34 CU<'ULII).E. 



here about the end of September and departing again early in March. As far as 1 have observed 

 it feeds almost entirely on the wild Figs, but no doubt it eats other fruits as well. A friend ot 

 mine told me they came daily to his Mulberry tree. It makes an unearthly screaming r.oise at 

 night, as well as day. At the end of the breeding season tliey may be found in small llocks of 

 six or seven, after which they soon depart. The foster-parents here are the Crow and Pied 

 Crow Shrike ; both species attack them vigorously and chase them away. The Aborigines here 

 have seen Stri-pcrii liraiiilina feeding the y(jung.' 



Mr. 11. L. White, of lielltrees. Scone, New South Wales, h.is kindly fa\'oured me with the 

 following notes : — " I.Hiring my residence of twenty-fi\e years in this district 1 ha\ e paid a good 

 deal of attention to Siythi-ups nnvir-Jwllamiiir, which is fairly plentiful here, generally arri\ing the 

 first week in August and remaining with us until about the end of December. ISelltrees is 

 situated on the Hunter ki\er, at a point where the \alley is some eight miles wide, the range 

 on the east or coast side running up to 5000 feet, while that on the west is about 2000 feet. 

 The Channel-bill during its residence here appears to make a regular haunt of the higher range, 

 tlying across usually eaily in the morning to the western range to feed upon the wild Figs, which 

 are rather plentiful there. On the iith November, 11(04, ''^ daylight I shot a femaleas she flew 

 over my house iiere, and whose stomach was full of wild figs freshly eaten, thus proving that 

 the bird had fed during the night. ( )n dissecting the body I louiid it contained four immature 

 eggs. When the Channel-bill flies low and utters its harsh cry, we consider it a pretty sure 

 sign that rain is not far ofl, but at other times I have w'atched the liirds apparently feeding on 

 insects in high ICucalyptus trees, when not a sound would be heard from them for hours. I 

 know of three eggs of this species being taken in this locality, all from the nest of the IMack- 

 backed Magpie (Gviiiiiovliina iihiicn), m each case the egg being tairly like the Magpie's clutch. 

 In iqo6 a Channel-bill laid in a Raven's nest near here, in an inaccessible position, and was seen 

 about the nest for weeks. Upon another occasion I saw a Ra\en feeding a young Sivllimps 

 which had left the nest. The favourite foster-parent, however, appears to be Stitfiin aniiiilind, 

 that is judging from the n^any cases when I have seen the Stnpi-rn feeding, or in company with, 

 the young Cuckoo. A local kangaroo shooter, a keen observer, tells me that he has seen a 

 Stirpiiit i^raiii/iiiii feeding two young Channel-bills. Although I ha\e taken lifteen clutches of 

 Sti-ipti'i! gi'iiniliud eggs, with Sivtln'ips plentiful in the immediate locality, 1 ha\e never been 

 fortunate enough to secure the Cuckoo egg with that of the Stnpcra. Scyiliivps nnV(C-hoUandiic 

 receives a very warm time of it when in the vicinity of a Crow, Magpie or I'ied Crow Shrike's 

 nest." 



Two eggs were received from Mr. Philip P. Schrader by the Trustees of the Australian 

 Museum, in 1888, who has since sent me the following information :—" The eggs of the 

 Channel-bill, were sent to me in the spring of iSSo, by a friend from Cryon, near I'illiga, 

 New South Wales, who stated they were taken with two Crow's eggs, from a nest ot that 

 bird, by Mr. W. L. Humphries, who was at that time manager of the station. In 1878, while 

 at ' Montana,' a place on the crest of the Dividing Range, about half way between Walcha 

 and the Hanging Rock, I had the good fortune to yard three wild brumby bulls, which were so 

 fierce that they had to be shot in the yard. The carcasses being skinned were removed some 

 short distance, and soon attracted several species of carrion eaters, among others a pair of the 

 .Australian Raven {Covouc aititralii). Hearing one morning the peculiar sounds of young birds 

 being fed, my attention was drawn to this pair of Ravens feeding two young Channel-bills, fully 

 fledged, (juite able to fly, but with short tails. The whole family stopped near the carcasses 

 for several week's, the young Channel-bills being fed all the time on good sized pieces of meat, 

 daily growing more clamorous for food, and untnercifuUy pestering the unfortunate foster- 

 parents. They did not leave the place until the food supply ran out. During a collecting trip 

 to North-eastern Queensland, in 1902, I found the Channel-bill very plentiful about Cairns and 



