rAi.vniiUHyxc'nus. (51 



close to a road, wht-re there was a good deal of trallie. This bird, like other members of the 

 Keniis, has a very powerfid hill, its foods consisting of nectar, oak nuts, and grubs, the latter of 

 which it obtains by biting away the trees. Tlie same month and year I was shown another 

 nesting-place of C. fininvns. On climbing to it I found it contained one egg, and as I thought 

 that only one was laid foi a sitting. I shot both birds to make certain of the species, and found 

 another perfect egg in the female, so was very fortunate to obtain the full set. I am sending 

 you down the skins for identilication. The nesting-place had a slii^ht lining of Cium leaves. 

 In 11)1 iS, when accompanied by my sable ccjinpanion " Cubby," he drew my attention to a large 

 sapling these birds had eaten through about six feet bom the ground, it was ([uite as thick as 

 a man's leg, and seemed an incredible task for any bird to perform." 



The accompanying figure, reproduced from a photograph taken by Air. Savidge, represents 

 "Henry," an Orara River .\horginal, climbing a tree with the aid of a tomahawk and vine. 

 Natives, as a rule, do not chop unnecessary steps when climbing ; note the immense stretch of 

 leg reipiired to insert a toe in each notch. " Henry " was one of three aboriginals who assisted 

 Mr. Savidge in procuring a portion of the eggs for his collection. •' Fred " and " Cobby," the 

 others, were of ecpial assistance. 



Mr. .\. 1-.. llolden kindly gave me the following notes when presenting a specimen to the 

 Trustees of the .Vustralian Afuseum :— •• For as long as I can remember a flock of Black 

 Cockatoos (Cn/vptorlivihltiis fmicreus) have lived in the remoter gullies at the back of Middle 

 Harbour. At one time they numbered sixteen or seventeen, now their numbers are reduced to 

 four or five. A few years ago we built a camping house of galvanised iron in French's Forest, 

 at the extreme head of Liantry Hay nrjrth-eastern arm, and painted the roof red with oxide 

 paint. At this time the flock was roosting in a gully below the house, and their habit was to 

 move out at the grey dawn and wait for the sun amongst the trees in the hill on which our 

 camp was built. They must have become familiarised with the hut, for very soon they began 

 to disturb our slumbers by flitting on to the ridge capping. The noise they made increased, 

 and was not explainable, until one morning on stealing outside silently I caught them picking 

 at the red oxide, and apparently devouring small flakes as they bit it ofT with their powerful 

 beaks. Bush (ires cleared out their coverts eventually, and they moved to more secure fastnesses. 

 On another occasion I was Gill-bird shooting in some Red Honeysuckle Scrub, with a friend, 

 when a pair of these birds moved suddenly out of a bush. An involuntary " double " 

 brought them down. On picking them up ijuantities of nectar poured out uf their throats, 

 precisely as happens with any honey-eating bird, and as the nectar was of the lianksia flower 

 they would seem to be most ingenuous feeders, as their huge mouths do not seem at all suitable 

 for the operation of honey extraction. In the Southern Alps these birds are said to be harbingers 

 of blizzards and storms when seen in any sheltered gully in the day time, and many a miner has 

 'broken camp' at the sight of them, especially in the months of March or April. On the ist 

 August, 1907, three sat in a low bush (whilst a gale and rain was at its height) just ofTthe French's 

 Forest Road, and made most dismal cries. They would not mo\e at my approach, and not 

 until I had almijst put my hand on them did they flit hea\ ily a few yards away." 



Mr. Percy I'eir, a well known aviculturist of Marrickville, Sydney, New South Wales, 

 and a frequent and successful exhibitor at our local bird shows, also at the Crystal i'alace 

 Exhibition, London, writes : — " At the end of July, lyoS, I saw altogether four pairs of Calvptoy- 

 liyiiclut', fuiu-mi^ on the ridge behind Deep Creek, at Narrabeen. The pairs were separated and 

 not shy, allowing us to approach closely, when several of the birds could be seen nipping 

 off the thin branches in proximity to them, and the while uttering a rather wheezy cry. Several 

 pairs were also seen later on in the season at 'Tumbledown. Xarrabeen. which were flushed from 

 the ground where they had been grubbing." 



