r Emu 



2 2 Dove, Some Sotii/icm Swalloias. List July 



although few in number. This was the first occasion, as far as 

 we can remember, on which we have ever seen this Swift in 

 numbers ; usually it occurs in twos and threes. But at West 

 Devonport, also on the shores of Bass Strait, we were favoured 

 this autumn with a wonderful sight. At the autumn equinox, 

 the 22nd day of March, the weather was cold and squally, wind 

 veering west to south-west, with occasional showers. On 

 returning to our cottage from the sea beach at about 4 of the 

 afternoon a wonderful concourse of Swifts was seen, apparently 

 mustering for departure. Many hundreds, probably thousands, 

 were passing backwards and forwards at all heights from 3a 

 feet to 300 or more. The whole atmosphere seemed thick with 

 birds, from the near foreground right away to the wooded hills 

 beyond the fields, vastly more Swifts than we had seen in all 

 previous experience. The main body probably migrated at this 

 time, but many remained, for on the 3rd day of April numbers 

 of Swifts flew about the garden and all around, chasing winged 

 ants, which were swarming in the air ; these ants were of a 

 blackish-brown colour, nearly half an inch long. There had 

 been much rain from the eastward during the morning and the 

 preceding night, and the ants usually swarm in the air on these 

 damp autumn days. While coursing their prey the birds flew 

 as low as 16 feet from the ground, and went up to about 70 or 

 80 feet. 



On Good Friday, the 5th day of April, another storm took 

 place, and in the evening Swifts again made their appearance. 

 After this we expected to see them no more, when, behold ! 

 on the 24th day of April, while ex;ploring the tea-tree flats 

 near the sea, we were much surprised to observe several of these 

 birds flying leisurely about at a fairly low elevation. An 

 extremely late stay for our aerial visitants, and indeed these 

 were the last seen of any of the Swallow clan, although two 

 other migrants were heard even later in the season — the 

 Summer-Bird {Graucaius) at the month's end, and the Fan- 

 tailed Cuckoo two days after. 



Notes on Some F'amiliar Birds, 



By J. R. M'Clymont, M.A., Brown's River Road, near 



HOBART. 



One day in September last I noticed a small bird — I was too 

 far ofl" to recognize the species — fluttering about in front of a 

 Pallid Cuckoo [C. pallidus) perched on a fence. Its movements 

 resembled those of a bird struggling to free itself from a noose 

 in which its feet were entangled. The fluttering continued for 

 several minutes until the Cuckoo flew away. On another day 



