268 White, Field Ornithology in South Australia. [isf April 



bush. Now and again a " goanna " stared at us with surprise 

 from some fallen tree or rock, and at our approach went 

 scampering off to hide beneath the fronds of a wide-spreading 

 yacca. Poor, stunted gum-trees were met with, and soon after- 

 wards we came upon " Tin Hut." Leaving the central ridge, 

 we struck off to the south through a dense mass of bull-oak and 

 other scrub to Edwards Lagoon, thence to Kangaroo Lagoon, 

 which we made our headquarters for a few days. 



Kangaroo Lagoon, although much smaller than Edwards 

 Lagoon, was a fine sheet of water, surrounded by a thick fringe 

 of rushes, and, outside them, a thick mass of broom, desert oak, 

 and other shrubs, with patches here and there of stunted eucalypts. 

 After the dry season the water had receded past the fringe of 

 rushes, and it was with the greatest dithculty that the horses 

 could be got out to drink, for they sank knee-deep in the soft 

 mud through which the rushes grow. Strange to say, few water 

 birds were found on this lagoon. Some Black Duck {Anas super - 

 ciliosa), Australian Shieldrake {Tadorna tadornoides,) and Grey 

 Teal [NeUion gihherifrons), one pair of eastern Bald-Coots 

 {Porphyrio melanonohis), a few White-faced Herons {Notophoyx 

 novcB-hoUandicB). In the scrub around the lagoon was a colony 

 of Crimson Parrots [Platycercus melanoptera), many of them being 

 immature birds, presenting that well-known patchy appearance 

 of other members of the genus in their early stages of life, a few 

 crimson feathers appearing amidst the dark green plumage. Here, 

 amidst the thick undergrowth, we found the Kangaroo Island 

 Spinebill {Acanthorhynchus halniaUirimts, A. G. Campbell), 

 the Kangaroo Island Crescent Honey-eater [Meliornis halnia- 

 turina, Campbell), and the White- bearded Honey-eater {Meliornis 

 novce-hollandice). One evening my wife drew my attention to a 

 bird which was hawking round the camp, and which we at first 

 took to be a night-bird. It darted into a bush and scattered a 

 number of small birds which were roosting. On procuring the 

 bird in question we found it to be an Accipiter — a female — of 

 strikingly small dimensions, smaller than any male I had ever 

 seen. It was near this lagoon that the last specimen of the 

 Kangaroo Island Emu was seen. We kept a sharp look-out for 

 remains, but none was seen. 



Finishing up our work at the lagoon, we headed for the south 

 coast. Friends at Kingscote had doubted whether we could force 

 a passage through the dense scrub. At first we followed the dim 

 trace of a track made by a survey party when bringing up stores 

 from the coast, but that was soon lost, and we forced our way 

 through a high and entangled scrub, having to use the axe to 

 help the conveyance out of difficulties. At times we emerged 

 into more open country covered with yacca trees, but all the time 

 we were gradually descending. We halted under the shadow of 

 Mount Stockdale. We were off our course, having been com- 

 pelled to make so many twists and turns to avoid some of the 

 worst obstacles. After consulting the map, we found that we 



