THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Mr. Tom Carter observes : “ Generally distributed, but nowhere abun- 
dant, and to a certain extent it is locally migratory, according as the 
weather is wet or dry. About Point Cloates where the sandy nature of the 
country never allowed any surface water to lay, they were very rarely heard 
or seen except in the winter months. They were in the habit of passing the 
day on the stony ranges, under the shelter of some bush or small tree.” 
“ Several of these birds were seen on the stony ground near our camel 
depot during the month of August. They were extremely shy and dijfficult 
to approach. Although these birds are nocturnal in their habits, they 
commenced to run before I was within 150 yards of them, and defied all 
attempts to capture or shoot them. As we approached the Fitzroy River, 
before daybreak of 6th November, the weird notes of the Southern Stone 
Plover were amongst the delightful music that greeted our ears, as it is well 
known that although this bird spends the day in the forest or open plain, it 
always resorts to water at night.”* 
The bird described is the type collected at Parry’s Creek, North-west 
Australia, on October 19th, 1908, by Mr. J. P. Rogers. 
• Keartleuad, Trans. Roy. Soc. Somh Auetr., Vol. XXII., p. 185, 1898. 
