THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 183 



water or damp ground. Two nests were found. These structures are 

 generally placed on a small mound surrounded by water, either 

 being made of a few short sticks or coarse grass, but where the 

 situation is very low and wet the birds then build it up higher with 

 herbage, so as to keep the nest comparatively' dry. The birds 

 can see a considerable distance over the plains, and long before 

 the intruder is near the sitting bird has left her nest of two eggs 

 and stalked off; they seldom fly if they can help it, and one can 

 get close to them if driving or on horseback. The eggs are some- 

 times left a long time uncovered if the birds are disturbed, and 

 they never seem to be in a hurry to go back to them. These 

 birds are in pairs throughout the nesting season and are very 

 local, but during the winter the old and young birds collect 

 together in flocks, and it is then that they go through their dances 

 and other antics. 



Black Swans, Chenopis atrata, were numerous and their nests 

 often found ; the usual complement of eggs was six ; they either 

 built floating nests in the Lignum on the larger sheets of water or 

 among the rushes and coarse grass in the smaller swamps, and 

 when their little ones were able to travel they took them to the 

 larger waterholes, which were not likely to dry up so soon, and it 

 was an interesting sight to see the parents and their brood 

 waddling over the plain to some lagoon, in consequence of the 

 one they had left having nearly dried up. If the family were 

 disturbed in a small waterhole, the male bird generally flew up 

 and circled round the intruders and then returned to the others, 

 but one always stayed with the young, unless approached too 

 close, when both took to flight, but would not go far. 



Ducks were numerous, and nests containing ten eggs each 

 were found of the Black Duck, Anas superciliosus, Grey Teal, 

 Nettion gibberifrons, and White-eyed Duck, or Hard-head, Nyroca 

 australis. These birds were generally on the smaller swamps, but 

 on the Ibis swamp many pairs of Shovellers, Spatula rhynchotis, 

 were seen ; most of them had their broods of from eight to ten 

 little ones with them. A male Plumed Whistling Duck, Dendro- 

 cygna eytoni, was seen on a dam, but the nest could not be 

 found ; anyhow, a few days after we had left both birds with their 

 brood were noticed on the water. Several lots of young Maned 

 Geese, or Wood Duck, Ghenonetta jubata, were seen on the water- 

 courses, as at the time of my visit the majority of the waterfowl 

 had hatched their young. The Black-tailed Tribonyx was nesting 

 on the Ibis swamp and other places, but only nests from which 

 the young had been hatched were found ; they were very active, 

 and can run fast and dodge among the bushes, but will not take 

 to the wing if they can help it. 



In consequence of the Murray River having been high this 

 year, the various swamps near its banks were filled, therefore in 



