^°'^JI-] Stray Feathers. 67 



At last it disappeared behind the piano, but the maid on coming 

 into the room discovered it fast asleep on the wick of a candle 

 standing near the door. I closed my hands over it and put it 

 out of a window, on the sill, where it sat much dazed. This 

 afternoon I saw a Magpie {GymnorJiina leuconota) sitting on a 

 Lincoln ram's back, dragging out beakfuls of the wool. We 

 wondered if it were after ticks. During January last, when 

 the bees were swarming, I watched the White-plumed Honey- 

 eaters flying through the swarm, catching the bees, then back 

 again through for others, when they would hide in a tree on the 

 opposite side. I have also noticed the hen Robin with a bee in 

 her beak, having a great time with it before she managed to 

 swallow it. — M. Pringle. Merrang, Hexham, 5/8/06. 



* * * 



Mallee (Victoria) Notes. — This is the earliest season for 

 birds nesting that I have experienced — that is, taking all the 

 birds together. Mallee Parrots — in fact, all Parrots in this region 

 — have been nesting for the last six weeks. This also applies to 

 the different Cockatoos about here. Hylacola, Scrub-Robin, 

 and a few more of the October birds I have found with big 

 young in their nests two or three weeks back. The little Red- 

 throat I observed young in the nest six weeks ago, but they 

 are always among the early birds to nest. I saw a few of the 

 White-shouldered Lalage hereon the 5th of this month (August) 

 — that is the earliest I knew them to put in an appearance here. 

 Another strange thing this season is that the Pallid Cuckoo was 

 the last of its tribe to make its appearance. The scrub for the 

 last few weeks is ringing with all the Cuckoos' shrill notes. I 

 saw a large flock of Black Cockatoos to-day — about 400 of 

 them. They come here every year about this time to feast 

 upon the honeysuckle scrub blossoms. Their screeching notes 

 when flying and floating from one bunch of blossom to another 

 can be imagined. 



I am writing this near the camp fire in the bush while my 

 quart pot boils for my noontide meal, and an old Emu is 

 walking around me, only about 20 yards off — no doubt wonder- 

 ing what the strange object is — uttering its characteristic 

 booming note all the time. — Chas. M'Lennan. Pine Plains, 



18/8/06. 



* * * 



Clarke Island (Bass Strait) Notes. — It is a noteworthy 

 fact that both land and aquatic birds down here were unusually 

 late in nesting last year, for no accountable reason ; also, that a 

 large proportion of those species which are in most seasons very 

 numerous, such as the Grey Shrike-Thrush, Thickhead, and a 

 host of smaller varieties, were conspicuously scarce. The Brown 

 Quail was most noticeably so, whilst the Painted Quail was not 



