^■°'; _^^'] Stray Feathers, ig3 



,111(1 around Llic cainj) one can couul tlicni in ilo/ciis. Tlu'V have 

 no leaf of tlie city, and circle over the l)iuldiiigs and ahf,dit on the 

 roofs unconcernedly. Another kind of l)ird is a ("row marktul hke 

 our Magpie. Swallows are everywhere." 



Early Voices. — Being desirous of hearing what was astir in the 

 early hours of morning now that spring has fully come, I turned 

 out yesterday at j.jo a.m., and at 4 o'clock heard from my verandah 

 the loud, cheerful, whistling calls of the Crescent Honey-eater {Licli- 

 mera aitstralasiana, Shaw). While residing in the bush some miles 

 from Table Cape, North-West Tasmania, I always noticed that 

 this species was about the earhest to be astir, although it was 

 run \-ery closely by our Dusky Robin {Antcmrodryas vittata, 

 O. and G.) The latter does not occur just in my immediate neigh- 

 l)ourhood here, although it is found in the district, so that 

 yesterday the Crescent " held the floor " at dawn, and from 4 

 until 4.40 was the only voice heard. At this period a Magpie 

 {Gymnorhina organicum, Gld.) came into a white gum just at the 

 back of the house and commenced warbling his love-ditty, which 

 he continued almost without cessation until 5.20. He is a young 

 bird of last season, as I know by his voice, and gives this per- 

 formance each morning at about the same hour, lasting from 

 thirty to forty minutes. At 5.20 a.m. the loud, penetrating calls 

 of the Pallid Cuckoo {Cuciilus pallidus, Lath.) were borne upon 

 my ears, and continued, with the usual persistence of this species, 

 for se\'eral hours. It is strange that this was the only Cuckoo 

 heard ; the Fan -tailed, usually very plentiful in this locality, is 

 quite scarce so far this season, nor does the Bronze appear to be 

 up to its usual numbers, although I have seen several individuals. 

 Nothing fresh was noted, beyond the chirping of the ubiquitous 

 Spairow, until 6.50, when the Butcher-Bird {Cracticus cinereus, 

 (ild.) made his presence known by a ringing laugh proceeding 

 from a group of saplings ; long before this it was, of course, broad 

 daylight. 



Of evening voices, the Pallid Cuckoo appears to be the latest. 

 More than once this spring he has been calling not far from the 

 house until 7.45 p.m., when it was practically dark. In the Table 

 Cape bush I have heard the Fan-tailed Cuckoo {Cacomantis 

 fiahelliforniis. Lath.) uttering its soft trill at intervals for several 

 hours after dark, but the Pallid usually ceased when daylight 

 failed.— H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S., R.A.O.U. West Devonport 

 (Tas.), 23/10/15. 



Notes from Springfield (Tas.)— This season is remarkable for 

 the nuinbLMs of Robins — Scarlet-breasted {Petroica Icggii) and 

 Flame-breasted (P. pluinicea) — that are spending the nesting time 

 here. The excessive rain seems to have deferred the nesting season, 

 and many birds are only now attending to the first brood. Another 



