l62 Prom Magazines, 6rc. [isf'jan. 



apathy displayed. At the same time, a majority of the 

 members deprecated the evident beh'ef of some connected with 

 the association that its principal duty was to find shooting for 

 them — a misunderstanding which might be harmful. The object 

 of the association, it was pointed out, was to enforce a strict 

 observance of the close season and so give birds of all species 

 which were protected a chance to breed and ensure them- 

 selves against extermination. — Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 



15/11/07. 



» * * 



Mallee (Victoria) Notes. — " Nature Notes " in The 

 Argus, 6/9/07, records the following interesting field observa- 

 tions by " Mallee Bird " (Mr. Chas. M'Lennan) :— 



" Quails Nesting. — A friend of mine has just come in from the 

 'Sunset' country, which is situate some 50 odd miles north-west 

 of Pine Plains, and he informed me that Quails — no doubt the 

 Brown and the Little Swift-flying, for I saw them there myself 

 about six weeks ago — are now nesting in vast numbers all over 

 the plain. 



" All the Cuckoos — Pallid, Fan-tailed, Bronze, and Black- 

 eared — arrived here this month (August). The Kestrel and 

 White-shouldered Lalage also came. I saw on the ground a 

 splendid flock of Black-faced Graucalus the other day. There 

 must have been fully 3C0 of them. These are useful birds, for 

 they were feeding upon caterpillars or grubs, which now are 

 rather numerous among the green herbage. My enemies, the 

 Crows and Ravens, do a lot of good in this respect, for they are 

 now to be seen in dozens feeding upon some of the pests. 



" Crows and Plover. — I was an eye-witness the other day to a 

 Black-breasted Plover defending its nest, containing four eggs, 

 against the attack of two Crows. The Crows seemed deter- 

 mined to obtain possession of the eggs. While the Plover 

 fought in a most desperate manner with one of the Crows, the 

 other snapped up an &^^ and made good its escape to enjoy its 

 prize. A bullet from my rifle settled matters as far as the other 

 Crow was concerned. These black rascals destroy a lot of eggs 

 of Plovers and other birds. 



"Chestnut-backed Thrush {Cindosovia castanonotuvi). — I have 

 been watching the antics or habits of the Chestnut-backed 

 Thrush a lot of late, and have seen a good many of the birds in 

 my rambles. These birds do not associate with any other of 

 the feathered tribe. They live for the most part in couples, 

 which presumably pair for life, subsisting upon the insects and 

 other food to be found in the vicinity of their favourite haunts — 

 the low shrubs and undergrovvths in the arid regions of the 

 Mallee. Being of a rather' shy nature, they do not wander far 

 from the same neighbourhood. The characteristic feature of 

 these birds is the peculiar graceful motion they have of moving 



