No. 7.] THE AUSTRAL AVIAN RECORD 177 



Once an irruption of plain rats occurred, and a network of 

 beaten tracks in every direction connecting their warrens could 

 be seen and their squealing heard all night on every side. 

 Hawks and Owls congregated to feast upon them, and dingoes, 

 snakes and goannas filled themselves to repletion every day. 

 The Plain Owl and Delicate Owl were particularly numerous, 

 and on moonlight nights they often lined the ridge of the house 

 roof, and occupied every post and point of vantage roundabout. 



It was now time for Macgillivray to go to school, and he and 

 his elder brother journeyed with his parents to Townsville 

 at the end of 1877. Macgillivray took his precious collection 

 of eggs, but they were not securely packed, and on arrival at 

 Townsville were in such a sad condition that he was persuaded 

 reluctantly to abandon the rubbish. 



Macgillivray had experienced during this earliest ten years 

 of his life attacks by the wild blacks on the station. These 

 usually took place at night, and were frustrated by the watch 

 dogs' warning ; but armed conflict once occurred in daylight, 

 when Macgillivray and his sister melted the tea-chest lead 

 and moulded bullets for his eldest brother and the stockman 

 to use in muzzle-loading double-barrelled guns to repel the 

 blacks' attacks. 



From Townsville the family travelled to Melbourne, where 

 Macgillivray went to Hofwyl School under a Mr. Alexander 

 Gillespie, who opened St. Kilda Scotch College a year later, 

 and from which Macgillivray matriculated in 1885. During 

 his school days Macgillivray made collecting trips towards 

 Caulfield, Brighton, up the Yarra, and the Mem Creek, and all 

 round Coburg and Preston, and renewed his egg collection. 

 Many holidays were spent at the Koo-wee-rup Swamp, then in 

 its primitive state, and at Sunday Creek, four miles inland from 

 Wandong, where many interesting forms of bird life were met 

 with. In 1886 Macgillivray began his medical studies in Mel- 

 bourne University, after an interesting holiday spent in the Blue 

 Mountains, New South Wales. He was fortunate in having a 

 year's course of biology under Professor Baldwin Spencer. 

 During his medical course he met (Dr.) Ernest D'Ombrain 

 and kindred spirits, and they made many excursions together 



