Vol. X. 

 igti 



1 Hill, Field Notes on Birds of Kimbevley, N .-W. Aust. 259 



months of the year. Although most of my work was confined to 

 the country between the Drysdale River and the east side of 

 Napier Broome Bay, I paid several brief visits to the islands and 

 many points on the mainland between that bay and Gibson Point 

 (Parry Harbour), and on my return by lugger to Derby in July 

 further opportunities were afforded for seeing much of the coast 

 and adjacent islands of Kimberley, but I regret that the exigencies 

 of travel would not permit of longer delays at many promising 

 spots. Most of the coast and the islands are extremely rocky 

 and barren, and possessed of very little bird, animal, and insect 

 life. Sea-birds are remarkably scarce, and I saw no signs of 

 " rookeries '•' on any of the islands, nearly all of which are in- 

 habited or visited by aborigines. A few localities on the coast 

 call for some notice before going on to a more detailed description 

 of the country in which I did most of my work. 



Parry Harbour, at the entrance to which lies Hecla Island 

 (lat. 13° 5' vS., long. 126° E.) is one of the most picturesque as well 

 as one of the safest harbours on the north-west coast. At a distance 

 the whole of the surrounding country appears to be a level and 

 fertile basaltic plateau, but a closer examination proves it to be 

 composed almost entirely of broken basaltic rocks and gravel, lightly 

 timbered with stunted eucalypts, acacias, and many species of 

 small shrubs. The precipitous slopes, however, are thickly 

 clothed with tropical trees, shrubs, and creepers, where bird and 

 insect life is plentiful and varied, and differs remarkably from 

 that found further up the coast. Water is not abundant, but 

 there are many permanent springs close to the shore. Hecla 

 Island is about 12 acres in extent, and waterless. Two-thirds of 

 its surface are treeless, but well grassed, while the remainder is 

 similar to the slopes on the adjacent mainland. 



Augustus Island (lat. 15° 26' S., long. 124° 34' E.) and the 



