On the 30th of January, 26 deg. 8' S. lat. was observed, which is approximately that of False Entrance. On the 1st of February the pilot of the _Geelvink_ left the ships in one of the _Geelvink's_ boats in order to ascertain the position of Dirk Hartog's Anchorage, and the captains of two of the vessels made an excursion for a distance of six or seven miles inland. They returned to the ships on the following day, bringing with them the head of a large bird, and they imparted the information that they had seen two huge nests built of branches.[9] The pilot of the _Geelvink_ returned to the ship on the 3rd of February, and reported that he had passed through a channel--probably that which is now known as South Passage--and had followed the coast of Dirk Hartog's Island until he reached the northern extremity of the island. There, upon an acclivity, a tin plate was found on the ground. Certain words scratched upon the metal indicated that the ship _Eendragt_, of Amsterdam, of which Dirk Hartog was master, had anchored off the island on the 25th of October, 1616, and had departed for Bantam on the 27th day of the same month. The pilot brought the metal plate--a flattened tin dish--with him, and also two turtles which had been caught on the island. The squadron anchored in Dirk Hartog's Reede on the 4th of February, and remained there until the 12th day of that month. The anonymous author of the _Journaal_ relates that on the 6th of February many turtles were seen, and also a very large nest at the corner of a rock; the nest resembled that of a stork, but was probably that of an osprey, which places its nest on a rock--often on a rock surrounded by water. De Vlaming quitted the Australian coast at 21 deg. S. lat., and proceeded to Batavia, where he arrived on the 20th of March, 1697. [7] Heeres, _The Part borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia_, p. 84. [8] No Cassowary is known to inhabit western Australia. [9] Wedge-tailed Eagles and also Ospreys build nests of sticks. NEW ZEALAND BIRDS IN 1772. Nicholas Thomas Marion Dufresne was an officer in the French navy, and was born at St. Malo in 1729. In 1771 he was commissioned at his own desire to restore to the island of his birth a Tahitian who had accompanied Bougainville to France. He was also charged to ascertain if a continent or islands existed in the Southern Ocean whence useful products might be exported to Mauritius or Reunion.