^°''i^il"'] Tasmanian Notes. 225 



feeding at a height of 30-60 feet ; next morning there was a 

 change to drizzhng rain, which seems to have heralded the 

 departure for the season of the last of the Swifts. — H. Stuart 

 Dove, F.Z.S., R.A.O.U. West Devonport, Tasmania, 18/8/17. 



Early Nesting of White-beard. — During the last week of August, 

 1917, my attention was called to a nest of the White-bearded 

 Honey-eater {Meliornis novcv-hollandicB) situated in a prickly wattle 

 {Acacia verticillata) which had sprung up in the grounds of a friend 

 here. The nest was in a fork about 10 feet up, and on ist 

 September I got a step-ladder and investigated, to see whether 

 incubation had started. To my surprise the contents were three 

 fully-feathered young, snugly packed into their cup-shaped 

 domicile. My friend saw them out with their parents two days 

 afterwards. The nest must have been finished about the end of 

 July, which is the earliest I have ever known for this species, or 

 for any of the family, in this State. It was fortunate (or was it 

 • prevision ?) that the pair selected August for the rearing of their 

 brood, as that month was most unusually fine and sunny ; the 

 present month of September has, so far, been distinguished by 

 rough winds and heavy, soaking rains. Inside the cup-shaped 

 nest of small twigs was placed some fine bark, which the birds 

 had pulled from a clematis stem, and upon this was a felted 

 mass of white material. This was examined with a lens, and 

 appeared to consist chiefly of long hair-like processes, resembling 

 those from clematis seeds, and small white florets, probably from 

 a native plant. The partiality of the White-beard to a floral 

 lining is well known to ornithologists. Mr. A. J. Campbell, in 

 his " Nests and Eggs," mentions one from Upper Werribee which 

 was entirely lined with soft, yellowish-white seed-casings ; and 

 Mr. H. C. Thompson and myself, when investigating a nest some 

 years ago, built into the fork of a paper-bark tea-tree {Melaleuca) 

 at Distillery Creek, North Tasmania, found it lined with the soft 

 down}^ seed-pods of the " Cotton Shrub " {Pimelea nivea). — 

 H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S., R.A.O.U. West Devonport, Tasmania. 

 8/9/17. 



* * * 



Spring Migrants in Tasmania.— The notes of the Tree Diamond - 

 Bird {Pardalotiis aijlnis), or " Pick-it-up," were heard for the first 

 time this season in the white gums at the Mersey Bluff on the 

 morning of 27th August. The first Welcome Swallow {Hirundo 

 neoxena) was seen on the afternoon of 26th x^ugust at Wood's 

 Slip, on the Mersey, about a mile from the sea. The afternoon was 

 beautifully warm and summer-like, with a breeze from S.W. On 

 the morning of the 28th a Swallow was back at Leek's Gardens, 

 Mersey Bluff, where Swallows build each year under the verandahs 

 of the dwelling-house. On the same morning, which was beauti- 

 fully sunny, with a light breeze off the sea, a Fantail Cuckoo 



