194 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



festooned the smaller trees with its 

 creamy-white blossoms ; directly in 

 front of the hut a huge mass of rocklily 

 was in full bloom, and beautiful evi- 

 dences of spring daily aroused our 

 enthusiasm. Eeyond the clearing the 

 vegetation was on a wild and luxuriant 

 scale and nearly every tree in the scrub 

 seemed to be groaning under the weight 

 of staghorns and orchids. The native 

 figs appeared to be particularly sus- 

 ceptible to parasites, and a large tree 

 growing near the hut was a host for 

 epiphytic plants of all descriptions. 

 The topmost branches were encircled 

 by masses of staghorn ferns, which gave 

 the tree an unwieldy appearance, while 

 the tiny yellow figs attracted myriads 

 of birds. 



A curious sight was afforded by two 

 dead turpentine trees growing on the 

 opposite side of the gully, and ap])earing 

 to have light reddish trunks with soft 

 lace-like green foliage. The sup])osed 

 foliage proved to be masses of " Old 

 Man's Beard " moss, which hung from 

 every branch and twig, while the trunks 

 on examination showed the bark to be 

 hanging in shreds. Black Cockatoos 

 having rip])ed it up in their search for 

 beetle larvae. 



Liana vines or monkey ropes matted 

 the trees on the edge of the stream and 

 made progress through the scrub an 

 arduous task. The Giant Nettle 

 {Laportea gigas) was frequently met 

 with in our rambles, and carefully 

 avoided. The Queensland Lily, or 

 " Cunjevoi," which is found growing in 

 the vicinity of the nettle, and whose 

 juice is said to be a specific for the sting 

 of the nettle, was noted, but fortunately 

 we had no necessity to test its soothing 

 attributes. 



The season was too early for the 

 majority of insects, though by diligent 

 log-rolling many groinid beetles were 

 taken. The Nettle Butterfly (Pi/rameis 

 ilea), however, was common, hovering 

 over the nettles, and at night we were 

 visited by swarms of a geometrid moth 

 {Xanthorlioe hrujata), which we dis- 

 lodged in numbers from our clothing in 

 the morning. 



BIRDS. 



But though the season seemed un- 

 propitious for insects, bird life flourished 

 in all directions. Here I saw for the 

 first time a male Regent Bower Bird 

 {Sericulus chri/socejyJialus) its black and 

 golden plumage as it flew from tree to 

 tree resembling the gorgeous coloured 

 Troides butterflies of the Malayan and 

 Papuan tropiss. The giant fig-tree, 

 previously mentioned, was daily visited 

 by this species, which came to feed on 

 the fruit. 



On the banks of the creeks the lianas, or native 

 vines (Vitis hypoglaucal impeded our progress. 



[Plioto. — A. MKsgrave. 



All day long the scrub resounded to 

 the call of the Coach Whip Bird {Pse- 

 2)hodes crejyitans), a long drawn out note 

 ending in a whip-like crack and in many 

 cases immediately followed by two 

 sharp notes at a little distance away. 

 Trustworthy observers state that these 

 last notes are " reply " calls used by 

 both sexes, but they follow so perfectly 

 upon the first notes that a belief has 

 arisen that the bird at times indulges in 

 ventriloquism. 



