Vol. II 



°5o"] Stray Feathers. 2 1 7 



garden from the beginning of July till the end of October. A 

 flock of Sandpipers appeared on 8th August, but left when the 

 water dried up early in the spring. A pair of Bronze-winged 

 Pigeons came to the plantation (wattle and eucalyptus) in the 

 beginning of April, and stayed on till the middle of October. I 

 heard the first Pallid Cuckoo of the season on 31st August, but 

 saw a Bronze Cuckoo nearly a month earlier. We usually have 

 a large number of Robins through the winter ; from the begin- 

 ning of April till end of August is about the length of their visit. 

 I have seen very few Wood-Swallows this year. The first pair 

 appeared on loth September. — C. L. Dennis. Kolora (Vict.), 

 30/12/02. 



* * * 



Native Companions. — In November last, near Echuca, 

 Victoria, I noticed a few flocks of Native Companions (^///"z^^j^^ 

 australasiana) travelling westward towards the lakes at the 

 mouth of the Murray River. They were coming in from the 

 lakes further north, where they are to be seen in hundreds in 

 the winter time. The reason so many flocks often travel at the 

 same time is because of the hot weather coming on suddenly, 

 although I have seen some flocks a week behind the leaders. 

 There were very {^^^ other Waders about last year, but other 

 birds were as plentiful as ever, despite the drought. — A. J. 

 Simpson. Cornalla, N.S.W. 



Wood-Swallows. — I had no idea till quite recently that 

 the Wood-Swallows were honey-eaters, or perhaps it would be 

 more correct to say eaters of honey. Two of the species 

 {Artamus personatiis and A. siiperciliosus) have been flocking 

 lately on the bauhinia trees, which are just now in full bloom. 

 I watched them quite close, there being no need for the glasses, 

 for in their eagerness to gather their breakfast of honey they 

 crowded round me within 8 feet of my head. They make 

 an animated scene, seven or eight hundred in a tree, continually 

 shifting from flower to flower, at the same time keeping up an 

 incessant twittering and chirping. I wanted some of these birds 

 for examination, so, walking back 40 yards from the tree on 

 which they were flocking, I fired into the middle of them, 

 bringing down one or two, when the mob rose in a cloud, 

 circled round a couple of times, and then settled again in the 

 same tree under which I was. Picking up the fallen birds, I 

 took their descriptions and measurements, and dissected them 

 to find out their sexes. Ovaries in the females contained only 

 very small eggs indeed, while the testes in the males were also 

 very small (this was 13th August). The stomachs of all con- 

 tained ants, and one had a small beetle.* I have since watched 



* Does this not suggest that the birds were capturing insects rather than seeking 

 honey, the insects being attracted by the nectar-laden blossoms ? — Eds, 



