2d. Macgillivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. [,^t^'"july 



lay their eggs on the bare earthy material natural to such 

 places. 



We returned to camp, had an early lunch, and made a start, 

 crossing the creek on the main Euriowie road ; for about five 

 miles this led us through hilly country, bearing evidences of the 

 tin and copper prospector. All these hills, really the foot-hills 

 of the Barrier Range, were just now gay with golden yellow 

 " billy buttons " and everlastings of several kinds, yellow and 

 white, and every watercourse was lined with great bunches of 

 blue-bells. We watered the horses at a rapidly-drying waterhole 

 a quarter of a mile off the road ; its position was sufficiently 

 indicated by hovering and screeching flocks of Bare- eyed 

 Cockatoos and Galahs. The birds were squabbling to find 

 room at the water's edge. Grain-eating birds cannot go 

 long in a dry land like this without water. A mile 

 further on we crossed a creek and pulled up to examine 

 a Whistling Eagle's nest, newly lined and ready for eggs. 

 A Red-tipped Pardalote {Pardalotus ornatus) had a nestful 

 of young in a small hole in a tree, and near by five young 

 Mallee Parrakeets were approaching the time when they would 

 be able to leave the warm shelter of the hollow to find the use 

 of their wings. A few miles further along the road we crossed 

 the Caloola Creek. At the crossing a Raven's [Corone australis) 

 nest was examined ; it contained four newly-hatched young and 

 one chipping cg^. Five eggs is a normal clutch for this species, 

 and, as incubation commences when the first egg is laid, the 

 young are of different sizes. When hatched they are blind ; skin 

 yellowish, mostly bare, but with dirty-grey down on humeral, 

 femoral, and dorsal feather-tracts ; the eyes open on the fifth or 

 sixth day, and are pale grey, which colour gets darker as the 

 bird grows, but does not turn white until the birds are 13 months 

 old. The skin of the nestling gradually darkens to a greenish- 

 yellow, and there is then a gradual change to blackish-brown. 

 This change takes place first on the feather-tracts. The gape 

 is bright pink, and bill of a leaden hue at first, darkening with 

 age. The young are fed on caterpillars, young grasshoppers, 

 and other insects. During one drought season, when dead 

 sheep were plentiful, the young Ravens apparently were fed 

 upon dipterous larvae, and the stench which assailed our nostrils 

 when the crops were opened did not tempt us to pursue our 

 investigations further in that direction. 



It was part of my plan to follow this creek up from this point. 

 The road along the bank, however, was not one on which to 

 trust our damaged trap, so we drove on to Euriowie township, 

 picked up the White Cliffs coach road, which ran in our direc- 

 tion, and followed it to within 3 miles of Sturt's Meadows 

 Station, where we camped for the night. Before tea M'Lennan 

 and I followed the creek back until darkness forced us to return. 



