loo Jackson, Haunts of the Spotted Bower-Bird. I ,^1 "oct. 



2gth December. — Hundreds of Rose-breasted Cockatoos about campt 

 During September they were mostly in pairs. Clay tank at camp 

 drying up rapidly. Find Bower-Birds beginning to neglect their 

 bowers. Visited some to-day. Sun lurid to-night when setting. 



30/A December. — Rose-breasted Cockatoos all with wings drooping. 

 Many hundreds of different birds drinking around the clay tank at 

 sunset. Often try to follow Bower-Birds after they have a drink 

 and leave the tank or dam, but they are soon lost 



31s/ December. — Had another severe storm last night, and over 

 an inch of rain ; the big cracks in the ground soon drank it down. 

 Birds all happy and calling since the rain. 



is/ January (1912). — Walked some miles to the west, and found 

 few more very old nests of Bower-Birds. White-wood trees now 

 have a rusty appearance on account of the clusters of seed-pods being 

 ripe. Came across a small gruie or Emu apple tree laden with the 

 rose-coloured fruit and just beyond the reach of the Emus. The fruit 

 is pleasant to eat, though tart. The seed is a round, hard ball about 

 the size of a nutmeg. The trees are pretty, giving splendid shade, 

 and mostly growing on the open plains here and there. 



2nd January. — Mr. Melville Doyle kindly called to inform me he 

 had discovered a Bower-Bird's nest, about t,^ miles north of the 

 camp. On climbing, I found one handsome egg (much incubated). 

 The nest was placed in the middle of a mistletoe clump in a green 

 white-wood tree. The nest was 24 feet from the ground, and the 

 tree stood amongst much dead, ring-barked timber. When we got 

 near the tree Mr. Doyle cracked his whip and flushed the female. 

 While I was up at the nest the female sat in a dead tree not far away 

 and made the usual strange sounds. Saw numbers of Acantldza 

 albiventris. They utter a sweet little note. 



2,rd January. — Bright moonlight night, and a Boobook Owl {Ninox 

 boobook) calling in the direction of the Moonie River, also Bush- 

 Curlews or Stone-Plovers {Burhinus grallarius). 



4th January. — Found another new nest of Bower-Bird ready for 

 eggs. The nest was built and well hidden in a clump of mistletoe, 

 in a white- wood tree at a height of 21 feet. Watched the bird with 

 glasses, and saw it collecting and carrying small dead twigs from a 

 cunnyanna tree {VenHlago viminalis , Hook.) for lining the nest. Tree 

 less than half a mile north from camp. Each time the bird arrived 

 with a twig it settled on the top projecting limb and cautiously hopped 

 gradually down to the nest ; when leaving it went froni the summit 

 of the tree. Native lime trees now finished bearing fruit. 



A CYCLONE. 



^th January. — Went north-east. Saw pair of Orioles (Oriolns 

 sasittarius). Visited locality where new nest of Bower-Bird was found 

 in white-wood yesterday I hid about 100 yards away, and with the 

 field-glasses saw the bird arrive with a thin twig and hop down into 

 the nest. I then left the spot at once. On a tree wliich I photo- 

 graphed there were two species of mistletoe growing — one with the 

 yellow tassel-like flower, and Loranthus linearifolius (Hook ), which 

 has a red and green bell-like flower. Saw several Mistletoe-Birds 

 {Dicceum Jiirundinaceum). Had a cyclone with heavy rain at 6.20 p.m. 

 Much damage done, and trees blown down everywhere. It was 



