208 IMellor, Birds of the Blackalls. [isf'ulc 



The last and least of the Pigeon family seen was the little peace- 

 ful Ground-Dove [Geopelia tranqiiilla). It is exceedingly tame, 

 and its plaintive note, especially that of the male — " Colly-whoop, 

 colly- whoop, colly- whoop " — reminded us of more interior locali- 

 ties where the bird is very abundant. 



I was surprised to find the Honey-eaters scarce, as far as species 

 were concerned, as only one was seen — viz., the Yellow-eared 

 (Ptilotis lewini), which made up for the scarcity of its allies in 

 being seen in every locality visited, from the open and forest country 

 to the densest of dense jungle. We had not been in the scrubs 

 long before the Noisy Pitta {Pitta strepitans) was heard calling 

 to its mate. This bird is usually known locally as the " Dragoon- 

 Bird." It is extremely shy and wary, keeping to the thickest 

 scrubs ; but I soon saw a bird by imitating its call — " Whit, 

 whit, wee-e-e-oo," also " Whit-whit-whit." The bird is very 

 cautious when it gets within a hundred yards of you, and 

 will then stop answering, and will make a detour of the locality 

 where you are hiding, keeping up the call : its presence is 

 eventually made known by the bird darting along the ground, 

 the beautiful bright blue patch on its shoulders flashing in the 

 light as it half runs, half flies, through the dense undergrowth 

 of tangled lawyer vines and other thorned and jagged plants. 

 The Pitta lives principally on the shell-snails, it having special 

 stones whereon to crack them, and here the remains of many 

 varieties of shells are often found. White Cockatoos {Cacatua 

 galerita) were very plentiful, their harsh calling being almost 

 deafening as the mobs congregated in a certain patch of scrub 

 not far from Mr. M'Donald's house. A pair of Black Cockatoos 

 {Calyptorhynchus fiinereiis) was seen on one occasion, but they 

 seemed rare at this time of the year. The King Lory {Aprosinictiis 

 cyanopygms) was seen several times flying over the trees, and was, 

 in all probability, breeding. Our well-known friend of many 

 States, the Crimson Parrakeet {Platycercus elegans), was about 

 in pairs seeking nesting hollows, while two Lorikeets — the Scaly- 

 breasted {Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus) and the Blue Mountain 

 (7". novcB-hollandice) — were present. 



One of the most comical and inquisitive birds met with in the 

 scrub was the Cat-Bird {Mlurcedus viridis). No matter where 

 you went, one of these birds would turn up with a truly human- 

 like voice of " Here you ar-r-r-r-ah." The Robin family was 

 represented in the Yellow-rumped Shrike-Robin {Eopsaltria 

 chrysorrhous) and the Large-headed Robin {Poecilodryas capita). 

 The latter was found breeding, the nest being a pretty structure 

 of fine shreds covered with bits of green moss, and outside of this 

 little pieces of flat bark stuck on to make it appear as its sur- 

 roundings ; and this, being placed on a lawyer vine midwa^^ between 

 two trees, was well out of the way of the usual forest robbers. 

 The birds were very tame, and would come within a few feet of 

 us. Two exquisite little Wrens were noted • — the Variegated 

 (Maktrus lamherti) and the Orange-backed [M. melanocephalns) . 



