THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 133 
which presents a striking contrast. They are rare birds. We only 
obtained this pair during our stay and they are now in the 
Melbourne Museum. Other birds we got, such as the Night-jar, 
Caprimulgus macrurus, Macleay’s Lorikeet, and one or two Coucals, 
o1 Native Pheasants, These Coucals seem to me to be a different 
variety to those we obtained at Stewart’s Creek. All we shot here 
had black heads, while the others were perfectly brown, not a black 
feather to be seen. 
After working around our camp for a fortnight, we decided to 
strike out somewhat, so set sail one fine morning for the Hinchin- 
brook Island, which is about five miles distant from Cardwell, 
reaching it at 10am. It is a fine island, about thirty miles long, 
and averaging, perhaps, five in width. Some few years ago, it was 
- a noted stronghold of the natives, but now, although there are still 
a number of them on the island, they are not so dangerous. The 
only European settlement there is a saw-mill, where about twenty 
men are employed, but the place is such a noted fever bed, that no 
less than two hundred have been engaged during the last six months 
to keep up their staff of twenty.. Some men are only there twenty- 
four hours when they are stricken down. We considered we were 
fortunate in escaping the malaria. Birds are not numerous there, 
but still there are some very good ones to be had. We secured 
specimens of the Painted Quail, Hemipodius velox, Swainson’s Fruit 
Pigeon, Ptilinopus Swainsonit, Pied Fly-catcher, Kaup’s Fly- 
catcher, Obscure Honey-eater, Myzomela obscura, and others. 
We only spent two nights on the Island, but we made the most 
of our time and altogether did very well. 
We spent the remainder of the week around our old camp, and 
after a lot of scheming shot a pair of Leach’s Cockatoos, birds 
that are very hard to get at, a small Brown Shrike, a Yellow- 
throated Friar Bird, a Pectoral Rail, and others. 
The next week we made a start for the Murray River, which is a 
distance of twenty miles, and after a tiring walk, which occupied 
the major part of the day, camped on the selection of Mr. Stuart 
Workman. It was here we learned the meaning of the word scrub, 
as it is understood in Queensland. 
As you approach the river, you see in front of you a belt of 
timber, looking cool and refreshing, just the place you think where 
birds are likely to be found during the heat of the day. When 
you get within a hundred yards of it, you pass through a thick 
patch of sword grass which nearly always grows on the outskirts. 
Passing this you enter the scrub itself, which for the first few 
yards is tolerably clear. As you get in, it rapidly thickens, and 
before you know where you are, you are encompassed on all sides. You 
stoop to escape some overhanging bough, and find your hat neatly 
lifted off by a lawyer, which is the name given to a cane, which 
