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Show 1877.] NORTH-EASTERN QUEENSLAND. 341 228. ARDEA SUMATRANA. Ardea sumatrana, Gould, Handbk. B. Austr. ii. p. 296. I met with this species on several of the rivers and estuaries from Moreton Bay to Rockingham Bay; I noticed several of them in Wide Bay, have received specimens from Cleveland Bay, and also observed them at the mouth of the Fitzroy river and on the Herbert river. I am indebted to my friend the late Charles Coxen, Esq., of Brisbane, for a fine specimen, shot on the Brisbane river; and I have observed them as far south as the Clarence river, where the late Mr. John Macgillivray obtained a specimen. This species is always difficult to obtain, frequenting the extensive mud-flats, where it is impossible to walk, and seldom coming within shot from the shore. A pair were observed, accompanied by two young, well able to fly, in the month of December, showing that this species breeds early in the year. 229. ARDEA PACIFICA. Ardea pacifica, Gould, Handbk. B. Austr. ii. p. 297. Found (by no means rare, and dispersed usually singly or in pairs) over the whole district, in the neighbourhood of rivers and swamps, also occasionally on the sea-shore mud-flats. They were not difficult to approach ; and numerous examples might have been obtained. This species appears to be distributed over the whole of the northeastern, eastern, and southern portions of Australia; it is common in the Hunter district in New South Wales, and occasionally still found on the Paramatta river near Sydney, but more plentiful further south. 230. ARDEA NOVA HOLLANDIA. Ardea novee-hollandice, Gould, Handbk. B. Austr. ii. p. 299. Common everywhere along the coast as far north as Cardwell, and extending a considerable distance inland. The eggs are two in number, of a light bluish green colour; the nest is a rough structure of sticks, built-in the larger forked branches of trees, often at a considerable distance from water. 231. HERODIAS ALBA. Herodias alba, Gould, Handbk. B. Austr. ii. p. 301. This is the common White Crane of New South Wales, and is found plentiful on the Hunter river, and sometimes on the shores of Port Jackson, but more plentiful to the north. I found it numerous in Wide Bay and Moreton Bay; and many were met with on the mud-flats at the mouths of the various rivers and creeks as far north as Cooktown. Its range extends to Cape York and New Guinea. I have always found them solitary or in pairs. 232. HERODIAS EGRETTOIDES. Herodias egrettoides, Gould, Handbk. B. Austr. ii. p. 303. This species is widely dispersed along the shores of Australia, and |