VOL. 8 (2) JUNE, 1979 Birds of Great Glennie 47

are neatly constructed of grass and bark and cosil y lined. For successful observation it is necessary to move about quietly in their haunts of low mallee growth or scrubland in forest, as both species spend most of their time under cover. But, sometimes they move into clearings with great rapidity and with mouse-like bounds disappear into some near cover. Singing Both birds are fine songsters. At any time of the day and particularly about sundown, one bird will suddenly break into song and is quickly followed by others till one is surrounded by a wealth of so ng. The chorus stops as suddenly as it started. The song of H. pyrrhopygia is stronger and the bird is a fine mimic and ventriloquist, but at times H. cauta sounds like the Red-rumped Thornbill. The singing is done from a perch raised above the scrub and a fin e mild day is preferred to a windy one. In both species the song is melodious and sweet and to me is more pleasing than the efforts of better known song birds. Conclusion Perhaps it was due to their elusiveness that made me accept the chal­ lenge of learning more of their intriguing behaviour in their separate habitats - the artistry of neat camouflage, the excellence of their singing and their nomadic wandering in search of food, such as, insects, moths, grubs and beetles. After studying these two interesting species in the field for nearly forty years, I am completely satisfied that there are two species of Hylacola in the Bendigo district. This opinion is confirmed by two prominent ornithologists, R . J. Eddy (Aust. Bird Watcher, 'Heath Wrens in Central ', 1959, Vol. 1. No. 2), and H. V. Milne (Emu, Vol. 36. p.l31) . ABW

THE BIRDS OF GREAT GLENNIE ISLAND, By JOHN WAINER and PETER DANN, Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052. Introduction The Glennie Group of (39° 06' S.; 146° 14 ' E.) lies 7 km W. of Oberon Point, Wilson's Promontory, Victoria. All four islands of the group have areas greater than 30 hectares; Glennie Island is the largest at 66 hectares. The only published list of birds of Glennie Island is that of Dorward (in Abbott, 1974) which recorded breeding populations of 12 species. This report summarises observations during 10 visi ts to the island during 1975, 1978 and 1979. Visits were made in all months except June, August and October. The parent material of Glennie Island is a grey, coarse-grained granite which is locally quite weathered with the development of coarse, sandy and often humus-rich soil. The vegetation is a m osaic of grassland, closed­ heath and low-open scrub, and has been classified into seven different floristic groups (Gullan & Robinson, in prep.). The island shows very little evidence of human interference. Nomenclatural terminology follows that established by Schodde, et al. (1978) . AUSTRALIAN 48 WAINER & DANN BIRD WATCHER

Little Penguin Very common; breeding resident; birds banded in May 1975 have been recorded in the same area in September 1978 and January 1979; several hundred on the island. Black-browed Albatross Occasional; seen from boat between island and mainland. Yellow-nosed Albatross As above. Shy Albatross As above; one beach-washed specimen in July 1978. Southern Giant-petrel Rare; one beach-washed specimen in July 1978. Southern Fulmar Rare; a few seen from boat between island and mainland in July 1978. Fairy Prion Rare; one beach-washed specimen in January 1979. Short-tailed Shearwater Very common; breeds on the island; a recent estimate of the number of burrows on the island is 400,000 (R. Brown, pers. comm., November 1978). Australian Gannet Occasional; seen from boat between island and mainland; one beach­ washed specimen in February 1979. Black-faced Shag Occasional. Little Pied Cormorant Occasional. White-faced Heron Occasional; up to four individuals seen at any one time. Cape Barren Goose Common; breeding resident; two separate counts in May 1975 recorded 39 and 47 individuals; there were 13 pairs on the island; 30 feeding birds were seen in April 1978; a count in December 1978 recorded 73 birds (R. Brown, pers. comm.). Accipiter sp. Uncommon. White-bellied Sea-eagle One pair; breeding resident. Wedge-tailed Eagle Occasional. Marsh Harrier Rare; seen once in November 1978. Peregrine Falcon One pair; often seen. Brown Falcon Uncommon Australian Kestrel Occasional. Sooty Oystercatcher Common; one resident breeding pair seen tending an egg in November 1978; the largest group seen was of nine birds in N ovember 1978. Silver Gull VOL 8 (2) JUNE, 1979 Birds of Great Glennie Island 49

Common; breeding resident; eggs and chicks seen in November 1978. Pacific Gull Very common; breeding resident; up to 100 birds seen in March 1979. Crimson Rosella Rare; one pair of young birds seen in March 1979. Barn Owl Uncommon; one pair seen in September 1975; one beach-washed speci­ men in May 1975. White-throated Needletail Rare; a few seen in December 1978. Welcome Swallow Common; breeding resident; up to four birds seen at one time. Richard's Pipit Rare; one seen in May 1975. Blackbird Very common; breeding resident. Flame Robin Seasonally common; seen in May 1975, April and September 1978; largest numbers in April. Olive Whistler Very common; breeding resident; nest with eggs seen in November 1978. Grey Fantail Seasonally common; seen in September 1975, April 1978 and March 1979. Silvereye Very common; breeding resident; nest with eggs seen in December 1978. Common Starling Rare; one individual seen in May 1975. Forest Raven Common; a group of eight birds often seen fl ying. Discussion This report records 35 species of birds on or near Glennie Island. In addition, Dorward (in Abbott, 1974) has recorded the Crested Tern Sterna bergii and Hill (1970) the Leaden Flycatcher M yiagra rubecula, bringing the total to 37 species. Only one introduced bird, the Blackbird, has established a breeding population on the island, and is probably the most abundant resident passerine. This species has colonised many of the Bass Strait islands, e.g. (Abbott, 1974), (Morton & Braithwaite, 1976) and Rondondo Island (Chisholm, 1964). We have not recorded the F orest Raven nesting on the island but Dorward (in Abbott, 1974) and Hill (1 970) have verified it as a breeding resident. Thus there are fire breeding passerines on Glennie Island: Welcome Swallow, Blackbird, Olive Whistler, Silvereye and Forest Raven. Dorward (in Abbott, 1974), who has visited the island on many occasions, recorded the Crested Tern breeding on the island, and Hill (1970) in a narrative of a short visit, noted a breeding pair of Peregrine Falcons. Therefore, nine non-passerine species are known to breed on the island. Although it has been suggested that the Flame R obin is not a trans­ Bassian migrant (Cooper, 1970; 1975), tihs species and the Grey F antail were recorded only in autumn and spring, lending support to the idea AUSTRALIAN 50 WAINER & DANN BIRD WATGHER that these birds move from to the mainland in autumn, and return in spring (e.g. Officer, 1969; Slater, 1974). The timing of our records is similar to that of Morton & Braithwaite (1976) who recorded large and fluctuating numbers of both species on Hogan Island in April, and Brothers (1978) who reported Grey Fantails on in the in October, and on Black Pyramid, western Bass Strait, in March. Acknowledgements The National P arks Service is acknowledged for kindly granting us permission to undertake a mammal trapping programme, during which time these observations were made. We also thank Dr. Angus Martin for his helpful comments on the manuscript. References Abbott, I., 1974. Natural history of Curtis Island. 5. Birds, with notes on mammal trapping. Pap. Proc. R oy. Soc. Tasm. 107: 17 1-LL Brothers, N ., 1978. Is the Grey Fantail a trans-Bassian migrant? Emu 78: 163-4. Chisholm, A. H., 1964. Comments on Rodondo birds. Viet. Nat. 64: 20. Cooper, R. P., 1970. T he Flame Robin on Wilson's Promontory. A ust. Bird W at. 3: 227-35. Cooper, R. P ., 1975. "Wilson's Promontory National Park and its A vi fauna". Melbourne: Bird Observers Club. 168 pp. G illham, M. E ., 1961. Plants and seabirds of granite islands in south-east Victoria. Proc. Roy. Soc. Viet. 74: 21-35. Gillham, M . E ., 1962. Granite islands of south-east Victoria as a seabird habitat. Proc. R oy. Soc. Viet. 75: 45-63. Gullan, P. K. & Robinson, A. C., (in prep.) . Floristic classifications as indicators of the preferred habitats of Rattus fuscipes Waterhouse (Rodentia : M u ridae) and Antechinus spp. (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) . Hill, R., 1970. "The Corner: A Naturalist's Journey in South-Eastern ". Melbourne: Lansdowne Press. 181 pp. Morton, S. R . & Bra ithwaite, R . W., 1976. The birds of Hogan Island, Bass Strait. Aust. Bird W at. 6: 139-42. Officer, H. R., 1969. "Australian Flycatchers and their Allies" . Melbourne: Bird Observers Club. 111 pp. Schodde, F., Glover, B., Kinsky, F . C., Marchant, S., McGill, A. R. & Parker, S. A., 1978. Recommended E nglish names for Australian birds. Emu 77: 245-313 (Supplement) . Slater, P., 1974. "A Field Guide to Australian Birds. Passerines". Rigby L imited. 309 pp. ABW