152 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



birds could do by the removing, or the heaping up of the top 

 sand as required ; but the parents could not scrape to the eggs 

 as each one is hatching without upsetting the arrangement of 

 the topmost tiers. Whether they remain in the vicinity to 

 receive the young when they emerge has yet to be proved. But 

 during the few weeks that the eggs are being laid the birds 

 exercise all possible care. They have an arduous task removing 

 the sand away from and back to the centre when wishing to 

 deposit each egg. After each operation the mound is rearranged 

 and the sticks placed upon its surface with the utmost care. 

 When the young hatch they cannot have much difficulty in 

 getting through the loose sand, and there is no doubt they have 

 the instinct to make their own way out. The young Mallee 

 Fowl too, like its cousin the Brush Turkey, Talegallus, is 

 remarkable in that it is fully feathered when hatched, and is 

 quite able to look after itself. It possesses almost as much speed 

 as an old bird has, and could soon outrun a possible enemy. 

 But I am afraid the numbers of the Mallee Fowl are decreasing, 

 on account of the ravages of the foxes, wild dogs and cats, which 

 abound in the same tracts of country that this unique bird 

 inhabits. Mr. M'Lennan tells us he often finds the birds caught 

 in his dog-traps. 



Dr. Ryan had to return to Melbourne next day ; but Mr. C. 

 French, jun., and myself remained at Pine Plains a while longer. 

 We employed ourselves in searching the belts of timber at hand, 

 only venturing out in the early part of each morning and later in 

 the afternoon, for, even though early in the summer, the heat was 

 very oppressive during midday. In the timber the first bird 

 noticed to be a stranger to us was the Many-coloured Parrakeet, 

 Fsephotus multicolor, but afterwards we saw numbers of them. 

 It is plentiful at Pine Plains, although it was not seen at all 

 during our journey along the Wimmera bed. This parrakeet is 

 usually seen in pairs, and does not congregate like the Red- 

 backed variety. The male is a very handsome bird, the patches 

 of brilliant yellow on its shoulders and forehead showing con- 

 spicuously. The female, as is the case with all the Psephotus, 

 has a protective brownish colour, and has a dull red mark across 

 the shoulder of the wing. The Mallee Parrakeet is also common 

 at Pine Plains, but the Rock Pebbler has never been recorded. 

 Unfortunately here, as also at other places we had visited, we 

 were too late to obtain eggs. However, in one nest of the 

 Mallee Parrot we discovered one addled egg with two newly 

 hatched young ; and in another instance, when investigating a 

 hollow tree, were fortunate in finding a deserted nest, apparently 

 of the Red-backed variety, containing four eggs. 



Flocks of the Cockatoo Parrakeet, Calopaittacus novce-hol- 

 landice, were seen during our trip here as well as further south, 



