22 Proceedings oj the Royal Society of Victoria. 



Queen Victoria Rifle Bird (Ptilorhis victorice). 



These birds were plentiful in the scrub, and their harsh note 

 often heard, but the birds themselves generally kept out of sight, 

 although they are by no means shy. We were fortunate in 

 secui'ing their nest on 29th October, built in a fan palm not far 

 from the ground, and it contained two eggs, which seems to be a 

 full clutch, another nest was being built in a Cordyline, only eight 

 feet from the ground, when I left, and the eggs taken on 20th 

 November. The nests vary in size, and are very loosely put 

 together, consequently are built either in some thick creeper, or 

 in a fan or other palm, and built close to the trunk and held up 

 by the butt of the stem of the leaf ; the hen bird, when sitting 

 on her nest, is not easily disturbed. The external diameter of 

 the nest found on the fan palm was six inches by three and a 

 half inches in depth, internal diameter three and three quarter 

 inches by two inches in depth, and was composed almost entirely 

 of vine tendrils. These birds often work pieces of the cast skins 

 of snakes into their nests ; I saw a piece, on one occasion, three 

 feet long, most of which was hanging down loose. The two eggs 

 were beautifully marked, having a reddish-cream ground coloui*, 

 and irregular sized streaks of different shades of brown, 

 commencing at the larger end and tapering off to a point, some 

 of the streaks, which are more numerous at the larger end of the 

 egg, are very short, others again continue three-quarters of the 

 way down the surface of the Qg^ and are broader than the short 

 ones ; the eggs, which are nearly oval in shape, have a beautiful 



gloss on them and measure A %- y. — ^ inch B 1— y. -^ inch. 



16 16 16 16 



Superb Fruit Pigeon (Ptilinopus superbus). 



This beautiful little pigeon was seen on several occasions in 

 the scrub, and we found several of their nests, each with a single 

 egg in, and also secured the parent bird. They seem to prefer 

 building on the higher part of the ranges. We found one nest, 

 with a young one in, built in a small shrub about two feet from 

 the ground, another on 27th October on a small bush which was 

 growing some two feet out of the crevice of a rock overhanging a 

 precipice, and it was with some difficulty that I managed to 



