THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 37. 



few, but I should think this would be, in the summer months, a 

 good place for them — that is, when the mallee is well in blooni ; 

 and, whilst speaking of hymenoptera, I maj^ just mention that 

 bees are not uncommon about these parts, but whether they 

 were escapes from the neighbouring stations or farms I had no 

 means of ascertaining. Water being scarce, I did not expect to 

 see many of the LibellididcE, or so-called dragon-flies, but a few 

 very pretty species were flying about in open places. I also saw 

 a few of the Myrmeleo family, but no orthoptera to speak of. 



On the lake the little dotterel was to be seen scampering 

 -about, and a very fine and peculiar shaped brown hawk (which 

 I took to be a buzzard) seemed inclined to hold some dispute 

 with an eagle, but the latter (fortunately, perhaps, for the buzzard) 

 seemed to be peaceably inclined, and soared away nearly out of 

 sight. 



What might have proved a very awkward adventure happened 

 near to my camp at this place. I went for a stroll one morning 

 whilst the billy was being boiled, and was " exploring" the 

 branches of a fallen tree for lichens, when I suddenly heard the 

 rattle of a chain close to me, and, turning sharply around, I 

 found that the calf of my leg was not more than a couple of feet 

 or so from a very large eagle, which had been caught in a rabbit 

 trap. I made a remarkably active jump, or I might have been 

 seriously injured. Anyone who has seen an eagle " perform- 

 ing" on the carcase of a dead animal will be able to appreciate 

 the situation. I shot the eagle, which, I was informed, must 

 have flown seven or eight miles with the trap attached to its 

 foot, which was much crushed, and the bird had become so 

 exhausted that it was unable to rise more than a yard or so 

 from the ground. I did not skin the bird, as it was much 

 damaged, probably owing to its struggles to free itself from 

 the trap. 



The emu and wild turkey, I was told, are occasionally seen 

 about the lake, but I saw neither. Mr. Scott, however, 

 informed me that emus with a ring of white feathers around 

 their necks have frequently been seen in the district. Not even 

 my old Murray friend, the native companion, was seen. 



A few beautiful specimens of Leadbeater's cockatoo (Cacatua 

 Leadbeateri) were seen some distance from the lake and inland, 

 and it was not far from this spot where I found the curious 

 Battarea fungus, which, I am now able to inform you, is not 

 new, a single specimen of it having been previously found in 

 the Murchison district of Western Australia, and from the 

 unique specimen has been named Battai-ea phalloides, so I am 

 not the original discoverer. 



The handsome rock-pebble parrakeet (P. melaneura) is very 

 common in these parts, and makes a splendid pet ; and one 

 which the young ladies at the station had used to fly for a long 



