BLACK-TAILED NATIVE HEN. 
birds are rarely, if at aU, to be observed on the wing. They remain in the 
irrigated country till the end of the summer, living on the freshwater snails and 
insects, which abound in the marshy ground. 
“ In April, 1900, during a partial break in the great drought, numbers 
followed the course of the Willandra Billabong (Kilfera, N.S.W.) as the water came 
down. In the extreme south of Victoria the bird is rare, its visits only occurring 
when there is plenty of water there and more or less drought in the interior ; 
as was the case at the end of 1891 and beginning of 1892, when this species 
was very common in the lower reaches of the Barwan River between Geelong 
and the sea.” 
Mr. Edgar Christian, of Northern Victoria, writes : “I find the sudden 
appearance of these birds here (Avoca River) is a forerunner of heavy floods. 
When feeding, every now and then one of the birds will run round in a small circle, 
violently flapping its wings and then ends up by running swiftly with wings 
outspread but motionless, suddenly coming to a stop, it goes on feeding. When 
so occupied, they are fairly quiet, but an odd bird, from time to time would give 
out a peculiar sharp cry. They seldom swim or wade, but prefer to walk about 
on the banks or edges of pools. They rarely use their wings, and even then for 
no great distance. I have never seen them fly very high, and when they are 
disturbed they just fly for a short distance, and w^hen alighting they run along 
the ground, so that flying merges into running. I have never seen one by itself, 
the smallest flock noticed was five birds, and the largest fifty.” 
Mr. C. B. Nicholls* mentions that a bird of this species, that used to 
feed with domestic fowls, fought and defeated a rooster six times its own size. 
He also says: “ In flying it rose gently from the ground, after a short run, 
without any noisy flapping or whirring of wings, and slowly drew up the 
dangling legs into a horizontal position as the flight balance was gained.” 
Mr. Campbell says : “ The young in down are jet black and can swim like 
ducklings. The old birds feed their young on bits of thistle, dock, etc.” 
Mr. F. Berne 3 ^| writing from the Richmond District of North Queensland, 
says these birds arrive there in J anuary , but are most erratic in their visitations : 
sometimes only a few putting in an appearance, sometimes they come in over- 
whelming numbers. In 1905 it was a common sight for a horseman tO have 
five or six thousand running in front of him along a creek, like a mob of sheep. 
They leave that district every year about June. 
The bird figured and described is a male, collected by Mr. Tom Carter at 
Broome Hill, Western Australia, on October 2nd, 1907. 
* Emu V.,p. 81 (1905). 
t Op. cit., p, 108 (1907). 
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