Part 3

In Order IV. come those well-known birds--the "Cooers," Pigeons and Doves. The Australian region is the great stronghold of these often beautiful birds. It is only in this region that members of each of the five families of living Pigeons are found. Two of the five families are peculiar to the region, and nearly half the kinds of Pigeons known are found here. The finest and largest of all Pigeons are the large Crowned Pigeons of New Guinea. Unfortunately, the heads of these Pigeons are much in demand for millinery. Would that fashionable women knew the cruelty and devastation wrought by such fashions!

Amongst the most beautiful of Pigeons are, as Dr. Newton remarked, the common Bronzewing Pigeons of Australia and Tasmania. The lovely Fruit-Pigeons of East Australian scrubs are, perhaps, the most beautiful of all, so it will readily be seen how fortunate we are with regard to these birds.

The fine large Wonga-Wonga Pigeon is becoming rare. Its flesh is white, so Gould named it _Leucosarcia_ (white flesh). It has been proposed to introduce this bird into Europe to breed for table purposes.

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ORDER IV.--COLUMBIFORMES, PIGEONS, DOVES.

F. 16. TRERONIDAE (8), FRUIT-PIGEONS, 228 sp--159(155)A., 60(56)O., 1(1)P., 12(12)E.

2 2

=12 Topknot Pigeon=, _Lopholaimus antarcticus_, E.A., T. (acc.) "Quook-quook."

Stat. c. _thick brushes_ 17

"This noble pigeon;" under silvery-gray; upper dark-gray; crest rust-red; eyes orange; f., sim. Native fruits.

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F. 17. COLUMBIDAE (2), WOOD-PIGEONS, Passenger-Pigeon, Rock-Dove, 119 sp.--41(40)A., 25(17)O., 18(10)P., 19(17)E., 4(0)Nc., 24(20)Nl.

F. 18. PERISTERIDAE (15), GROUND-PIGEONS, Turtle-Doves, 198 sp.--61(55)A., 21(8)O., 10(1)P., 32(30)E., 10(0)Nc., 86(76)Nl.

1 6

=12^A Indian Turtle-Dove=, _Turtur ferrago_, Siberia to Ceylon, introduced A.

Mig. c. _gardens_, _cities_ 13

Back brown; head gray; broad patch side and back of neck black spotted white; breast cinnamon; centre tail feathers blackish, rest tipped white; f., sim. Seeds.

3 5

=13 Ground Dove= (Peaceful), Doo-doo, _Geopelia placida_, A. (interior).

Stat. r. _grassy_ 8.7

Upper ashy-brown, barred black; chest, hind-neck gray with black lines; abdomen fawn; side tail feathers tipped white; f., sim. Small seeds. "Doo-doo."

=14* Diamond Dove= (Little, Turtle), _G. cuneata_, A. (interior).

Stat. r. _grass_ 8.2

Upper light-brown; crown gray; under light-gray; white spots on wing; side tail tipped white; eye red; f., neck, chest pale brown. Seeds.

1 6

=15 Little Green Pigeon=, _Chalcophaps chrysochlora_, Mol., N. Heb., N. Cal., Lord Howe Is., A. exc. S.A., W.A. Melancholy bellowing note.

v.r. _dense scrubs_ 9.5

Rich brown; head, short tail darker; wings much green; shoulder white; f., less brilliant. Fallen berries.

2 2

=16* Bronzewing Pigeon= (Scrub), _Phaps chalcoptera_, A., T.

Nom. c. _open_, _forest_ 13.5

Upper brown marked lighter; cap whitish; line below eye, throat white; breast, back of head vinous; bronze wing; legs red; f., head gray. Seeds, fruits.

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=17 Brush Bronzewing Pigeon= (Little Bronze), _P. elegans_, A., T.

Nom. r. _sandy_ 13

Upper chestnut-brown; breast blue-gray; throat, crown chestnut; bronze wings; f., crown gray. Seeds.

1 1

=18 Crested Pigeon= (Topknot (e), Crested Bronzewing), _Ocyphaps lophotes_, A. Seeds.

Nom. r. _inland plains_ 13

Upper fawn; crown, under gray; crest black; black bars on wings; tail tipped white; eyes orange; f., sim.

1 1

=19 Wonga-Wonga Pigeon=, _Leucosarcia melanoleuca_, E.A. Seeds, fallen fruits.

Stat. r. _coast-_, (_hillside-_) _brushes_ 15

Back, breast slaty-gray; wings brown; crown, throat, abdomen white; sides spotted black; f., sim.

F. 19. _Gouridae_, Crowned Pigeons, 8 sp. A. (N.G.).

F. 20. _Didunculidae_, Tooth-billed Pigeons, 1 sp. A. (Samoa).

F. 21. _Opisthocomidae_, Hoactzin, 1 sp. Nl.

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The birds of Order V. are amongst the successes in the struggle for existence, for they are found the world over.

The Landrailor Corn-Crake, the Little Crake, Spotted Crake, Moor-Hen, Purple Gallinule, and the lobed-toed Coot, of other countries, are represented by similar birds here.

They are largely swamp-dwellers, and conditions about swamps apparently do not vary much from continent to continent. There is a full supply of vegetable and animal food, and there is good shelter in the thick reed-beds. The smaller members of the family are seldom seen, for they skulk amongst the reeds, and seldom show themselves.

Many of these birds are long-toed, and are beautifully adapted for life about the soft mud and floating vegetation of lagoons and swamps. Though the feet are not webbed, several of these swamp-dwellers swim well. Thus the Little Crake is an expert swimmer and diver.

There is one Australian bird not represented in other countries. This is the handsome, bantam-like Black-tailed Native-Hen. At long intervals the birds appear in thousands, and, being largely vegetable feeders, they have sometimes done considerable damage to crops.

During one such irruption in 1846, the birds invaded the streets of Adelaide. Others invaded the Geraldton district, and even reached Perth in 1886. Northern Victoria was visited in 1909.

Some of the members of this group are known to all; indeed, when you have finished reading this lecture, I expect to have created in your mind an idea that bird study is very simple--that you know at least one of each of the groups of birds. One further advantage of bird study is that so few birds are found in any district. Thus, only 880 birds have ever been recorded from Australia, whereas there are over 9,000 kinds of native flowering plants, not to mention non-flowering plants. In very few districts could a list of 100 different kinds of birds be compiled in one year.

Again, while it is impossible to talk popularly of native plants, because they have no common names, that does not apply to birds, for bird-lovers have given a simple name to each bird. Even children, therefore, can talk definitely and exactly about the different kinds. This is a great advantage. Again, as birds are living, moving, loving, and beautiful animals, they have always been favorite objects of study, and so we know more about them than about any other division of the animal kingdom. Thus you will, I hope, find that you know far more about the subject than you at first thought.

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ORDER V.--RALLIFORMES.

F. 22. RALLIDAE (16), RAILS, 204 sp.--68(60)A., 37(18)O., 18(0)P., 37(24)E., 17(7)Nc., 72(65)Nl.

4 17

=20 Slate-breasted Rail= (Short-toed), Lewin Water-Rail, _Eulabeornis (Hypotaenidia) brachypus_, A., T., Auckland Is. =vt. Eur. Water-Rail. [~20 _Rallus pectoralis._]

Stat. r. _rivers_, _lagoons_ 8.5

Upper blackish striped olive; wings, flanks, abdomen barred black, white; throat, breast, slate-gray; f., duller.

=21* Pectoral Rail=, Landrail, _E. philippinensis_, Malay Arch. to A., N.Z., Pac. Is. =vt. Eur. Corn-Crake (Landrail); f., young sim. Insects, grass.

Mig. c. _grassy_ 10.5

Upper brown spotted white; under finely-barred black; white; sandy-buff bar on chest; light stripe above eye.

4 17

=22* Australian Spotted Crake=, Water-Crake, _Porzana fluminea_, A. =vt. Eur. Spotted Crake.

Stat. r. _rivers_ 7

Upper dark-brown, spotted white; abdomen, flanks blackish barred white; breast gray; swims; f., sim. Insects.

=21= Pectoral Rail =22= Australian Spotted Crake =26= Black Moor-Hen =27= Bald Coot =30= Hoary-headed Grebe =67= Crested Tern =71= White-faced Ternlet =72= Silver Gull =73= Pacific Gull

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=23 Australian Little Crake=, _P. palustris_, A. =vt. Eur. Little Crake.

Stat. r. _river_, _reed-beds_ 6

Upper rusty-brown; throat, breast gray; crown blackish; flanks, lower-abdomen barred black, white; swims, dives; f., sim. Water-animals.

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=24 Spotless Crake= (Leaden, Tabuan), Swamp-Rail, Little Swamp-Hen, Putoto, _P. plumbea_, Philippines to A., N. Heb., N. Cal., Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, N.Z., Chatham Is.

Stat. c. _reed-beds_ 6.3

Upper reddish-brown; under dark slate-gray; throat whitish; eyes pink; f., young sim. Water-animals.

2 2

=25 Black-tailed Native-Hen=, Gallinule (e), _Tribonyx ventralis_, A.

Mig. flocks, occ. r. _lagoons_, _rivers_ 15

Upper brown; under bluish-gray; white marks conspicuous on flanks; upper-bill light-green; lower red at base; legs brick-red; runs, seldom flies; f., sim. Water-animals, seeds.

1 8

=26* Black Moor-Hen= (-Gallinule), _Gallinula tenebrosa_, N.G., A. =vt. cos. Gallinule.

Stat. c. _lagoons_, _rivers_ 15

Grayish-black; back deep-brown; under tail white at sides; scarlet garter above knee; base bill, plate on forehead blood-red; no white on flanks; jerks tail; f., smaller. Water-animals, plants.

2 16

=27* Bald-Coot=, Purple Gallinule, Black-backed Water (Swamp, Macquarie) Hen, Pukeko, Redbill (e), _Porphyrio melanonotus_, N.G., A., T., Norfolk Is., Lord Howe Is., N.Z. =vt. cos. bird.

Stat. c. _lagoons_, _rivers_ 17.5

Hind-neck, breast, flanks indigo-blue; back, wings, tail black; under tail white; eyes orange-red; bill, legs red; jerks tail; f., smaller. Insects, vegetable food.

1 13

=28 Australian Coot=, Dabchick (e), _Fulica australis_, A., T., =vt. cos. bird.

Stat. c. _lakes_, _bays_ 14

Sooty-black; bill bluish-gray; eyes red; lobed feet; f., sim. Water-insects, snails.

F. 23. _Heliornithidae_. Finfoot, 5 sp.--1(1)O., 3(3)E., 1(1)Nl.

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In the next Order, the Sixth, there are three Australian birds. They are called Grebes. Bird names often reflect some habit, e.g., Scratchers, Cooers. So Grebes are often called Divers. But the Divers of the ornithologist are Northern Hemisphere birds, placed in the next family (25).

There is a widespread tradition to the effect that Grebes wait for the flash of the cap, and then dive before the bullet can reach them. They are, indeed, remarkably active in the water, but are absurd on land. Their legs are set so far back that it is almost impossible for them to walk. Their toes are not webbed, but are broadly lobed.

The Great Crested Grebe is identical with the British bird, for it is found all through the Eastern Hemisphere.

This is a remarkable distribution, when we consider that the bird, by reason of its very small wings, is a poor flyer, and is almost helpless on land. Such a wide distribution of a creature possessing poor means of locomotion indicates that the animal must have existed for a long time, so that it has been able to gradually extend its range. Thus we conclude it is an ancient form.

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ORDER VI.--PODICIPEDIDIFORMES.

F. 24. PODICIPEDIDAE (3), GREBES, 25 sp.--5(2)A., 8(2)O., 6(0)P., 5(1)E., 6(0)Nc., 11(7)Nl.

2 15

=29 Black-throated Grebe= (Little), Dabchick (e), White-bellied Diver (e), _Podiceps novae-hollandiae_, Java, N.G., A., N. Cal., =vt. Eur. Little Grebe.

Stat. c. _lagoons_ 9.5

Upper blackish-brown; white patch on wing; under silvery-gray; throat, side-face black (summer), brown (winter); beautiful fur-like plumage; lobed toes; f., sim. Small fish, snails, insects.

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=30* Hoary-headed Grebe=, Dabchick (e), "Tom Pudding," P. _poliocephalus_, A., T.

Stat. c. _lagoons_, _river_ 9.5

Upper brown; wings white patch; under silvery-gray; head short white hair-like plumes (summer); head brown, throat buff (winter); fur-like plumage; lobed toes; f., sim. Small fish, snails, insects.

1 3

=31 Great Crested Grebe= (Tippet), Loon, Gaunt, Carr Goose, _P. cristatus_ (_Lophaethyia cristata_, Mathews' Handlist), Eur., N. Asia, Japan, Africa, India to A., T., N.Z.

Stat. r. _lakes_, _rivers_ 24

Upper brown; under glistening-white; crown black; neck-frill chestnut edged black (summer); face, neck whitish (winter); fur-like plumage; lobed toes; f., sim. Small fish, snails, insects.

F. 25. _Colymbidae (Gaviidae)_, True Divers, Loons, 5 sp.--1(0)O., 5(0)P., 2(0)E., 5(0)Nc.

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In the next order come those remarkable birds, Penguins. As so much has been said about Penguins by Lieutenant Shackleton's party, they have caught the popular fancy, and people are much interested in them. Many Australians do not know that three Penguins are found on their own coast. It was one of the sights of the 1910 Summer School at Portsea to sit on the balcony and watch the Penguins chasing their prey in the clear waters in front. Their wings are paddles, being flattened and devoid of quills. The wings are not folded, but are carried hanging awkwardly at the side.

During the interest aroused by Peary's expedition to the North Pole, an illustrated weekly paper published a cartoon, which showed the American Eagle sitting on the North Pole and reading a proclamation to an audience of Penguins. One thing is unfortunate about this--Penguins are unknown in the Northern Hemisphere. Indeed, they support the geographer in his contention that, while the Pacific Ocean is very ancient, the Atlantic Ocean has been formed much more recently, for Penguins are found up the Pacific even to the Galapagos Is. on the Equator, but have not spread into the Atlantic Ocean beyond Tristan da Cunha, at the extreme South.

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ORDER VII.--SPHENISCIFORMES.

F. 26. SPHENISCIDAE (3), PENGUINS, 17 sp.--11(7)A., 6(1)E., 9(4)Nl.

1 5

=32 Crested Penguin= (Tufted, Jackass, Victoria), _Penguinus (Catarrhactes) chrysocome_, Southern Ocean (circumpolar), V., T., N.Z.

Occ. r. _coasts_ 27

Wing a paddle; upper black; under silvery-white; crest yellow; f., yellow crest feathers shorter. Sea-animals.

2 3

=33 Little Penguin= (Little Blue), _Eudyptula minor_, N.S.W., V., S.A., T., N.Z.

Stat. c. _coasts_ 18

Upper light-blue; under glistening-white; wing a paddle; f., sim. Sea-animals, plants.

=34 Fairy Penguin=, _E. undina_, V., T., N.Z.

Stat. c. _coast_ 13.5

Like 33, but smaller.

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Order VIII. includes the true ocean birds--those wanderers seen far from any land by ocean travellers. Indeed, many of them do not go near land except to breed. Then they usually repair to small lonely islands often with bold precipitous shores.

Ocean birds are readily divisible into four families. The first is made up of the 25 Storm-Petrels; the second of the 75 Petrels, Shearwaters, Fulmars, and Dove-Petrels; the third family comprises only the three small southern Diving-Petrels; while the fourth contains the nineteen noble Albatrosses.

Though Storm-Petrels and Petrels of various kinds may be seen in the Northern Hemisphere, yet the Southern Hemisphere, with its enormous expanse of water, is the headquarters of these birds.

The dainty, tiny Storm-Petrels, fearlessly tripping over the mountain billows in times of great danger to the sailor, were considered birds of ill-omen. Their peculiar flight possibly helped this idea. Gould closely studied them and other ocean birds during his voyages on sailing ships. He describes them as "fluttering over the glassy surface of the ocean during calms with an easy butterfly-like motion of the wings, and buffeting and breasting with equal vigor the crests of the loftiest waves of the storm; at one moment descending into their deep troughs, and, at the next, rising with the utmost alertness to their highest point, apparently from an impulse communicated as much by striking the surface of the water with its webbed feet as by the action of the wings."

This habit of "walking" on the sea is said to be responsible for the name "Petrel," which is associated with Saint Peter, who, of old, walked on the waters. Sailors call them Mother Carey's Chickens.

The largest Australian Storm-Petrel is the Whitefaced Storm-Petrel, whose scientific name, _Pelagodroma_, means "open sea wanderer." It has been recorded even from the North Atlantic and Britain. Many thousands of these birds still nest on Mud Island, a sandbank just inside Port Phillip Heads. The presence there of a true ocean wanderer is a valuable piece of evidence to support the geographer in his claim that Port Phillip Bay once had a wide opening, which has been almost closed by the drift of sand across its mouth. The Storm-Petrels have probably nested there for many, many centuries. Long may they continue to do so! They hurt no one, and they are a feature of interest to all interested in the flora and fauna of Australia, and to natural history students and Nature-lovers in general.

The Shackleton expedition met the Wilson (Yellow-webbed) Storm-Petrel, in considerable numbers, far south. Two specimens were presented by Lieutenant Shackleton to the National Museum, Melbourne. However, recently our Museum received, through the agency of two schoolboys, a specimen that is valued even more highly, for it is Australian.

The boys, on their way to the Marshaltown State School (Mr. H. B. Williamson, H.T.), found a bird near a fence about nine miles inland. It had evidently been killed by flying into the fence in the dark. Using the _Bird-List_, the boys discovered that it was a Yellow-webbed Storm-Petrel, a truly pelagic bird, as its name, _Oceanites oceanicus_ indicates. Mr. Williamson, to show that the _List_ was of assistance, even to boys, in identifying birds they had never heard of before, left the bird at the Continuation School, Geelong. Here it was recognized as a valuable specimen, and was at once sent to Mr. Kershaw, curator of the National Museum. It is now in the Australian collection.

The true Petrels are very numerous in kinds and individuals. Darwin thought that the most numerous of birds was a Petrel. One of great interest is the "Mutton-Bird," or Short-tailed Petrel. This romantic bird breeds by the million on Cape Woolamai and other places about Bass Strait.

Just as the mallee farmer is dependent on his annual wheat harvest, so the remarkable colony of people living on Cape Barren Island is entirely dependent on the annual Mutton-Bird harvest. They claim to take about a million and a half birds each year. The number is probably much exaggerated, for Littler, in his valuable _Birds of Tasmania_, gives the number as 555,000 for 1909, valued at about L4000. Bass and Flinders were glad to replenish their stores with young Mutton-Birds. Flinders calculated that one flock of these birds he met in Bass Strait contained 132,000,000 birds. They lay but one egg, so one would expect the Petrel to be long-lived. We found a closely-similar bird nesting on Mast Head Island, Capricorn Group.

The three southern Diving Petrels, forming the next family, are much smaller than the common Petrels. They are expert divers, and are found mainly in the far South.

The mighty Albatross, with its enormous wing-span of possibly up to 14 feet, is also largely a southern bird. That this bird has spread to the North Pacific Ocean, but has not yet penetrated any distance into the Atlantic, is another piece of evidence as to the age of these two oceans. The Pacific Ocean is a very ancient depression, while the Atlantic is much younger, and has been formed since the lands which border its shores. The Black-browed Albatross, however, was once seen in England. Probably this bird might have been carried north on board ship, and then set free again. Fossil bones of Albatrosses have been found in France and England. Their remarkable power of wheeling round and round a vessel, with no perceptible movement of the wing, has excited much interest and controversy.

Mr. Froude, in his _Oceana_, has given a vivid description of this flight. The Albatross "wheels in circles round and round and for ever round the ship--now far behind, now sweeping past in a long, rapid curve, like a perfect skater on an untouched field of ice. There is no effort; watch as closely as you will, you rarely or never see a stroke of the mighty pinion. The flight is generally near the water, often close to it. You lose sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow between the waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest; but how he rises, and whence comes the propelling force, are to the eye inexplicable; he alters merely the angle at which the wings are inclined...."

Gould considered that many of these birds circumnavigate the globe many times. They follow ships for days together.

Albatrosses are sometimes caught by those on board ship. One means of protection employed by these birds is to discharge a considerable quantity of oily matter at an intruder. This has led sailors to declare that the bird is "seasick." Some claim that this is not done for protection, but is due to fright.

The members of the Australasian Ornithologists' Union, when on a trip in the _Manawatu_ to the Bass Strait Islands found it tantalizing to see the beautiful Shy Albatrosses sitting on their nests on the precipitous granite Albatross Rock, and be unable to land owing to the rough sea that was running. We waited a second and a third day, in the shelter of Chimney Corner, Three Hummocks Island, but finally had to depart with but a distant acquaintance with this fine bird. When they return to nest the succeeding year, the parents drive last year's brood off the island. Does the young live on its fat all through the cold, rough winter, or do the parents return at intervals to feed it? Some recent records by a French party on one of these lonely nesting islands show that in some cases, at least, the parents do feed the young at night during their long wait. The sitting bird is fed by her mate. He opens his mouth, and she inserts her bill, and chooses a dainty for herself.

_A Monograph of the Petrels_, by F. Du Cane Godman, F.R.S., Pres. British Ornithologists' Union, was consulted for Order VIII.

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ORDER VIII.--PROCELLARIIFORMES, TUBINARES, TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS.

F. 27. PROCELLARIIDAE (5), STORM-PETRELS, MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS, 25 sp--10(3)A., 2(0)O., 10(0)P., 7(0)E., 13(4)Nc., 13(3)Nl.

2 3

=35 Wilson Storm-Petrel= (Yellow-webbed, Flat-clawed), _Oceanites oceanica_, S. Polar regions N. to British Is. (acc), Labrador (acc.), India, A., N.Z.

c. _ocean_ 6.8

Blackish; base tail above below white; legs black; webs yellow; f., sim. Shellfish, small fish, greasy.

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=36 Gray-backed Storm-Petrel=, _O. (Garrodia) nereis_, S. Oceans, A., T., N.Z.

r. _ocean_ 6.7

Sooty; abdomen, under base tail whitish; bill, feet black; f., sim. Oily substances, shellfish.

1 1

=37 White-breasted Storm-Petrel= (White-faced), Frigate Petrel, Mother Carey's Chicken, _Pelagodroma marina_, S. Oceans, N. to Canary Is., U.S. (acc.)

c. Mud. Is. _ocean_ 8

Upper brownish-gray; crown, line under eye, edge of wing, tail black; under, face, throat, line above eye white; bill, feet black; webs yellow; f., sim. Shellfish, oily matters.

2 4

=38 Black-bellied Storm-Petrel=, _Cymodroma (Fregetta) melanogaster_, S. Oceans, to N. Atl., A., T.

r. _ocean_ 7.5

Sooty-black; under base tail, flanks white; bill, feet black; f., sim. Sea-animals, oily.

=39 White-bellied Storm-Petrel=, _C. grallaria_, S. Oceans to B. of Bengal, Atl. to Cancer, Florida (acc).

r. _ocean_ 7.2

Upper, neck, chest black; under, rump white; bill, feet black; f., sim. Sea-animals, oily.

F. 28. PUFFINIDAE (29), PETRELS, Shearwaters, Fulmars, Prions, 75 sp.--47(16)A., 7(0)O., 24(0)P., 30(2)E., 22(4)Nc., 37(7)Nl.

7 25