THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 97 



noted nest-robbers. I took a p3,ir of fresh eggs from the Xero- 

 phila's nest, also one fresh egg from the crow's nest. Black 

 Fantails were rather plentiful, and I took a nest with eggs. The 

 Black Fantails are said to throw the eggs out of their nest when 

 once they have been handled by any person. The Orange-fronted 

 Ephthianura are very plentiful about the Salt Lakes, in the Atriplex 

 and Salicornia bushes, which cover the dry portion of the lake's 

 bed, but I was unable to discover their nests. 



I returned to the school, and Mr. Morton drove me round to 

 see the very pretty sights of Benjeroop ; and the sight of the 

 steamer puffing away up the river, with its large barges of 

 merchandise for Echuca and other places on the Darling and 

 Murrumbidgee, was to me quite a pleasing novelty. 



I paid a visit several times to the Benjeroop school, and always 

 seemed to find something that I had not previously collected. 

 The Stump-tailed, also the Frilled and Lace Lizards, are pretty 

 common here, and many a fright I have got when looking for 

 plants, to see these lizards close at my feet. Mr. Morton showed 

 me a very remarkable lizard, called Gecko. This lizard exudes 

 a fluid which is commonly supposed to be poisonous. We 

 collected several live specimens of the Gecko, but, unfortunately, 

 when bringing them to Melbourne they escaped. Mr. Morton, 

 however, will send specimens down, at some future time, for 

 identification. 



In the evenings Mr. Morton and I were engaged finishing a 

 boat, the Pride of the Murray, intended for a collecting excur- 

 sion to the swamps on the New South Wales side of the river. 

 The day at last arrived, and we set sail down the Murray, all in 

 our glory, for a real collecting expedition. The boat, I may 

 mention, just held two comfortably, and sailed splendidly. We 

 reached the entrance to the swamps, lifted the boat over a log, 

 and sailed around them all day. These swamps are simply a 

 paradise for birds, a great many kinds being noticed. It was 

 rather early for eggs. Though we did not do so well as we 

 expected, several nests with eggs were taken, such as Pied 

 Grallina and White-breasted Wood Swallow. The nest of the 

 White -breasted Wood Swallow, containing four eggs, was taken 

 out of an old, deserted nest of the Pied Grallina. I may say that 

 I received a good many duckings during the day ; and, on one 

 occasion, when I tried to get into the boat it moved off, and I 

 was thrown head first into the water, much to the amusement of 

 my friend. The following birds were noticed about these 

 swamps : — Whistling Eagle, Square-tailed Kite, Wedge-tailed 

 Eagle, Brown Hawk, Nankeen Kestrel, Wattled Plover, Black- 

 breasted Plover, White-fronted Heron, Common Heron, Egret, 

 Black Swan, Cormorant (several species). Wood Duck, Black 

 Duck, Tribonyx, Ibis, Spoonbills, Corcorax, &c. We reached 



