170 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



Before sunrise next day the men were astir, for it 

 is only in the early morning that bird-trapping is 

 likely to be successful. Half -awake, I joined the 

 trappers as they left camp. Arrived at the paddock, 

 after call birds had been tethered to the nets, we 

 divided forces and hid behind the screens. Holding 

 the rope in one hand, my companion crouched against 

 the bagging and watched the nets through a spy- 

 hole. Soon after dawn Galahs began to appear from 

 the direction of the creek, at first in threes and fours, 

 then in fairly large flocks, until there were thousands 

 of birds flying above the wheat. Beautiful they 

 were, with the pale sunshine glancing on their silvery- 

 gray and rose-pink plumage. For awhile, they con- 

 tinued to fly over the field, hither and thither, as if 

 uncertain where to alight. Finally, one company 

 swept down; others soon followed the example, and 

 the trappers prepared for immediate action. A flock, 

 hearing the captive birds call, swept right over the 

 nets that I was observing, wheeled, and dropped to 

 earth. The trapper pulled the rope, the net poles 

 clashed, and discordant screeching, expressive of both 

 fear and anger, rent the air. But only eleven out of 

 some thirty birds had been captured. The unfor- 

 tunates fought valiantly with beaks and claws, and 

 made almost as much noise as a dozen sirens in a 

 sea fog. They were freed from the meshes and 

 placed in a box, where they continued to utter loud 

 protests. In the course of an hour the nets were 

 sprung three times, with the result that eighty-seven 

 birds were captured. This was not considered a 

 good tally. At the waggon the Galahs were trans- 

 ferred to the big cage, and perched in huddled rows on 

 the long bamboo rods. They declined food and water 

 for a few hours, and looked very sulky. By the next 

 day they had settled down a little to the new condi- 

 tions, and ate and drank without being coaxed. 



I tramped across acres of stubble to see a wheat 



