Vol. XII. 

 1913 



] White, Field Ornithology in South Australia. 179 



Field Ornithology in South Australia. 

 By (Capt.) S. a. White, M.B.O.U., R.A.O.U., Adelaide. 



In the Mallee. 



It was not long after my wife and I returned from Port Augusta * 

 that we were on the move again. A camel driver, whom we met 

 north-west of Port Augusta, had told us that when he was carting 

 water with camels for the Brown's Well railway survey he had 

 seen, among the spinifex, birds which answered to the descrip- 

 tion of the Night-Parrot. We determined to pay that part of 

 the country a visit, and on 8th November, 1911, left Adelaide 

 for Murray Bridge, where we stayed the night. Next day we 

 boarded a steamer. Soon after leaving Murray Bridge we passed 

 large tracts of country which had, until recently, been covered 

 with swamps, but were now divided into cultivation paddocks. 

 Later on we saw a large swamp, which had been banked round. 

 Engines were at work pumping out the water. Many water-birds 

 were seen here. We thought. Where are these birds to go when all 

 the swamps have been reclaimed ? If they come near the river- 

 banks they are shot at by so-called sportsmen on the steamers. 

 At 6.30 o'clock that evening the steamer reached Bow Hill, and 

 we landed with our tent, provisions, &c. We were met by a 

 young farmer, a resident of the district, who was to take us 

 " out-back." We camped at Bow Hill for the night, and next 

 morning loaded up and made an early start. It was not long 

 before we found ourselves following a loose sandy track, through 

 thick mallee. 



The first bird to attract attention was the Crested Bell-Bird 

 {Oreoica cristata), whose notes sounded clearly on the morning 

 air. Hearing a bird-note which was unfamiliar, we investigated, 

 and found a small family of the Southern Striated Grass- Wrens 

 [Diaphorillas howei, Mathews). They were extremely shy, 

 passing from bush to bush with great rapidity. But curiosity 

 often overcomes their timidity. When I gave the call of a wounded 

 bird, one came out of hiding and perched upon the topmost 

 twig of a bush. It uttered a pleasing song. We hunted for a 

 nest, but failed to find any trace of it. As the day advanced 

 the heat became intense. A deep sandy track led us over a 

 succession of ridges densely clothed with mallee. The heat was so 

 great that few birds were seen or heard. We were glad when we 

 came to the end of the last mile of the thirty which lay between 

 our starting-point and Ned's Well. We drew water for our 

 horses from a depth of 170 feet. Soon the tent was pitched. We 

 heard the call of the Boobook Owl {Ninox hoobook). Next morning 

 we beat the spinifex, which extended for miles around the camp, 

 but not a sign of Geopsittactis occidentalis did we find. White- 



* See The Emu, vol. xii., part 2, pp. 122-130. 



