QO Macgillivray, The Region of the Barrier Range. [isf'oct 



and rabbits, and much of the mulga is cut down annually, when 

 grass IS scarce, to feed starving stock. As there is no reproduction 

 of trees or shrubs, the surface of the ground is deprived of its 

 natural shelter, and evaporation and desiccation become greater 

 and greater. The whole of the scrub country will, in time, be 

 converted into a desert waste of drifting sand. In many parts 

 this has already occurred. Going down with the " billy " for 

 water, two Sharp-tailed Stints {Hetcropygia acuminata) were seen 

 on the mud, with a number of Red-capped Dottrels [Mgialitis 

 ruficapilla). About half a dozen Silver Gulls {Larus novce- 

 hollandice) were also flying over the surface of the water or perched 

 on the posts of a partly submerged fence. A flock of Microtribonyx 

 were feeding on the margin below the station, and there were a 

 few Ducks on the water, principally Pink-eared {M alacorhynchiis 

 memhranaceus). White-eyed (Nyroca aiistralis), and Grey Teal 

 {Nettion gibberifrons). 



Next day we followed up the box-bordered watercourse which 

 fills the lake. Two Miners' {M. flavigiila) nests — one with four 

 eggs and the other with three young birds — were our first finds. 

 The bag-shaped nest of the Striped Honey-eater [Pledorhynchns 

 lanceolatus) hung in the leaves at the end of a long swaying branchlet 

 of a box tree. It was constructed almost wholly of sheep's wool. 

 There were no eggs. A Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater was putting 

 the finishing touches to her nest. Bell-Birds {Oreoica cristata) were 

 calling across the creek. The Oreoica is a plump, sprightly little 

 bird, and looks his best, I think, when hopping along the ground 

 with erect crest in search of insects and seed. The grey dress is 

 eminently protective. A nest was located low down in a ragged 

 old turpentine-bush. Two nests of the Masked Wood-Swallow in 

 course of construction, and another nest of the Striped Honey- 

 eater, with four newly-hatched young birds, were noticed. A 

 Goshawk {A. fasciatus) flew from a new, but empty, nest in a box 

 tree. 



Out in the open mulga and turpentine the Black Honey-eater 

 [Myzomda nigra) was seen, and several Masked Wood-Swallows' 

 nests were found. A nest of the Wood-Swallow [A. personatus) 

 contained newly-hatched young, very downy, with black skin, 

 eyes not yet open, yellow gape. On a ridge I paused to watch 

 the movements of a White-browed Tree-creeper {Climacteris 

 superciliosa) as he flitted from tree to tree in search of food. He 

 no sooner alighted upon a dead mulga than a pair of Chestnut- 

 rumped Tits {Acanthiza nropygialis) set upon him and drove him 

 away. In a fork of this mulga, i8 inches from the ground, was 

 a split leading to its hollow interior, where the female Acanthiza 

 could be seen sitting on her nest, which was found to contain 

 three fresh eggs — the usual clutch. The nest was of the flimsiest 

 description — only the slightest roofing and base, all of fine bark 

 shreds, the eggs resting on a bedding of rabbit fur. A Red-capped 

 Robin's {P. goodenovii) nest was placed in the fork of a mulga, only 

 2 feet from the ground. It was constructed of fine bark and 



