THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 157 



made a hurried search through this in the hope of finding the nest 

 of a Leadbeater's Cockatoo which had been heard and noticed in 

 the locaUty. On the brink of a hollow in a large gum tree I 

 espied the cockatoo sitting. The hole proved to be its nest, for 

 on ascending I found it to contain a fledgeling and an addled egg. 

 In another hollow close by I was surprised to see the two eyes of 

 some animal glaring at me. No persuasion on my part would 

 cause it to move in any way or stir from its domicile. Earlier in 

 our trip, while at Lake Wonga, I had seen a similar animal in a 

 hollow spout. On this former occasion its body was hidden in a 

 recess, and only the head was visible. I tried for some moments 

 to noose it, but in vain, and I had not the inclination to chop it 

 out. The animal, whatever it was, possessed a head shaped like 

 an opossum's, and appeared about the size of the ring-tailed 

 variety. 



On Saturday we made our way back to Valium, along a track 

 which takes a detour, making the journey about 30 miles. The 

 whole route lay through the Mallee scrub ; but at two places 

 patches of good country, and a correspondingly fair amount of 

 bird life, were met with. At each place is a large waterhole. The 

 first stage was through truly wretched sandy Mallee, so bad in 

 comparison that it is termed " the Desert " by the local people. 

 Only one bird was noticed here, and that was a little Pardalote as 

 it flew across the track ; but a little further on a specimen of the 

 rare White-fronted Honey-eater, Glycyphila albifrons, was seen. 

 We reached the " ten-mile tank," or the first waterhole, about 

 midday and proceeded to boil our billy. There is some good 

 nesting ground around this place. Patches of small pine scrub 

 and sparse mallee, with thick-growing bushes as undergrowth, 

 and areas clothed with a species of acacia growing about 5 

 feet high, would afford good breeding grounds for birds. While 

 having lunch, a single whistling note was heard near by which 

 aroused our curiosity. It came from a male Black Honey-eater, 

 Myzomela nigra, and several couples were presently seen. 

 Needless to say we hunted diligently for the scarce nest of 

 this bird, but were unsuccessful. Passing through some under- 

 growth on the way two young birds of the Red-throat were dis- 

 turbed. They were fully feathered, but could barely fly ; their 

 squeaking soon attracted the parents. Some Black-backed 

 Wrens were seen too. This scrubby undergrowth is also the 

 home of the Chestnut-rumped Ground Wren, Hylacola pyrrJio- 

 pygia. The Hylacola is another peculiar bird. The birds, like 

 the Red-throat, are allied to the Sericornis family, and spend their 

 time among the thick scrubby undergrowth. The nests are 

 rather bulky covered-in structures, built near the ground. Tlie 

 eggs are of a buff colour, streaked or spotted with markings of 

 a darker hue. The Hylacola also has a very pleasant warbling 

 song. 



