168 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



fastened to two upright twigs, at a height of seven feet from the 

 ground. 



The eggs, which are in an advanced stage of incubation, are 

 two in number, oval in form, somewhat pointed at the smaller 

 end, the shell being close-grained, smooth and lustrous. They 

 are of a uniform fleshy-buff colour, with a slightly richer shade on 

 the larger end, where on one specimen, with the aid of a lens, a 

 few very minute darker dots may be seen. Length — (A) 0.96 x 0.7 

 inches ; (B) 0.94 x 0.68 inches. 



It will be seen from the description that the eggs of Ptilotis 

 versicolor are indistinguishable in colour from those of its close 

 ally, Ptilotis sonora. 



Similar eggs taken by Mr. E. M. Cornwall, of Cairns, have 

 recently been described as the eggs of Ptilotis fasciogularis, Gould. 



The late Mr. H. E. Hill. — We regret to have to record 

 the death of Mr. H. E. Hill, at Kalgoorlie, W.A., on 28th 

 February. Mr. Hill for some years acted as one of the honorary 

 curators of the Gordon College Museum, Geelong, and its 

 arrangement is in great part due to his energy. He was for some 

 time editor of the Geelong N'atioralist, and later on of the Wombat. 

 He was a keen ornithologist, and contributed several notes to the 

 Emu, as well as to the journals mentioned. At the time of his 

 death he was Secretary and Mathematical Lecturer at the 

 Kalgoorlie School of Mines. 



Wild Duck and Young in Cellar. — My attention 

 was recently attracted by a paragraph in the Albury Banner 

 reporting the finding of a wild duck with ten ducklings in the 

 bottle cellar of a vineyard, and asking the question as to whether 

 the ducklings were hatched in the cellar. On inquiry, I found that 

 it was a Black Duck, Awis superciliosa, which had been found. 

 Most of our ducks and teal rear their young in hollow trees, often 

 far from water, and then convey or lead them to the water, 

 though sometimes the Black Duck will carry its brood one by one 

 right to the water. In this case it is probable the ducklings were 

 being led to the water, when, taking alarm at something, they 

 sought shelter in some hole which led to the cellar, and from 

 which they were afterwards unable to escape. — G. A Keart- 

 land. Preston, 14th January, 1905. 



The Brontosaurus. — After considerable work a skeleton 

 of this giant pre-historic lizard has recently been set up 

 in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. 

 It came from near the celebrated Bone Cabin Quarry, Wyoming, 

 U.S.A. Some idea of the size of this creature can be gained 

 from the measurement of the femur of the hind leg, which is 5 

 feet 10)4 inches. The skeleton required little restoration, and 

 has a total length of 66 feet. 



