Sept.. 1907] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 89 



SOME BIRDS OF THE HAWTHORN DISTRICT. 

 By C. F. Cole. 

 {Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 12th August, 1907.) 

 Towards the south-eastern corner of the city of Hawthorn, and 

 just outside the five-mile radius from the General Post-Office, 

 Melbourne, lies a block of some eighty-four acres of private 

 property. A large portion of this up to within a short time ago 

 was almost in in its natural state, being thickly timbered with gum 

 saplings, mostly Red Gums, Enca.lyptus rostrata, Schl., while here 

 and there a Native Cherry-tree, Exocarpos cupreasiformis, Labill., 

 or a She-oak, Casuarina quadrivalvis, Labill., adds variety to the 

 foliage. There still remain a number of the giant Red Gums for 

 which Hawthorn was noted when first settled. These kings of 

 the forest, long past their prime, are now gnarled and hollow, hut 

 if they could speak they could probably tell some exciting tales 

 of the life led by the aboriginal inhabitants of the district, whose 

 tomahawk marks they bear on their trunks, made by the dusky 

 owners when in search of the much-beloved Opossum, TricJiosvris 

 vidpectda, Kerr, which provided both food and clothing. These 

 animals were doubtless fairly numerous, and may yet be seen on 

 a moonlight night as they roam among the leafy branches. 



The hollows in the large trees were a iev; years back the 

 breeding places of such native birds as the Brown Kingfisher 

 or Laughing Jackass, the Sacred Kingfisher, the Boobook Owl, 

 and the Owlet Nightjar, but now such introduced birds as the 

 English Starlings and Sparrows or Indian Minahs have taken 

 possession, and rear their young year after year unmolested. 



Years ago one of the commonest birds of the district was the 

 Lunulated Honey-eater, then more frequently called the Black- 

 cap. The White-plumed Honey-eater was also fairly plentiful, 

 and is so still, for as the Lunulated species disappeared so the 

 White-plumed seemed to increase. 



As a native of the district, and a close observer of bird-life from 

 my boyhood days, I have noticed that the increase of introduced 

 birds means the disappearance of the native species — purely, I 

 take it, a matter of the survival of the fittest, for the introduced 

 birds seem to be more prolific and to be able to adapt themselves 

 to circumstances more readily than the indigenous species. 



Some of our native birds seem to exhibit a tendency to roam 

 about from one part of the country to another. After the first 

 rains in autumn many species may be seen frequenting this 

 natural shelter, and, singly, in pairs, or in flocks, apparently 

 settling down for a short stay as they are passing by. 



A short distance to the south lies the broad valley of Gardiner's 

 Creek, frequented at times by several varieties of herons, 

 especially the White-fronted ; this year I saw there for the first 

 time the White-necked Heron. 



