88 CuRRiE, TJic Birds of a Gippsland Garden. [voT.''xxxvi. 



in the last Naturalist, that all the birds mentioned in my paper 

 were seen during February and March of the present year. 

 There is no mistake as to the presence of the Bell-Miner. On 

 a previous occasion we had observed them at a distance of not 

 more than twelve feet, and had passed the field-glasses back 

 and forth from one to the other while doing so. Furtlicrmore, 

 we have been used to these birds all our lives. Though they did 

 leave the district when the swamps were cleared, they returned 

 some years ago from the timber further back. As regards the 

 ]\Iountain-Thrush, Mr. Wilson is correct ; I don't know how I 

 made such a silly mistake as to write * acacia seeds ' for 

 ' insects.' I must have been thinking of something else at the 

 time. Lovers of nature, spending their lives among birds 

 which come around them, liave a great advantage over students 

 of ornitliology who make occasional visits to localities where 

 birds arc plentiful to study their habits, wliich generally ends 

 in shooting the birds to make skins for their collections, or to 

 make sure of its identity by counting its feathers. Thus, with 

 the Bell-Miner, if we had shot the prospector we would never 

 have had a colony established here as we desired. With 

 reference to the mimicry by the Brush Wattle-bird, we fully 

 expected to see a Starling when we went to look whence the 

 bird-notes came, because the Starling's note was among those 

 heard. Others were the Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, the 

 Grallina, and a Parrot. There was no doubt as to which was 

 the guilty bird, for he was perched on the top of a lemon- 

 scented gum in full view of our field-glasses, and was in no wise 

 disturbed by my sister calUng me to see him. Many differ- 

 ences of opinion regarding birds depend on the nature of the 

 observer, and only persons who live their lives among birds, 

 and take particular notice of their ways, get the opportunities 

 to record remarkable facts. For instance, the Grallina never 

 adds mud to its nest after lo o'clock each morning, no matter 

 how fine the day is. How does the bird know \\iien it is 

 ten o'clock ? Though wc would be delighted to have a visit 

 from a party of bird-lovers, we fear the distance is rather too 

 nuich for one day. Besides, we do not like the birds disturbed, 

 and, of course, could not allow any collecting." 



Correction. — In the report of the August meeting in the 

 September Naturalist the locahty of the fossil marine shells 

 exhibited by Mr. H. B. Williamson is wrongly given on pages 

 60 and 68 as " Croydon " ; it should be " the Abattoirs," a 

 new locality for this deposit, and alwut five miles north-easterly 

 from the Croydon bore. 



