Walter Goodfellow—A Collector on Melville Island 17


flight they catch these on the wing, always returning to the same

branch, where they hammer them until dead. In Australia it is

called the Eainbow Bird.


The Spangled Drongo ( Chibia bracteata) is another migrant, although

a few had been seen before the great influx in March. Like the Bee-

eaters, they had their evening flight and were very quarrelsome with

most other birds. The Black-faced Shrike ( Coracina novae-hollandae ),

is a pearly-grey bird with a black mask, common all the year round,

both in Darwin and on the island, but far more numerous in the dry

season when the residents are augmented by migrants from the south.

It is rather a large bird, and bound to attract attention, as it frequents

trees in every garden. Silent, but very beautiful, it feeds chiefly on

insects, but I have seen it take berries.


The Broad-billed Roller ( Eurystomus orientalis) is possibly there

all through the year, but I can only remember it because of the great

numbers in March and April. During that time I was never tired of

watching them in the evenings, when forty or fifty flew about in the

sky over the camp until it was too dark to see them, and I had been

forced by the mosquitos to take refuge under the net. The bird

surprises one by looking so very much larger on the wing. The pate

blue disc about the size of half a crown is very conspicuous then, and

from this it gets its name, the Dollar Bird. When flying in a straight

direction it may easily be mistaken for a Pigeon, until it makes a

sharp turn or a steep dive. It is astonishing how rapidly they move

through space, as their flight does not suggest it. I never could be

sure, although I watched them carefully, that they were hunting for

insects at these times. I think it was simply for enjoyment. During

the day the birds himt singly from some tree commanding a good

view. They also roosted more or less singly. My dead tree was a

favourite place for one, or possibly two, on most nights.


When I first arrived I found the Laughing Kingfishers amusing,

and looked forward to their early morning greeting, but long before

I left I was wishing them anywhere but in my vicinity. This was

not the species we are so familiar with in the Zoo, but Leache’s Blue¬

winged, possibly a little smaller bird with very blue wings. The tail

is also blue in the male, and brown in the female, both barred with


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