Nocturnal; crown, nape black; long white plumes from nape; upper rich chestnut; abdomen white; neck, chest reddish-chestnut; f., sim.; young mottled brown, buff. 2 10 =124 Minute Bittern=, Kaoriki, _Ardetta pusilla_, A., N.Z., =vt. Eur. Little Bittern. [~124 _Ixobrychus pusillus._] Stat. v.r. _swamps_ 10 Crown, back, tail greenish-black; under pale-buff; hind-neck, shoulder deep-chestnut; bill, feet yellow; dark line from chin to lower breast; f., smaller; upper brown streaked chestnut; tail black; under white streaked brown. Water-animals. 1 5 =125* Australian Bittern= (Black-backed), Boomer, Bull-Bird. Matuku-Lurepo, _Botaurus poeciloptilus_, A. T., N. Cal., N.Z. =vt. Eur. Bittern. Stat. r. _reeds_ 24 Head, hind-neck, back dark-brown; wings brown marked buff; throat, under creamy-buff streaked dark-brown; bill yellow; f., smaller. Fish, frogs, yabbies, insects. F. 56. _Palamedeidae_, Screamers, Unicorn-Bird, 3 sp. Nl. F. 57. _Phoenicopteridae_, Flamingoes, 6 sp.--2(0)O., 1(0)P., 2(0)E., 1(0)Nc., 4(3)Nl. ==== Swans, Geese, and Ducks, the Swimming Birds grouped in Order XIII., are all classified in one family, though there are many sub-families. At the head of the Australian birds is the Black Swan--that _rara avis_ which, possibly, has done more to advertize Australia than any other Australian animal or plant. A "black" swan was an "impossibility," so this bird was one of the strongest factors in establishing Australia's reputation as a land of paradoxes and contradictions. The Black Swan is well known outside Australia, as it is common in every park and garden in Europe. Gould feared that it would be exterminated here, but fortunately Australians are now learning to appreciate their own land, and there is no danger of such a calamity. Eight species of Swans are known to occur all over the world with the exception of New Zealand and Africa. In the next sub-family there is but one bird--the Semipalmated Goose of Australia. This bird, better known as the Magpie Goose, has its feet but half-webbed, hence its specific name, _semipalmata_. It is getting rare, though I heard of six near Colac recently. Again, the only living representative of the next sub-family is the Cape Barren Goose, which is common in city gardens in Adelaide. It is also becoming rare. It is found only in Tasmania, the Bass Strait Islands, and Southern Australia. We visited its nesting place near Flinders Island. It is a very pugnacious bird, so it is difficult to keep with other birds. After the Goose sub-family comes the group which includes our "Wood Duck," or, as it is called, the Maned Goose, for its bill is goose-like. It is a common bird in Australia. Two allied genera are found in South America and North-east Africa respectively.