709 



usual, owing to the country being flooded at times from the 

 Alberga River. 



An early start was made next morning, following the 

 Alberga through a m.ulga country till we reached the junction 

 of the Coongra Creek, which we followed till 4 p.m., when 

 we camped in a dense mulga scrub. A good many botanical 

 and bird specimens were collected during the day. One of 

 our black boys, "Paddy," overtook us at this camp, having 

 left Todrarorden cattle station a little before sundown, and 

 reached us with a mail before midnight, having covered the 

 twenty-seven miles in less than five hours on foot. 



After another cold night we packed up ready for a start, 

 but the camels w^andered during the night, and the boys did 

 not bring them in till late. It was 11 a.m. before we made 

 a start, and we did not stop till 6.45 p.m. at Lambinna Soak. 



Leaving Lambinna we made up over the tableland 

 •country. The gibber plains do not seem so pronounced on 

 the tablelands as north of Oodnadatta, still there were long 

 stretches of country covered with small fragments of rock 

 polished by the action of wind and sand and coloured brown 

 by the effect of oxide of iron, on which the sun's rays shone 

 so brightly that it pained one's eyes. Birds were very scarce 

 here, and only a few specimens of the more common varie- 

 ties were collected. Tlie "Cinnamon Ground Bird" (Samiiela 

 cinnamonea ) was met with at times. On reaching Yoolper- 

 lunna Creek we camped at a waterhole, and here we met with 

 "Western Ground Cuckoo-Skrikes" fPetrojJodoci/s maxima). 

 They came to the waterhole in the evening to drink. It was 

 at this camp that the first specimen of a species of Maliirus 

 was secured, which came between J/, melanotus caUainiis and 

 M. m. irhitel: it will be found under the former name in 

 the list of birds. 



After leaving here our course took us over rough stony 

 tablelands. During the afternoon we emerged on to a very 

 fine plain dotted over with clumps of mulga and low bushes 

 of Eremophila, sp. ; the latter was out in blossom, which 

 attracted a good many "Singing Honey-eaters" fMeliphaga 

 sonora). Another half -day's travelling took us off the stony 

 tablelands, and we entered upon the best piece of country 

 we had seen v/est of Todmorden ; plenty of good fresh salt- 

 bush, and the mulga looked healthy and green. Lo¥/ hills 

 showed up at some little distance on either side, upon which 

 grew a quantity of mulga; the soil seemed deep, and of a red 

 sandy nature. We reached Wantapella Sw^amp, which at 

 the time of our visit was quite dry, and had been so for many 

 years. It is a large depression about two miles long by a 

 mile wide, and the surface was sunbaked and cracked ; it 



