THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 41 



On the large trees I noticed many specimens of the common 

 tree-creeper, often called by colonists the wood-pecker and these 

 curious little birds were busily engaged in their usual spiral 

 ascent of the gum-trees, and probably were in search of insects. 



Not far from what I may call Paul's camp is a large gum-tree, 

 in the upper fork of which an eagle had built her nest. I got 

 one of the men to climb the tree, and he got one egg of a most 

 singular size, shape, and colour, it being larger, longer, and 

 almost without blotches of any kind. The specimen was too 

 advanced to be cleaned, and although Mr Campbell tried his best 

 to remove the contents, he was unable to do so without breaking 

 the specimen. I have in my time seen a good number of eggs 

 of the wedge-tailed eagle, but none like the specimen alluded to. 



A very beautiful green and blue parrakeet, with a collar of 

 darker green around the neck^was not uncommon on the borders 

 of the lake. I think it must be Barnard's parrakeet (P. Bamardi), 

 and it is often found in company with the " rock-pebble" before 

 mentioned. 



There seemed to be very few insects on the many beautiful 

 acacias, but on some leptospermum I saw some hymenoptera of 

 large size, probably belonging to the thynnidae and mutillidae ; 

 also on the wing were two species at least of Neuroptera. 



Fish are said to be plentiful in the Wimmera River, but I did 

 not see any ; neither did I see any tortoises, which, I believe, are 

 sometimes to be seen in the river and along its banks. Platypus 

 are not uncommon in the river. 



I saw whilst wading for plants a few fresh-water shells, genus 

 Physa, etc., although I suspect there are representatives of other 

 genera to be found if carefully looked for. 



Leeches and water-bugs ( Nepa) were, as I have occasion to 

 remember, not rare, and the former are, so far as their blood- 

 sucking qualities are concerned, quite up to that of their Murray 

 brethren. 



On the flowers of the Murray box ( Eiicalyphis largiflorens ) 

 were vast numbers of a small parrot, which, at a distance, looked 

 like either the musky or swift lorikeets, but of this I am not 

 certain, as they were up amongst the highest branches of the 

 trees, abstracting honey, I suppose, from the flowers ; and I saw 

 but one pair of the green leek ( F. Barrabandi), so common in 

 the Lower Murray country, but these beautiful birds are, perhaps, 

 more plentiful later on in the season. 



A few specimens of the long -billed cockatoo (Liandis nasica) 

 were seen, and these were in flats amongst the high sand-hills, 

 and I heard the well-known cry of a flock of "wild geese" as 

 they passed over our camp at night. 



One of the " night jars" ( Podargus j kept up its mournful and 

 peculiar cry of " Morepoke," and as the note seemed somewhat 



