l88 Whitlock, Birds on the Pilbarra Goldfield. [i^t'^Aprii 



Chkstnut-eared Finch {Tceniopygia castatiotis), native name New- 

 merri. — Fairly common, but never found far from water. In particular it 

 haunts the neighbourhood of wells provided with automatically-fed sheep- 

 troughs. Old nests of this species are much in evidence. Three and four 

 are not uncommonly found in the same bush. It also breeds in the hollow 

 spouts of gum-trees. I found one in such a situation with the remarkable 

 number of twenty fresh eggs. The usual type of nest is an elongated oval with 

 rather a large entrance. The outward composition of the nest is of fine 

 grasses. This is lined with a small quantity of white vegetable down, the 

 whole very loosely put together. The nest becomes very dirty when the 

 young are being fed, the lower part becoming almost solid with 

 their droppings. The eggs are very small and fragile, and are of the 

 faintest tinge of blue. Clutch from four to six. 



Reb-FACED Finch {BatJiilda rujicai/da). — Found both on the upper 

 Coongan and also the de Grey, but local in the extreme. 



I disturbed a sitting female from her nest in a small bush in the bed of the 

 Coongan whilst watching a pair of Black-fronted Dottrels {^Egialitis 

 melanops). I was much puzzled at first, as I could see at once the nest was 

 not that of T. castanotis. Is was very round, rather large, and woven in 

 quite a different manner, and, moreover, had a scant lining of white 

 feathers. I hid myself and watched, and after a time the female slipped 

 back into the nest. I saw at once I had found something new to 

 myself. I returned to camp for my gun, and eventually secured a pair. On 

 comparing them with the description in Hall's " Key," I was rather puzzled. 

 I found the tail not very long, and the plumage of the female very similar to 

 that of the male — ^just a little less pronounced, in fact. Hall states — 

 "Female, uniform buffy-brown." I subsequently found this should refer to 

 the nestling, not to the adult female. 



On the de Grey I secured a couple of nestlings for examination, with the 

 above result. I found th^ old nest near at hand and a few feet above, in 

 the same prickly climbing plant, was a new nest containing eggs. Still 

 higher up the vine was an old nest of Tceniopygia, and a second one 

 evidently tenanted, but the thorns were too much for me, and I had to leave 

 it alone. 



The call of the Red-faced Finch is very feeble, and resembles somewhat 

 that of Zosterops goiddi. Like the other Finches, it must ha\e plenty of 

 water. The plumage is a lovely combination of delicate greens and buffs, 

 relieved by the fiery vermilion face.. 



Tawny Frogmouth {Podargus sifigoides.) — Not uncommon on the 

 upper Coongan, and several nests found. It appeared to me that these 

 north-western individuals were paler and more uniform in plumage than 

 those of the south-west. The nests I saw were generally in some isolated 

 and stunted gum growing in the rocky and more secluded gullies. 



Owlet Nightjar {^gothcles nova;-hollandia).—li\\x^& examples in all 

 seen, two being disturbed from hollow spouts when hunting for Parrots' and 

 Owls' nests. In one instance the remains of the previous year's eggs were 

 noticeable, but no specimens of the eggs were obtained. 



Bee-eater {^Merops ornaius). — Very common, and I think resident, both 

 on the Coongan and de Grey. 



Fawn-breasted Kingfisher {Dacelo r^r?'//;^).— In scattered pairs along 

 both the Coongan and de Grey. The extraordinary guttural notes heard 

 both at early dawn and after sunset. I was only able to locate one nest, and, 

 as I was leaving the upper Coongan, I chopped a hole into the limb, but to 

 my regret was too early for eggs. I am inclined to think the female is a 

 close sitter and refuses to be scared from her eggs by knocking with a toma- 

 hawk on the butt of the tree. The only way to" find the nest is to watch a 



