iiALi.i'rru.s. 217 



and one from Gayndah, on the Burnett River, in 1S70. Near Brisbane, Queensland, I noted a 

 pair of these birds on the Brisbane Ri\er and Breakfast Creei;, in N(jveniber, I1J07. 



At Koseville I have often noted one, or the pair of l)irds belon^'ing to the nest at Middle 

 Harbour, fiyiiiL; across to Lane Cove. On the 31st May, uyoi, I saw one of these birds rise 

 from near the surface of the water at Middle Harbour, the ti\-e outer primaries standing' out 

 separate and distinct like the spread fin^'ers on one's hand, and resembling altogether with its 

 long wings and short tail a huge moth. Slowly it started to soar in circles in a gently rising 

 spiral ascent, like ascending an aerial staircase; this it continued for ten minutes, timing it by 

 my watch in hand. Then it reversed the order of its spiral ascent, and continued its upward 

 flight, now only a glimpse of silver could be seen as it turned its breast to the sun. At last, 

 when it looked only like a dot in the sky, I saw it joined by its mate, and quicldy both were lost 

 to view. Might not this soaring often be done as a means of ascertaining the whereabouts of 

 its consort ? I could not be with the object of procuring food. The haunt of the White-bellied 

 Sea-Eagle, on the opposite page, is reproduced from a photograph I took on the 12th August, 191 1. 



The usual food of this species consists of \arious mammals, hsii, birds, tijrtoisss, eels and 

 the larger crustacea. It will also occasionally capture and carry off any small domestic animal. 

 On Phillip Island, Western Port Bay, \'ictoria, in my early collecting days, it used to carry off 

 the young kids of .\ngora goats. One of these birds I dissected contained portion of a 

 large sea mullet, a piece of wity dead grass, and the remains of undigebted porticjns of fish, 

 scales and fish bones. 



I'r. W. Macgillivray has forwarded me the following notes, niaiie by Mr. \V. McLennan 

 on the Leichhardt River, Northern Oueensland: — -'On the joth June, 1910, I heard a strange 

 bird calling as soon as I woke, so 1 got the gun and proceeded to investigate ; did not succeed 

 in locating the bird ; after breakfast went down the river for half a mile, and then went out 

 from the river about one hundred yards, heard the same call, and soon located the bird, a White- 

 bellied Sea-Eagle, sitting beside its nest in a large river Gum ; it dew off as I approached, and 

 the mate flew from a tree close by. The nest contained one hard-set egg. The nest itself was 

 very large, and had evidently been used and added to for many years, about sL-v feat in depth 

 and live feet in diameter, egg cavity two feet across by six inches deep, nest composed of stick's 

 and lined with green lea\es. The nest was placed in a fork about tifty feet from the ground." 



Mr. Frank Hislop writes me as follows from the Bloomfield Rivet, North-eastern Queens- 

 land : — "The only White-bellied Sea Eagle's nest I have seen is on one of the Hope Islands, 

 near the Great Barrier Reef. These islands are about ele\en miles from the mouth of the 

 Bloomfield River. The nest is built in a large Mangrove, near the edge of the water, in a fork 

 about fifteen or twenty feet from the ground. I have never taken any of their eggs. The birds 

 are not very common about here ; the native name for them is ' Wandee.' " 



Mr. H. G. Barnard writes me from Bimbi, Duaringa, (jueensland : — '• In 1880 a pair of 

 eggs of Halicuiiii It-iicoi^intei' were taken at a small lake on Fairheld Station. The nearest point 

 to the sea, in a direct line, is about one hundred and tifty miles. The nest was built in a large 

 Swamp Gum, about sixty feet from the ground. In company with my brother, Mr. C. A. 

 Barnard, I again visited the lake at the latter end of August, 1882, and found the Eagles had 

 shifted their breeding place to a tree about two hundred yards from where the first nest was; 

 the tree was a very large one, but by dint of hard work and taking it in turns to cut the steps, 

 we managed to reach the nest, only to find it contained two young birds, on which the feathers 

 were just appearing. It was while on this trip, and near the lake, that we first discovered 

 the breeding habits of the Beautiful Parrakeet {Psifkotiis ptilcln-ryimus). I was in hopes of 

 visiting the lake this season (1909), as the White-bellied Sea-Eagles still breed there, but 

 circumstances intervened to prevent me." 

 55 



