MKSOCAMIS. 17 



with a set of e,L,'^'s of Clitlioiiicola saiiittata \ ai,'aia Air. A. V. W. Hull sliowed mean egg of the 

 Black-eared Cuckoo taken in the nest of and with an egg of Chthniiiiola scv^'ittdta, by Mr. H. 

 Keane, at Fleniington, near Sydney, on the .Sth Noveml:)er, igoS. Subsequently Mr. Keane 

 showed nie another similar set taken in the same locality, and Dr. lunst Hartert has recorded 

 specimens from the .Mligator Kuer. in the Northern Territory of Soutii Australia. 



The late Mr. K. 11. liennett made the following notes respecting this species at Mossgiel, 

 in the Central Districts of Xew South Wales: — '• Mc-soi a/iiis osiidiins may be regarded as only an 

 occasional visitor to this part of the country, appearing at times in considerable numbers, and 

 then disappearing for several years in succession. It is a quiet and unobtrusive bird, and passes 

 a great portion of its time on the ground, over whicli it hops in a quiet, sedate manner. [Jsually 

 it is met with either singly or in small companies of live or six indixiduals. I ha\e never seen 

 its eggs." 



Mr. M. L. White, of Belltrees, Scone, Xew South Wales, has kindly sent me the following 

 note : — " On the iSth September, 1907, while riding along the top of a white liox ridge, near the 

 back ot the Hunter Ki\er, eight miles above Belltrees, my dog put up a bird which 1 tliought 

 to be a Cuckoo, but could not recognise. Searching about in a tussock from which the bird 

 flew, I came across a nest, undoubtedly of Clithoiiiiola ia^^ittata, and contaming three fresh eggs. 

 Puzzled by the variation in the eggs, and by the presence of the strange bird, I sent the clutch 

 to the .Vustralian Museum, Sydney, for report, the reply being one egg of Maocalius paUiolatns 

 and two of Chthoiiicolii iiii^ittdld. The Cuckoo's egg is \-ery dark chocolate in colour, and 

 measures o-S4 x 0-57 inches. I have since seen here what I took to be the same species of 

 Cuckoo, but have never shot a specimen for identilication."' 



From Melbourne Mr. G. A. Keartland sends me the following notes : — " Misornlius pnlliolatiis 

 is fairly common in Central and North-western Australia, and occurs also in \'ictoria. Last 

 year a friend sent me one from Dandenong, in the southern part of this State, and a few days 

 later a nest of Chthonicola siii^itatta, containing an egg of the lilack-eared Cuckoo and two other 

 eggs belonging to the rightful owner of the nest. At lUamurta, on the Fisher River, Central 

 Australia, Mr. C. Ernest Cowell found eggs of this species in the nests of Acanthiza chi-vsorrhcea 

 and Pyvrltola-iniii linniiiciis. Ouite recently the lilack-eared Cuckoo has made its appearance 

 near Melbourne, and I shot a female during the visit of the Field Naturalists' Club of \'ictoria 

 to Melton, on the 24th October, 1908. After I had skinned it, and was opening up the body 

 to ascertain the sex, I found it to be full of well developed eggs. One was of full size, and 

 lacked only the limy-coating of a perfect egg; the others varied in size from a fully formed yolk 

 down to a small sized pea. This implies that tliese birds must lay a number of eggs during 

 the season." 



From Eilackpool, South Australia, Mr. Edwin Ashby writes me : -•' The only specimen of 

 I\Iisociiltiii [>alhiildtiis I have in my collection, was sent me in the Hesh by Dr. W. A. Angove, 

 from the Mallee country, near Mannum, South Australia." 



From Adelaide, South Australia, Dr. A. AI. Morgan sends me the following note : — "I 

 shot a single specimen of Mcsocalius osculaiii at Laura, but unfortunately have lost the date ; it 

 was the only one seen by me, nor have I ever seen one further south. They were fairly numerous 

 at Mount Gunsen from the middle of July to early in August, 1900. Their loud call could be 

 constantly heard, but they were not so easy to get a sight of. I did not discover any eggs." 



While resident in North-western Australia, Mr. Tom Carter wrote me as follows: — •■ Only 

 two examples of Mesoialius osciilnns have come under my notice, and both were shot at Point 

 Cloates on the 19th May, 1898 and i6th April, lyoo, after hurricanes, when grass and insect 

 food were plentiful." 

 5 



