l82 Whitlock, Birds on the Pilbarra Goldfield. [,sf April 



To obtain eggs it was necessary to follow every gully up to its head, for 

 in some solitary tree round the next bend there might be the nest one was 

 searching for. This had one advantage, for in such situations the nests 

 were seldom difficult of access. I found the nests varied much in bulk, but 

 the cup was always very symmetrical and finished with great care. A full 

 clutch of the beautifully-marked eggs formed a pretty picture as they 

 lay in the nest, the latter often framed with a network of vivid green 

 eucalyptus leaves. When the nest was being robbed the parents were very 

 bold, and flew almost into my face, with a vicious snapping of beaks. 



Generally speaking the eggs are easily distinguishable from those of the 

 White-backed species, but I think in a large series of both certain varieties 

 would be separated with difficulty. I found a nest containing one young 

 bird and three eggs of extraordinary size, but, being highly incubated, the 

 fragility of the shell, probably owing to their great size, made the task of 

 blowing them impossible. One was fortunately addled. 



Pied Butcher-Bird {Cracticus picatus). — This species haunted similar 

 country to the Long-billed Magpie, and, if anything, it was an earlier riser 

 than the latter, its musical notes being heard often before the faintest sign 

 of dawn. In its habits, too, it much resembles G. longirostris. It is usually 

 found in isolated pairs, and to secure nests it was necessary to traverse the 

 rocky gullies of the ranges from end to end, where, frequently in some 

 isolated and stunted gum, the neat and often inconspicuous nest was found. 

 The nests are in every respect small nests of the Long-billed Magpie, but I 

 have taken eggs of the Butcher-Bird in much lower situations than those of 

 the Magpie. In one instance I could touch the eggs without climbing, the 

 nest being built in a moderately tall bush. The female is a close sitter, and 

 on several occasions remained on the nest whilst I was climbing a tree. The 

 highest nest I noticed was at an elevation of 25 feet, or thereabouts, and 

 was built in a tall young eucalypt. This was the only Butcher-Bird's nest I 

 saw by the main river. Three is the usual number of eggs, but very often 

 only two are laid. They vary somewhat in ground colour, but are not distin- 

 guishable from eggs of C. nigrigularis. 



Bell-Bird {Oreoica cristata). — A rare bird. One or two heard on the 

 great plateau midway between Port Hedland and the Coongan. 



White-bellied Thickhead {Pachycephala lajiioides). — See ante, p. 143. 



Black-tailed Tree-creeper {Climacteris melaniira\ native name 

 Chinin-chinin. — The only Tree-creeper in the district. I first noticed it at 

 the crossing of the Shaw River, where I obtained a female. On the upper 

 Coongan it was extremely rare, but in a secluded gully I found a pair, and 

 after some trouble watched the female to her nest in the cavity of a very 

 srnall gum growing on a stony hillside. I could almost reach the nest-hole 

 without climbing. I decided to chop out the nest, as the female gave me 

 the impression she was sitting. This was soon accomplished. At the bottom 

 of the cavity was a warm^ bed of kangaroo hair, and on this lay a 

 single egg. This was disappointing, but the egg proved to be highly 

 incubated, and it was just as well I robbed the nest at once. 



On the lower Coongan this species was a little more common, and I saw 

 a young brood of three on the wing the first week in October. On the de 

 Grey, too, the "Chinin-chinin," as the aboriginals call this Creeper, was not 

 uncommon, and I watched a female to her nest in a lofty and half-dead gum- 

 tree. The nest-hole was at a height of 60 feet or so, and in a rather thin and 

 much-decayed branch. It was quite inaccessible. 



This species haunts the cajaputs as well as the eucalypts. 



Sittella. — A single pair seen, but not obtained. These were probably 

 referable to S. tenuirpstris* This was on a large tributary of the upper 

 Coongan. 



* More probably S. pileata or S. leucopiera.—Ex)S. 



