^■ESTS AXD EGGS 01- AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



m 



The last Powerful Owl I had an opportunity of examining in the flesh 

 was shot by Mr. A. W. Milligan at one of our camp-outs nea.r Lilydale. 

 The birds are frequently met with in the ranges thereabouts, and have 

 been known to " piek-oft' " Lyre Birds roosting at night on the tall white 

 gums. The sudden hideous scream of this gi-eat Owl is veiy alarming, 

 especially when, fh'ing swiftly through the forest, it l)reaks the midnight 

 silence. Even sturdy bushmcn quail, while aboriginals dread it as an 

 evil spirit ; hut to the natiu'alist the scream is sweet music, albeit but 

 rude and weird. 



With reference to the two varieties of the Powerful Owl, 

 Mr. Kendall Broadbent, in his most interesting article, " Cardwell Birds," 

 writes: — "The Great Sciiib Owl (N. atrenua) may also be expected 

 to occur in the Cardwell scnibs, but rarely so. It has been shot by me 

 at Freshwater Ci-eek, near Cairns, and seen commonly in the Brisbane 

 scrub and in Gippslaiid. The Rufous Owl (N. rufa) is essentially a 

 frequenter of mountainous country, being shot by me in the high land 

 at the back of Cardwell. It seems always to occur in dense scnibbv 

 gullies, and to live habitually in pairs. ' 



Mr. Broadbent mentions that the call-note of the Powerful Owl is 

 a deeper and more voluminous " more-pork '' than that called bv the 

 Boobook Owl. Ho ascertained this from a pair that frequented the 

 neighbourhood of his camp at Chinchilla (Queensland). Mr. De Lany 

 (Gippsland) substantiates the fact, saying the call is " much more drawn 

 out and moiu'nful. 



38. — NiNOX HUMERALis, Hombron and Jacquinol. 

 RUFOUS OWL. 



Reference.— C&l. Birds Brit. Mus , vol ii., p i8o 



Geographical Disfrihiitinn. — North Queensland, also New Guinea. 



Nest and Eggs. — Undescribed. 



Ohiervatiiii)''. — Mr. A. J. North remarks*: — "It was in the appendix 

 to the ' Annual Report on British New Guinea, for 1894,' that Mr. De Vis. 

 Curator of the Queensland Museum, first drew attention to the existence 

 of this species in Australia, and he there states his belief that it is 

 identical with -T. rufa of Gould. Mr. De Vis has kindly sent me for 

 examination a specimen obtained in the sci-ubs of Northeastern Queensland. 

 It is a male, and is labelled, ' Herbert Gorge, October, 1886.' Tliis 

 specimen cannot be distinguished from typical examples of X. humerahs. 

 obtained in New Guinea. In all the specimens examined belonging to this 

 species, the ear coverts are black and the tail feathers crossed with eight 

 pale bars." 



• Catalogue of the .Australian Birds in the Australian Museum. Part ii. (Striges). 

 4 



