130 



White, North Australian Birds. [isUUa 



8/10/15. — Went up the river in dinghy, landing in three places where 

 Eiilabeornis castaneiv enter were heard calling, but could not catch 

 sight of the Rails — mangroves too thick. Shot a Pinarolestes and a 

 Pachycephala simplex. Got back to camp about 11 a.m.; skinned 

 birds and blew eggs taken yesterday. 



9/ 10/15. — Went down the river to nest of Trichoglossus rubri- 

 forques noted 3/ 10/15. Both birds flushed from the tree. Climbed 

 to the nest, which contained two small young about a week old. A 

 Little Eagle was seen and secured. Worked back across the ridges 

 to camp. A covey of Turnix castanonoia was flushed from the long 

 grass at the foot of a ridge. Had a long chase after some Cracticus 

 picata. Got back to camp 2.30 p.m. and skinned birds. 



10/10/15.— Went up river about 4|- miles. A pair of Trichoglossus 

 nibritorques was flushed from a hollow 30 feet up in a eucalypt ; it 

 contained two small young, not long hatched. Covey of Synoeciis 

 cervinns was flushed from some long grass near a dry billabong ; shot 

 one of them. A small flock of Geophaps smithi was next flushed ; 

 bagged three, but only one was fit to skin. Dacelo cervina flushed 

 from a hollow 20 feet from the ground in a eucalypt ; nest contained 

 two eggs. Another pair of Trichoglossus rubritorques was flushed 

 from a hollow 35 feet from ground in a eucalypt ; it contained two 

 young about a fortnight old. Headed back to camp along a sandy 

 rise through thin forest country. JEgotheles novcB-hollandice flushed 

 from a hollow 20 feet from the ground in a eucalypt ; no nest. 

 Secured a specimen of Pomatorhiniis. Got back to camp about 

 3.30 p.m. and skinned the birds. 



11/10/15. — Spent the morning working the river flat and the 

 ridges near camp. Micrceca flaviventris found building 30 feet from 

 the ground on a thin, horizontal branch of a dead paper-bark. Shot 

 a Bronze-wing Pigeon at spring near the camp. A Rufous Flycatcher 

 (Rhipidura) was seen and shot in the scrub at another spring ; saw 

 Tropidorhynchus argenliceps. In the afternoon secured specimens of 

 Gerygone albigularis, Rhipidura isura, and Turnix castanonoia, and 

 returned to camp to skin them. 



12/10/15. — A pair of Poephila per sonata is starting to build in a 

 pandanus near camp. Went up the other branch of the river in the 

 dinghy for about i^ miles. Had a look at two nests of Micrceca flavi- 

 ventris noted building 7/10/15 ; one contained one egg, the other 

 appeared to be deserted. Found four more nests of this bird, almost 

 completed, in the forks of dead mangroves. Got ashore on the right 

 bank lor about 3 miles, working the river flat. Country very poor ; 

 timber mostly stunted paper-barks, with a few large trees along the 

 edges of the salt-pans and around the small billabongs. A pair of 

 Trichoglossus was flushed from a dry spout 40 feet from the ground 

 in a paper-bark ; it contained two small young a few days old. A 

 Brown Hawk was flushed from its nest in a thin, dry fork of a paper- 

 bark ; branch too rotten to climb to. Another pair of Lorikeets 

 flushed from a hollow 20 feet from the ground in a dead spout of a 

 eucalypt ; again young. Returning along the edge of the forest 

 country, Rhipidura tricolor, Pachycephala jalcata, and a few Geopelia 

 placida were the only birds noted. Some Stints (Pisobia acuminata) 

 were seen on a salt-pan ; shot a pair. Shot a Sandpiper (JBeteractitis 

 brevipes) along the river. 



