April, 192 1 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
123 
is wortihY ot‘ i>artieular mention. By far the greater 
number of them migrate annually to Northern Siberia, but 
here, again, there is no sharp line of distinction, at any rate 
so far as families are concerned. Let us take the Plovers: 
The Spur-winged, Masked, and Black-breasted species breed 
in Australia, and do not leave our shores, whilst the Grey 
Plover and the Lesser Golden Plover journey to the far 
north of Siberia. Of the Dottrells, four stay and breed in 
Australia, four jouriiey to Siberia, one to China and Japan, 
^ne to ^Mongolia, and one (strangest of all ) to New Zealand. 
Sixteen further birds in affinity, such as Godwits. Curlews, 
Stints, and Sandpipers, journey to Siberia, and a like 
niuTiber never move out of Australia at all. Of other 
families of birds strongly represented among migrants, 
mention should be made of Cuckoos, Flycatchers. Robins, 
Pigeons, Grebes, Herons, Geese, Swallows, Wood-Swallows, 
and Swifts. 
*'But to follow the interesting movements of such a 
large list cannot be compassed in this article, which, at its 
best, only aims at being an introduction to the subject; and 
I therefore conclude, ex])ress^g the hope that this important 
braneii of bird study will notM)e neglected by Club members 
during the coming year.” 
QUEENSLAND GEMS. 
d’he feature of tlie March f21st) meetiug of the Club 
was HU address by Mr. B. Dunstan, Chief Government 
■Geologb't, on ^‘Queensland Gems.” The lecturer pointed 
out th.at this State is rich in sapphires of almost every 
shade, including the notable blue variety, wliieh has a dis- 
tinctiveness separating it from every other sapphire known. 
This point was emphasised in London, where it was dis- 
('overed that Queensland “bines” were being sold as Ceylon 
■sapphires. After telling a story relating to the purchase 
for 10s. of a beautiful yellow sapphire from Anakie, which 
recently brought £60, Mr. Dunstan pleaded the cause of 
the parti-eoloured sapphire. Tliis gem, he said, is sometimes 
yellow and bine and sometimes yellow and green, very bean- 
tifiil, and cannot he imitated by a synthetic stone; and yet 
people will not buy it ])eeanse it is imagined that the 
variegated colours indicate a daw of some kind. !Mr. 
Dunstan showed beautiful examples of the various 
■sapphires, also a specimen of tnrqnoise from the Brisbane 
district, a cairngorm from Stanthorpe. a topaz from Bowen, 
o]>als from West Queensland, and aquamarines and 
■emeralds, the last-mentioned of which, he described as the 
most beautiful stones in the world. A reference to the 
ribbon-stone of Camooweal led the lecturer to observe that 
