44 ^^''">' ^^<^f^'^^^- [.sfT'iy 



of incubation, and made it i6 days Two eggs appear to be the 

 invariable clutch in this locality. The young, when born, had 

 reddish skin, and showed some dark grey down on head and body. 

 On seventh morning after hatching the eyes were opening : there 

 was long dark-grey down on the head and back ; the wing-quills 

 were sprouting well. I noticed that, while one of the young had 

 a yellowish bill, the other (probably a male) had a larger reddish- 

 tinted one. This clutch had left the nest on the fourteenth 

 morning from hatching, after considerable heat on the previous 

 day, which may have hastened their departure. In another 

 instance the Wattle-Birds had nested in a small clump of Loranthns 

 sprouting from the upper side of a box limb {Eucalyptus) about 

 20 feet from the ground. They appear to prefer the parasite 

 while still in the young state, with the leaves somewhat stiff and 

 upright, before it develops the long, drooping habit of the mature 

 bunch, although occasionally a nest is placed in one of the latter 

 type. The female was sitting on two eggs on 15th October, the 

 incubation in this case occupying 15 days. The young were 

 sparsely covered with dark grey down on head and body. The 

 eyes were opening on seventh morning ; a long, dark down 

 covered heads and bodies, and the feathers were sprouting, 

 noticeably the wing-quills. At ten days from hatching some 

 down still remained, although the feathers were developing well. 

 When the camera was taken up the box tree to get a picture of 

 the nest the old birds became wildly excited, dashing from branch 

 to branch with harsh, grating cries, the female occasionally 

 sailing to the ground and " shamming wounded," after the manner 

 of the Yellow Robin, but in this case the deception was not 

 nearly so long-continued or effective, the wild excitement which 

 reigned in the bird's breast apparently preventing her from a long 

 continuance in any course of tactics. The attempt to lure from 

 the nest in this manner was a new trait to me so far as the Wattle- 

 Bird is concerned. When 14 days old these two young had a 

 plumage of streaked light and dark grey, much resembling the 

 parents, although a little down still showed through. One of 

 them, when touched, left the nest and sailed to the ground with 

 outspread wings. Next day they left the nest altogether, giving 

 a period of 15 days from hatching to fledging, as against 14 days 

 with the sheoak nestlings. — H. Stuart Dove. Cunninghame. 



Death of a Distinguished Ornithologist. — In The Proceedings of 

 the Ornithological Society of Bavaria, vol. x. (issued March, 

 1911), there appears the following in vieuwtiaui : — " On 28th 

 January, igii, in the evening, after a brief illness, our greatly 

 esteemed first president. Herr Dr. (med.) Carl Parrot, the founder 

 and for many years leader of the Ornithological Society of Bavaria, 

 departed this life. We mourn his loss deeply, and reserve our- 

 selves to refer to his works and his merits in an extensive necro- 

 logue later.— The Council." 



