78 Fig. Ia. Adult Male of Psophodes Nigrogularis Leucogaster

78 THE S.A. OR.."l"ITHOLOGIST Fig. I-a. Adult male of Psophodes nigrogularis leucogaster; b. Ps.n. (?) nigrogularis, male from Gnowangerup, W.A. (note: black margins to malar stripe); c, d. Ps.n. pondalowiensis (note: light edgings to tips of flight feathers) . THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 79 T·RE WESTERN.WHIPBIRD Preliminary notes on the discovery of a new subspecies on southern Yorke Peninsula; South Australia BY H. T. CONDON, SOUTH AU~TRAI-;IAN.Mp'SEUM. This is a preliminary account of the examined specimens of Psophodes nigro hitherto unsuspected occurrence of the gularis taken in the Murray Mallee many Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) .year~· ago. in a small, coastal .strip of little disturbed True to form). the writer .was at first scep sandhill country in the vicinity of.Pondalowie tical, . but MI'. Chapman was insistent and Bay, southern Yorke Peninsula, South it was decided to pay a visit to the area at Australia. the first opportunity, Mr. M. H. Waterman Without doubt, much remains to be was jnvited to accompany the party, -which discovered and written about this most included Mr. Chapman and the wife and fascinating of Australian birds, which many son of the writer, . Mr. Watt<rma.n.J:>rqught thought was extinctin this State. along his band of junior helpers.and the The locality is new and there is evidence search for thebirds commenced 'before dawn that, as might 'be expected, the birds differ on the morning: of October 30. In our from those members of the species that occur search we were aided greatly by the loud in parts of South-western Australia and one and regular cries of the birds, which <ian be fairly small area in the Murray Mallee of heard for.a considerable distance. South Australia and North-western Victoria; Now it must be mentioned that our first these differences are described and compared suspicions of the presence of a strange species below. in the Pondalowie Bay area were aroused Strangely enough, the birds appear to be following a report by Mr. Brian. Glover that fairly numerous around Pondalowie Bay and, on January 31, 19651 he heard most unusual although skulking in their movements, they calls coming from the coastal sand .dunes. betray their presence by various loud and The matter was discussed by members of the not unmusical calls quite unlike those of any Ornithological Association and it was resolved other passerine.. For these, and other reasons, that at the annual camp of that body; which it seems incredible' that the whipbirds were was to be held in the area later in the year, not noticed long ago by a number of a look-out would be kept for the mystery ornithologists" who have visited the district. birds. Members attending the camp heard whip HOW THE BIRDS WEltE DISCOVERED birds calling. soon after their arrival. on . th~ first person to ~ee and make a tentative October 8, but despite strenuous efforts they identification of'the species was Mr. Frank had to leave the area without getting more R. B;. Chapman. He arrived at his con than glimpses of the birds during their entire elusions, after much painstaking observation four day visit. On this occasion, Mr. and stalking; during the annual camp of the Chapman, who was more fortunate than his South Australian Ornithological Association companions, as related 'above" spotted an on October 9, 1965. A few days later, he individual in a bush at a distance of about visitrd, the Scuth Australian Museum and 30' feet. One of our keenest members, Mrs. M. Daley, stayed behind following' the departure of the main body of members and she was successful in obtaining a tape recording of calls that resembled the regular -whipbird song and were given by a bird concealed in the bushes about 10 to 15 feet away from her. ' 80 THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST Mrs. Daley's recording was played to Shearer, were present on November 20th and various members. Mr. F. E. Parsons, who 21st at the site of the October camp, when has had experience with the Western Whip birds were seen and heard. During a brief bird in the Murray Mallee was unable to visit during the third week in December no make a positive identification. In a subse birds were heard singing by Mr. Chapman. quent discussion with the writer, Mr. Parsons Mr. Glover visited the district during the stated 'that it was nearly 30 years since he last days of the year 1965 and the first week had heard the whipbird's call and he was of of January, 1966, when birds were heard the opinion that the tape recording probably calling on the tops of the sand dunes but differed from the notes as he remembered none was observed. them. The writer, accompanied by D. Condon, At first, members of the investigating visited the area on January 20, when birds party were inclined to liken the calls to were seen along the West Cape road. one . of those of the Rufous Songlark (Cinclorhamphus mathewsi) though it was THE LOCAIJTY not believed that they were of that species. Pondalowie Bay is situated near the The calls;' which came from all directions extreme south-western tip of Yorke Penin over a wide area, were uttered at regular sula. The peninsula separates the gulfs of intervals from about dawn to 10 o'clock in Spencer and St. Vincent of the South Aus the morning. tralian coastline between Long. 136" 49' A number of sightings of the birds were and 1380 7' E: It has an average elevation obtained in the sand dunes and adjacent of about 400 feet, being an up-standing dry sclerophyll scrub heathland near the road fault-block of Archaean rocks running par to West Cape. allel to similar horst structures that form It was not long before an individual was Kangaroo Island and the Mt. Lofty Ranges; caught in a mist net on the slopes of a dune all are of about Pleistocene age. and, following a quick examination of our As noted by its discoverer, Captain catch, the mystery was solved: here, indeed, Matthew Flinders, Yorke Peninsula resembles was a previously unknown community of the "a very ill-shaped leg and foot." The whip Western Whipbird! birds seem to be confined to the toe of the Photographs and details of the bird were foot, in the vicinity of Lat. 350 15' S., from taken and it was agreed that it should be beyond Royston Head at Brown's beach in set free after Mr. Waterman had placed .a the north, southwards through the Ponda CSIRO band on its leg. lowie Bay-West Cape district towards Reef At this time we had no idea ofthe number Head. of birds in the area, but as time went on we The seaboard of the south-west tip of the decided that they were fairly numerous and peninsulaconsist of cliffs, up to 250 feet high, later, in the same morning, another bird was which are composed mainly of aeolianite or caught and taken as a specimen for the South aeolianite changed to kunkar, with occasional Australian Museum. outcrops of Archaean rocks (Crawford 1965). Aeolian bedding is visible on the pale SUBSEQUENT VISITS brownish cliff faces. Marine action is very The area was visited by Mr. Harold strong but the headlands are protected by Crouch on October 20, and November 20-21, the extremely durable ancient rocks at their for the purpose of making tape recordings bases. of the calls of the whipbirds. The writer, Large sheets of kunkar are present on the accompanied by Mr. David Condon, cliff tops between the regular series of white inspected a number of places around Ponda to very pale orange mobile, calcareous sand lowie Bay, from October 12-15, Mr. Chap dunes of Recent age. Most of the dunes are man returned to the district during the first less than 100 feet high in this area; further week in November and visited Section 77 north, near Daly Head, a section not yet on November 3rd and 4th. ' examined by us in detail, they are larger. A party of a dozen members of the Asso Inland, kunkar overlies most of the older ciation, including Messrs. 'Chapman, Crouch, Pleistocene covering of aeolianite and other D. Kraehenbuehl, D. McNamara and R. deposits; swales and deflated areas may be THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 81 occupied by salt and gypsum lakes or saline is little more than 80"F., and the average swamps. Patches of dense mallee scrub annual rainfall is 19-20 inches. Precipitation provide a haven for numerous mallee faunal is seasonal and greatest in July. However, types. despite fairly reliable winter rains and low About 8 miles south-west of Pondalowie run-off, there are no permanent streams, Bay is the flourishing gypsum industry of the evaporation is high, and the lakes are saline Stenhouse Bay district, where also salt is and completely dry during the hot summer. obtained by solar evaporation methods. Wood (1930) described the vegetation of Gypsum is quarried from lakes which occur the western half of the foot of Yorke Penin in a low-lying area about four miles wide sula as Mallee (Eucalyptus diversifolia asso and 6 miles long. Much of the district is ciation), a scrub-form peculiar to many of below sea-level, being barred from the sea at the semi-arid districts of southern Australia. either end by modem sand dunes. So far as known" the whipbirds are not Stenhouse Bay is the'closest settlement to regular inhabitants of this type of sclerophyll the whipbird area and Warooka, 45 miles scrub, being found only in the sand dune away, the nearest town; there are a number strip.

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