1^8 Australasian Ornithologists' Union. [7th "jan. 



that of " Success to the Union." In the name of the Union he 

 thanked the Royal Society for the use of its fine rooms. Mr. A. 

 Morton, in reply, said that the Royal Society of Tasmania, which 

 was the oldest body of the kind in Australasia, tendered a most 

 hearty welcome to the Aust. O.U., and said its committee were 

 glad to place their rooms at the service of members. 



The business meeting which followed the dinner was presided 

 over by Col. Legge, who read a short note on the breeding of 

 Circus gouldi, three eggs having been found in the same nest 

 as three young birds. In reply, to an inquiry by Mr. Le Souef 

 as to whether these birds laid two clutches a year, Col. Legge 

 said he could give no explanation of the fact mentioned in his note. 



Mr. A. H. C. Zeitz mentioned that he had once found six eggs 

 in the nest of Milvus affinis ; but the chairman pointed out 

 that as this species was gregarious it was possible that one bird 

 would not resent another laying in its nest. 



Mr. D. Le Souef read some notes on the extinct Tasmanian 

 Emu, regretting that information as to the bird was practically 

 ml . 



In the discussion which followed, Col. Legge said he recollected 

 two Emus being kept at an estate nine miles from Fingal, but 

 did not know what became of them. They seemed much shorter 

 birds than the fine ones found elsewhere. 



Mr. A. Morton produced a M.S. volume of notes by the Rev. 

 Robert Knopwood, who in 1803 recorded that his dog killed 

 one large Emu and that six young ones were got. He (Mr. 

 Morton) believed the Emu of Tasmania was identical with that 

 of the mainland except as to the density of feather, owing to 

 climatic changes. When he came to the Museum 19^- years ago 

 he found, amongst other bones, some which he believed to be 

 those of the Tasmanian Emu, and would be glad to let Mr. Le 

 Souef use them for comparison. Mr. Le Souef's paper should 

 make members careful not to neglect records, but to put them 

 in a place of safety. 



Mr. Le Souef said he would be glad to have the bones to compare, 

 not with one, but with several specimens. 



Mr. A. L. Butler remembered his father telling him that one 

 of his shepherds reported the existence of Emus. 



Mr. Morton : The Emu was once plentiful in Tasmania. Why 

 should it become suddenly extinct ? 



Col. Legge thought the extinction was a matter of environ- 

 ment. Early settlers hunted them down by dogs, and when 

 driven from open country Emus could not exist in dense 

 forests. 



The hon. secretary presented a short report as to what had 

 been done re obtaining information from lighthouse-keepers as 

 to birds. The lighthouses of Victoria were not so well suited 

 for observation as those of the eastern and western coasts. He 

 submitted a list of questions which, if sent out through the 

 proper channels, might elicit information in three or four years. 



