70 Mo-RS-R, Nesting Notes from. Movee. [isfXiy 



day was tempted to try a fly, after which it developed a most 

 voracious appetite for insects only. We tried it with grass-seeds, 

 bread crumbs, oatmeal, biscuit, various berries, and all manner 

 of things that one would imagine a Quail might like, but it would 

 have nothing except insects and spiders. It delighted in large 

 brown-and-green blow-flies. It kept my family going all day in 

 catching food for it. On the second night of its captivity I 

 caught i8 earwigs, each about half an inch long, all of which it 

 ate next morning in a few minutes, and in a quarter of an hour 

 it was just as hungry as ever. It must have eaten more than its 

 own weight of insects each day. After the fourth day its little 

 life was cut short by getting itself under someone's foot. There 

 are thousands of these Quail about, and I presume all have 

 appetites similar to the one in question. What a bearing they 

 must have on the insect pest — perhaps, too, on the blow-fly, which 

 has cost the country so much money ! It would be quite simple 

 for the birds to get the flies in the early mornings ; and it is a 

 striking fact that this year the fly trouble with the sheep in these 

 parts has been practically nil, while last year the loss was 

 enormous. The season in all respects seemed to favour the fly, 

 and at the same time the Little Quail were much more numerous 

 than I have ever known them to be. 



nth March. — Notophoyx pacifica. — Found a large colony of 

 White-necked Herons nesting in the big red gum trees on the 

 Barwon River ; the young were flying or standing on limbs near 

 the nest. There was also a pair of Black-billed Spoonbills {Platalea 

 regia) with a nest among the Herons. 



28th March. — Strix delicatnla. — ^The Delicate Owls that have 

 been within earshot of the house since August have suddenly 

 disappeared, and the absence of their horrible screech is most 

 marked. These birds come here every spring to breed, and 

 disappear during the winter months. Their departure now 

 cannot be influenced through want of food, as the whole country 

 is overrun with mice. Strange to relate, the Quail have also all 

 gone — not only from here, but the whole district reports the 

 same thing. I believe the Quail have been driven away by the 

 mice, which have eaten up everything. 



23rd March. — ^Was on an island off the New South Wales coast, 

 where Mutton-Birds and the httle Blue Penguins breed freely. 

 Up the gullies, under fallen palm leaves, we found some young 

 Petrels, and also some mature birds, caught in the Pisonia seeds. 

 I believe these belonged to the genus (Estrelata. We took one of 

 these on board our boat and fed it for two days on pieces of 

 garfish, and, although when found it was very weak, the fish diet 

 strengthened it so much that we were able to liberate it. I was 

 struck by the way the bird used the hook of its bill ; it was con- 

 tinually trying to climb out of the boat by hooking on to anything 

 in reach, and made me think they must use their bills largely 

 for climbing into the rocky situations in which the eggs are laid, 

 flight there being impossible owing to the density of the fohage. 



24th March. — Paid a visit to another small island of about 



