56 The South Australian Ornithological Association. 



glad to. get the voluntary assistance of Capt. White to try and 

 combat the possibility of the imported sparrows entering Wes- 

 tern Australia by means of the East- West Eailway. The 

 Council now looked to Capt. White for advice in this impor- 

 tant question. Capt. White, in reply, said he had taken this 

 work upon himself, first, to try and save the western State 

 from a scourge under which South Australia had suffered for 

 a long time, and secondly to save our native birds that may be 

 destroyed in ignorance for the imported pests. A member 

 asked Mr. Alexander if the English starling had found its way 

 into the west, and he replied that recently a starling had been 

 sent to Perth for identification from the Albany district. This 

 was in a fruit-growing area. Upon an official being sent 

 down to investigate, he was told by a resident that a pair of 

 birds had appeared, and had been under observation for some 

 time, until they nested, when they were both shot, and one of 

 them sent to Perth to be indentified. Upon the tree being 

 felled with the nest, it was found to contain without doubt 

 the eggs of starlings. 



Mr. Mellor read some interesting notes upon the coloura- 

 tion of the young of the robin, and pointed out that it took 

 only 14 days after three spots of colour appeared upon the 

 young male robin's breast for the colour to spread all over the 

 under surface. He also drew attention to the number of ants 

 eaten by the white-throated tree-creeper, and to several 

 species of birds nesting very late this year at Lockleys. He 

 had seen many young in March. 



Mr. Frank Parsons reported having seen several brush 

 bronzewing pigeons (Cosmopelia elegans afftnis) in the Mount 

 Lofty Ranges. 



Mr. E. Ashby exhibited a chestnut-breasted teal (Virago 

 castanea), and drew attention to Mr. Alexander's paper in The 

 Emu upon this bird. 



Mr. T. P. Bell chambers handed in a paper upon the incu- 

 bation of the mallee fowl eggs. It was agreed that this paper 

 should stand over until next meeting. 



The remainder of the evening was taken up by an account 

 by Capt. White of his trip to Ooldea by way of the East-West 

 Railway. A description of the country was given, and a small 

 collection of birdskins was shown from this district. It was 

 pointed out that most of the birds were somewhat small in 

 comparison with eastern specimens. 



