Nov., 1909.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 9.^ 



foliage. Therefore please let it suffice just to have mentioned 

 these in concluding my sketch of " Yellow-haired September," 

 so named by our Australian poet, Kendall. 



[The paper was illustrated by a series of lantern slides of the 

 various species mentioned. — Ed. Vict. N'at.] 



BE AMYTIS VARTA, Carter. 



To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. 



Sir, — Referring to the bird which I described provisionally as a 

 new species — viz., Amytis varia (see Vict. Nat., vol. xxv., pp. 

 75 and 86) — the skins that I obtained are regarded by ornitho- 

 logical experts as being Amytis macrura, although no skins of this 

 species were in the collections of either Sydney, Melbourne, or 

 the South Kensington Museums, and I was unable to make a 

 comparison with the type skins, which are in Paris. Gould gives 

 the total length measurement of A. macrura as five and a half 

 inches, but this is apparently an error, and as his " Handbook " was 

 the only work I had giving measurements of this species, I 

 formed the opinion that the birds obtained by me were new to 

 science. — Yours, &c., 



TOM CARTER 

 (Of Broome Hill, Western Australia). 

 Masham, Yorkshire, i6th August, 1909. 



Bird Day. — The first Bird Day instituted by the Education 

 Department for the benefit of the scholars attending the State 

 schools of Victoria was celebrated on Friday, 29th October. A 

 special programme of lessons, dealing with various aspects of 

 bird life and laying particular stress on their protection and 

 preservation, was carried out. In the smaller schools, where 

 possible, excursions were made to localities frequented by birds, 

 and lessons given in the field. In the metropolis, as this was 

 impossible, the services of a number of natural history enthusiasts 

 were secured, and practical demonstrations on the value of birds 

 were given by members of the Field Naturalists' Club, the 

 Ornithologists' Union, ,and the Bird Observers' Club, to the 

 senior classes of the suburban schools. On the whole, the move- 

 ment was a success, and it is hoped will lead to more interest 

 in our feathered friends, without whose aid human life would 

 almost become impossible. Advantage was taken of the day to 

 inaugurate the Gould League of Bird-Lovers, and some 50,000 

 children handed in their names as willing to observe its precepts. 

 We trust this movement will, as the years roll by, greatly lessen 

 the destructive pot-hunting which takes place on every holiday. 



