I50 Leach, The Birds of Victoria. [^'"'^Dec^^'^ 



considerable height into the water. These birds breed on Cat 

 Island, on the east of Flinders Island. Four thousand nests 

 are to be seen there, each crowned by one of these large, 

 picturesque birds. As you walk amongst them the sitting birds 

 do not trouble to get off, but keep you awake, as each peck of 

 the stiletto-like bill draws blood. 



The famous Frigate-bird was twice taken in Port Phillip Bay. 

 It is the best of flyers, as it can " breakfast on the Senegal 

 (Africa) and dine on the Amazon." 



The Pelican is the last of this group, and some writers have 

 attempted to create a little mystery as to the place where the 

 Pelican builds. We found it nesting on Pengum Island. The 

 young have short bills, whereas the adults have a very long bill. 

 This is interesting, as it reminds us that each animal in its de- 

 velopment climbs its own ancestral tree, and that the long- 

 billed Pelican is descended from a bird that had a short bill. 



Order fifteen — Accipitriformes — includes the diurnal birds of 

 prey — eagles, hawks, &c. Victoria has many of these valuable 

 birds. Indeed, it is fully equal to Europe in the interest of this 

 group. Thus, our eagle is the biggest eagle in the world, 

 though, in association with our habit of belittling everything 

 Victorian, it has been named the Eaglehawk. The Golden 

 Eagle is 32 inches long from the tip of its bill to the tip of the 

 tail, while our eagle is 38 inches. It is, further, bolder and 

 braver than the Golden Eagle, as its scientific name, " audax " 

 (bold), implies, and, as Gould says, is of a " more elegant and 

 pleasing contour." 



The falcon that we read about as being trained to hunt is 

 identical with our falcon, while our Little Falcon is, for its 

 size, the boldest and swiftest of all birds of prey, for it has been 

 observed to decapitate a flying duck with a blow of the edge 

 of its wing. 



In owls — which form a separate order, Strigiformes — we are 

 also well to the fore. Our large, Powerful (eagle) Owl is a 

 formidable enemy if wounded, while the Boobook (cuckoo) Owl 

 makes the call " mopoke " known to those who wander abroad 

 on calm moonlight evenings. 



Birds of prey, hawks and owls, always catch their prey in 

 their well-developed talons, and not in the beak. When an 

 artist represents an eagle carrying a lamb in its beak he is 

 clearly drawing on his imagination. 



In group seventeen — Psittaciformes — we come to the " cream 

 of the Australian avifauna " — cockatoos and parrots. 



Australians are indeed fortunate in the abundance of these 

 beautiful birds. They are to be seen on every roadside, out- 

 side many a cottage door, and even on jam tins, and yet we 

 do not appreciate them. I wondered, when noting the names of 



