54 THE WOMBAT. 



SOME NOTES FROM THE OTWAYS. 



By H. E. Hill. 



Owing to a variety of causes, our usual Xmas camp to the 

 Otway Forest fell through this year, and the members were 

 scattered in various directions. 



In company with Mr. J. F. Mulder, I left Geelong on 

 January 22nd for his orchard at Bambra, about five miles 

 beyond Deans Marsh, on the Lome road. We observed 

 nothing of especial interest on the way — only the usual plains 

 birds being visible ; on the swamp at Modewarre, where we 

 stopped for lunch, there were good numbers of spurwing plover 

 and sandpipers. 



White cockatoos were abundant as we entered the ranges, 

 and it seemed that the cry differed with some of them ; Mr. 

 Mulder put this down to the presence of two species — the 

 corella as well as the sulphur-crested being present ; however, 

 we did not get an opportunity of verifying this. The fires 

 had cleared out most of the country near the road, so that 

 there was not a great abundance of birds, most of them having 

 been driven back or destroyed, although there were a good 

 number of fern birds (Sericornis) to be seen. Red lories 

 (Platycercus pennantiij were rather common, and they were 

 in magnificent plumage ; this bird always seems to be clothed 

 in richer colours on the ranges than on the plains. While 

 taking a spell in a shady nook in the garden we saw a satin- 

 bird (female) with some grasshoppers in its beak, but we 

 could find no trace of a nest. The grasshoppers were just as 

 plentiful in the ranges as elsewhere ; I found afterwards that 

 they had penetrated right through to the coast, there being 

 abundance of them even down to the water's edge, where 

 they found that sea-bathing did not agree with them. 



Though at the end of January, there were still a few 

 messmate trees in blossom. On one occasion a white goshawk 

 (Astur nov. holl.J flew past. Among the other birds we noticed 

 at Bambra were black cockatoos, wattlebirds, hill crowshrikes, 

 whiteshafted fantail, black-throated honey-eater, and little 

 brown acanthiza. 



On January 25th Mr. Mulder returned to Geelong, while 

 I pushed on to Lome. It was a rather dreary walk, most of 

 the scrub having been destroyed, with only an occasional 

 unburnt patch here and there. Soon after I left Bambra a 

 brown flycatcher ( Microeca fascinano) flitted across the road in 

 front of me. The gang gang cockatoo ( Callocephalon galeatum) 

 was also to be seen in places, uttering a peculiar, harsh, croak- 

 ing cry as it flew. Bristle birds were abundant down the 

 gullies. Besides the above, I only saw the harmonious thrush, 



