better chance of surviving. Two of the birds shot were fledglings. I saw another adult bird entering a hollow in a salmon gum with food in its mouth, evidently for its young.
One of the novelties obtained during the expedition was that of the Western form of Ptilotis leucotis. The first specimen was shot by a member of the party on the Hills, and at first sight I pronounced it, but with reservation, to be Ptilotis leucotis, although it appeared to be much smaller and not so brightly coloured as the Eastern form. Subsequent comparison showed distinct modifications in structure and colour disposition, hence I intend to separate it from P. leucotis. At a later date I shot a young bird in some sparse timber in one of the deep gullies in the Hills. Shortly afterwards I shot, near the same spot, an adult bird, evidently the parent bird of the former. At the time I was surprised to see it running agilely up the trunk of a tree, extracting, as it ran, insects from the bark crevices. Its pace was quite as quick as that of a Tree-creeper, but instead of ascending spirally, after the manner of that bird, it ran vertically up the face of the trunk.
Afterwards we secured many more specimens, including fledglings. Objection may be taken to my elevating the new bird to the rank of species. The scientific name I appropriate for the new bird is Ptilotis novæ-norciæ; the vernacular one the Western White-eared Honey-eater. The specific description is as follows:—Similar to Ptilotis leucotis except that the hindneck, mantle, and back are greyish-olive, not rich yellowish-olive, and that the remainder of the plumage is not so brightly coloured. The black colour, also, is confined to the throat, sides of the head, and cheeks. The white cheek-stripes are very narrow, and not so conspicuous. The secondaries are brown, without olive wash of the tail; the upper pair of feathers are blackish-brown, without similar, wash, and the remainder of tail feathers are almost black as to one longitudinal section, as in P. leucotis. Iris dark brown; bill black; legs and feet greyish-black. Total length, 6.5 inches; wing, 3.5; tarsus, 0.8; culmen, 0.5. Type, Western Australian Museum, Perth.
Notes from Guildford, W.A.
By H. E. Hill.
On first seeing this district, with two rivers—the Helena and the Swan—innumerable swamps, and the Darling Ranges (granite) close by, I expected to find a large number and variety of birds. This expectation, however, was doomed to disappointment, as birds of all kinds were scarce except in a few favoured patches. It is hard to say why this should be so, but it is certainly not due to any scarcity of food.
As I was not often able to get out into the field, my notes are of the briefest. A complete list might include about 120
