138 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



Mr. Fletcher showed a Spine-tailed Swift {Chcetura caudacuta) 

 which fell into the verandah of his house, at Hunter's Hill, 

 during a recent violent thunderstorm, under conditions which 

 left little room for doubt that thous^h the immediate cause of 

 death may have been due to shock from the fall, the primaiy 

 cause of the accident was attributable to lightning. It was a fine 

 specimen, measuring 19J inches from tip to tip of the outstretched 

 wings, and not showing any signs of external injury. The bird 

 was probably flying overhead when it was stunned or killed, and, 

 in falling, it struck the leafy bough of a pine-tree, and bounced 

 off into the verandah. The body was warm, and the eyes wide 

 open, when found. 



