82 
MACGILLIVRAY, Australian Pratincole [ Yl* Oct!* 
It was not until the 8th November, 1903, that l came across 
this bird again. I was driving with a friend along the Menindie 
Road, about 20 miles from Broken Hill, on an ironstone-gravel 
plain, scantily covered with herbage. Remembering my last 
experience, it did not take me long to find a pair of eggs with 
a few small pebbles and sticks gathered round them. On this 
and the following day, several more birds were seen either on 
the plains or feeding along the oozy margin of a long and shallow 
swamp, where we had camped. It was a year of plenty in 
Western New South Wales, and these birds were all over the 
district, wherever conditions suited them. They bred freely 
after their arrival late in October or early in November, and 
left after the young were able to fly in March. They were not 
again noted till 1909, when a favourable season at Broken Hill, 
and drier conditions in Central Australia and Western Queens¬ 
land, sent them down earlier than usual. They were seen on 
the plains near Fowler’s Gap, 70 miles north from Broken Hill, 
during the third week in September. 
The following years were favourable ones. Early in Decem¬ 
ber, 1910, after the eggs had hatched out, it was noted that the 
young ones sought shelter in disused rabbit burrows from their 
many enemies. They were feeding with their parents round 
about the burrow, and rushed to hide in it when the old bird 
gave the alarm. This they did when man or beast approached 
or when a Hawk or a Crow flew overhead. 
1 his area was a patch of open country, sparingly covered with 
herbage growing amongst limestone or ironstone pebbles and 
stones. Being within three miles of Broken Hill, it was favour¬ 
able for making observations. In 1911 the birds arrived in 
numbers, and started to nest in November. My son and a boy 
friend found six nests on this patch in one morning. After the 
eggs in these hatched, we found several pairs that were shelter¬ 
ing their young in rabbit burrows. The tracks of the chicks were 
plainly seen on the soft sand at the entrance to the burrows. 
I heir presence there was confirmed by digging them out, or by 
the parent birds’ concern when we were near the burrows, and 
their evident satisfaction when we left them. Heavy rain in 
the middle of December resulted in all the birds leaving except 
the pairs that had young. 
In 1912 there was another exceptionally good season. Grass¬ 
hoppers and caterpillars were a pest, and these birds came down 
in numbers. Two exceptional clutches were noted, one of three 
and the other of four eggs. The birds arrived in October, 
and started to nest early in November, flocks of six or seven 
being quite common on our favourite patch. Several lean years 
followed, and the birds did not visit us in numbers. Only a 
few odd birds were seen during the early summer of 1915, and 
they did not remain to breed. The war intervened, and it was 
not until 1920, when on my way to Cooper’s Creek, that I saw 
them again on the gibber country that is situated between Tib- 
