THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 183 



The Oyster-catchers' eggs, on account of their singularly bold 

 marking, are always handsome. The most common kind proved 

 to be the Black or Sooty Oyster-catcher {HcBmatopus unicolor). 

 Sometimes several instances of pairs of eggs were found on our 

 rocky islet, taken in hollows 7 inches across by i^ inches deep, 

 at foot of tussock grass or amongst pig-face weed, on top of rock 

 or between rocky ledges. The White-breasted Oyster-catcher {H. 

 longirostris) appears the rarer of the two species, at all events 

 on the parts of the islands we visited. It was gratifying to record 

 the unusual number of 3 eggs found in a nest of this showy species 

 on Green Island. The nest was merely the usual depression (6 

 or 7 inches across by i inch or so deep). The situation was in 

 the sand, near herbage, about high-water mark, and contained 

 pieces of broken shells and other marine debris. 



Gulls. — The nests of the large Pacific Gull {Larus facijicus) 

 were warmly constructed of grass (roots and all) and flowers, 

 and were sheltered with tussock grass, salt bush, or points of 

 jutting rock. The nests measured jo or 11 inches across and 

 somewhat deep, being 3 or 4 inches. The full complement of 

 eggs is 3, but we frequently found a pair only. 



The pretty Silver Gull {Larus Novce-HoUandioi) , however, breeds 

 more in colonies. The one we visited on the Samphire River 

 reef contained 21 nests, which were placed on the ground, 

 amongst the short herbage, at various distances from each other, 

 the nearest being 34-35 inches apart. These nests were not 

 nearly so substantially built as those of the Pacific Gull, but were 

 frail things of seaweed of various kinds, measuring 6 or 7 inches 

 across by an inch deep, and contained from i to 3 eggs. It 

 is worthy of note that upon the outside of this " rookery " we 

 found a pair of Oyster-catchers' eggs. 



REPTILIA. 



The reptilia collected consist of Diemenia superciliosa (Brown 

 Snake), found also in Victoria, and the lizards Amphiholurus 

 angulifer (Gray), Egernia Whitii (Larcep.) ; and Liolepisma 

 metallicum (O'Shaughn.), common to both Victoria and Tasmania ; 

 and L. ocellattim (Gray), found only in Tasmania. — C. Frost. 



POLYZOA. 

 Owing to the short time at my disposal during the trip, I was 

 unable to make as large a collection as I expected. However, 

 the 41 species obtained, together with the 47 which I gathered 

 during the trawling trip of the Lady Loch, principally off King 

 Island, and the 74 species from the Kent Group, go to prove 

 how evenly distributed are the Polyzoa of Bass Straits. All of 

 these are to be found in Victorian waters. But many are more 

 abundant in the Straits than in Port Phillip or Western Port. 



