Vol. X. 



IQIO 



1 Macgillivrav, The Region of the Barrier Range. q-5 



our old spot on the open swamp, walked across country in that 

 direction. 



At the end of the lake we disturbed several large flocks of 

 Cockatoos from the ground, where they were feeding on the 

 seeds of the annual salt-bush, just ripening at the time on the 

 plants. Our way took us at first over loose, sandy country, 

 in which there was little bird-life, save for a few Chats, Brown 

 Song- Larks, and Whitefaces, and an occasional Swift-flying 

 Turnix {Turnix velox). A box channel running to the lake was 

 followed for some distance, but yielded little of interest, as there 

 was no water. " Budgerigars " were, however, numerous in the 

 box, and seemed to be preparing nesting-hollows. Leaving the 

 creek, we crossed bare, open country, and came to a large lake, 

 on the shore of which were numbers of Black-tailed Native-Hens 

 {Microtribonyx ventralis), and a few Ducks on the water. On 

 reaching camp in time for lunch, Dr. Dobbyn reported having 

 found a nest o{ Ephthiajiura tricolor, with three eggs, and a family 

 of young White- winged Wrens near by. M'Lennan and I started 

 out again in the afternoon, making our way through the blue-bush 

 to the south. Wrens [Maluriis Icucopterus) were numerous ; 

 one family o{ M, assiuiilis was observed. A nest of the former 

 species in a blue-bush was not quite finished ; it was composed 

 of sheep's wool. I climbed to the nest of a Short-billed Crow 

 {Corvus bcnnetti) in a black oak ; it was small, not much larger 

 than a Magpie's nest, built of sticks and lined with fine bark, 

 feathers, and a little sheep's wool. There were two eggs and a 

 newly-hatched nestling. The eyes were not open ; skin yellow, 

 with a little down along the ulnar borders of the wing, the 

 femoral and dorsal pterylse ; the gape was pink. M'Lennan 

 meanwhile examined another nest in an adjacent tree, finding 

 three young birds and two addled eggs. Fossicking among 

 the box bordering a swamp, M'Lennan found, in a hollow 

 stump, a nest of Acanthiaa uropygialis containing four eggs — a 

 larger clutch and larger eggs than we had previously taken. 

 The nest was made of fine bark and lined with rabbit fur and 

 feathers. Two more Crows' nests were observed. We got back 

 to camp just ahead of the others, who brought a nest and three 

 eggs of E. aiirifrons, taken from a small prickly bush. After 

 dark, boughs were cut for bedding from a few box-trees near 

 by. A nest of the Singing Honey-eater {Ptilotis sonora) was 

 found as the boughs were being stripped. It was composed of 

 rootlets, silk from the cocoons of larvae of the butterfly Belenois 

 flava, which were in all the trees, and horse-hair. The lining 

 material was camel-hair. Next morning four of us made an early 

 start across the lower end of the open swamp to a sand-ridge, 

 beyond which was a large swamp with prickly bushes growing 

 to the water's edge. On the way a female Brown Song-Lark 

 was flushed from a nest in spinach-covered ground (three fresh 



