156 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



Strait and brought to Melbourne, became very tame, 

 and fed unconcernedly with a number of domestic 

 fowls. There was an old wooden box in the yard, 

 which the male Goose came to regard as its property. 

 Every day the bird mounted the box to utter its call 

 notes. 



Our visit to the Ostrich farm was followed by a 

 trip to a large area of swampy land, a few miles from 

 Meningie, where Marsh Terns [Hydrochelidon 

 ftuviatilis'] nested in thousands in 1S10. There were 

 no graceful birds flying over the swamp when we saw 

 it, and no clamour of wild notes was heard. Frogs 

 leaped from some of the old nests, which studded the 

 bushes, and their croaking was the only sound that 

 broke the silence of the desolate place. 



We left the lakes with regret, and some day a 

 promise to return will be fulfilled. 



