26 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



in a neighbouring shed, fastening their nest on to the end of a 

 piece of string that was hanging down. A pair of Australian 

 Goshawks, Astur approximans, had built their nest close to the 

 house in a tall eucalyptus tree, and Mr. Cochrane informed me 

 that, on the eggs being taken, they built a new nest, and had laid 

 three more eggs within fourteen days. The second clutch was not 

 disturbed. There were some nicely grown Cocoanut Palms in the 

 garden, and they were bearing well. Mr. Cochrane complained 

 that the Carpet Snakes were often troublesome, and that all his 

 guinea fowls had been taken by them. The birds roosted in a 

 tree close to the house, but the Carpet Snakes used occasionally 

 to climb up the tree at night, catch one of the birds, and that then 

 the snake dropped to the ground with its prey. Several of his 

 fowls and turkeys had -also been taken. We paid a visit to the 

 big tree in the scrub on which a large colony of Shining Calornis 

 were nesting, and on picking up a fresh nest that had fallen I 

 found an almost fully-fledged blue-black young one in it. The 

 ground was covered with the seeds of nutmegs which the birds 

 had brought, and some of them still had their bright scarlet 

 covering of mace on. In the same tree a flock of Sulphur-crested 

 Cockatoos roosted, and plenty of their white feathers were lying 

 about the ground. Occasionally when passing underneath a tree 

 in the scrub numbers of small twigs with the leaves on were 

 noticed lying on the ground, and I was informed that they were 

 broken off by the white cockatoos. These birds are, as a rule, 

 very silent when feeding, although a flock of them may be to- 

 gether. In the creek a Brown Water Snake was seen, and on the 

 branch of an old dead tree above a Plotus Bird was resting. A 

 Banks's Cockatoo, Calyptorliynchus Banksii, had its nest near 

 by, with a nearly fully-fledged young one in it. The parent birds 

 left their fledgling in the morning, and did not return to it until 

 the evening. As the tree in which the nest was was close to the 

 house, Mr. Cochrane was enabled to keep the bird under his 

 observation, and observed the fact stated. The birds, apparently, 

 only lay one egg, as in the four nests that I have heard of such 

 was the case. Mr. Hislop knew of another nest, and was waiting 

 until the young bird was old enough to take, but the natives, 

 forestalling him, took the young bird and ate it. A large flock of 

 Spine-tailed Swifts were noticed circling above the trees, and 

 occasionally coming low down. It is wonderful the power these 

 birds have on the wing, and I have never yet seen one resting 

 during the day. 



We returned to Wyalla the same evening. Next day two 

 native women had a difference of opinion and went at it with 

 sticks, hands, and tongue, like two cats, much to the detriment of 

 one of the combatants' dresses. They were soon separated, but 

 took some time to quiet down. When fighting they never seem 



