104 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



to a tract in the interior, extending for some 500 miles. It builds 

 no nest, but lays from 5 to 7 white eggs in a hole of a tree. Mr. 

 Campbell found a nest this year with young birds. I obtained a 

 clutch of three eggs from near the Murray, taken by a bird-catcher. 

 Eggs ovate rounded, white. 1 inch 1 line x 11 lines. 



CaRPHIBIS SPINIC0LLI8. 



Straw-necked Ibis. 



A young gentleman, Mr. Manifold, in the Murray district, found 

 a nest made of sticks in a tall, thick bush, and near the Murray. 

 There were five eggs in. One of the birds appeared to have been 

 crippled, and hence, probably, the reason for the pair breeding there. 

 Mr. Leith obtained another lot of eggs from the same district, and 

 when in Sydney, I saw another batch of eggs, and named as above. 

 Mr. Campbell has described similar eggs as those of the White Ibis, 

 but does not give his authority. Hence it will be interesting for 

 futui-e observers on finding the nest of either species to shoot the 

 bird, and so confirm or correct the present records. Egg ovate oblong, 

 white, chalky, superficially and irregularly pitted. 2 inches 6 lines 

 X 1 inch 9 lines to 1 inch lU^ lines. 



(ESTRELLATA LeUCOPTERA. 



White-winged Petrel. 



Early last season a friend brought me the eggs of this species from 

 some of the small islands off East Gippsland. It lays one egg at 

 the end of a hole, about one foot in depth. The eggs vary consider- 

 ably. Some are rounded, others rounded ovate, creamy white, 

 slightly chalky appearance, and with the peculiar musty, fishy smell. 

 1 inch 6 lines x 1 inch S lines to 1 inch 7 lines x 1 inch 6 lines. 

 Breeding season, August and September. 



PODIOBPS AUSTRALIS. 



Australian Tippet Grebe. 



This bird extends from Tasmania to the lakes and flood grounds 

 of the Riverina. It represents the Crested Grebe of Europe, and is 

 probably an allied, but different species to the New Zealand type. 

 The nest is a mass of weeds, reeds, &c., piled up, and either floating 

 on the water, or amidst the dense growth of partially flooded swamps. 

 The eggs are three to five in number ; ovate-acuminate, milky-blue, 

 smeared with white chalk in large irregular patches. In some 

 specimens which are smaller than the type, the large end is less 

 elongate and more rounded. The eggs soon become buff-coloured 

 and afterwards brown, dyed by the mud upon the breast of the parent 

 bird. 2 inches — 2 inches 3 lines x 1 inch 4^ lines — 1 inch 6 lines. 



