Vol. VIII 



igog J 



] Jackson, In the Barron River Valley, N.Q. 247 



birds took flight they vanished swiftly into the thickest of the 

 vines and undergrowth, becoming instantly silent at the moment 

 of flight ; but I had no sooner returned to camp than I could 

 hear them resuming their loud notes, and keeping them up 

 until it was almost dark. 



After supper we had a lounge and chat over birds, &c., until 

 a late hour. I gave Mr. Frizelle all the information I could 

 about the Tooth-billed Bower-Bird. Just before turning in to 

 rest 1 heard the distinct note of the Large-tailed Nightjar 

 {Capriviulgus viacriirus) ; it was evidently close by, and the 

 three repeated notes — " Chop-chop-cJiop" — sounded exactly like a 

 caulking hammer when used on a ship's deck. Other night- 

 bird noises joined in ; among them could be heard the notes of 

 the Koel {Eiidynamis cyauocephala), mixed with the screech of 

 the Powerful Owl {Nitiox strenua) ; but at last even these failed 

 to keep my drowsy eyes from sleep. 



My work in the Tinaroo scrubs had now fairly commenced, 

 and I looked forward to days crammed with interest and 

 marked with success. On the morning of the 31st October a 

 perfect revel of bird music served as a 5 o'clock reveille. All 

 around stood the dense scrub — a frowning wall of green-topped 

 timber— and from its depths came the notes of the Victoria 

 Rifle-Bird, Spotted Cat-Bird, Black-faced Flycatcher {Monarcha 

 Dielanopsis), Ashy-fronted Fly-Robin, Barred (Swainson) Cuckoo- 

 Shrike [Graucaliis lineatus), Bower Shrike-Thrush, Black-headed 

 Log-runner, &c., all making merry melody. But as the sun rose 

 higher the medley of sweet sounds gradually died away, 

 and by 8 a.m. most of the feathered choir were silent. I 

 resolved to be early at work, so by 5 o'clock I was again 

 on the track of my elusive friends, the Tooth-bills. They 

 are surely the industrious apprentices of the bush, for up 

 to 6 a.m. they appeared to be hard at work clearing their bower 

 floors of the old leaves and re-carpeting them with fresh ones, 

 and until this early house-work was done they appeared to be in 

 little mood for song or mimicry. I came across them hard at 

 their re-furnishing, and carrying the long, heavy leaves in their 

 bills by the stevis, and just as they had severed them from the 

 trees. Breakfast furnished a brief but welcome interlude, and 

 then my companion and I skirted the scrub-walled banks of the 

 Barron for some miles. The work was full of interest, but for 

 some time barren of results, the Tooth-bills being simply found 

 doing solitary sentry duty at their bowers as usual. We made 

 a short cut across a small forest area in the scrub, known as 

 Ziginbine Pocket, and in that somewhat clearer area we saw the 

 Black-backed Magpie {Gymnorhina tibiceii), Brown Shrike- 

 Thrush {Collyrioci)icla bruimea), Pale Flycatcher {Microeca 

 pallida), Drongo {Cliibta bracteatd), Black-shouldered Kite 

 {Elarms axillaris), Whistling Eagle {Haliastur sphemirus), 



