126 
The Emu. 
North- Western Notes^ 
By Thomas Carter, Point Cloates, W.A. 
During the last four months of 1900, which was the wettest 
and " best " season (in a pastoral sense) ever known here, odd 
birds or pairs of the Flock Pigeon {Histriopkaps Jiistrionica) were 
frequently seen inland from here. The first week of this year 
( 1 901) I started for a trip to the south-west of this State. Large 
bush fires had been raging for some days to the east and south, 
burning bare a patch of country about 80 miles square. On 
7th January, when approaching the Lyndon River, 70 miles 
south of here, the fire was burning fiercely on both sides of the 
road. I camped at a pool that night, and saw several large 
mobs of these pigeons about sunset, as usual flying at a great 
speed, and out of gunshot. The next day I decided to spell 
the horses, and walked to another larger pool. Enormous 
flocks of the pigeons were feeding on the freshly burnt ground, 
and about 8 a.m. they began to water at the pool in countless 
thousands. The roar of their wings was like the noise of heavy 
surf breaking on the beach. I sat and watched the birds for 
some time. As noted by other observers, they seemed to be in 
a frantic hurry all the time, and when a flock came to the pool 
they not only covered the bank at the bare side of the pool 
(where the ground sloped to the water, without any bush or 
cover), but actually settled in and on the water in thousands. 
After a few gulps the whole flock would rise and give place to 
another. As I wished to secure a specimen or two, I succeeded, 
after several attempts, in crawling within long gunshot of a 
mob, closely packed and busily feeding on the bare, burnt plain, 
evidently finding abundance of grass seeds in the cracks of the 
clayey soil. On firing, the flock rose and circled closely above 
my head for some time, being interested in two of the victims 
which were fluttering on the ground. The noise and whirr of 
their wings were extraordinary. My native boy was greatly 
excited, and kept shouting to me to shoot some more before 
they flew away ; but one of the cartridge cases had jammed, 
the extractor slipped over it, and I had to laboriously unscrew 
and unship it with my pocket-knife, and by the time fresh 
cartridges were inserted the birds were out of range. Referring 
to Mr. North's pamphlet on the decrease in numbers of this and 
other birds, may it not be accounted for in some measure by 
the birds following rains and feed to different parts of Australia, 
some years, perhaps, elapsing before they occur again in any 
particular locality It is many years since these birds have 
visited here. Of course, this will not apply to resident species. 
At Carnarvon some days were spent waiting for steamer 
going south. Green-backed White-eyes {Zosterops gouldi) and 
Yellow-throated Miners {Manorhina flaviguld) were abundant 
in the dense wattle and other scrub about the banks of the 
