go Le Souef, Food of Diurnal Birds of Prey. [_^J 



Eimi 

 Oct. 



over, and the Eagle flew off, attempting to carry the bird with it, 

 but dropped it after a few yards. We picked it up, and as it did 

 not appear to be much hurt we placed it in the head of a fallen 

 wattle. On another occasion my brother saw an Eagle dash into 

 some timber after a Curlew, and on riding up found that he had 

 begun to make a meal off the bird, although it was still alive. 

 Another time I saw an Eagle pick a Laughing Jackass {Dacelo 

 gigas) off a branch of an ironbark tree. Once, when driving 

 bullocks through some scrub on the way to Rockhampton, a black 

 boy was riding in the lead of the bullcjcks, when a couple of wal- 

 labies bolted across the road. Immediately two Eagles, which 

 were flying overhead, doubtless anticipating some frightened game, 

 dashed down through the scrubby timber ; one missed, but the other 

 landed his quarry, and the other at once returned to lielp his 

 mate, and both began tearing the wallaby before it was dead. 

 Eagles have been seen attacking kangaroos, and I have seen them 

 eating a half-grown koala or native bear {Phascolarcttis cincrcits) 

 tliat they had evidently just killed. I have also seen one eating 

 a possum {Phalanger vidpina), and could see fur scattered round 

 a hole in the tree from which the Eagle had dragged him. An 

 Eagle was found not far from here with its foot caught in a crack 

 of a splintered hole in a tree, where he had evidently been trying 

 to get at a possum. I have also seen them sweep down and 

 catch kangaroo-rats. They are also troublesome with the goat 

 kids at times, and are much attracted by freshly-killed animals." 



Mr. Arthur C. V. Bligh, of Condamine Plains, Brookstead, 

 Queensland, states that " Very few really attack the live lambs ; 

 they mostly prefer to take the dead ones, although I have 

 personally seen an Eagle catch a liv^e lamb. Given a good season, 

 lambs are strong and few die ; but with a bad season and food 

 scarce, lambs weak and dying fill part of the wants of the birds." 



Mr. H. W. Ford, of Melbourne, states : — " I saw a pair of 

 Eagles coursing a hare over the plains near Moolort ; the hare 

 got along a road fence and baffled the Eagles, as they used to fly 

 along and settle on the fence and look down at the hare running 

 along. After a time the hare went out on the plain. One Eagli- 

 rose and made three SM'oops at it, but as the ])ird got near the hare 

 jum})ed into the air some feet, and the Eagle went under it and 

 missed. Then the second bird came to assist. The hare evidently 

 saw the danger, and took cover in a heap of stones. The Eagles 

 soared overhead ; the hare then made a dash for the fence, and 

 kept along it to a patch of thistles, where" it hid. The birds 

 soared over the thicket, hut could not locate the liari'. .\t Cape 

 Otway these birds were seen killing and eating a large grey 

 possiun. The bird killed it in a large, shallow hollow in a mess- 

 mate eucalyptus, pulled the body out, and ate all but the bones, 

 paunch, and intestines. Sometimes they kill and partly eat 

 wallabies caught in my snares. In (iippsland, near Sale, I saw 

 an Eagle attack a half-grown kangaroo, but I disturbed it. I 

 often used to notiic during a bush lire that the Eagles used to 



