6 White, Field Ornithology in South Australia. [isf'i'ui 



cyaneus, Acanthochara carimculata, and Lobivanellus lobaUis 

 were seen here. Entering rough and unproductive hmestone 

 country, we returned to the belt of big timber. None of this 

 country, so far as I knew, had been worked by an ornithologist. 

 Here in the big timber we saw a pair of Dacelo gigas for the first 

 time on Eyre Peninsula For the next few days the weather 

 was rough — terrific winds swept the coast — and we did little work. 

 We discovered Porzana fluminea in the high cutting-grass. On 

 our return journey a halt was made at the belt of sugar gum_s, 

 which proved so successful on our way out. We discovered a nest 

 of Strepera fusca containing two eggs, incubation well advanced. 

 The nest was a stick one, situated at the top of a sugar-gum, and 

 very neatly lined with dry grass. We found a nest of Uroaetiis 

 aiidax just lined with green gum-leaves, ready to receive the eggs. 

 Working out on to a stony ridge, some distance from the timber, 

 we came upon a small party of Calamanthus, which we at first took 

 for C. campestris, but, on comparison, found that they resembled 

 C. albiloris in colouration, although smaller. These birds have 

 the habits of true Calamanthus. They perch upon the top of the 

 bushes and pour forth a pleasing little song, with tail elevated. 

 But directly they are alarmed they dart off and pass from bush to 

 bush, like mice. On one or two occasions bushes in which these 

 birds were concealed were trampled almost to pieces before they 

 would come out, and then they darted along the ground with 

 great rapidity to another bush. We found them always upon 

 the rough, stony ridges covered with low bushes or heath-like 

 plants. On the next stage we found a nest of Strepera fusca, 

 placed in a smaller tree than usual. Not far from, this we came 

 upon another party of Calamanthus on a stony ridge covered with 

 low bush. We observed another pair of adult birds and two 

 young. 



Arriving in our old camp at Warunda Creek just before heavy 

 rain set in, we were glad to spend the next day — a very wild one 

 — resting after a rough journey along the coast. We put in a few- 

 more days at Warunda, where we found another nest of Strepera 

 fusca, built upon the topmost branches of a gum_. The branch 

 was long and tapering. After attempts to" climb, two guys were 

 put on to the limb, which was then cut off and lowered. The 

 reward was a clutch of two eggs. Our attention had been drawn 

 to this nest by the noise made by the female while she was being 

 fed by the male. Not far from here we found a pair of Uroaetus 

 audax nesting. Nest contained two heavily-incubated eggs. 



On the way back to camp we found a nest of Bnrhinus grallarius 

 placed on bare ground among the big timber. A little further on. 

 in a gum which had thrown out a number of young shoots, a nest 

 oi Acanthochara car iinctilata, containing three young covered in grey 

 down, was found. We worked the ranges for the next day or 

 two, and observed two or three pairs of Uroaetus audax nesting. 

 Each nest was placed in a large gum-tree near a creek. One con- 

 tained a single egg, well incubated, and of a very pale colour. 



