THE 
QUEENSLAND NATURALIST 
JOURNAL OF THE QUEENSLAND NATURALISTS' CLUB 
Vol. xiv. SEPTEMBER, 1950 No. 2 
SOME BIRDS AND PLANTS OF MURPHY'S CREEK 
By E. A. IT LORD 
On May 30t.li. 1950, I had work to do which took me 
into the heart of the ranges near Murphy’s Creek, about 
60 miles west of Brisbane, and as I was going through 
excellent bird and plant country I recorded all natural 
history observations of interest. The country is rough 
and the forest road was in insufficient repair, so 1 made 
the journey on horse back, which is the ideal method 
when one desires to study nature. 
It was necessary to visit the railway station at 
Murphy’s Creek before commencing my journey. Quite 
a few birds were seen here to start my list for the day. 
Crested Pigeons, two kinds of Doves and Brown Quail 
were feeding on the ground below empty wheat trucks. 
Zebra Pinches and House Sparrows also were in good 
numbers and in the grass and weeds growing along the 
railway embankment were two families of Red-backed 
Wrens and a family of Blue Wrens. 
On the Murphy which zig-zags through my property 
I saw some Black Duck and some Dusky Moorhens — 
one pair of Moorhens had three small chicks of an April 
brood. Brown Honeyeaters were calling in the Red 
Bottlebrush lining the creek. A Kestrel was perched on 
his lookout tree, a tall dead gum. 
In a clump of Box trees between the creek and my 
house I disturbed a noisy group of White-winged 
Choughs that were searching the ground for food. Here 
too were a pair of Tawny Frogmouths which have nested 
in this group of trees for twenty years. 
About the house were the usual Magpies, Curra- 
won.gs, Pied Butcher-birds, Peewees, Blue-faced TTonev- 
eaters, Soldier-birds and Wagtails gathering scraps of 
