8 PREFACE 



in a particular spot than in a whole morning of hurry. No 

 right-thinking bird has a lasting dislike for the human 

 figure; it is the noise and movement in association that 

 arouse fear and resentment. Nor is the enjoyment of a 

 bush ramble lessened by the cultivation of quietness. More 

 than one troop of hearty boys have given me concrete evi- 

 dence on the point; I have even known it to be achieved by 

 a bevy of feminine school-teachers! But the bird observer 

 certainly has more scope for study when alone. It is thus 

 that most of the material contained in this book has been 

 gathered. 



No such claim is made for the story of the Paradise 

 Parrot, of Queensland. Intervals of some years were de- 

 voted to the strange, eventful history of this bird, but the 

 chapter itself indicates that information was not gained at 

 first-hand. This story was included, at the last minute, in 

 deference to the wishes of friends who desired to have it in 

 more permanent form than that provided by a magazine. 



Of the other sketches, several appeared in slightly dif- 

 ferent form in the Sydney Mail, one in Every lady's Journal 

 (Melbourne), and certain more technical portions in The 

 Emu, the quarterly journal of the Royal Australasian Orni- 

 thologists' Union. The permission to reprint is in keeping 

 with the fine service these publications have rendered to the 

 cause of nature study in Australia. I am also indebted to 

 my friends, Messrs. D. W. Gaukrodger, C. H. H. Jerrard, 

 W. G. and R. C. Harvey, and J. H. Foster (Queensland), R. 

 T. Littlejohns, S. A. Lawrence and L. G. Chandler (Victoria), 

 and Sid. W. Jackson (New South Wales), for the photo- 

 graphs which bear their names. 



Brisbane, 1922. A.H.C. 



