°' ■ \ Le SoUEF, Birds -eggs frovi Northern Australia. ^ 5 ^ 



bourhood, not only by their notes, but also by their curious 

 antics when on the wing, and their habit, if disturbed when 

 nesting, of darting into holes in trees, apparently to mislead the 

 intruder as to the hollow in which their eggs really are. They 

 make no nest, the eggs being placed on the decayed wood at 

 the bottom of the hollow. Two sets of four eggs were found — 

 one on 25th October, and the other on 9th December. They are 

 pure white, somewhat rounded, and measure — (i) 1.26 x .99 ; 

 (2) 1.32 X I.I ; (3) J. 36 X 1.6 ; (4) 1.29 X I inches. 



Merops ornatus (Bee-eater). 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. xvii., p. 74 ; Gould's Handbook, vol. i., 

 p. 117, sp. 58. 



These beautiful birds are very plentiful in the nesting season, 

 and have a habit of sitting on a post or stump, and darting out 

 to catch any unwary insect that may pass by. They make their 

 nesting chamber at the end of a burrow, which they drill in the 

 ground, usually in sandy soil, and lay four white eggs, which 

 measure — (i) .81 x .70; (2) .79 x .Gy ; (3) .80 x .6^ ; (4) .79 x 

 .69 inch. Date, 3rd November. 



Dacelo leachii (Leach Kingfisher). 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. xvii., p. 206 ; Gould's Handbook, vol. i., 

 p. 124, sp. 61. 



The various nests I have personally found of these birds have 

 all been holes drilled in the earthen nests of termites, situated 

 at the fork of a eucalyptus tree, generally at a considerable 

 height from the ground. The eggs are rounded and pure white, 

 and vary considerably in size, as one clutch from Rockhampton 

 measures — (i) 1.78 x 1.50 ; (2) 1.84 x 1.52; and a clutch from 

 Port Darwin — (i) 1.72 x 1.36; (2) 1.81 x 1.35 ; (3) 1.81 x 1.32 

 inches. Several clutches from the Northern Territory are in the 

 collection, but their dimensions are practically the same as those 

 last given. 



Dacelo leachii, sub-species CERVINA (Fawn-breasted King- 

 fisher). 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. xvii., p. 207 ; Gould's Handbook, vol. i., 

 p. 125, sp. 62. 



Two clutches of this bird's eggs were found, both consisting 

 of three. Dates, 25th October and 7th December. They were 

 laid in the decomposed wood at the bottom of a hollow in a 

 eucalyptus tree, and are pure white, rounded in shape, and 

 measure — (i) 1.56 x 1.38; (2) 1.52 x 1.29; (3) 1.61 x 1.36 inches. 



Halcyon pyrrhopygius (Red-backed Kingfisher). 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus., vol. xvii., p. 258 ; Gould's Handbook, vol. i., 

 p. 130, sp. 64. 



A nest of a pair of these birds was found at the end of a 

 tunnel drilled in the bank of a river ; the other was secured in a 



