48 NICHOLAS, A Trip to Central Australia. [ 'ut f u T y u 
of burning “dead finish/’ and the distant tinkling of the hobbled 
horses feeding out in the darkness. Aiston smokes and yarns 
of the Overland Track, and the 1,000 miles of unknown country 
stretching from Fowler’s Bay at this end of the Bight to Birds- 
ville and beyond, and tells how, when the country is under 
water (it is not always a dry, stony, saltbush desert), they float 
the buggies across the rivers, first removing the wheels, for the 
current, which turns them backwards, would unscrew the wheel- 
caps, and they would thus be irretrievably lost. During our meal 
several small birds (Wrens) visited the “dead finish” bush along¬ 
side the fire and only settled to rest after great flutterings and 
trepidations. We had usurped their roosting-spot — the only tree 
for miles around. 
One morning, whilst motoring over the desert on our way to 
Mungeranie, South Central Australia, we disturbed two large 
flocks of Galahs (Cacatua roscicapilla ), about three hundred in 
each flock, feeding on the ground before the sun was up. Dur¬ 
ing the day the birds feed out on the desert sand ridges and 
gibber plains and return every night to the nearest water-hole 
to drink and to roost. The presence of such birds as Galahs, 
Pigeons, Honeyeaters and Finches is an indication of water 
usually within a radius of five miles. So unfailing is this indi¬ 
cation that, when these birds are seen, the search is always 
made for water if one is running short, and desirous of camping 
for the night. On the other hand the Cinnamon Ground-bird 
is found as far as fifty miles from water, and Hawks and Kites 
also range far away over the desert. 
The life-history of the Galahs could be told in cinema and 
camera in this district. The Coolibahs around the water-hole 
at Mungeranie are the resting-place of thousands of these grace¬ 
ful birds. Each morning they fly away with loud screechings 
half-an-hour after sunrise out to the gibber plains and sandhills, 
where they may be seen feeding at all hours of the day. One 
puts large flocks of them to flight when riding or driving over 
the country. Every afternoon about 4.30 the first flock returns 
from the desert, and from that time until after sundown they 
come in increasing numbers. We estimated that at least ten 
thousand birds occupied the 150 trees that surrounded this 
water-hole. Each flock as it returns from the desert makes 
straight for the water, alighting on all the trees, festooning the 
branches as with strings of rosebuds. From the trees they 
drop down to the snags and fallen logs in the lagoon to drink. 
As the birds are numerous and the drinking places few in num¬ 
ber, it is a fine sight to see dozens of these birds packed thickly 
on the snags and logs along the surface of the water, pushing 
and struggling for drinking positions. A crack of a whip or 
loud clapping of the hands sends the birds circling in thousands. 
After a time they settle again, shrieking and calling as thev 
