HALIASTUIf. 005 



and half turnin- on his side, hurtled down in the foHa-e of a tall Wattle, and back a-ain to his 

 perch. .Vnother snake was crumpled np in h>s talons, and he devoured it ni writhuv- twistin^, 

 pieces. W Uhni ten nnnutes the performance was repeated for the third time, and then either 

 the supply ot snakes ran out, or the bud was satisfied. The White-headed Sea-Fa-le is a 

 deadly foe to the pugnacious Sea-serpent also. On the beach just above high water mark was 

 the headless carcase of one that must have been fully Hve feet long, and while it was under 

 inspection an Lagle circled about anxiously. Soon after the intruders disappeared the bird 

 swooped down and resumed his feasting, and presently his mate came sailing along to join him 

 1 he snake must have weighed several pounds, and apparently was not so dainty to the taste as 

 the green arboreal variety, for after two days' occasional feasting, there was still some of the 

 flesh left. 



Unbecoming as it may be to tantalise by trickery so regal a bird, a series of trials was 

 undertaken to ascertain the height from the surface whence a f^sh could be gripped Twelve 

 successive swoops for a mullet Hopping on the sand failed, though it was touched at least sIk 

 times with the tips of the Eagle's outstretched talons. Consummatory to failure, the bird was 

 compelled to alight undignihedly a few yards away, to awkwardly jump to the fish, and to eat 

 It on the spot, for however imperious the Sea-Eagle is in the air, and dexterous in the seizure 

 of a lish from the water, he cannot rise from an unimpressionable plane with his talons full 

 On another occasion a hsh was raised four inches on a slender stake. The Sea-Ea<.le dislod-ed 

 It several times, but could not grasp it. Raised a further four inches the fish wa^ seized with 

 fumbling. Eight inches or so, therefore, seems to be the minimum height from which a bird 

 with si.x feet of red wing, and a nice determination not to bruise or soil the tips, may -rasp with 

 certainty. 



Mr. Robert Grant, Taxidermist of the Australian Museum, has handed me the following, 

 notes:-" During our second trip to North-eastern Queensland, Mr. E. J. Cairn and mysel^f 

 were compelled through inonsoonal rains to camp near Cairns. We had. therefore, an opportunity 

 of seeing and shooting many Rufous-backed Fish-Eagles (HaHastur .uraura), as they were very 

 numerous ,n the Mangroves about the mud-flats around the bay. As the tide went out nearly 

 half a mile, and left exposed many hundreds of dead or dying fish on these evil smellin.^ and 

 sweltering mud flats. It was a perfect paradise for these Fish-Eagles; however, as the feathers 

 were much abraded, and their plumage soiled, of the many we shot there was not one worth 

 keeping to prepare as a specimen. On another occasion, when collecting at the Bellin-er River 

 Heads, 1 had the pleasure of seeing for the first time there a pair of Rufous-hacked Firh-Eagles 

 in New South Wales. I exerted myself on two or three occasions to try and get a shot at them 

 but without success, as their roosting place appeared to be in a part of the Mangroves I found 

 It entirely impossible to penetrate." 



The following information was received on the 24th October, 1909, from Mr Henry 

 L. White, of Belltrees, Scone, New South Whales, and was extracted by him from notes made 

 by Mr. Henry Nielson, of Mackay, Queensland, during a collecting trip for Mr. White in 1909 •_ 

 " A strip of the Queensland coast between the 20th and 23rd parallels of south latitude has been 

 very thoroughly examined, and a distance of fifteen hundred miles sailed, from ist May to the 

 end of September, 1909. A large number of White-breasted Sea-Eagles (miuntu,' ^imncva) 

 were seen, and many nests noted. The birds appear to feed principally upon crabs, obtained 

 on the mud flats. The nest is usually placed in a Mangrove tree (growing on the mud flats 

 bordering salt water creeks), at various heights, some nests being found a few feet only above 

 high water mark. The structure varies considerably in size, and is composed of dead sticks; 

 the egg cavity, which usually measures about six inches across and shallow, is lined with coarse 

 pieces of bark, and at times thickly coated with mud, evidently collected and deposited by the 

 birds' feet. Old nests have been seen with plants growing from the mud lining. After eggs 



