184 White. Expedition to Musgrave and Everard Ranges. [,,f Xprii 



tation, but the flats in l^etween were covered with hloodwood, 

 Grcvillca, Acacia, and fig-trees. We depended entirely upon the 

 rock-holes in the ranges for water for the camels and ourselves. 

 Bird-life was much more plentiful amongst these ranges, and my 

 assistant and myself were kept very busy collecting and curing 

 specimens. Owing to the small quantities of water held by the 

 rock-holes, which our camels soon exhausted, we were necessarily 

 nearly always on the move. We penetrated further to the west, 

 and our leader was busy ma])ping out new country and tracing 

 the course of new water-courses and ranges. We passed through 

 the Everard Ranges on our return, and it was here that we met 

 the finest aborigines that it has ever been my fortune to fall in 

 with. They were well grown and nourished, and were a fine race 

 of people. 



From the Everard Ranges we passed over a very rough piece 

 of country covered in dense mulga ; then followed the Indulkana 

 Creek till it joined the Alberga, a little north-east of Mount 

 Mystery. We continued along the dry, sandy bed of the Alberga 

 for days, till Todmorden cattle station was reached. On the 

 following morning, at daylight, I left with the owner, Mr. J. A. 

 Breaden, on the long drive into Oodnadatta, leaving my assistant 

 and collector, Mr. J. P. Rogers, to bring on my collections with 

 the camels. 



This is but a very brief sketch of an expedition teeming with 

 interest, the details of which would fill a book to overflowing. 

 In conclusion, I must say that bird-life is not nearly so plentiful 

 in this north-western country as we found it the previous year 

 between Oodnadatta and the Macdonnell Ranges. Many of the 

 forms found farther north and in the Macdonnell Ranges were 

 met with, but there were some forms quite distinct from any seen 

 in the central regions. These include N eopsephotus hourkii (Blue- 

 vented Parrot), Gerygone (sp. ?), Certhionyx variegatiis (Pied 

 Honey-eater), Aphelocephala pectoralis (Chestnut-breasted White- 

 face), two species of Acanthiza, and probably Ashhyia lovensis 

 (Desert Bush-Chat). Although Mr. J. R. B. Love reports having 

 met this bird nearly as far north as Charlotte Waters, I am of 

 the opinion that it is only on rare occasions that it goes so far 

 into the centre of Austraha. 



The country collected over on this trip can be put into three 

 classes. Firstly, the great tracts of often very dense mulga 

 {Acacia aneiira), growing mostly on soft, sandy soil, and covering 

 the greater part of the country travelled over. Where this shrub 

 (one cannot call it a tree, for it rarely attains a height of from 

 15 to 20 feet) was very thick, little or no bird life was found, for 

 we journeyed days at a time without seeing a single bird, and 

 those met with were of the Acanthiza group. Where large spaces 

 of clear, sandy country, covered in dry grass, were met with 

 amidst the great mulga scrubs, an occasional Epthianura or 

 Anthtts was seen. The second class of country was the in- 

 numerable dry water-courses. Up their deep sandy beds we 



