, I made a mark 

 and commenced a systematic search around it. She halted on a little 

 eminence and watched me silently. After a quarter of an hour's patient 

 hunting, to my great delight I caught sight of the three brown eggs, half- 

 covered with flakes of sun-baked clay. Had they been entirely covered I 

 might easily have missed them, so closely did they assimilate to the dark 

 ferruginous soil on which they lay. The black markings on these eggs being 

 small renders them much less conspicuous than the more boldly marked 

 eggs of other allied species. The nest was a very shallow depression, 

 probably scratched out by the parent bird, and had no lining of any kind 

 whatever, the flakes of mud being probably added after the eggs were laid. 

 Surrounding the nest were a few pieces of white quartz and nearly black 

 ironstone. The only vegetation was a sparse growth of stunted samphire, 

 the tallest sprays of which did not exceed 6 inches in height. After packing 

 the eggs, I turned my attention to the female. She had not moved from 

 her point of vantage I walked towards her, and she ran for a few paces as 

 before, but now she gave utterance to a low note resembling the syllable 

 " Kr-root," the r being uttered in rather a guttural manner. There was no 

 sign of the male bird. Next day, after blowing these eggs, I returned to the 

 nest, and, replacing them, with the flakes of clay, as nearly as possible as I 

 found them, I photographed them /// situ. Much to my disappointment, 

 this was the only nest of these rare eggs I found. I visited the locality again 

 and again, and often encountered the main flock, but, despite much 

 searching, all was in vain. I can only surmise that, the species being 

 resident, many pairs may breed during the summer rains, when insect life 

 is so much more abundant in these interior regions. No doubt beetles and 

 such creatures form a large proportion of the diet of these interesting birds. 

 When feeding a flock keeps in open order and one or other is constantly on 



* See remarks on " Western Australian Birds," by A. J. Campbell, part 3, p. 165. 



