138 Howe, Among the Birds of North-Western Victoria. [isf'j"n. 



Name. Locality. 



103. Geopelia tranquilla . . Tailem Bend 



104. Phaps chalcoptera 



105. Microtribonyx ventralis 



106. Zonifer tricolor . . 



107. Peltohyas australis (?) 



108. Himantopus leucocephalus 



109. Notophoyx pacifica 

 no. Anas super ciliosa 



111. Nettion castaneum 



112. Nyroca australis . . 



Carina 

 Kow Plains (Mumble) 

 Kow Plains and Carina 

 Kow Plains (Mumble) 



Notes on Birds Found Breeding near Mackay, North 



Queensland. 



By E. M. Cornwall.- 



Part II. 



It was with a considerable amount of surprised delight that I 

 first heard in this district the guttural note of the Black Butcher- 

 Bird {Cracticus guoyi). At about sundown I was quietly working 

 my way through a bit of thick jungle just above the margin of 

 the mangroves when the note was sounded within a few yards 

 of me. I tried hard to obtain a good view of the bird, but it 

 was shy, and kept so well screened with thick foliage that a 

 mere shadowy glimpse was all I could obtain. However, very 

 shortly afterwards I had ample opportunity of completing the 

 identification, and found that the bird is not by any means a 

 rarity in this district. They love the muddy fastnesses of the 

 mangroves, and to observe them " at home " one must be 

 prepared to put up with much discomfort. When the tides are 

 neap the mangrove flats are sometimes dry for days at a time ; 

 then they are comparatively firm, and walking is not difficult, 

 but when the big tides flood them every day they are veritable 

 quagmires, and one flounders knee-deep at every step, whilst 

 countless myriads of sand-flies and mosquitoes add to the 

 general discomfort. Black Butcher-Birds are very local in their 

 habits. Once a pair is located they may always be found within 

 a very short radius. They nest year after year in the same 

 locality, and the remains of several seasons' nests may be found 

 in the adjoining trees. Hitherto I have not noticed a brown 

 specimen in this district. Nests, each containing three eggs, 

 were noted on nth and 13th November. Once only have I 

 found C. guoyi nesting away from the mangroves. The nest 

 was then placed amongst a parasitic growth in a swamp tea-tree, 

 and contained three fresh eggs. In an adjoining tree were the 

 remains of the previous season's nest. 



The Black-throated Butcher- Bird {Cractiais nigrigtilaris) is a 



