^°'- Y^-] From Mamzines, &-c. 27 



slightly over a mile, while observations of birds travelling at 

 half a mile from the ground are numerous. 



Bird Lodgings. — It has been reported to the Ornithological 

 Society of Bavaria that a suggestion by one of its members that 

 the providing of nesting opportunities for Swifts might be taken 

 into consideration in the building of the new tower of the House 

 of Parliament at Munich has been adopted by the architect, and 

 that nesting space for about lOO pairs of these birds has been 

 allowed for ( Vcrh., p. 14). 



Cuckoos. — The Australian Naturalist for January contains 

 " Notes on Cuckoos," by Mr. L. Harrison. Of the voice of the 

 Cuckoos he says : — " I have stood under a fine large eucalypt 

 for nearly half an hour, whilst a Cuckoo shrieked (?) himself 

 hoarse amongst the branches, without being able to see him. 

 It is not that the voice is really ventriloquistic, as with a number 

 of birds, but it rings through the air in a disembodied fashion, 

 which renders it difficult to trace it to its source." 



The Genus Pomatorhinus. — A perusal of Mr. E. C. Stuart 

 Baker's notes on " The Nidification of Certain Indian Birds " in 

 The Ibis for January suggests wide differences in nest structure 

 and &g^ colouration between the Indian and Australian species 

 of the genus. Apparently the Indian birds build cup-shaped 

 nests and lay white eggs ; all the Australian species dome their 

 nests over and lay eggs hair-lined with brown or black on a 

 dark ground colour. 



Bird-Lore. — The Jan. -Feb. number of Bird-Lore contains 

 some capital photos of birds and nests in the open, A list is 

 published of the gentlemen who form Bird-Lores Advisory 

 Council. This Council was formed for the purpose of placing 

 students in touch with authorities on the bird life of their 

 particular district ; accordingly, each member is a specialist 

 for some one part of the country, and those who wish to avail 

 themselves of his experience have but to write and get it. 

 The idea is a good one. 



* * * 



The Hybrid Platycercus erythropeplus.— Mr. D. Seth- 

 Smith, F.Z.S., writing anent the Red- mantled Parrakeet {Avic. 

 Mag., Feb., 1906), states : — "A friend of mine in Sydney wrote 

 to me last August to say he had secured a fine specimen of the 



