DO Stray Feathers. I ^^ 



Emu 

 t Oct. 



seen at all. The following instances will give some idea of how 

 the birds have deviated from their usual nesting time. I noted 

 a clutch of cygnets in April which were only half fledged. 

 The Swan lays in August and September, but chiefly in the 

 former month. The last year's clutches of the Brown Quail are 

 only flying well now, and I have noted a great many which are 

 none too strong on the wing. They lay with us in November or 

 December. The Thickhead and Grey Shrike-Thrush were a 

 couple of months late, in company with many others. 



22nd April. — Saw the Swifts in large numbers on Cape Barren 

 Island, but only a few visited Clarke Island. They do not 

 nest here. 



4th May. — The Goose appears very numerous this year. 

 Saw fifty (50) in one flock on Preservation Island, and am in- 

 formed that on Balky Island as many as two hundred (200) arc 

 sometimes to be seen. Ornithologists need not alarm themselves 

 about this bird becoming extinct, for they breed well and are 

 seldom disturbed in any way ;* also their erratic nesting is a good 

 protection. I have secured fresh eggs in June, and also in 

 September. The Black-cheeked Falcon, at all times a rare bird, 

 appears to have left us altogether. The Black Duck, Teal, and 

 Shoveller have been here in fair numbers through the dry months, 

 but are fast leaving with the autumn rains. Of course some 

 Ducks nest here, chiefly Teal and Musk-Duck. The Mutton- 

 Birds are very large and fat this year, and plenty of them, but 

 the sale price is so low that it hardly repays the labour of pre- 

 paring them for market. — J. D. Maclaine. 12/5/06. 

 * * * 



Ne.st of Menura SUPERBA (Lyre-Bird). — As this beautiful 

 bird is found plentifully in the National Park, close to Sydney, 

 I determined during the present breeding season to try and 

 observe some of its habits and characteristics, so on 22nd July, 

 in company with Mr. Clifford Coles, I journeyed out to the Park, 

 some 20 miles by train, and in a rowing boat went about n miles 

 up that charming stretch of water known as the freshwater 

 portion of the Port Hacking River. The country consists of 

 steep sandstone hills, supporting many eucalypti, grass-trees, 

 banksias, and a light, varied undergrowth, with occasional 

 patches of tropical vegetation — palms, ferns, creepers, &c. — on 

 small rich flats near the river bed. 



When quietly rowing along we observed a hen Lyre-Bird 

 bathing in the shallow water close to the bank ; she appeared to 

 be much enjoying a complete bath, and reluctantly left the 

 water as our boat drew on. Upon effecting a landing half a mile 

 further on abundant traces of the birds were seen in the 



* This may be due, in a measure, to the action the Union has already taken 

 regarding the Cape Barren Goose. — Eds. 



