KN riiiirrs. 



'I'he stomachs of these birds are thiii-waileil anil semi-transparent. That of M. |auben's 

 specimen was absolutely crammed with more or less perfect examples of the ^'ellow-wint;ed 

 (irasshopper {Lom^la daiiuai. Their insect diet is \aried with small lizards. iieUl mice and 

 youn-.; birds. 



Dr. W. l\Iacf,'illivray writes me: — "in the Cloncurry District, Xorthern (Queensland, 

 (",);/;v/'/c. /'/(,!,\/i;;/».s, once fairly common, is now becoming scarce ; it is always ashy bird, and 

 resents any intrusicjn on its haunts." 



Dr. }•',. H. Ramsay records : ' ^" Ccntvopui plinsiiuiw. preys on mice and small anim.iK, hoIdiuL; 

 them with its feet, and tearing them to pieces if they are too large. I one e had a pair (if 

 Ci'iitropiis in conlinement, and although scarcely inne months old they readily killed mice or 

 xoung rats when let go in their cage, first picking them up ([uickly in their hill and rapping 

 them smartly against the sides of the cage, they soon killed them ; Imt (jften a pi.-i. k in the ba( k 



with then strong bills 

 killed or disabled the 

 animals at once. They 

 eat raw meat, grass- 

 hoppers, lizards, frogs 

 or bread readily, and 

 appear to be omni- 

 vorous." 





COUCAI, OR " SWAMP I'HKVSANT. 



- y:'- Australian Museum, 



, in the Bellinger Ki\er 



District, N.S.Wales, 

 and the Ilerberton 

 District, North- 

 eastern Queensland, 



has given me the following notes : — " (Jn the liellinger River I always found the Rheasaut-Coucal 

 (Ciiitropus phasianiis ) in the neighbourhood of swamps, and aliout reed-margined creek and river 

 banks. These birds have a peculiar habit when disturbed of running to the butt of the nearest 

 tree, and jumping c)r hopping up the branches, as if they were going up a lailder. until they 

 get to the top, when they tly downwards again, and generally to the ground. The nests I have 

 seen were on the ground, large, and roughly built in a tuft of coarse grass, or in rushes near the 

 water, domed over the top, and with two entrances. One contained five eggs ; they were 

 rough shelled, dirty white in colour, and nest stained. I also found this species rather common 

 on the table-lands of the Herberton District, North-eastern Oueenslantl. The stomachs of all 

 contained the remains of lizards, frogs, beetles and other insects." 



While resident at Ripple Creek, Herbert River, X.^rtli-eastern Oueensland, Mr. J. ,V. F5oyd 

 kindly sent me the followmg notes; — '' Cfiiti'opiis plnisidiiiis may always be found here, and 

 apparently breeds at any time. (Jn the 17th November, i'Si)3, 1 was shown a nest oi Ccntivpiif 

 phasujiuis hom which three young ones had lately flown. It was in a bunch of rushes a few 

 yards from the river ; the tops of some of the rushes had been broken and bent down to form a 

 platform some two teet from the ground, and on this was placed a layer of green Tea-tree leaves ; 

 there was no lining of any sort, merely a slightly depressed platform, the outer rushes beino' 



* Froc. Zool. Soc. , p. 601 (1875). 



