2 Tke >'*>out/i Australiiiii Ornit/iofoyical Associatiori. 



the food of cormorants. It was admitted by all present thai 

 the Chairman and Dr. Morgan's work upon this subject clearly 

 showed that the cormorant was not injurious to the seafishing 

 industry. Mr. J. Neil McGilp was requested by the Chairman 

 to give his experiences with the wedge-tailed eagle and the 

 crow. Speaking of the first bird, Mr. McCrilp said it was only 

 troublesome during drought time, when they appeared in 

 numbers. In his opinion, an eagle could not take a lamb 

 from a healihy mother, for she would be more than a match 

 for the bird, but he had seen five eagles attack and almost 

 kill a large lamb. He considered crows very useful. The 

 short-billed, or Bennett's Crow, w^as a wonderful bird on 

 grasshoppers and other insects, and all species of crows were 

 enemies to the blowfly. He had observed several crows turn 

 over a dry carcase and dig into the ground for the fly larvae. 

 A discussion occurred regarding the habits of birds, for which 

 there seemed to be no explanation. It was stated that the bare- 

 eyed cockatoo ring-barked a gumtree in which it had its nest. 

 One reason seemed to be that the killing of the tree would 

 cause more nesting hollows to become available. Mr. 

 McGilp said a native had informed him that the cockatoos 

 ring-barked trees because the cats could not be heard climbing 

 up the green bark, but as soon as they struck the dead wood 

 with their claus ii scri>tc!ting sound of warning was made. The 

 Chairiiiaii staliMl that the Rufous Song-Lark {Ginclor- 

 hdiiipJnis nifcscciis) had put in an a])])earance for the first 

 time this season at the Reedbeds on September 10, and that 

 on the same day he saw a large flight of white-browed wood 

 swallows i Artdiiins .siiixrcilio.sii.'^) flying very high, and that 

 the landrail { H !/pof<i('iii<li(i philiij/xHsis) was numerous at the 

 Keedbeds this season. Sonic interesting notes from Mr. Bell- 

 chambers, of Humbug Scrub, were read. 

 OCTOBER 25th, 1918. 

 Capt. S. A. White presided. Several members of the 

 field naturalists' section of the Royal Society were welcomed 

 as visitors. The Chairman said he had been addressing good 

 a;Udiences in several country centres, and also scholars of the 

 public school's. He was much gratified at the interest shown 

 in bird protection. Mr. J. AV. Mellor stated that the pair of 

 wagtails which he had reported at the previous meeting as hav- 

 ing rebuilt their nest near to his home after having been 

 interfered with, had become sus])icious. They had })ulled it 

 to pieces, built it for the lliird time and on this occasion high ut> 

 in a gum tree. Mr. Mellor said he had again witnessed 



