D. Seth-Smith—The Harlequin Bronzewing Pigeon 77


a long period of drought. And this seems to have happened in the

case of the Harlequin Bronzewing, for in a very interesting article,

accompanying the coloured plate above referred to, Mr. W. D. K.

MacGillivray tells of the appearance of vast numbers of these birds.

He quotes a note from Mr. Ian MacCulloch who, writing from Central

Queensland in March, 1931, remarks: “ At present there must be

twenty thousand Flock Pigeons watering at the tank where I am

camped. At another tank on this property about twenty miles from

here there must be four or five times as many birds as there are here.

I first noticed a small flock of Pigeons about twelve months ago, and

after some heavy rains in May last we had a wonderful growth of

grass and herbage. I noticed the birds were nesting in July and up

till September. They did not appear to be greatly worried by the

sheep as they nested in the paddocks in which the sheep were running.


“ It is a fine sight to see the flock here come to water. They light

on the surface of the water, drink, and fly again, not troubled in any

way by wet feathers. They also land on the embankment and approach

the water like a regiment of soldiers. The front line drink and fly,

their places are taken by the next line, and so on till all are watered.”


It will be observed that the habits of these Pigeons very closely

resemble those of Sand Grouse. Subsequently Mr. MacGillivray had

an opportunity of watching some of these Pigeons himself, which

appeared on a limited area in the north-west corner of Hew South

Wales after an interval of over forty years. Camping near an old

dam, situated in the centre of 6 square miles of Mitchell Grass, “ the

birds started to arrive,” he remarks, “ at 4.40 p.m., in small flocks

of from ten to twenty, the intervals between the arrivals of the flocks

shortening as time went on. The earlier flocks settled in the grass

two hundred yards or more from the water. Later flocks became

bolder, and circled over the water, but would not settle at first, no

doubt from having been shot at. Finally, one or two dropped near

the edge, walked into the water, drank rapidly, and left. Other and

larger flocks kept coming in from all directions. Many settled on the

edge, but several alighted on the deep water, folded their wings, immersed

their heads completely, and had a good drink. They found no difficulty

in rising from the surface of the water and flying off.”



