132 



Howe, Among the Birds of North-Western Victoria. [,sf "jan. 



cold. Breakfast not being obtainable till 8 o'clock, we shouldered 

 our guns and walked briskly to a patch of mallee scrub distant 

 about \}2 miles. Here we found the Grey Shrike-Thrush 

 {Collyriocincla harmonica). White- winged Chough {^Corcorax 

 melanorhamphns), Yellow-plumed Honey-eater {Ptilotis ornata), 

 Restless Flycatcher {Sisura inqiiieta), Black-winged Crow- 

 Shrike {Strepera melanoptera), Ground-Dove {Geopelia trangui/la). 

 Striped Brown Hawk {Hieracidea berigora), and many other 

 forms. A nest of PomatorJiinus superciliosus was found to hold 

 three young ones that were blind and featherless, with gape 

 and inside of mouth yellow. 



We left Tailem Bend at 11.30 a.m., bound for Pinnaroo, 86 

 miles distant and only 3 miles from the border fence of Victoria, 

 arriving there after 6 p.m. Here we were met by " Mallee-Bird " 

 (Mr. Charles M'Lennan). Whilst Mr. M'Lennan was harnessing 

 up next morning we found many nests of the White-browed 

 Babbler {PomatorJiinus stiperciliosiis) just at the rear of the hotel. 

 They were all built low down in the mallee. One nest contained 

 four young ones about 10 days old ; gape and inside of mouth 

 yellow ; quills or primaries about 2 inches long, with feathers 

 just unfurling ; eyebrow very conspicuous. We reckoned they 

 would be fully fledged in about four days. Even after they are 

 fledged they continue to occupy the nest. Later on, while we 

 were examining two more nests, young birds flew out, uttering 

 notes very like those of their parents. 



On the drive out from Pinnaroo we saw great numbers of the 

 Black-winged Crow-Shrike {Strepera inelanoptera) — one lot of 

 about 70 — and secured a bird for identification. The feet and 

 bill were black and the irides were bright orange. The bird 

 measured about 18 inches in length. We found them nesting in 

 the mallee, and three nests contained two, two, and three eggs 

 respectively. We also found a nest of the Wattle-cheeked 

 Honey-eater {Ptilotis cratitia), quite close"to the track and placed 

 in a wire-bush {Acacia) about 2 feet from the ground. Outwardly 

 it was composed of bark, decorated with spiders' cocoons, in 

 some cases an inch long, and lined with fine grasses. It con- 

 tained a pair of very light-coloured eggs finely and sparingly 

 spotted with brown and lilac. During our sojourn we noticed 

 many pairs of this very elegant Honey-eater. We secured one 

 (a female), and the purple of the gape gave it a very beautiful 

 appearance. On the 19th a nest of this species was found about 

 half built, the position chosen being about 5 feet high in a small 

 pine in dense broom scrub (country they appear to be very 

 partial to, affording as it does such good protection), and it was 

 ready for eggs as we passed on our way home on 25th September. 



Our camp was at Hawk Plain, Carina, Vic, and many forms 

 were found nesting here, notably the Owlet Nightjar {yEgot/iclcs 

 nov(2-hollandice\ Black-breasted Plover {Zonifer tricolor), Black- 



