374 DACBLONIN/E. 



although it may often be seen far away from permanent water, it evinces a decided preference for the 

 neighbourhood of dams, creeks, and rivers. Sometimes it may be se^n in the parks and gardens 

 of Sydney and the suburbs, and I have also noted soHtary examples in the large native Fig-trees 

 in the Museum grounds during the hot summer months. On the 21st January, 1S97, while 

 proceeding to town by train, I saw one in a most unusual place. It was perched on a semaphore, 

 which stood amid a net-work of railway lines near the then metropolitan terminus at Redfern. 



Its tell-tale and somewhat peevish note, which is sometimes uttered throughout the night, 

 soon indicates its presence, and when one is near the nesting place of a pair of these birds, they 

 emit harsh cries of displeasure, and frequently at the same time dash down at the intruder. 



The food of this species consists chiefly of small lizards and fish, crickets, grasshoppers and 

 other insects and their larva?, and both fresh and salt-water crustaceans. 



Mr. H. G. Barnard writes me from Duaringa, Dawson River, Queensland : — " Halcyon 

 sanctus is always here, but is more plentiful in the spring months. It breeds in holes in the 

 Termites' nests in trees. The eggs are four to six in number for a sitting, and the breeding 

 season lasts from October to December." 



While resident at Mossgiel, New South Wales, the late Mr. K. H. Bennett wrote me as 

 follows : — " Halcyon sanctus is a regular summer visitant to this locality, but is nowhere numerous. 

 It arrives as a rule in September, and departs again about the end of February, its stay being in 

 a great measure influenced by the season. Although it is sometimes found in waterless country, 

 it evinces a decided preference for swamps and water-courses. It preys upon lizards, frogs, 

 fish, crayfish and insects. It breeds here from October to January, its nest being placed in some 

 hollow branch or trunk of a tree, and usually near water." 



Mr. George Savidge sends me the following notes from Copmanhurst, on the Upper Clarence 

 River, New South Wales : — " Halcyon sanctus is not so plentifully dispersed in this district as H. 

 macleayi. It usually lays four eggs, slightly larger than H. macleayi. The nest is usually in a 

 Termites' nest, or very often in a hollow limb of a Eucalyptus." 



Mr. G. A. Keartland sends me the following note : — " Halcyon sanctus, when found near rivers 

 or watercourses, usually make holes in the banks in which to nest, while those seen in the forests 

 far away from water lay their eggs in holes in hollow branches. There is a small heavily- 

 timbered paddock at Brighton, Victoria, in which two or three pairs breed every season, and 

 from one nest I took five eggs in October, 1890. Along the course of the Yarra River, from 

 Alphington to Heidelberg, I have seen many nests in the river banks. Lizards, insects, i.\:c., 

 constitute their chief food." 



Mr. Edwin Ashby writes me from Blackwood, South Australia : — " Halcyon sanctus is the 

 common Kingfisher of South Australia and Victoria, especially in the hilly timbered country. 

 This species feeds on grasshoppers, beetles, &c., and nests in hollow limbs of trees. I have a 

 specimen with rather pale plumage from Port Keats, in the Northern Territory of South 

 Australia." 



Dr. A. M. Morgan writes me: — "Halcyon sanctus is still quite a common bird in and about 

 Adelaide. A pair or two are always to be found in the Botanic Gardens, and on the banks of 

 the Torrens they are more numerous in the summer, but a few remain throughout the year. I 

 have found numerous nests on the banks of the Torrens, near the Reed Beds, but as I have never 

 disturbed them I cannot give you any particulars. They do not always breed in banks ; in the 

 Mt. Lofty ranges they drill a hole in a rotten branch of a tree, generally some distance from the 

 ground, and I have noticed them doing the same thing at the Finniss, where they could have 

 used a bank if they had chosen to do so. Both birds assist in drilling the hole, and the pieces of 

 rotten wood are carried some little distance before being dropped. They breed in November and 

 December. This year, 1907, I saw young birds just from the nest at the end of January." 



