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DF.CEM BER 15. 1960 C@B AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE ' VoL. XllL No. 8 Price- TWO SH ILLlNGS . I A Wandering A lba tross off T hirro ul, New South W~• l e s . Wandering Albatrosses banded near Thirroul have been recaptured as far a ~va y ~.~ . t h e ~o ut h ern ~ Indi a~. Ocean a nd the southern tip of South A m erica. (Sec a rtaclc. I he Utrds of Sydney , on pa~e 24 t.) * THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM HYD E PARK, SYDNEY BOARD OF TR USTE E S t> IU~ SID ENT: F. B. SP E CER GROWN TRUSTEE: F . B. SP c CER OFFJGIA L Tt~ USTEES: TH E HO ·. T H E C HIEF JUSTICE. THE HO . THE PRESIDEN r O F T H E LEGISLATI VE CO U C IL. 'I H E HO . T H E CH IEF SECR ETA RY . TH E HON. THE ATf O R EY-GEt--E RAL. T H E H ON. TH E TR EASUR ER. T HE J-101\:. T H E M l IS f E R FOR PUBLIC WORKS. TH I::. HO N. T H E M INIST ER FOR EDUCATION. TH E AUDITOR-GE ERA L. TH E PRESIDE T OF T H E NEW SOUTH WALES ME DICAL BOA RD. THE SURVEYOR-G EI':ERA L A N D C H IE F S U RV EYO R. T H E CROWN SOLIC ITO R . ELECTIVE TRUSTEES: 0 . G. VtCKERY. B.E., M.I. E. (Aust.). F I ~ A K W . .HI LL. PROF. A. P. ELK IN. M.A., Ph.D. G. A. JOH SON. F. McDOWE LL PROF. J . R. A. Mc M ILLA '· M.S .. D .Sc.Agr. R. J. NOBLE. C.S.E .. B.Sc.Agr., M.Sc.. P h.O. E. A . J . H YDE. E. J. KEN Y, M.Aust. I. M.M. PROF. R . L CROCKER, D .Sc. F. L. S. BELL. M.A .. F.R.A.I. J . W. GOODSEL L. C.M.G. DIRECTOR: J. W . EVANS. Sc. D. DEPUTY DIRECTOR: H . 0 . FLETC HER. M .Sc. SCIENTI FIC STAF F: 13i rd. Reptiles and Amphibian ·: J . A. KEAST. M .A .. M.Sc .. Ph . D .. Curator : H . G . COGGER. H.Sc. ~ G e n.::i c . ) . AssJstanl Curator. Mammals: B. J. MARLOW, B.Sc., F.Z.S.. Curato r. Fishes: G. P. WHITLEY, F.R.Z.S., Curator. Insects an:! Arachmds: C. N. SMlt HERS. M .Sc .. Cura ior : D. K . McA LPI E. M.Sc .. Assistant Cu ra tor. Molluscs: D. F. McMICHAEL, M.A .. P h.D .. Curator. Crustacea and Coelenterate.,: F. A . Me EJLL. F.R.Z.S .. C ura to r. Worms and Echinoderms: ELI ZABETH C . POP E, M.Sc .. Cu rator. Minerals and Rocks : R. 0 . CH ALM I::: RS. A.S.T.C.. C :1rator. Fossils: H. 0 . PLETCHE R. M.Sc .. Curator. Anthropology: F. D. McCARTh Y. Dip.Anthrop .. Cura tor. EDIITORJAL ASS.ISTANT AND PUBLIC EDUCATION OF FICER : RELATIONS OFFICER : PAT RIC IA M. Mc OONALD. B.Sc .. Dip.Ed. PETER COLLIS. EXHIBITION DEPARTMENT. ART AN D DESIGN SEC TION: F . J . BEE MA . LIBRARIAN : PRE t• A RATION SEC'HON: PHOTOG r~ A PH E K AND MARY DAVIES, B.Sc.. L.A.A. R. D . MACKA Y. VISUAL A IDS OFFICER : H . H UG HES. A.R.P.S. HONORARY SCI ENTIF IC ST A F F : Zoo l u~: is c s. E. A. BR IGGS, D.Sc. JOYCE ALLAN. F.R.Z.S. H. LEIGHTON KEST EVEN, D.Sc., M.D. S. J . COP LA D . .M .Sl·. MELBO URNE WARD. F.R.Z.S .. F.Z.S. l:. LLIS TRO UGH TON. C.M .Z.S. 1 OM IREDALE. A . A. RACEK. Dr.rcr.n:ll. CBrno). A. J . MARSII ALL, D.Sc.. D.Phil. Ornlthologlsr. a •h il ate li ~ l . K. A. H IN DWOOD. C.F.A.O.U .. F.R.Z.S. F RA ' K W . 1111 1.. This issue is devoted to the natural history of the Sydney a.rea. CONTENTS Page THE BIRDS CF SYD~EY-K . A. Hindwood .. 2-H THE MA~1~1ALS OF THE Svo EY DTS TRJCT- B. J. Marlow . 246 SNAKES, L IZARDS A o CHELO lANS-Harold G. Cogger 250 f OSSILS OF THE SYD , EY DISTRICT-H. 0. Fletcher 254 CotouRFUL P LA T LIFE o SANDSTO EA D SHALE-R . Carotin .. 258 THE GEOLOGY OF THE SYDNEY D1STRICT-W. R . Browne .. 252 SYDNEY: T OPOGRAPHY AND SETTLEMENT-Gri{fith Taylor .. 266 RICH AN D VARIED I SECT FAU A-David K. McAlpine 270 -- - ~---- • The photo of a Wandering Albatross ( D iomPdea e:wlam ) 0111 our from cover wa taken by Mr. J. D. Gibson. who is tudying and bandin~ the e bird off Thirroul. ew South Wale . Wadn enng · Albatrosses are the larg~ s t of all sea-bird . having an a erage wing- pan of 10ft. VOL. XIII, No. 8. DECEMBER 15, 1960. NEW BOOKS THE WILD NORTH by Ion L. ldriess Yarns about gold and pearls, of land and cattle, of untamed men and women, and the search for wealth in dangerous and lonely places. These were the author's happy wandering years in our Far North. Illustrated. 22/ 6 (post 1/ 3) THE IRISHMAN by Elizabeth O'Conner A grand new novel by the author of Steak For Breakfast, about one of the wildest, warmest-hearted teamsters in the whole of the North Australian cattle country. Eleanor Dark says: " Without elaborate analysis, she creates real people, and without overmuch description, she shows a v ivid and authentic scene. The perception, tolerance and humour with which she tells her story and reveals her characters make this a book which is ofte n moving, but never sentimental." 22/ 6 (post 1/ 3) HALFWAY TO HEAVEN by Fred Hoinville Breathtaking aerobatics, skywriting, cross-country gliding- all the drama and exhilaration of fli ght are contained in this book by a great Australian flyer. Illustrated. 27/ 6 (post 1/ 8) RIDE THE VOLCANO by Peter Pinney A great adventure novel set in the colourful, stormy Caribbean, by the author of Dust On My Shoes. 18/ 9 (post l / 3) THE LONG DREAM by Richard Wright A powerful and memorable novel of a Negro boy growing up in the Deep South-a world th at denied him all his rights as a human being. 22/ 6 (post 1/ 3) ROMANCE OF THE LYREBIRD by Alec H . Chisholm Australia's best-known writer about birds gives the first complete study of a rather remarkable feathered friend . Illustrated. 27/ 6 (post 1/ 3) At all booksellers ANGUS & ROBERTSON (PUBLISHERS) P1,Y LTD - Page 240 T fte A ustralion Museum Magtdlll' THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE Published Quarterly by the Australian Museum College Street, Sydney Editor: J. W. Evans, Sc.D. Annual Subscription, Posted, 10/- VOLU ME XIII, NUMBER 8. DECEMBER 15 , 1960. The Birds of Sydney By K. A. illNDWOOD Pa~t-p residen t of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union fROM the point of view of bird-students, there include the Catbird, Ye11ow-throated the Sydney district is usually regarded Scrub-wren, Large-billed Scrub-wren, Brown a the County of Cumberland, a n area of Warbler, Rufous Fantail and Black-faced 1.650 quare miles la rgely enclosed by the Flycatcher. Some of these birds, being Hawkesbury-Nepean Rive r system with the either migratory or nomadic, may be ob Pacific Ocean on its eastern boundary. served in other habitats in the non-breeding Two ma in geological formations occur season. within the county; they a re the H awkesbury andstonc series and the Wia namatta shales. 400 Species In Sydney Area (\ thi rd formation. of lesser extent though A lmost 400 species of birds have been 1m~ortant ornithologically, is the Narrabeen recorded from near Sydney. Quite a num enes, consisting largely of chocolate shales. ber, of course. arc merely stragglers from Each of the three types of country supports other parts of the continent and are seldom characteri stic vegetation, which in turn recorded ; others are rare migrants from attracts certain birds not fo und in the other places beyond Australia. Some, such as di visi?ns. However, there a re ma ny birds, the Emu, the Ground Parrot and the Bristle e pectally forest-frequenting species, that bird, no longer occur close to the metr<? range throughout the county. polis. Yet it is still possible for an expen ln the rugged sandstone to the no rth and enced observer to record 100 kinds in a ou.th of Syd ney may be found the L yrebird, single day and. perhaps, 200 within a year. Satm Bower-bird, Rock Wa rbler. H eath Altogether, some 200 native species are wren. Variegated Wren and Spotted Quai l known to have bred in the Sydney district. thrush. The undulating shale country to ln addition, some 15 introduced birds, in the west of Sydney harbours such species as cluding the Starli ng, House Sparrow, Gold the Speckled Warbler, Red-capped Robin, finch , Spice Finch, Bul-buJ, Myna, Turtle Hooded Robin. Chough and Brown Tree dove and Skylark, also breed and, for the freepe r. Rain-forest or jungle vegetation is most part, nourish in the county. Such a ~rge l y associated with the Narrabeen or wealth of bird-life is based partly on the c ocolate shale and the rich soils of da mp geographi cal position of Sydney, but more s~ e lt e r ?d gu llies.