78 
The Kmu. 
alloc, Victoria, in the early fifties collecting — Eds.] says, what is 
hit is history^ and what is missed is mysteryT 
He might well grow enthusiastic on such an occasion as 
this :— 
" Suddenly a Thrush flew off its nest with a loud cry, and alighted in a 
tree within easy shot. I glanced at the nest, snapped a cap at the bird with 
one barrel, and brought her to the ground in a second, i picked her up, 
expecting to find a Redwing, but was surprised and delighted to find the 
rare Dark Ouzel. I lost no time in climbing the tree, and hao the pleasure 
of bringing down the nest with five eggs — so far as I know the first authenti- 
cated eggs of this species ever taken." 
An ornithologist's paradise is thus described — time, midnight, 
I2th July : — 
" We climbed up the steep bank (of the Yenesei) and found ourselves in a 
wild looking country, full of lakes, swamps, and rivers, dead flat in some 
places, m others undulating, even hilly. This was the true Siberian tundra, 
brilliant with flowers, swarming with mosquitos, and /z// of birds.'''' 
There is no naturalist's expedition, however successful, but 
begets idle regrets. Notwithstanding the mass of material 
(over 1,000 skins), and the amount of information obtained, the 
author of the " Birds of Siberia " concludes thus : — 
" I now bade adieu to the tundra, with feelings somewhat akin to disap- 
pointment and regret. My trip might be considered almost a failure, since 
f had not succeeded in obtaining eggs either of the Knot, Sanderling, or 
Curlew Sandpiper. Nevertheless I was glad to turn my face homewards." 
About Members. 
It is understood that Mr. A. W. Milligan has been appointed 
" Honorary Ornithologist " to the Perth Museum. 
Amongst the original members and founders of the Australasian 
Ornithologists' Union are six members of" the British Ornitholo- 
gists' Union, namely : — Mr. J. J. Dalgleish (Scotland), Mr. C. W. 
De Vis (Queensland), Col. Legge (Tasmania), Mr. D. Le Souef 
(Victoria), Mr. J. C. M'Lean (New Zealand), and Prof. Newton 
(England). 
Mr. Clarence Smart, with two of his cousins, spent a pleasant 
fortnight in November, camped on the Gippsland Lakes. Over 
100 species of birds were identified, but only six were secured as 
new for his collection, including the Black-faced or Carinated 
Fly-catcher and the Sanguineous Honey-eater. Mr. Smart 
reports that the latter was fairly numerous in some of the dense 
gullies running down to the Lakes. 
The Furneaux Group of Islands was visited in the latter part 
of November by a party of members, consisting of Dr. C. Ryan, 
Mr. R. B. Ritchie, Mr. D. Le Souef, and Mr. C. F. Belcher.. 
