HORN EXPEDITION — NAItliATIVE. 31 



iiiodate itself to a dry cliiiiato, thou,u;li it still reveals its original hahit in following 

 up the creek beds. 



At the Goyder was secui'ed the iirst specimen of the Westei'n l)lack cockatoo 

 {Calvplorliynclnis slelhilatiis), which does not appear to extend furthei- south than 

 this. Suhsequently lai'ge Hocks of it were often seen, especially in the neighbour- 

 jiood of water-holes amongst the ranges. The nortliern form (C. macrorhynchiis) 

 does not apparently come down into the centre of the continent. 



It was very evident that tlie Goyder River iiad not run for a very long time 

 and that therefore the country out to tiie west, which would have to be traversed 

 in order to reach the Ayers Range, would be extremely dry and barren, and 

 probably useless as a collecting ground ; .so, after some discussion, it was deter- 

 mined that we should push on northwards towards the James Range. 



As the camel team travelled slowly, it was arranged that Messrs. Winnecke 

 and Watt should make a di'tour to the west and rejoin the main party on the Lilla 

 Creek. Accordingly we separated for a few days. The main party went on across 

 country towards the Finke at Crown Point. After some miles' travelling through 

 the usual scrub we came to the brow of a small escarpment forming the southern 

 boundary of the Finke valley, the river here running almost due east and west 

 Away in the distance the course of the river could be distinguished by its belt of 

 green gum trees, which extended from the point in the far noi'th where it passed 

 through a gap in the flat-topped hills at Crown Point. 



Pa.ssing down through a picturesque defile in the Desert Sandstone escarp- 

 ment, we came into the liroad plains of the Finke valley, and following this up foi- 

 .some miles, camped close to Crown Point at the Ijase of a line of yellow sandstone 

 cliflTs some thirty feet high. 



