other hand, the coniferous forest consists vir- 
tually of a single tree species — almost always 
Pinus radiata (D. Don), “Monterey pine” of 
California — crowded so densely for most of its 
life that any ground cover is extinguished 
after the canopy has closed, indeed, in an 
unthinned pine stand very little light reaches 
the ground unless the site is a poor one, and 
in that case bracken is practically the only 
plant to persist, anyway. 
BIRDS OF THE ADULT PINE WOODS 
Conditions within stands of, say, fifteen 
years and upward favour primarily those 
species that find their food among the litter 
on the ground. The first bird observed to have 
adapted itself to life entirely in such woods 
was the Ground Thrush ( Oreocincla lumulata) 
which had frequented the dark tea-tree thickets 
of the swamps. 
For many years this was the only bird in- 
habiting these woods, but now the White- 
winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphus) 
is also encountered — another ground-feeding 
species, though it is not certain how much 
time it may spend outside the pines. 
As the adult woods are repeatedly thinned 
so the birds frequenting them become increas- 
ingly numerous, but so far it seems that no 
other species can claim to belong wholly to 
these taller stands, with the exception of the 
Black Cockatoo ( Calyptorhynchus funereus). 
This bird has multiplied markedly since the 
advent of the abundant food source provided 
by the pine cones. From being a relatively 
rare species, it is now counted in hundreds in 
this district. 
Flocks of from a dozen or so to about one- 
hundred-and-fifty are commonly seen flapping 
their noisy way to fresh feeding-grounds, 
though it is believed that they do not roost in 
the pines. Certainly the pines cannot furnish 
nesting hollows for them, and they will need 
the existence of tracts of native forest if they 
are to continue to flourish. The “cockies” ex- 
tract the seed at any stage after the cones are 
full size, even though they may be six months 
from maturity. 
Actually their depredations on the commer- 
cial seed supply are becoming of such mag- 
nitude that drastic action may be required to 
reduce their numbers again. 
BIRDS OF THE SAPLING WOODS 
In those stands that have only just killed 
their lowest limbs, together with still younger 
plantations, the Brown Thornhill ( Acanthiza 
pusilla) and the White-browed Scrub-wren 
( Sericornis frontalis) have been at home for 
many years. The introduced Blackbird [T Ur- 
dus merula ) is also established in these young 
woods over quite a number of localities. 
The nesis of the Ground Thrush, the Brown 
Thornhill and the Blackbird have been found 
in stands of this nature, and, presumably, the 
Scrub-wren also nests therein. This is the ulti- 
mate criterion, surely, of harmony between a 
species and the environment. 
BIRDS OF THE JUVENILE WOODS 
In the plantations — and naturally regener- 
ated areas — whose canopy has not closed the 
bird population is more varied and plentiful. 
Lilt this is in such measure as the pines are 
supplemented by the remnants of the original 
flora or, at least, by grasses and composites 
that have followed the preparatory burn. 
Associated with some or all of the areas in 
this category arc such species as: 
White-browed Scrub-wren, Brown Thorn- 
bill, Superb Blue-wren, Ked-browed Finch, 
introduced Goldfinch, White-fronted Chat, 
Heath- wren, Yellow-winged Honey-eater. 
Spinebi 1 1 Honey-eater. Yellow Hobin, Rufous 
Whistler, Bronzewing Pigeon, together with 
the Nankeen Kestrel, Brown Hawk. Goshawk, 
and other birds-ef-prey. Even the Wedge- 
taled Eagle has been occasionally observed on 
the ground in these places. 
Obviously, these represent some of the more 
permanent or less nomadic fraction of the 
species comprising the total check- list for the 
district, and the nature of the original vegeta- 
tion in each case determines which birds per- 
sist in any given plantation during its early 
stages — before it becomes a forest. 
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