NESTS AND EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 58^ 



portion, and sometimes reaches Tasmania. It is also found in New 

 Guinea, and other isLmds beyond. 



The Channel Bill is manifestly interesting, because it is the largest 

 of AustraUan Cuckoos. It is sometimes called in the interior the 

 " Flood Bird," because of its arrival with such occurrences. 



Gould has described an egg of this bird taken from the oviduct. 



Mr. North has described a similar immature egg from a bird shot 

 on the Macleay Kiver, during the first week in November, 1884. An 

 egg collected for me (taken from a Crow's or Raven's nest, if I recollect 

 rightly) at Cooper's Creek, was, unfortunately, broken in transit. 



A mature egg, described by me before the Royal Society of Victoria, 

 1892, was taken in October, 1880, near Inglcwood, Queensland, where 

 the Channel Bills were fairly numerous, by Mr. Heitnann Lau, and, 

 remarkable as it may appe'ar, from the nest of the Sparrow Hawk 

 ( Accipiter), together with an egg of the bird of prey. On another 

 occasion, Mr. Lau took a pair of Channel Bill's eggs, together with a 

 pak of the Black-backed Magpie's (Gymnarhinn iibicejtj, all fresh, from 

 the nest of the latter, while the previous season he took a pair of young 

 Channel Bills from the nest of a Strepera, probabl}' S. (/rnruhna, and 

 forwarded them to the Queensland Museum. It would be indeed 

 interesting to leam if the same Channel Bill deposited the two eggs in 

 the foster-bird's nest, or were they laid by separate birds. The probable 

 number of eggs laid by the Channel Bill is three. 



RefeiTing to the Pied Crow Sliriko (Strepera graculina) as a foster- 

 parent to the Channel Bill, Mr. K. Broadbcnt kindly sends the following 

 interesting field notes : — " I have seen, in January, flocks of Channel 

 Bills in company with Streperas, just under the mountains in the big 

 scrubs — some beautiful scnibs never yet trodden by the foot of white 

 man. 



" When camped under Mount Graham, on Gowrie Creek, Herbert 

 River, near my tent was one of these Strepera's nests, which must have 

 cont»ained a young Channel Bill, because all the Streperas were appar- 

 ently busy feeding one. Just at dark I noticed the two old Cuckoos 

 visit the nest. All night long they were calling around, becoming 

 silent at dawn." 



The following Queensland note, by Mr. E. M. Cornwall, appeared 

 in the " Victorian NaturaHst," June, 1890, taken from his field book 

 under date 20th February, 1890: — "My attention wa^ attracted to-day 

 by the peculiar beliavioiu of a pair of Crows and two other birds, which, 

 on closer inspection, proved to be young Channel Bills (Scythrops 

 novcB-hoUandiee). I had heard that the Crow was the foster-parent of this, 

 the largest of our Australian Cuckoos, but had never before noted them 

 in company. WTiat struck me as remarkable was the fact that there 

 were two young Cuckoos being reared by the one pair of Crows." 



Mr. Herbert Kenny, wiiting to me from Cooper's Creek, says: — 

 " Channel Bills, or Flood Birds, make their appearance just before or 

 diu-ing rain or floods, laying principally in Crows' nests. Later on, or 

 prior to leaving, the old Channel Bills go round and gather up their 

 yovmg, when some hard fighting between the Channel Bills and the 

 Crows usually ensues." 



