Vol 'i924 IV ' ] MacGILUVR.W, S.ir. Queensland 
13 
A Spring Excursion into South-Western 
Queensland. 
By Dr. YV. M ACGILU VRAY, C.F.A.O.U., Broken Hill, 
Sometime President, R.A.O.U. 
A favourable season as a result of late * autumn and early 
winter rains and a desire to become better acquainted with the 
distribution of bird and plant life in that part of South-western 
Queensland-between the Warrego and Wilson Rivers were suffi¬ 
cient inducements for Dr. A. Chenery and myself to arrange a 
month’s holiday in that direction. Mr. P. I). Riddell, principal 
of the local Technical College, who is keenly interested in out- 
of-door life, accompanied us as chief photographer, and Norman 
Read was in charge of our means of transport, a motor trolly, 
which held all our impedimenta and enough petrol to take us to 
the nearest railhead at Cunnamulla. 
A.-start was made along the northern road from Broken Hill 
oh the morning of August 15 th, 1923 . Nine miles out Stephens 
Creek was crossed, a little above the reservoir which was Broken 
Hill’s main water supply during its earlier years. The creek was 
sandy-bedded, bordered mainly with red-gums, and, as was to 
be expected in a country the rainfall of which for the last 40 
years averaged 9.5 inches, it ran only at uncertain intervals, and 
then for one or two days at a time. The same may be said of 
all the other creeks in the Western Darling country. At 19 
miles we crossed Yalcowinna Creek, which arched away to our 
right, and at the same time we came to the grand unconformity 
of geologists separating the archeozoic rocks of the Broken Hill 
series from the Torrowangee series, of slightly lesser age. Here 
we passed over an elevated tract of gravelly country until we 
reached Campbell’s Creek, which we skirted for a few miles. A 
few Galahs ( Cacatua roseicapilla) , Bare-eyed Cockatoos (C. 
sanguined) , and Ring-necks (Barnardius barnardi) were paired 
and nesting in the red-gums of this creek, but there was a general 
scarcity of bird life, as last year’s severe drought and an earlier 
and better rainfall further north had prevented the return of 
those whose movements were regulated by food-supply. 
The growth of herbage had been delayed also by a winter ttf 
more than ordinary severity, and only the earlier flowering plants 
were noted. Blennodia lasiocarpa, one of the earliest, made the 
hillsides and slopes in many places look as though covered with 
snow. Blennodia trisecta, of more erect growth, occurred in 
patches; the yellow of Blennodia nasturtioides and the blue of 
hrodium cygnorum varied the colour scheme. 
At about forty miles we commenced to wend our way through 
the Euriowie Hills—outliers of the Barrier Range. Here the 
brilliant yellow composite Helipterum polygalifolium was in 
places well in flower. Mulga (Acacia aneura) and Dead Finish 
