240 AQUILIN.E. 



localities. The fa\ouiite resort of this species is undoubtedly open country, such as before- 

 mentioned, for some fifty or sixty miles to the northward heavily timbered country commences, 

 extendinf,' for over one hundred miles, with thousands of trees suitable for the construction of 

 their nests, yet it is only a passing straggler that is ever seen there, and I have never known or 

 heard of an instance of their breeding in that locality." 



From Broken Hill, in South-western New South Wales, Dr. W. Macgillivray, writes: — 

 " Gvpohiiiiic! mdauoitcriuin is a rare bird here. During nearly nine years residence, and a good 

 deal of wandering through the scrubs and along the creeks of the district, I have only come 

 across two pairs of these birds, and until 1909 had found only one nesting place. I\Iy notes 

 must necessarily deal mostly with one pair of birds. In 1907 Mr. McLennan and I, with 

 some others, on our return journey from Langawirra, camped on Valcowinna Creek, about 

 thirty-five miles from Broken Jlill. Early next morning. 9th September, we proceeded to 

 investigate the nesting along the creek ; cutting off a large bend to leave a portion near the 

 camp, we struck the creek where a Cockatoo (Cacatiia sangiiiiua) flying from a hole forty feet up 

 in a tall Gum attracted our attention to a large nest in the same tree, on which a bird was seen 

 to be sitting. It was a \'ery windy morning, and the bird sat very closely; sticks and stones 

 were thrown up, but she did not move until a shot was fired in the air from the specimen gun, 

 when a magnificent female of the lilack-breasted lUizzard left the nest, but kept soaring round 

 and round at a respectful distance. Seen from below she was a splendid bird, both from her 

 proportions and colouring, her black breast and ruddy under surface, and the dark primaries 

 contrasting with the conspicuous white band across their bases, easily distinguish her from all 

 other birds of prey. The male, who soon joined her, is only about half her size, and not nearly so 

 conspicuously marked ; he has none of her rich colouring, no black breast, and pinions not so 

 dark, his breast seen through the glasses being fawn coloured. When soaring, which they both 

 do, like the Wedge-tailed Eagle, with the carpal joint fully extended and primaries all spread 

 out and separate, the male appears in colouring like a brightly marked Little Eagle. The 

 difference in size between male and female is, however, more marked even than in the Goshawks. 

 When soaring round watching the climbers at work, the female kept uttering a series of short 

 sharp cries in quick succession, much resembling the alarm note of the Wedge-tailed Eagle. 

 The nest was at a height of about seventy feet, placed in the fork of a rather thin horizontal 

 limb. Seen from below it presented a loosely built and fiat appearance. Sticks half to one inch 

 in diameter were used in its construction ; it was two feet by three feet across, with an egg 

 cavity nine inches in diameter, lined with green Gum leaves. The nest contained two fresh 

 eggs. On the ground under the nest were the remains of rabbits. The Blood-stained Cockatoo's 

 nest in the same tree contained three eggs. 



"On the 9th September, 190S, we again visited this tree on our way out to Langawirra, 

 and found the birds had constructed a new nest in the same position, the remains of the old one 

 being on the ground below. The nest was very lilce the one of the previous season, so fiat that 

 the leaves of the lining showed through below. It also contained a pair of fresh eggs more 

 marked than those of 1907. The Cockatoo's nest in the tree contained one egg. The birds 

 were about the nest when we were returning, three weeks later, and I have no doubt but that 

 they reared a brood on each occasion. 



" On the nth September, 1909, we paid our third annual visit to this nest; it was built 

 again in the same situation, but contained only one egg of about a week's incubation. This egg 

 was dumpier in shape, and the blotching very much darker than on those of the two pre\ious 

 years, and also we all remarked that the female seemed to be a different bird, not nearly so fine 

 a one. Probably the old female had fallen a victim to poison, and the male had sought out 

 another mate. 



" On the 6th October, 1909, when working up Sleepswell Creek, about fifty miles from 

 Broken Hill, Mr. McLennan and I came across a female Buzzard, a rather ragged looking bird, 



