^°1-92Y^] Stray Feathers. 317 



plumage, squatted down on the ground as if on a nest, her mate 

 standing behind her. FeeHng confident that the bird was only 

 trying to fool me, I remained standing still, and, after a minute 

 or so, she got up and moved a few yards before sitting dowri 

 again. Being certain now that she was only putting up a bluff, 

 I proceeded slowly on my way. Immediately the birds changed 

 their tactics, and came running straight towards me, making a 

 loud hissing note, the wings being slightly lifted and the tail 

 raised and spread in a fan like that of a Turkey. About ftve 

 yards away the front bird, still I think the hen, halted and spread 

 out her wings to their full extent, twisting them at the same 

 time so that they were held vertically, the beautifully marked 

 under surface being directed straight towards me. The mottled 

 brown, grey and white marks and patches beneath the wings 

 and the black and white spots at the tips of the tail feathers 

 were thus fully displayed, whilst the remarkable hissing sound 

 was kept up almost without intermission. The male was mean- 

 while indulging in a precisely similar display, but keeping some 

 yards behind his mate. 



Each time I took a step the bird came nearer, till she was 

 within two yards of me, and it seemed that at her next advance 

 she would commence the onslaught that she had been threaten- 

 ing. The performance had, however, attracted the attention of 

 a cow grazing in the paddock, and also of my host, who had 

 heard the curious noise from the house several hundred yards 

 away. These reinforcements approaching simultaneously from 

 opposite sides frightened the birds, and they resumed their nor- 

 mal demeanour. 



It was now almost dark, so I forbore hunting for the nest, 

 which I w^as convinced w^as close at hand, for fear of treading 

 on it without seeing it. Less than a minute's search the follow- 

 ing day revealed an egg and a newly hatched bird on the ground 

 close to the spot where I had been standing. The second egg 

 hatched next day, but this chick unfortunately died directly after 

 leaving the egg. 



T am informed by an old inhabitant of the district that he 

 has seen the birds driving away cows from their nests by the 

 method described, but I have not met with a description of it 

 in print. It would be interesting to hear of other instances of 

 these shy birds behaving so boldly in defence of their nests. — 

 AV. B. Alexander, Sherwood, near Brisbane. November, 1921. 



ERRATUM. 

 A slight error crept into the lines beneath photographs of 

 Tree-creepers' nests, published in The Emu for October. Both 

 pictures — one by Mr. i\. H. Chisholm and the other by Mr. D. 

 W. Gaukrodger — were, as the accompanying letterpress showed, 

 referable to the Brown Tree-creeper, not to the White-throated 

 Tree-creeper. 



