jCQ White, North Australian Birdst f ^"l" 



thick brush. He made off at a great pace, and disturbed the mob, 

 which was camped about 150 yards further on. Followed them for 

 about 2 miles, odd beasts breaking off here and there, till only three 

 were left. When I came near them my friend the bull again caught 

 sight of me, and away all went. I tried running shots at a small 

 beast, but there was too much timber and bushes in the way. How- 

 ever the cattle circled, so I ran across to an open space in the 

 direction of which they were heading. As soon as they caught sight 

 of me they stopped. They were three bulls- — one about 18 months 

 old, so I dropped him. Fresh meat at last ! Divided it into two 

 loads. But I was about bushed. Climbed a tree to see if I could 

 locate the boat. Caught sight of Gulnare Bluff, some miles to the 

 north, and was able to approximate position of boat. Very bad 

 walking ; ground soft, and several swamps to cross. Eventually 

 reached boat. Mohr had just returned, and was waiting at the 

 dinghy ; he only saw one bull. 



At the Great Rookeries. 



28/2/16.— Anchored opposite the Egret rookeries about 5 p.m. 

 Mosquitoes awful. Had to get tea under the nets straight away. 



29/2/16. — Mosquitoes terrible all the morning. Two small 

 crocodiles were floating on the surface of the river eyeing the boat ; 

 shot one. Spent morning fixing up a camp on shore. Had to go 

 up river about a mile for suitable poles for tent. Saw the crocodile 

 that I shot lying at the edge of the river; got rifle and finished it. 

 Mosquitoes thicker than ever. They clustered on one's hands, face, 

 and clothes like a swarm of bees. Forced to get under nets before 

 sunset. 



1/3/ 16. — Mosquitoes again terrible all the morning. Made big 

 " smokes " round the camp, but could not drive the troublesome 

 insects away. Went across to the rookery after lunch to make a 

 thorough examination. It is situated in a belt of mangroves (trees 

 with a smooth, pale green bark and lanceolate leaves), extending 

 along a reach of the river for about i-|- miles. The rookery covers 

 approximately an area half a mile long by 70 yards in width. The 

 mangroves, for a distance of 40 yards from the river, are from i to 

 2^ inches in diameter at the base, and 1 5 feet in height ; for another 

 30 yards behind this belt the trees range up to 5 inches in diameter, 

 and are up to 30 feet in height. A strip along the river, 30 yards 

 wide and about 200 yards at either end of the rookery, is occupied 

 wholly by Garzetta nigripes {immaculata) and Herodias timoriensis, 

 the nests of the latter being placed on the topmost branches. In the 

 central portion all species are intermingled — G. nigripes, H. timori- 

 ensis, Nbtophoyx flavirostris , Mesophoyx plumifera, and occasional 

 nests of Phalacrocovax melanoleucus and P. sulcirostris. There is 

 scarcely any difference between the nests of G. nigripes, N. flavi- 

 rostris, and M. plumifera, and the eggs of each in some instances 

 are very much alike. Will have to flush each bird from its nest 

 to make sure of identification. Most of the nests within reach con- 

 tained small young. I secured some sets of N. flavirostris. A great 

 number of birds were still building, and a number of nests examined 

 contained one or two eggs. A fair-sized crocodile came swimming 

 up through the mangroves till it was within 15 feet of me ; when it 

 saw me it turned, disappeared beneath the surface, and made off. 



