March, 1929 
The Queensland Naturalist 
5 
North Queensland, should be constituted a sanctuary for 
various species of Australian fauna, whose extinction is 
threatened. If specimens of these animals were placed 
on Hinchinbrook Island they would stand a good chance 
of multiplying, as since the removal of the natives from 
the island the fauna is dominated only by the 20ft. python. 
o 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
Jacana: Bandicoots. 
Among letters recently received by the Council, the 
following extract from one received from Messrs. W. G. 
and R. C. Harvey, Marwood, Mackay, is printed here- 
with, and may be of general interest: — 
“The Jacana is not a very large bird, but it is rather 
showy in its plumage, and somewhat unique in its habitat. 
It is never found away from waterlily lagoons, creeks, 
and ponds. Even its nest is built amongst the floating 
water-weeds, and sometimes it is built so close to the 
water that some of the eggs are partly immersed during 
the whole period of incubation. 
“The wetting of the eggs, however, does not prevent 
them from hatching. Jacana ’s nests are often raided by 
water rats, and we have frequently seen their beautifully- 
veined egg-shells adorning the feeding tables of these 
nocturnal raiders. 
“Owing to the abnormally dry season (written 
27/10/28) there has been a; phenomenal invasion of ban- 
dicoots to this district. Our place is complete^ overrun 
with them, and according to- reports of the various dis- 
trict correspondents of the Mackay “Daily Mercury,’ ’ 
the invasion appears to be general all over the district. 
It is nothing unusual to see half a dozen bandicoots to- 
gether in our kitchen in search of food, while others may 
be heard in the storeroom tearing holes in the bags of 
pollard and maize. 
“Outside, the paddocks are literally alive with them. 
They have been very destructive to the sugar-cane and 
ether crops, and consequently the Cane-Pests Destruc- 
tion Authorities are paying one shilling each for their 
scalps. 
“The worst feature of the bandicoot plague, how- 
ever, is the way they have eradicated the ground-nesting 
birds. They have been particularly destructive to the 
Pardalotes, and as far as we can judge, not one nest of 
these birds has escaped destruction.’ ’ 
