12 8, Fro ui Magazines, &c. 



Emu 

 Oct. 



Double-banded (5. bichenovii), and Red-tailed (Bathilda ritfi- 

 caudd) Finches, besides Gouldian (Pocphila gouldice), Long- 

 tailed (P. acuticauda), and Masked (P. personatd) Grass- 

 Finches. 



Bird-Lore (July-August, 1903) contains a bright and chatty 

 article by Mr. Charles Keeler entitled " In the Haunts of New 

 Zealand Birds." In this article the writer gives his casual field 

 observations of such familiar bush birds as the Bell-Bird, Pied 

 and Black Fantails, Grey Warbler, South Island Tomtit, the 

 well-known Australian White-eye, Bush- Wren, Wild " Canary " 

 (Yellowhead), the famous Kaka Parrot, and the unique Owl- 

 Parrot. Other New Zealand avifauna are incidentally mentioned. 

 Some of the popular names of the colonists sorely puzzled Mr. 

 Keeler. " It happens," he writes, " that the Robins of New Zealand 

 are really old world Warblers, the Tomtit belongs to the same 

 family, while the Bush- Wren is a Pitta." It must have pained 

 such a bird-lover as Mr. Keeler to conclude his brief resume with 

 the warning — " If these New Zealand birds are to be known, it 

 must be done at once, for a host of relentless enemies are sweeping 

 them from the face of the earth." 



Eagles at Close Quarters. — Rochester, Tuesday. — Hunger 

 has made the Eagles in this district very daring. Yesterday Mr. 

 Keenan, of Nanneella, saw a pair of Eagles, that had taken up a 

 position close to a large flock of turkeys, fly just above the flock. 

 Like a flash of lightning one of the Eagles made a swoop, and 

 seized one of the largest turkeys in its talons. On account of 

 the great weight of its prey the Eagle's flight was very slow, and 

 Mr. Keenan, armed with a stout stick, by dealing several vigorous 

 blows at the Eagle, caused it to relinquish its hold of the turkey, 

 which made good its escape. Later in the day Mr. E. Waters, 

 who was shooting in the locality, espied the two birds, and brought 

 one to earth. It measured 7 feet from tip to tip of wings. — Argus, 



24/4/03- 



Timmering, Friday. — Mr. Henry Bradford, rabbit trapper, 



when setting traps about two miles from Rochester on Thursday 



afternoon, heard a commotion in the vicinity of an adjacent 



rabbit burrow. He went to investigate, when he . found an 



immense Eagle-Hawk engaged in fierce combat with a large 



male fox. The bird had attacked the fox, which was getting 



much the worse of the conflict. Getting free of its adversary's 



talons, Reynard had sought refuge in the burrow, at which the 



Eagle-Hawk darted fiercely, striking a rabbit trap, which closed 



on its claw, holding it fast. Mr. Bradford advanced, and after 



an exciting struggle, lasting several minutes, despatched the 



Eagle — which proved to be a magnificent specimen, its pinions 



measuring 6 feet 3 inches from tip to tip. The fox, on seeking 



