26o Stray Feathers. [,sf April 



his five years' residence he has never noted their absence. The 

 birds' haunt is close to a favourite camp and watering place for 

 the cattle, so is visited rather frequently by the overseer. He 

 knows of no other colony on the estate. The area occupied is 

 not more than 30 acres. It is covered by a dense growth of the 

 usual North Coast scrub timber, as well as by many lofty eucalypts. 

 It is almost isolated by ring-barked and scrub-cleared lands, but 

 there is plenty of similar country within a mile. — H. L. White. 

 Scone (N.S.W.) 



* * * 



Rapacity of Owls. — Recently, when exploring a dense gully, 

 I found a Powerful Owl [Ninox streniia) perched in a wattle-tree, 

 and having in its talons the body of a black " flying squirrel " 

 {Phalanger). A few small stones caused the bird to take flight, 

 carrying its prey with it. The latter, however, caught in the 

 twigs, and was dropped. On examination it was found that the 

 head, internal organs, and the fore half of body were missing, 

 having presumably been devoured. As the flesh was fresh, the 

 animal had evidently been killed on the previous night. The 

 " squirrel " was a large one of its kind, and probably weighed 

 2\ lbs. when ahve. As it was more than three-parts devoured, 

 and allowing half a pound for bones and skin, &c., the Owl's meal 

 had consisted of about i\ lbs. in weight, eaten in, say, 12 hours 

 at a long estimate. I have also seen the Boobook Owl {N . hoohook) 

 flying with a ring-tailed possum, apparently as large as itself. 

 It would appear that the Owls carry a larger prey in proportion 

 to their size than do the Hawks. On moonlit nights the Podargus 

 {Podargus strigoides) is frequently seen on a fence overlooking a 

 ditch full of frogs. If these birds take an occasional frog, then 

 the name " Frogmouth " is doubly appropriate. — A. E. Rodda, 

 R.A.O.U. Warbiirton (Vic), 16/11/15. 



Birds Observed on Barrington Tops, N.S.W.— The Maitland 

 District Scientific and Historical Research Society, in December, 

 1915, organized an excursion to the Barrington Tops, a plateau 

 lying between the Hunter and Manning Rivers, and from which 

 the Barrington, Gloucester, Karuah, Paterson, Williams, and 

 Chichester Rivers rise. The plateau is the highest land mass, 

 except isolated peaks in New South Wales, outside of the 

 Kosciusko region. The average height of the part visited 

 was between 4,500 feet and 5,000 feet in height. For five 

 or six months of the year snowfalls occur, and midsummer 

 frosts are not rare. The chief object of the expedition was 

 to ascertain the geology of the region, and, if possible, get in- 

 foiTnation that would throw light on our glacial problems. 

 Entomologists, with a botanist, geologist, and conchologist, 

 accompanied the expedition to the plateau, which, scientifically, 

 was unknown. It is visited only by hunters and a few cattlemen. 

 The southern part of the district which the party visited is without 



