THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 101 



The Bronzewing Pigeon was once very plentiful here, but pot- 

 hunters are rather too much for him, and he is scarce now. 

 Occasionally a whirr of wings tells us that these beautiful birds 

 are not quite exterminated, and now and then one of their nests 

 may be found, a primitive platform of sticks, through which the 

 two white eggs are plainly visible from below. The marvel is 

 how the eggs remain in their fragile resting-place when the bird 

 scuttles off in her fright. 



Here, too, the Sericornis builds its warm, dome-shaped, feather- 

 lined nest, its favouiite situation close to the ground, at the foot 

 of a tree. The Sericornis is a very sensitive little bird. Simply 

 touch the entrance of the nest with a finger and the home is 

 deserted, though the young may be half grown. 



The sweet, soft warble of the White-shafted Fantail is always to 

 be heard, and in due season one may take its nest — a marvel of 

 beauty, wondrously woven of fine grasses and cobwebs, and 

 firmly fixed to a thin, horizontal branch. 



The Brown Hawk often hunts about these scrubby patches and 

 over the flats across the railway line, where quail and snipe are to 

 be found in limited numbers. In the old days the Carrum Carrum 

 Swamp was a famous hunting ground. The quail and snipe loved 

 its grassy flats, and the swans and ducks nested in thousands 

 amongst the reeds and rushes surrounding its many pools. Even 

 now a pair of swans may sometimes be found rearing their brood 

 amongst the sedges of their old home, as if loth to be driven 

 away before the march of civilization. 



The Boobook Owl sleeps the day away in the heart of the 

 densest bush. Hollow trees are scarce now, so he finds a thick 

 shelter of leaves in which to pass his hours of idleness. 



Before leaving this district I must not omit to mention the fossil 

 beds of Cheltenham, which are of considerable extent and remark- 

 able interest, as many a member of our club can testify. Relics 

 of the past are always to be obtained there, whilst valuable finds 

 are occasionally brought to light. 



Leaving the coast, and striking off in a north-easterly direction, 

 much open country is found. The many paddocks and bits of 

 waste land interspersed amongst the farms and market gardens 

 offer admirable inducements to collectors. More especially does 

 this refer to botanists. A close inspection of this apparently 

 barren-looking country reveals a variety of plants which is simply 

 marvellous. Orchids, including many rare and beautiful species, 

 are remarkably plentiful, and it is not at all outside the bounds of 

 possibiUty that some entirely new species may be discovered by 

 close and diligent searching. 



Although many of the paddocks where such good work could 

 be done some few years ago are now laid out in streets and 

 thriving villages and paper towns, the hunter has but to go a little 



