104 From Magazines, &c. [^^.j 



Emu 

 Oct. 



Bird-Life in the Nagambie District (Vict.)— In The 

 Victorian Naturalist, vol. xxiv., No. 4, Mr, C. F. Cole recounts 

 the experiences of an enjoyable (barring mosquitoes) week's 

 camp-out on the Goulburn, where he and his companion identified 

 6"] species of birds. One note is of especial interest : — " One 

 day (7th March), about noon, a large flock of beautiful Bee-eaters 

 {Merops ornatus) made their appearance at the camp, apparently 

 collecting after their breeding season preparatory to moving 

 north, for next morning not a single bird was to be seen or 



heard." 



* * * 



A Confiding Lyre-Bird. — A Walhalla correspondent 

 writes : — " The contractors for the new south road rising on to 

 the Moondarra Plateau from the Thomson River have a constant 

 visitor to inspect their works — a full-grown male Lyre-Bird 

 {Memira victoria'), which has become so tame that it hops up to 

 the face to feed on the grubs and worms disturbed by the men 

 working. On Friday morning last it paid no fever than ten 

 visits to the scene of operations, and the men guard their pet 

 very jealously. Anyone interfering with it would receive a warm 

 time at their hands. The bird whistles beautifully, sitting on 

 the bank near, and seems to have no fear of his friends. He has 

 several dancing-beds in the vicinity, and is a beautiful bird, with 

 a tail about 2 feet or over in length. None of our bushmen has 

 experienced one so tame, as they arc usually very shy. — The 



A rgus. 



* * * 



GouLDiAN Finches in the Field. — A bird-trapper's ex- 

 perience: — "On an average for every 100 Gouldians we take 

 from the nets, 80 per cent, are black-heads, 15 per cent, red-head 

 cocks, and only 5 per cent, red-head hens. It will be clearly 

 seen that red-head hens are in the minority. Now, the ten red- 

 head cocks have to find mates somewhere, and as there are so 

 few red -head hens, they have nothing else to do but to pair up 

 with the black-heads, and this is what they do. In pairing up 

 in this manner it seems of little or no consequence whether it be 

 a red-head cock and black-head hen or vice versa. We have 

 seen many cases where they have been mixed — perhaps there 

 have been two red-heads and three black-heads. We have 

 many times caught the adults of the two varieties, together with 

 their brood, and in most cases the young were of both kinds." — 

 Avicultural Magazine (April, 1907). 



* * * 



Syn(i;cus australis in New Zealand. — Through The 

 Aviculttiral Magazine, ]vir\Q, i<^oy, Mr. Robin Kemp, Umawera, 

 Hokianga, N.Z., announces this very interesting discovery. The 

 editor (Mr. D. Seth-Smith, F.L.S.) identified the species from a 

 skin sent to him by Mr. Kemp. Mr. Kemp, who resides on the 



