332 Munthiy Conversaziones. [i^c'Tlni 



He was well rewarded, however, in this case, as he secured two 

 clutches of eggs of the Elenseor Falcon, a most rare bird, and one 

 about whose nesting habits very little was known. This Falcon, 

 he found, laid its eggs on the bare ground on the highest point 

 of the islet. 



Although the birds dealt with were foreign ones, members could 

 not help but be highly interested, owing to the charming manner 

 in which the Commodore had handled his subjects. 



Members learned with regret that the genial Commodore's pro- 

 motion has necessitated his removal to England. He will l)e 

 much missed at the monthly R.A.O.U. conversaziones. 



The monthly conversazione was held at the National Museum, 

 Melbourne, on Wednesday, 7th January. Mr. A. J. Campbell, 

 C.M.B.O.U., occupied the chair, and he welcomed to the meeting 

 ]\Ir. A. H. Chisholm, State Secretary of R.A.O.U. for Queensland. 



The subject for discussion was " Cuckoos," 9,nd many interesting 

 notes were contributed.. An examination and discussion on recent 

 additions to the H. L. White collection of bird-skins also took 

 place. The chairman, in his remarks on Cuckoos, said that he 

 had recently asked members .:to give more attention to the study 

 of these birds. He urged that when a nest containing a Cuckoo's 

 egg was found the young Cuckoo be allowed to hatch, and its 

 subsequent development watched and recorded. Very little was 

 known about the young of the Black-eared Cuckoo, and it was 

 taken for granted that the Narrow-billed Bronze-Cuckoo laid a 

 pink spotted egg, and the Bronze-Cuckoo a bronze egg. Proof 

 was required, he said, for nothing definite on the matter had been 

 recorded. Mr. L. G. Chandler stated that he shot a Bronze- 

 Cuekoo on one occasion and, as the bird expired, it dropped a 

 bronze egg. Messrs. Ross and Stone mentioned finding the Square- 

 tailed Cuckoo's eggs in the nests of Scarlet-breasted Robins, and 

 the question arose as to whether the bird placed its egg in an 

 open nest with its beak, or sat on the nest. Mr. F. E. Wilson 

 said that a lady in Beaconsfield, Victoria, had told him that she 

 saw a Pallid Cuckoo sitting on a Scarlet-breasted Robin's nest. 



Mr. A. H. Chisholm contributed an interesting note on the 

 Koel. It was possible, he said, that the town of Toowong, in 

 Queensland, had been named after the call of the female bird. 

 Messrs. Syd. Jackson and J. O'Neill Brennan had discovered that 

 the Koel fed largely on the berries of the cockspur bush {Citdrania 

 jdvanensis), and at one time this bush was plentiful at Toowong. 



At the conclusion of the meeting Mr. A. J. Campbell, on behalf 

 of the Union, presented Commodore H. L. Cochrane, R.N., with 

 a gold Emu badge, and wished him hon voyage on his departure 

 for England. Commodore Cochran(\ in responding, said he would 

 always wear the badge of the R.A.O.U. with great pleasure. 

 It would remind him of the happy tinn'S he had spent with his 

 Australian friends, and he hoped that his duties would again 

 bring him to these shores. 



