ASHBY — Tasmanian Field Nole*. 63 



were working in the tall gum saplings, the note of the 

 former was very similar to the South Australian bird, but one 

 of the other species in addition to the familiar shrill double 

 whistle, added a distinct double note which neither Mr. W. L. 

 May, R.A.O.U., or myself had heard anywhere else in Tas- 

 mania. We hoped that ,it would have turned out to be the 

 rare forty-spotted pardalot, but on shooting, it was found to 

 be an adult male punctatus. 



On 5/10/16, at Sandford, Southern Tasmania, I found a 

 beautifully made nest ready for eggs, of Galamanthus fuUgi- 

 nosus, V. and H. (Striated Field Wren), it was about 18 inches 

 from the ground in a bunch of "samphire" alongside the coach 

 road, built of grass, well-lined with soft feathers. 



A very interesting visit was paid to Lake Sorell, which is 

 situated on the elevated plateau which occupies such a large 

 portion of the centre of the island. I was informed that the 

 elevation of Lake Sorell was about 2,300 feet. The locality 

 is exceedingly wild, the boarding house at Interlaken being 

 the only inhabited place, I believe, in the 18 miles from Oak- 

 land. The ground oozed water on the slopes as well as on 

 the flats, and the road was so bad that we did not venture tq 

 spend more than the night and half day there for fear thatj 

 further rain would make the road back impossible. 



All the smaller Tasmanian Honey Eaters were exceed- 

 ingly numerous, and a fine specimen of the great Tasmanian 

 or Brush Wattle bird, Dyottornis paradoxus, Dadin, was 

 obtained. 



The trip to Lake Sorell had been especially undertaken 

 with the hope of obtaining the NeorStrepera versicolor arguta, 

 Old. (Hill Crow Shrike), a bird that is known to frequent the 

 Great Lake at an altitude of over 3,000 feet. From some 

 fishermen I learnt that a few pairs of this bird were in the 

 district, but that they became much more numerous as one 

 ascended towards the Great Lake; on the other hand the Sooty 

 or Black Crow Shrike, Strepera fuliginosa, Gld., was very com- 

 mon, and occurred at the Great Lake as well. I think they 

 called the former the "Squeaker", from its note. I was up 

 the next morning before daylight, and followed along the 

 track around the Lake Shore, and one of the first birds I noted 

 was the Hill Crow Shrike making the usual squeaking call of 

 our Strepera melanoptera, a species that Gould considered it 

 was so closely allied to, that he doubted whether he was justi- 



