I 8 Berxev, Birds of the Richmond District, X .Q. [,sf "July 



They arc not credited, as a rule, with being carrion-eaters, but I 

 poisoned one at a dead kid that I had put as a bait for Eagles. It is 

 the only specimen that I have been able to handle, and from it took the 

 following measurements : — Total length 22|, wing i8, tail 8|, tarsus 3, 

 culmen i4- inches ; spread of middle and hind toe, 4I inches ; spread of 

 wings, 5 ft. i:j- in. The general plumage was black-brown and dull 

 chestnut-red, put on in a very patchy and mottled manner. Shortly 

 after this I was attracted to a knot of birds that I took to be Eagles 

 at a dead lamb, but which on nearer approach I was surprised to find 

 were Black-breasted Buzzards, no less than six of them, feeding on a 

 nest of half a dozen Emu-eggs, all broken and all fresh. In the nest 

 — a cushion of dry grass — was a round stone, the size of a domestic 

 hen's egg, that I am sure was never put there or left there by the Emu. 

 Now by what means was the news of the discovery of that Emu's nest 

 spread to gather up half a dozen of what is with us certainly a rare 

 bird ? I would not have thought there were that number of the Buzzards 

 witfiin a hundred miles of the place. I remember one being shot at 

 Homestead, on the Campaspe River (N.Q.), where it had swooped at 

 a flock of Whistlers {Dendrocycna eytoni) that were preening themselves 

 on the bank of a lagoon, and carried one off to a neighbouring coolibah, 

 from which it was shot. Buzzard and Duck coming to ground together. 

 The gunner was congratulating himself on obtaining two birds with 

 one stone^ or, rather, shot, when the Duck cleared off, seemingly none 

 the worse for its rough experience. 



Crested Hawk {Baza subcristata). — On 30th June, 1902, I was 

 fortunate enough to get a good look with my glasses at close quarters 

 at one of these curious Hawks. It showed no sign of fear of me, and 

 as it clung to an almost upright limb, peering round at me, first on 

 one side and then on the other, its actions and pose were most Parrot- 

 like. I have not seen it before or since. 



Grey Falcon {Falco hypoleuctts').- -Never saw these on the open 

 country of Wyangarie, but since coming over on to the scrubby basalt 

 ranges of Spring Valley I have noticed them more than once, and 

 obtained one for identification on the ist June, 1905. It proved to be 

 a young male just changing from immaturity to maturity, the white 

 feathers still showing among the grey. It had breakfasted off a Dove 

 (G. tranquilla), and was just commencing a meal on a Betcherrygah 

 (Warbling Grass Parrakeet) when I interrupted proceedings. 



Black Falcon {Falco subniger). — To be seen fairly frequently on 

 the open downs hawking Quail, &c., on which occasions it will follow a 

 horseman or a mob of driven sheep long distances for the small birds 

 that may be flushed ; some very good falconry may then be witnessed. 

 Seldom more than two or three are seen at once, but in one instance 

 I saw eight after an unfortunate Pipit. The Falcons are terribly swift on 

 the wing. One of the wonders of bird-flight seems to me to be the 

 extraordinary pace a small Falcon can obtain in a short distance when 

 making its swoop at its quarry. 



Little Falcon {Falco lunulatiis). — This species is only to be seen very 

 occasionally. It is the most daring, I think, of the family, and the 

 most feared by its victims. What grand birds they would make for 

 the falconer ! 



Striped Brown Hawk {Hieracidea berigora). — Is one of the com- 

 monest Hawks we have, and at- the same time the most foolishly con- 

 fiding. Perched on the upper limb of a dead tree, it will allow at close 



