Page:The Emu volume 21.djvu/265

 Captain White does not record this species from the South Australian side of the plain. Apparently its range does not extend so far east in these latitudes.

The Crested Bell-Bird (Oreoica gutturalis) was found throughout the country examined, but on the plains it was naturally confined to the dongas. At Naretha I observed a number of nests. Some contained eggs of a decided bluish tinge. I saw no hairy caterpillars in any nest, but moths and butterliies (Lepidoptera), as regards species, are poorly represented on the plain.

The Wedgebill (Sphenostoma cristatum) was far less common than the Bell-bird, and seldom found away from the dongas. I observed a nest at Naretha in a small acacia, the sitting bird being visible some distance away. A family party in a donga at Haig were inquisitively watching me eat an orange, as I sat during a heavy squall under the lee of a large blue bush. A strong gale was blowing at the time. When on the ground under a bush, the Wedgebill is not unlike a Grass-Wren (Diaphorillas), a species I did not meet with during the trip.

Two species of Robin were met with, viz, the Hooded (Melanodryas cucullata) and Red-capped (Petroica goodenovii). The latter was comparatively rare, but the Hooded Robin was especially common around Naretha. It was also very frequent on the plain wherever tree or bush was growing. I saw a few nests from which the young had flown.

Captain White records the Buff-bellied Shrike-Thrush (Colluricincla rufiventris) from the eastern side of the plain. I did not meet with this species anywhere on the plain proper, so, if its range is continuous, it must be found along the coast line of the Great Bight. It was breeding at Naretha. I found nests in the clumps of Casuarinas. One containing three pretty eggs was about twelve feet from the ground, and instead of being built of strips of soft bark, was constructed of dried grasses. The cup was very deep, only the tail of the sitting bird being visible from below.

In the interior the female of this species has no buff eyebrow, and the loral spot of the male is not so distinct as in our south coastal birds. I have often wondered if it is generally known that both sexes sing. I am not able to distinguish the song of the male from that of the female.

Whistlers (Pachycephala) were very rare throughout the country examined. Mr. Gibson records the Western Whistler (P. occidentalis), but I did not meet with the latter. At Naretha a bird was singing in a donga with a voice like that of a Shrike-Thrush, but there was sufficient difference in the song to attract my attention.

I followed the songster from bush to bush, without being able to identify it. There was a strong wind blowing at the time, and eventually I fired at a bird resembling the songster. I picked up a bird new to me, but it did not look mature. I heard the bird I had followed singing again; this time behind me. I