MAGPIE GOOSE 
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wings, contrasting with the pure white of back and 
breast, render them conspicuous birds, and unlikely 
to go unnoticed if in the neighbourhood. Only once 
have I seen them close to Geelong. It was about the 
year 1896 that a small flock visited the Salt Pits, 
Point Henry. These Geese do not breed south of 
Riverina. The nest is described as a bulky mass of 
dead flags built among bulrushes standing in the 
water of a swamp. Up to thirteen eggs have been 
noted in a clutch. 
Mr. F. R. Smith, of Noorat, tells me that there 
were in the early days enormous flocks around Terang 
and Mortlake, on the marshes, but that they were 
shot out and have been extinct for the past fifteen 
years. A pair or two sometimes visit the " Marshy 
Lake " on Nerrin Nerrin, which, through the exer- 
tions of Messrs. Smith and Quiney, has been pro- 
claimed a sanctuary, so that now its five hundred 
acres of reed-beds form a veritable paradise of Water- 
fowl. 
CAPE BARREN GOOSE 
Cereopsis novce-hollandice 
This, the finest of our Australian Geese, is a true 
seasonal migrant, breeding according to the well- 
established law at the southernmost point of his 
journeyings, namely, on the desolate islands of Bass 
Straits, and visiting the mainland to spend there 
the summer. The nesting-season of these Geese 
