40 
The Queensland Natutialist. 
VoL. I. 
A NIGHT SINGING NATIVE BIRD.* 
By G. W. Munro Hull (Toowong). 
Late in October last year (1906) a small grey bird 
made his evening camp in a camphor tree close to the house 
and made his presence known by repeating a most doleful 
lay. His song consists of eight notes given like a scale. 
Each note is slightly lower than the other — certainly not a 
tone — and the whole is peculiarly doleful and unpleasant. 
This “ song ” was kept up intermittently all through 
the night. As this performance was repeated for several 
nights, we noted the time that he came to roostj and so 
regular was he in his habit that the children soon christened 
him “ the half-past-sixer.” 
This regularity continued for about two months, and 
seldom was he ever earlier than 6.20 or later than 6.30. 
One evening he did not come, and again on the following 
evening we missed his doleful evening hymn, and soon we 
forgot all about him. 
Judge our surprise and pleasure on the lOtli of Ocotber 
this year (1907), at 6.50 p.m., when we heard once again 
the mournful tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, 
tweet, tweet (slowly descending the scale) of our friend of 
last year, and from the very same camphor tree— there are 
about a dozen in the garden — and so night after night lie 
has come home to roost, and as I write (Sunday, November 
10th), he is undurdening his solitary little heart in the only 
.song nature has given him. 
I conclude he is solitary and mournful, because I 
have never heard liis song before — and I know most of our 
birds — and he must be mournful to sing such a flat, in- 
harmonious, ill-balanced lay. 
I have failed in trying to see this bird, as at 6.30 the 
light is not strong enough to disclose him, clearly shaded 
ns he is by the thick camphor leaves. That it is one and 
the same bird I feel satisfied, and it is interesting to try and 
picture his movements during the twelve months since he 
first came here. Where does he mate ? What is his 
name ? How far does he travel ? 
An answer to these questions would be really welcome. 
I have tested the carrying power of his notes, and 
find that at 10.30 p.m. I could hear them distinctly at 
eight hundred yards approx. This is not on account of 
their loudness, as the notes are not loud, but they are 
apparently peculiarly penetrating. I have tried to catch 
the notes on the piano, but cannot strike them ; they are 
* Read at meeting on 10th April, 1908. 
