206 Stray Feathers. f^nf April 



are many now in the forest who still conclude their beautiful 

 wild notes with the ascending notes which terminate the old air. 

 This being a very late season, I had many opportunities of 

 watching and listening to the young Magpies at school, while 

 the parent birds educated them in their own native notes and 

 the artificial notes of " The Quaker." Indeed, these parent 

 Magpies resembled some human parents in that they seemed to 

 take more pains to teach that which was artificial than to teach 

 the more natural and beautiful notes which are characteristic of 

 this species. — Frank MADDEN. Melbourne. 

 * * * 



Mechanical Advantages of the Shape of Swans for 



Feeding. — While watching recently some Swans — two of the 



domestic White and one Black {Cheuopis at rata) — the perfect 



adaptation of their shape to the method of feeding was strikingly 



manifest. In shallowish water they will be frequently noticed 



while thus engaged with the tail projecting vertically and 



with head and neck stretched downwards to seek the weeds 



growing on the bottom. It will be seen that this movement from 



the horizontal is executed with wonderful ease, the whole body 



swinging round a transverse axis at about the level of the legs 



and through the centre of gravity. The bases of two cones then 



meet at this level — one, whose apex is the head, pointing while 



thus feeding directly downwards, and the other a shorter and 



more compact cone, whose summit is the tail, looking upwards, 



and keeping the bird with ease in its apparently awkward 



position. Then, when the Swan wishes to advance a little, two 



or three paddles with its webbed feet sends it on the requisite 



distance. To assume again the erect position, the lower cone is 



shortened and tilted forwards by raising and bending the neck, 



with the result that the upper one falls backwards and the bird 



floats on the surface of the water. — (Dr.) J. Burton Cleland. 



Adelaide. 



* * * 



The Origin of the Name " Petrel." — On a recent voyage 

 from London to Australia, vid the Cape, I was much interested 

 in watching the various birds following in the wake of the ship. 

 Amongst these the Petrels, especially the graceful Cape Pigeon 

 {Daption capcnszs), claimed special attention. The movements of 

 this group of birds when flying against a strong head wind with 

 high billows were especially noteworthy. They would skim 

 over the summit of a wave into the trough on the other side, 

 and then apparently run up the opposite slope with legs half 

 outstretched, being protected in this situation from the force of 

 the wind. Thinking afterwards of the etymology of the word 

 *' Petrel " and its derivation from the Greek petra, a rock, I could 

 not at first see why, apart from other sea birds, the}' specially 



