Vol. IV. 

 1905 



1 X^'OwW-kV^, Some Birds of the Caster ton District. I 25 



Whistling Eagle {Haliastur sphenurus).— These birds in- 

 variably return to their old site, commencing repairing the 

 old nest in July. 12/7/03.— Pair seen with nest in tree. Two 

 months later (10/9/03) bird flushed oft" the nest. It contained 

 two eggs. Nest was 2 ft. 6 in. across, and had been used for 

 several seasons. 



Swamp-Hawk or Harrier {Circus gouldi). — Very plentiful, 

 often breeding in the middle of a crop. Commence breeding in 

 September. Clutch generally three, occasionally five. In season 

 1899 five eggs were taken by myself from a large isolated clump 

 of rushes in a swamp. The young are most vicious. They will 

 eat anything. Of two I had last season, the female killed her 

 brother and gorged herself with his body. They have regular 

 " stand-up " fights, striking out fiercely with their sharp talons. 



Brown Hawk {Hieracidea orientalis). — Five nests were found 

 during September, 1903, all in red gum trees {E. rostrata). 

 Clutch three in every case. 17/9/03. — The sitting bird was cap- 

 tured on the nest, which contained three eggs. From this nest 

 a clutch of four Raven's eggs was taken later. 



Goshawk {Astur approximans). — My note about this Hawk 

 is made from two young ones which I had in captivity. I was 

 trying to train them for hawking, but found them too wild to 

 stand having the hood on. When chained near each other 

 they fought continually, and at last the female, getting her chain 

 loose, attacked her mate, and killed and ate him. Like the rest 

 of their genus, they spend a lot of their time watching their prey 

 to find the most favourable moment for striking. Pieces of food 

 thrown in the air to them were always caught in the talons 

 before tliey reached the ground. The iris of the eye in the young 

 is at first merely a pale whitish colour, which gradually deepens 

 to a bright lemon-yellow as they mature. 



Kestrel {Cerchneis ccnchroides). — Although supposed to be 

 almost an insectivorous bird, in captivity the Kestrel will eat 

 any sort of meat, from cold mutton to young chickens. One 

 I had last year was a year old. He had lost one leg and it was 

 amusing to see him "stumping" about the yard. He was very 

 quick in his actions, and loved coming in to the kitchen fire. He 

 killed and ate a young Oriole {Mimeta viridis) I was rearing, 



worthy of study — namely, as to whether parents which have once produced albinos 

 repeat the same process season after season ; whether albinos perpetuate their 

 characteristics ; and whether the albino stage of plumage is a permanent one, or 

 '• subsides " (to use a popular word) into the ordinary markings. What evidence is 

 to hand is unsatisfactory, and it is to be hoped that Dr. D'Ombrain may be placed in 

 a position to find some solution of the difficulty. As one road towards its solution 

 may be suggested not only a microscopical examination of feather vanes, but of the 

 minute scales which are their accompaniment. The determination of their angles 

 and corresponding colours would prove a valuable preliminary to any such study. 

 The probabilities are that some fault in the spermatozoids, or a malformation in the 

 womb of the mother, produce these abnormal phases and positions of the scales. — 

 H. K.] 



