128 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Melbourne in which fairly satisfactory results can be obtained 

 from half a day's collecting — not meaning thereby that such a 

 bird as the Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus, Shaw) 

 can be obtained at any time, although last year two, now in my 

 cabinet, were shot within a mile and a half of the local post-office. 



Soon after leaving the railway station, travelling in a north- 

 easterly direction, you strike good country, and within three 

 miles may possibly secure the Orange-fronted Fantail (Rhipidura 

 rufifrons, Lath.) ; or you have the option of going south-east, to 

 the Blackburn Creek, and following its course, where some 

 excellent patches for birds are to be found. It must be borne in 

 mind, however, that birds which "know a thing or two" dis- 

 continue building nests when disturbed, and with the advance of 

 population will doubtless desert the district in a few years. 



Of the 74 species found breeding during the season, 28 

 remain throughout the winter. Forty-one build in trees, 

 such as the Zosterops, Honey-eaters, &c. ; thirteen build in 

 cavities of trees and creek banks, such as the Brown Tree- 

 creeper, Funeral Cockatoo, &c. ; twelve species on the ground, 

 as the Pioits, Ephthianura, &c. ; eight species in hedges, as the 

 Acanthizas, &c. Another analysis of their nesting habits gives 

 forty-four species as constructing nests exposed to the light ; 

 while thirty species construct dome-shaped nests, and are thus 

 internally dark. 



The dates of egg finding which I shall mention during my 

 notes are not to be regarded either as the earliest or latest date 

 on which the several eggs may be found, but are simply given 

 for the sake of comparison and with the hope that other 

 observers will bring forward their notes on the subject, and may 

 thus throw some light on the breeding times of some of our birds. 



I now purpose taking the birds represented in the district in 

 the order in which they are usually placed by authorities, and 

 briefly introducing them to your notice. The Falconidse do not 

 breed in the district, but are represented by 



1. Brown Hawk {Hieracidea orientalis, Schb.) 



2. Nankeen Kestrel {Tiomunculus cenchroides, V. & H.), W.f 

 First seen in November, more common in February and March. 

 If anyone would care to read a treatise on this nature of bird 



written in the purest and pleasantest of English I would recom- 

 mend you to no less an authority than John Ruskin, in " Love's 

 Meinie." It will do more than entertain you. 



Of the Nocturnge six species may be listed, but excepting the 

 Boobook Owl, are seldom seen. The Sooty Owl is often enough 

 noticed on the hills above Bayswater, but the remaining four 

 merely fly across the country from the eastern ranges. The 



t Species marked W remain in the district throughout the winter. 



