Vol. Xk.-i SiMSON, Notes on Birds of Prey from Caslerlon. 235 



1921 J 



with a hole as large as a two-shilling p'wcv under its wing. The; 

 Falcon merely wheeled round and sat in a tree near by waitnig till 

 1 left, so that he could commence his meal. I have also known 

 them 'kill Starlings, Parrots, Finches, Black Duck, and White- 

 fronted Herons. To see a Falcon attacking another bird remmds 

 mc of nothing more than a black-nosed German aeroplane 

 attacking one of our observing machines. Falcons nest freely 

 in the district in the hollow spouts of old red gum trees, and are 

 very tierce when they have a nest about. 



Brown Hawk {Hieracidea ftfrigora).— These are very harmless 

 birds, and like to get their living as easily as possible ; con- 

 sequently, a good many are poisoned from eating rabbits that 

 have been poisoned with strychnine and apple. All the nests 1 

 have found have been in red gum trees, and they arc very fond 

 of makhig their nest in a mistletoe. 



Nankeen Kestrel {Cerchneis cenchroides).— Common all through 

 the district, and nothing but good can be said of them. A 

 favourite spot for them is the ridge of a haystack, where they 

 can swoop down on any mice that may appear. I saw a Kestrel 

 fly from a hole about 25 feet up in a gum-tree last year, and on 

 climbing up was surprised to find three eggs of the Harmonious 

 Shrike-Thrush in their well-built nest instead of (as I had 

 expected to see) the rusty-brown eggs of the Kestrel. 



Return of Migrants and Visitors. 



By H. Stuart Uove, West Devonport (Tas.) 



In their very interesting paper on " The Birds of Sydney " in 

 current (October) Emu, Messrs. Le Souef and Macpherson remark 

 having noted a Rufous-fronted Fantail {Rhipidnra rufifrons) in 

 the same spot, at the same time of year, for three years in 

 succession. The same experience has occurred to me with more 

 than one species. A Tree Pardalote (P. afflnis) returns to the 

 same gum-tree in my enclosure at the beginning of September 

 each year, and utters for several days its sprightly " Pick-it-up " 

 call. About three weeks later its congener, the Spotted Pardalote 

 (P. pimctatiis), utters its double note, " Wit-loo " (second syllable 

 lower and softer than first), from the same tree. Each spring 

 a Bronze-Cuckoo (either plagosiis or basalis) comes to sit on the 

 same electric hght wire not far from the beach and Bluff, and 

 calls with great persistence from that perch. There is a 

 peculiarity in the notes by which it may be recognized as the same 

 individual. A still more remarkable instance is quoted in the 

 latest Bird-Lore (Audubon Society, U.S.A., vol. xxii., 4), where 

 it is recorded by an lUinois observer that on 25th May, 1919, a 

 male Rose-breasted Grosbeak flew in through the open door of a 

 glass-enclosed porch, where he beat vainly against the panes 

 until exhausted ; was picked up and resuscitated, but before 



