Vol. X. 



!'oio^'_l ^Iacgillivray, Along the Great Bavriev Reef. 22Q 



tropical shower under a tea-tree — not much use, as we rapidly get 

 wet, having little clothing. We dry quickly on the way. ■ We 

 circle through some scrub, in which we note very few birds, and 

 came back to the lagoon, on which there are now five Black-billed 

 Spoonbills {Platalea regia). Making our way boatwards, we note 

 Myiagra rnbecnla in some stunted trees, searching for insects. 

 This it does by threading its way in and out the branches, picking 

 one off here and there, and occasionally making a short flight to 

 one amongst the leaves, or hovering over a branch till satisfied 

 whether something which has attracted its attention is good to 

 eat or not ; then perhaps it darts off to another place, perches 

 with the characteristic quivering movement of the tail, and re- 

 sumes its search. A pair of Mistletoe-Birds {Dicceum) are busily 

 engaged in gathering material for a nest. On our way home 

 through a thick belt of scrub we disturb several Nutmeg-Pigeons 

 and a pair of Rose-crowned (Ewing) Fruit-Pigeons from their mid- 

 day siesta in the branches. 



On the 3rd of November we enter the Albany Passage early in 

 the morning, and drop anchor opposite Somerset, Mr. Jardine's 

 well-known homestead. Our friend Mr. W. M'Lennan comes 

 down to the beach when we land, and we are made welcome by 

 Mr. Jardine, who is just going off for a few days to another 

 property. After breakfast we return to our cutter, go through 

 the Passage, and round to Bushy Island — a rocky islet of about 

 a quarter of an acre in extent. There are a good many Terns 

 of three species hovering over it when we land — 5. ancBstheta, 

 S. melananchen, and S. gracilis. Many nests of the Black-naped 

 Tern are found on the rugged ironstone rock a little above high 

 water mark, the pair of eggs being placed in each instance on a 

 line bedding of rock chippings in some convenient depression or 

 crevice. Several nests contain only one egg, and there are a 

 few young birds. At a slightly higher level, under shelving rocks, 

 sometimes as much as 2 feet under, are seen the single eggs of 

 the Brown-winged Tern (S. ancestheta). Most of these are at an 

 advanced stage of incubation, and there are a few young birds. 

 On the top of the island, where there is a growth of coarSe grass, 

 mostly flattened down by the wind, is the nesting-place of the 

 Roseate Tern (S. gracilis). The nests are depressions in the 

 grass, each containing two eggs. These nests are mostl}^ deserted, 

 no doubt since a visit paid to the island three weeks previously 

 by Mr. M'Lennan, in company with Mr. Bert Jardine. Leaving 

 this rock, we pass through the channel again to its eastern end 

 and out to a small vegetated rock rising just above high water, 

 with a low growth of mangroves on it, known as A Rock, or 

 •Cypheny. Several Reef-Herons rise from it, and we examine 

 their nests. Four contain each one egg, and two three each, all 

 placed low down in the bushes. Two nests contain young 

 Herons. A young Nutmeg-Pigeon is perched in one of the trees, 

 having just left the nest. 



