48 stray Feathers. [xsf"july 



Stray Feathers. 



Great Flight of Swifts.— In February, 1906, when I was at Port 



Keats, Northern Territory, I observed an enormous number of 



Spine-tailed Swifts {Chatura caiidaciita) migrating. They came 



from the south-east and w'ere heading north-west. The flock 



appeared to be about 200 yards in width, and maintained an almost 



continuous column for about six hours. I had never seen these 



birds there previously, nor did there seem to be any stragglers, as 



none was to be seen next day. Inquiry from the aborigines 



elicited the information that these flights had often been seen 



before, but they could not tell which way the birds returned. — F. 



L. Godfrey. Darwin. 



« * ♦ 



Do Variations in Seasons Affect the Size of Eggs ? — Although my 

 collection of eggs contains many thousand specimens, all of which 

 have been carefully measured, I have only lately noticed a case of 

 variation in size occasioned, I presume, by a change in season. I 

 refer to eggs of Chlamydera maculata. In 1911, a season of 

 drought, I secured with difficulty a few sets from a certain locality, 

 my collector's observations, however, pointing to the fact that at 

 times the birds bred very freely there. In 19 12, a season of plenty, 

 I obtained a large number of clutches from the same locality, some 

 of them apparently laid by the same birds that were robbed 

 during 1911. All the eggs collected in 1912 show a marked increase 

 in size compared with those of 191 1, the averages in inches being 

 1.45 X 1.03 for 1911 and 1.55 x 1.05 for 1912. It is well known 

 that in favourable seasons many birds lay more eggs to the clutch 

 than they do in bad seasons, but the question as to whether the 

 size of the egg also varies has, I believe, not been previously raised. 

 As an illustration of the effects of a good season upon the number 

 of eggs to the clutch, I note the following : — Up to 1912 I con- 

 sidered three or four eggs a full clutch for Gymnorhina dorsalis, of 

 south-western Australia ; in the remarkably favourable spring of 

 1912 I received particulars of no less than six clutches of five eggs 

 each. While on the subject of the eggs of G. dorsalis, my 

 observation of a very large number of eggs goes to prove the 

 correctness of Mr. A. j. Campbell's statement ("Nests and Eggs," 

 page 296) that they vary less than others of the family. Can it 

 be that the Western bird is the older and purer species, and 

 therefore produces eggs more true to type ?— H. L. White. Bell- 

 trees, N.S.W., 1/6/13. 



Descriptions of New Eggs. — Mirafra rufescens. Ingram. — Clutch, 

 four eggs ; surface of shell smooth and glossy, minutely pitted all 

 over ; roundish or swollen oval in shape. Ground colour dull 

 greyish or creamy white, well marked all over with minute splashes 

 of pale brown and lilac, those of the latter being somewhat 

 indistinct, and appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell. 



