294 



XESTS A. YD EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



is I'ulk'i- aud louder in the White-backed thau in the other species. 1 

 have endeavoured to class the different notes, of which there appeal- 

 three kinds at least — the carol or song, a wliistle-hke call, and a long 

 " squawk "-like note of alarm. 



Both male and female birds carol. I have hstened to their pleasing 

 songs as eai-ly in the day as an horn- aud forty miuutes before sunrise. 

 They also occasionally sing dming mild moonhght nights. 



I possess a note of this species also breeding in semi-captivity, but 

 in this instance the tame bird was the female. She was two years old 

 when she built a nest on a roof of an outbuilding near my uncle's (Mr. 

 Wm. Campbell) house, Heyfield, Gippsland, and a paii- of young was 

 hatched. She was a most persistent nuisance when building her 

 nest — pulling fibre out of door mats, unravelhng the edges of oilcloth, 

 etc. One day, after a chance hau--cutting operation, the bii-d eagerly 

 seized mouthfvils of hair to finally trim her nest. This bird lost its beau- 

 tiful native carol, adopting instead the voices of various roosters and other 

 farm-yaa-d fowls. 



" The Australasian " (December 31st, 1898), says ; " It is seldom that 

 a Magpie builds in captivity ; but Mr. Herbert Buckley, of East Malveni, 

 possesses one which has built eveiy year for five successive years, and 

 laid three eggs on e;u;h occasion. The nest, of which a photograjjli is 

 shown, is built in the fork of a fuchsia bush, in bloom, about three feet 

 from the gi'ound, in Mr. Buckley's garden. The bird usually builds 

 about the middle of October or the beginning of November. The nest 

 is composed of wire, bits of string, straw, &c., and the time and ti'ouble 

 involved in its construction are little short of wonderful." 



Some birds, especially old ones, grow veiy savage, and will attack and 

 strike persons approaching the vicinity of their nest. Once I saw a pair 

 enforce the "move-on ' clause on a Wedge-tailed Eagle, which the Magpie 

 attacked from above — eveiy thrust making tufts of feathers fly from 

 between the shoulders of the gi'eat bird of prey. I heard of a " hen- 

 wife " who kept a couple of tame Magpies about the faim because they 

 encouraged wild ones neai', which were a safeguard to her chickens and 

 young poulti-y against certain birds of prey. If a hawk appeared any- 

 where in the neighboui'hood it usually met with a warm reception fix>m 

 the Magpies. 



The nidification of the White-backed Magpie resembles in general that 

 of the Black-backed species. The breeding seasons are also alike. How- 

 ever, it is somewhat strange that nests of both kinds containing yoimg 

 were observed dm-ing the autumn (April-May) of 1897. When sitting, 

 the female is sometimes fed by the male, on her nest. 



Since the above was vpiitten I sent the following to " The 

 Australasian " : — " Notwithstanding the dislike farmers have for the 

 Magpie, because it has cultivated a taste for fruit and gi'aan, people in 

 general love this bird for its sociableness under domestication and its 

 delightful song when wandering free. At Bulimba, near Biisljane, Mrs. 

 Charles Coxen (sister-in-law to the celebrated naturalist, John Gould) 

 had a pair of Mag|3ies which built a nest in a bunch of orchids growing 

 in a seed-pan imdcr the verandah ; they hatched out two voung. A lone 

 female Magpie constructed a nest for herself in a vine over the front door. 



