112 Siray Feathers. [isf'oct. 



Small-billed Cuckoo-Shrike {Graucahis parvirostris), Gould. — 

 I saw a flock of nine on several occasions on and about 5th June. 

 There were both adult and immature birds, the latter being the 

 young of this summer. The flock was perfectly silent, and was 

 passing amongst the orchard trees and adjacent timber. 



Fan-tailed Cuckoo {Cacomantis fiabellijormis, Latham). — I saw 

 it on ist June, and recognized it by its flight and markings. It 

 has not been calling for months. 



The past few weeks have been mild, and on two occasions only 

 have we had a low temperature. The weather to-day appears 

 to indicate the real winter, and those birds which have been 

 induced to stay because of good climate and abundance of food 

 — if Tasmania ever really has it — may now be sorry for them- 

 selves. — Robert Hall. Hobart, 12/6/17. 



Correspondence. 



To the Editors of " The Emu." 



Dear Sirs, — The very valuable article on " Birds of the Rocking- 

 ham Bay District, North Queensland," by Messrs. A. J. Campbell 

 and H. G. Barnard, in The Emu, vol. xvii., p. 2, is to my mind 

 somewhat marred b}' the controversial tone adopted in reference 

 to the work of Mr. G. M. Mathews. Personally, I think that Mr. 

 Mathews' own great work on " The Birds of Australia " is even 

 more spoilt by this fault, and that a text-book is not the right 

 place in which to embody the controversies of the moment. It 

 will be a great pity if the habit is to spread to all contributions 

 to Australian ornithology. Of course, I do not object to the 

 authors expressing their opinions as to whether particular forms 

 are or are not worthy of specific or sub-specific rank. Such 

 opinions from field workers are of supreme importance, and 

 personally I think that these matters cannot be settled solely by 

 examination of skins, but that the nests, eggs, notes, and other 

 habits of the birds must also be taken into consideration. 



Without in any way holding a brief for Mr. Mathews, who is 

 quite capable of fighting his own battles (but, being in England, 

 may not be able to reply in time for the next issue), will you allow 

 me to comment on one point in the article in question ? 



On page 17 the authors write : — " Bee-eaters have been observed 

 passing to and from New Guinea during migration. How can it 

 be possible, then, that there are two races of these birds in 

 Australia, as Mathews infers ? " Again, on page 36, when dis- 

 cussing the Spangled Drongo, they say : — " If this bird migrates 

 from New Guinea (one of us has observed it doing so), why does 

 Mathews make two sub-species of the Drongo — one for Queensland 

 and the other for Northern Territory ? " 



Mr. Mathews may or may not be right in these cases in 

 separating these migratory birds into sub-species, but the mere 

 fact that they are only summer migrants in Australia, and 



