NESTS A.VD EGGS OF AVSTKALIAN BIRDS. 543 



(2) 1-08 X -87, (3) 1-06 X -85. These eggs when rubbed together 

 produce a porcelain or china sound. 



Observations. — Since the White-bellied Owlet Nightjar — J?, leuco- 

 gast&r of Gould, and the J^. noice hoJlandia of Dr. Latham, are deemed 

 identical, this Owl-like and very interesting httle creature enjoys a 

 great range, practically the whole of Australia and Tasmania. It is 

 between 8 and 9 inches in length. The plumage, in general terms, is 

 freckled with black, wliite, and grey, but the head is all dark, while the 

 underparts are much Ughter. Tlie bird's call at night is a fairly loud 

 double note, sounding like " chirk-chirk." 



Gould, while traversing oiu: forests, procured its eggs. He ascer- 

 tained at least two broods are reared by each pair of birds dui-ing the 

 season. He had known yoimg to be taken in Tasmania in October, 

 and in New South Wales he himself procured eggs in January, which 

 may be taken with September prefixed as the two extremes of the 

 breeding season. 



On the upper Werribee I had an opportunity of exainining several 

 nesting places of this little nocturnal bird. One was entirely lined with 

 dead leaves of the blackwood f Acacia). Another was in a hole about 

 six feet from the ground, in a Uving tree, from which the bird was 

 flushed by striking the tree with a tomahawk. The slightest tap suffices 

 to cause these timid httle creatures to slip out of their nesting or roost- 

 ing place. In this Lostance the eggs were about a foot from the entrance 

 and were deposited on the trampled-down nest of the \^'Tiit€- 

 throated Tree Creeper (Climacteris leucophcea), which was composed of 

 shreds of stringy bark and moss, lined with rabbits' fur, etc., and 

 contained one whole egg. besides fractiu-ed ones — prima facie evidence 

 that the Nightjar had " jumped the claim " of the Tree Creeper. 

 Date. October 11th, 1890. 



In a forest in Western Australia, I was in the act of killing a snake, 

 when, out of a hole in a tree close by, a bird flopped against me. At 

 first I really thought another snake was upon me, but soon saw it was 

 a httle Owlet Nightjar that tlie unwonted disturbance had flushed 

 from its hollow hiding place ia a karri about four feet from the ground. 



A note from Mr. James McDougall, Yorke Peninsula, South Aus- 

 tralia, states. ■" The Owlet Nightjar i* a somewhat scarce bird, nesting 

 and hving in holes of trees, from which it sUps out on the shghtest 

 alarm, thus betraying its eggs, which are two, white, and somewhat 

 roimd. ' 



ilr. D. Le Souef states that Mr. R. Hislop foimd the nest of the 

 White-belhed Owlet Nightjar in Northera Queensland on November 

 23rd, 1895, and that the three pure white eggs were laid on the decayed 

 wood at the bottom of a hollow branch of a eucalyptus tree. They 

 are very s imil ar in appearance to southern examples, but are sUghtlv 

 more oval, and measure (V) 118 x -89. (2) M5 x -9, (3) M4 x -9 inches. 



Mr. Keartland writes : — " Throughout the course of our joumev 

 (Calvert North-west Expedition), I frequently saw these birds fly about 

 our camp at night. As the caravan passed through the forests, the 

 unusual noise disturbed the Nightjars from their retreats in the hollow 



