QOO Ryan, The Kookaburra. [^^^ 



Emu 

 April 



of the Kookaburra, but with the aid of its wings it would nearly 

 always prevent the snake from getting a coil around its neck 

 and free itself quickly. On one occasion I noticed a pair of 

 Kookrburras had a nest of young ones in the hollow of a dry 

 tree ; underneath the tree, in a small shrub growing on the bank 

 of the stream, was a nest of the Black-and- White Fantail, with 

 the female bird sitting on the eggs. After a time the young ones 

 hatched, and I have watched the birds feed their young until 

 they left the nest. Now, if the Kookaburra is such a demon 

 as they class her on our small birds, why did she not take the 

 young of the Fantail which was under her eyes constantly, not 

 20 feet away from where she had to procure food for her own 

 young ? I noticed also that small birds of several varieties were 

 numerous around this locality, and they all seemed to rear their 

 young and were never molested by the Kookaburra. I noticed 

 that the Kookaburra feeds its young on grubs of all sorts, small 

 snakes, mice, lizards, worms, and various other insects, but 

 never on any occasion have I seen them bring a small bird to 

 feed their young on. 



From my personal observation of the Kookaburra and what I 

 have seen of this bird I look upon it as most valuable as a snake- 

 destroyer. For years I have had constant opportunities of 

 studying its habits, so until I see him doing the mischief to small 

 birds that he is supposed to do I will always look upon " Jacko " 

 as one of my friencls. I had an interview with Mr. D. Le Souef 

 on the subject of the Kookaburra destroying small birds. He 

 is mostly of the same opinion as myself. I consider the Boobook 

 Owl and the Butcher-Bird — or, as it is familiarly called, the 

 " Derwent Jackass " — account for a good many small birds, and 

 probably young, as well as the rats and mice they kill. I hope 

 your Society will give the Kookaburra their best protection, and 

 would be very sorry to see him classed as an outlaw. 



An Unidentified Petroica (Australian Robin). 



By H. V. Edwards, Bega, N.S.W. 



A CONSIDERABLE time ago — about the eighties — I became 

 acquainted, at Mittagong, N.S.W., some 70 miles south of Sydney, 

 with a Robin which had the peculiar habit of nesting on piles 

 of horse or cattle manure, or on clods of earth, and occasionally in 

 the banks of creeks — never, to my knowledge, in a tree. 



My interest in this bird was renewed by the publication, two 

 or three years ago, in the Sydney Mail, of a nature story paragraph 

 in which the pecuhar nesting habit of this Robin was referred to. 

 It was described as " one of the Petroica species," but neither 

 specific name nor habitat was assigned it by the writer. The 

 sexes are alike, and closely resemble the female of the Scarlet- 

 breasted Robin [Petroica leggei), but neither male nor female 



