^°! J^"1 From Magazines, &c. 75 



for accuracy in all observations of bird life, Mrs. Mabel Osgood 

 Wright (one of the editors of the " Audubon Societies' Section " ), 

 referring more particularly to " popular " writings on the sub- 

 ject, says : — " In all nature work, and especially in all investiga- 

 tions relating to birds and their protection, should the greatest 

 accuracy be maintained." It is hardly possible to miss the 



point of this. 



* * * 



The Geclong Naturalist.— \]ndQ.r the title " A Record Clutch 

 of Emu Eggs " this magazine (pp. 25, 26) records an excursion 

 by Messrs. G. Russell, H. Anderson, and Yuille, during which 

 (the former records) they found an Emu's nest containing 19 

 eggs, and also a brood of young Emus feeding with the hen. 

 " With some difficulty I caught one or two to bring with me to 

 rear as pets, but they all died within a fortnight." In a subse- 

 quent paragraph, headed " Emu of Tasmania," the Rev. T. J. 

 Ewing, F.L.S., &c., is quoted as having listed the Tasmanian 

 Emu as of the same species as the mainland one {DromcBus novcB- 

 hollandicB). \ record is given (quoted from Launceston Adver- 

 tiser, 26/10/37) that importations of these birds had been made 

 from Australia 70 years ago, and the sentence goes on to say — 

 " If these birds were prolific (referring to two offered for sale by 

 Mr. G. Fisher on same date) may be they were the original stock 

 of most of those domesticated in Tasmania in 1852, when, as 

 Ronald Gunn states, tame Emus of Australian breed were common 



in the island." 



* * * 



In the May issue of The Avicultural Magazine Mr. E. L. 

 Bertling, head keeper of the Zoological Society's Gardens, con- 

 tributes some notes on the nesting habits of the Brush-Turkey 

 {Catheturus lathami). Up to the time his paper was written 

 no young had been hatched. The author is surprised 

 " that many of the eggs do not get broken, considering the 

 rough treatment they undergo by being stamped upon, as they 

 are particularly thin-shelled ; " but what has puzzled him most 

 is the question " How does the male know the exact moment 

 that the female is about to lay ? for he opens the heap at the 

 right moment. Is it purely instinct, or an absolute knowledge 

 of the lapse of time ? " " On the Difficulty of Sexing the Bicheno 

 Finch " {Stictoptera bichenovii) is the title of a paper by Arthur 

 G. Butler, Ph.D., who considers that " the true sexual differences " 

 have yet to be discovered. Writing on a preference shown by 

 Bower-Birds in captivity for blue, and recording an experiment 

 he made at the Zoo with pieces of red, pink, and two shades of 

 blue cloth, Mr. A. E. L. Bertling asks the interesting question — 

 " Is there any connection between their preference for blue and 

 the brilliant blue of their eyes, which is a colour seldom found 

 in birds or mammals except as a sport or in a few domestic 

 species ? " Has the same preference for blue been observed 

 amongst birds in a wild state ? 



