l6 Jackson, Trip to Upper Hunter River Disf., N.S.W. [,,f"j"iy 



II, of my book on "The Jacksonian Oological Collection." 

 This nest was a clever piece of bird architecture. The patient 

 little builders had utilized the long, green, silken weed growing 

 on logs and stones in the waters near by, and wound it whilst 

 still wet round the whole structure, giving it a smoothly moulded 

 appearance. It is noticeable throughout the Belltrees estate 

 that the birds are fearless to a marked degree, so that the 

 observer gets a fine chance to note their habits. This is due to 

 Mr. White, who, animated by a love of the feathered creation, 

 will not permit their wanton destruction ; it is a thousand pities 

 that other large property-holders do not adopt the same humane 

 course. 



The next day I betook myself to that part of the station 

 lying west of the great woolshed, I had seen a fine Black- 

 shouldered Kite {Elamis axillaris) fly in that direction with his 

 prey, and hoped to find his nest, but, though I searched carefully, 

 I did not meet with success. During my ramble I disturbed a 

 pair of Black-breasted Plovers, and after half an hour's hunt 

 located their nest, with four eggs in it, and they greatly resembled 

 the dark ground upon which they were laid. In the drooping 

 eucalyptus foliage I found several nests of the Yellow-rumped 

 Tit (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa), nearly all of which contained young 

 birds ; in the orchard near the river the Masked and the White- 

 browed Wood-Swallows {Artavius personatus and superciliosus) 

 were plentiful, and many of their nests were to be found in the 

 fruit trees. The parent birds strongly protested against my 

 intrusion, especially in the case of one nest, which was so close to 

 the ground that Master White could almost reach it as he stood. 

 There was, I found, a reason for the bird's marked disquiet — up 

 at the homestead garden I had been introduced to a young pet 

 Laughing Jackass, which, strangely enough, was being brought 

 up under the strict discipline of an old bird that was certainly 

 not its parent, and the old one had been raiding the unfortunate 

 Wood-Swallows' nests to provide " Jackie " with plump fledg- 

 lings therefrom. I next followed the river down on the other 

 bank, and round the big horseshoe bend, past the station race- 

 course ; here the Pardalote, Bee-eater, and Yellow-rumped Tit 

 were nesting freely, and a large flock of White Cockatoos 

 {Cocaina ^alerlta) held noisy convention in the river oaks. At 

 this spot I struck a huge patch of variegated Scotch thistle 

 {Cardamis lanceolatus), the largest I have ever seen, some of the 

 stems reaching a height of 7 feet, and in walking through this 

 prickly thicket I flushed both Coots {Fulica australis) and Land 

 Rails {Hypotcenidia pJiilippinoisis)^ which promptly took refuge 

 in the weeds on the river bank. In the oaks and eucalypts 

 close by I found two nests of the Rosella Parrot, and saw three 

 varieties of Parrakeets — namely, the Red-backed {PsepJiotus 

 hcEinatonotus), the Red-shouldered Grass {Neopheina pulcJiella), 



