NOTES FROM POINT GLOAT ES, N.W. AUSTRALIA. 259 



thirty miles inland from here are numerous belts and patches of 

 a sort of mallee timber. Several times, passing through, I have 

 heard beautiful rich flute-like notes from a bird that kept out of 

 sight. Being in the locality on July 20th, I determined to try 

 again to identify it, and camped in the timber. Some hours 

 before daybreak, by the light of the moon, the bird began its rich 

 notes, and continued until after daylight. The native and self 

 followed the notes a long time without seeing the bird, the song 

 always keeping ahead as we walked. We were returning to camp 

 somewhat disgusted, when I saw two black and white birds fiercely 

 attacking a Crow. On going that way we noticed a bulky nest in 

 a tree about twenty-five feet from the ground. Feeling sure this 

 was the nest of the strangers, we sat down to wait ; but the 

 Crows made most persistent and daring attempts to steal the 

 eggs above us. Before long one of the birds returned to drive 

 off the Crows, and I shot it. It proved to be a Black-throated 

 Butcher-Bird {Cracticus nigrigularis). The male was of a dingy 

 grey colour, not black as was the female. The nest contained 

 four eggs. Very curiously, as we were walking away well pleased 

 with our success, we saw a similar nest, but not so large, about 

 fifteen yards from the other. Again we hid, and awaited results. 

 The birds soon came to the vicinity of the nest, and on shooting 

 one, to my surprise, it was the handsome Yellow-throated Minah 

 {Manorhina flavigula), a bird quite unknown here before. The 

 nest was built among slender twigs at the top of the tree. How- 

 ever, I sent to the buggy for a tomahawk, and, cutting down 

 another tree, trimmed its branches so as to make a rough ladder, 

 by which I secured the two handsome salmon-coloured eggs. 

 The nest was somewhat large, foundation of twigs, lined with 

 spinifex and grass ; the depression for eggs was shallow, that of 

 the Butcher-Birds deep and cup-shaped. 



The same trip I noted nests of Ptilotis leilavalensis, with eggs, 

 young, and uncompleted ; also several nests of Black-tailed 

 Native Hen, Kestrel, and Fairy Martin. There was a small 

 colony of the latter nests under a slightly hanging shaly cliff. 

 Examining the nests, two were found to contain Snakes. As it 

 was an awkward place to kill them, and I did not want to destroy 

 the surrounding nests, I went below and fired a shot into each 

 nest containing a Snake. A Carpet Snake, about four feet long, 



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