246 Stray Feathers. [.sf"}"!!. 



and has done so just at daybreak on several subsequent occasions. 

 This species can fairly claim to be the most persistent caller of 

 any in the district, starting at daybreak and going on through 

 most of the day, with an occasional " interval for refreshment," 

 until darkness is falling ; last night its final notes were at 8 p.m. 

 I have also heard it occasionally give a single call at 2 a.m., and 

 one or two more between then and daybreak. It is here in great 

 plenty this spring, more numerous than any other Cuckoo, 

 although the Fan-tailed is also present in good numbers.— 

 H. Stuart Dove., F.Z.S. West Devonport (Tas.), 22/ii/ig. 



* * * 



Wood-Swallows and Ants. — ^When rambling through a paddock 

 at Cheltenham (Vic.) on 15th November, 1919, I noticed a number 

 of Wood-Swallows congregated above a low mound of reddish 

 earth. Their actions showed that the birds were excited, but 

 whether by pleasure or anger I was too far away to decide. They 

 were gliding or hovering over the mound, and every minute two or 

 three would swoop so low as almost to brush it with their wings. 

 But none ever alighted. I thought, at first, that the birds were 

 mobbing a snake ; but a closer view revealed that they were 

 taking toll of the teeming population of a citadel of mound ants 

 {Iridomyrmex detectus). " Workers," fierce and resentful, were 

 swarming over the mound, and numbers of winged males and 

 females (the Wood-Swallows' chief victims, I fancy) were issuing 

 from its " doors." The birds dispersed when I drew near, but as 

 soon as I walked a few yards from the mound they gathered again 

 to the feast. Each time when one swooped it snapped up an 

 ant, perhaps more. The Masked Wood-Swallow (Artamiis per- 

 sonatiis) and the White-browed Wood-Swallow (.4. superciliosus) 

 were both abundant in the paddock, but in the flock at the ants' 

 mound the former predominated. It was pleasant to watch 

 their manoeuvres and to hear their sharp notes mingle with those 

 of other birds. The paddock — 20 acres of uncultivated land, 

 with tea-tree thickets, a swamp, and sandy ridges — was rich in 

 bird-life ; but the Wood-Swallows were like an army of occupation. 

 The sky was flecked by their gliding forms ; they were perched on 

 branches of every tree ; and the scrub was loud with their voices. 

 I discovered a nest of A. personatiis breast-high in a dead Hakea 

 bush ; it held two nestlings about a week old. Within coo-ee of 

 the spot Mr. L. Thorn, my companion, who was insect-hunting, 

 killed a large copperhead snake ; so, after all, there was a serpent 

 jU this little paradise. — Charles Barrett. Melbourne. 



* * * 



Cormorant and Eels. — While waiting for the steamer to come 

 along last week, a black Shag came to the top with an eel about 

 18 inches long, swallowed it, and in a little time afterwards came 

 up with a smaller one ; this also went down. I drew the attention 

 of most of the people on the jetty to this. — E. R. HosiE, fisherman. 

 Metung (Vic.) 



