142 Le SouEF, Birds' -eggs from Northern Australia. I ist Jan. 



the decayed wood at the bottom of a hollow in a eucalyptus 

 tree, and are unusually light in colour. They are dull white, 

 with a very slight gloss, two being marked all over with 

 irregular dots and a few larger spots of reddish-brown ; but the 

 third has a few small spots as well as a zone of large light 

 reddish-brown markings, more or less confluent, near the centre 

 of the Qgg, but slightly towards the smaller end. They measure 

 — (i) 1.47 X 1. 15; (2) 1.50 X 1. 12; (3) 1.55 X 1.15 inches. 



Pandion haliaetus, sub-species leucocephalus (White- 

 headed Osprey). 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. i., p. 451 ; Gould's Handbook, vol. i., p. 22, 

 sp. 6. 



The eggs of these birds are very handsome, and vary much, 

 some being dull white and richly marked with large dark brown 

 blotches, in some places appearing almost black, and lighter 

 markings of a purplish hue beneath the surface ; others, again, 

 are a light buff and thickly marked with dark reddish-brown, 

 especially at the larger end, while occasionally you find eggs of 

 a. dull white, with a few bold dark brown markings. 



These eggs also vary much in size. A clutch I received from 

 the West Australian coast measures — (i) 2.58 x 1.87, (2) 2.57 x 



1.84, (3) 2.59 X 1.87. Another clutch, from the North-eastern 

 coast, measures — (i) 2.52 x 1.72, (2) 2.54 x 1.71 ; while those 



received from the Port Darwin district measure — A, (i) 2.58 x 



1.86, (2) 2.23 X 1.75 ; B, 2.28 X 1.64; C, 2.20 X 1.67 ; D, 2.20 x 



1.68 inches. The last three are unusually small. 



Graucalus HYPOLEUCUS (White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike). 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. iv. , p. 36 ; Gould's Handbook, vol. i., p. 196, 

 sp. 106. 



Two nests of these birds were found, on 24th and 29th 

 November, each with two fresh eggs in. The clutches 

 measure — A, (i) 1.05 x .76, (2) 1.08 x .76 ; B, (i) i.i 3 x .76, (2) 

 1. 14 X .78 inches. The nests were the usual shallow structures, 

 almost flat, and built on the horizontal fork of a branch, and 

 were composed of fine twigs, well matted together with cobweb. 

 The eggs are pale green, well marked with blotches of brown 

 and greenish-brown markings, these generally being most 

 numerous at the larger end. The markings are much more 

 plentiful on some eggs than others. 



Graucalus MELANOPS (Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike). 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. iv., p. 30 ; Gould's Handbook, vol. i., p. 192, 

 sp. 103. 



These birds have a wide range, being found all over Australia, 

 as well as on the islands to the north. Two of their nests 

 were discovered, on loth October and 12th December, one con- 

 taining three and the other one egg. The structures were 



