December 1948 The Queensland Naturalist 
118 
These differences, 1 think, justify the conclusion 
that the Australian plant is not Lindley’s O. iridifolia. 
Whether the Pacific Islands form recorded under this 
name is really Lindley’s species, or is identical with O. 
muelleciana, or is distinct from either. I cannot say, as 
neither material nor adequate descriptions are at present 
available to me. 
BOOK REVIEW 
A Census of South Queensland Orchids by Trevor E. Hunt 
In this booklet of 18 pages, Mr Hunt lists 165 species of 
Orchids from South Queensland, with their synonymy and 
approximate times of flowering. The distribution of each species 
is given with localities and collectors' names, based on the 
collections in the Queensland Herbarium. South Queensland 
is taken in a broad sense, south of the 22nd parallel, thus com- 
prising that part of the State not covered in the Check List of 
North Queensland Orchids (see "Queensland Naturalist," Vol 13, 
No. 1, p. 19, 1946), It is a matter for regret that closer atten- 
tion has not been paid to the arrangement of the names; as 
printed, it appears as though the specific epithets were names 
in their own right, and, while this reflects the practice of some 
botanists, it is none the less to be deplored However, such a 
check-list will undoubtedly be of great interest to nature-lovers 
generally, and in particular to everybody who is interested in 
native orchids, since it not only provides a reliable source of 
reference and synonymy, but also precise locality records for 
all species dealt with S T B. 
Fairjr Wrens by A. II Chisholm, is a delightfully 
written account in the form of a dialogue. of the Fairy 
Wrens of Australia. Fourteen species of these “little 
birds with the stiekyup tails" are distributed over Aus- 
tralia ; some are widely distributed while some are very 
restricted in their occurrence. The quaint form of these 
dainty little birds, their brilliant colouring, their 
vivacity and their elrsiveness have intrisrued naturalists 
since the Illne Wren was discovered by William Ellis 
in Tasmania in 1777. The adult males are eharaeterised 
by their brilliant plnmasre, chiefly of shades of blue, 
though red, black and white occur in different species. 
The females are ohieflv brown. The vonmr males are 
much like the females in appearance and this has given 
rise to the belief that the birds are polygamous, but it 
appears to he certain that, at least usually, the male 
bird is monogamous, but that the families keep together 
for long periods; the young birds sometimes assist" their 
parents with the rearing of the next brood. The book 
