The March of Civilization.— In the July number of The Emu you published some of my notes under the heading of "A Collector's Paradise." It is with sorrow I tell you that this paradise is no more, for that fine swamp, in which so many rare water-fowl (including Erismatura australis) have been breeding for hundreds of years, is now dry, having been reclaimed by the Government, cut up into blocks, and leased out, so that in less than 12 months all this has come to pass—and more, for bordering this one-time swamp were sand-hills with native pine and box, the breeding haunts of so many native birds. These fine scrubs have fallen before the settler's axe, for, being close to the reclaimed selections, the wood was utilized for building houses and for firewood, &c. Sad to say, in many places where a fine forest of pine stood less than 12 months ago, and where I admired so many birds, especially several of the Robin family, in their native haunts, the destruction has been so terrible that they are immense sand-drifts now. I shudder to think of what the end will be, for this is but one of the swamps on the reaches of the Murray River, and these swamps, the home and breeding-place of thousands of water-fowl for generations, will be dried up one after another. Where, I ask, will our poor birds go?—(Capt.) S. A. White. Wetunga (S.A.), 5/9/09.
***
Western Australian Birds.—At the last annual(Adelaide) session Mr. H. L. White exhibited a parcel of skins collected by Mr. F. L. Whitlock in the neighbourhood of Lake Way. The collection, which included Amytis gigantura, Cinclosonia marginatum, Acanthiza robustirostris, Stipiturus ruficeps, &c., and other interior forms, was as a whole extremely striking, by reason of the bright colouring of many of the species, resembling more the richness of sub-tropical forms than the paler appearance of usual desert species. This was particularly noticeable in Malurus splcndens, which was smaller in size and more intense in colour than the south-western coastal bird; and in M. leuconotus, being generally of a brighter blue, also darker (brown) wings, compared with the eastern bird of the same species, while examples of Peltohyas (Eudromias) australis were smaller and of a richer red (buff) compared, say, with examples found in Riverina, N.S.W. Possibly Mr. Mathews, in his forthcoming work, will find it expedient to make tivo races of this interesting bird. The collection also contained an albino variety of Acanthiza rohistirostris. An account of the collection, with full field notes by the collector, will appear in a later issue of The Emu. Mr. White first had the collection submitted to Mr. A. J. North, of the Australian Museum, who detected and detained two new species—one, Acanthiza whitlocki, mentioned on page 173, and the other a Honey-eater, for which Mr. North has founded a
