I^nO Macgillivray, No/es on Some N. Queensland Birds, [i^f j" 



Emu 

 ail. 



young. One autumn nest was found to contain eggs, on the 17th 

 April. Most of the nests were placed in a horizontal fork of a Moreton 

 Bay ash, this tree being resorted to in the case of twelve out of the four- 

 teen records, the other two nests being in melaleucas ; the average 

 height at which they were placed was 60 feet. ]\Iany of the nests, well 

 out on horizontal limbs, could only be reached by means of a scoop on 

 a long rod. I cannot do better than quote Mr. M'Lennan's note to 

 illustrate some of the difficulties a climber has to contend with who 

 seeks to investigate the nesting of this bird : — " In a pocket off Peak 

 Point track I found a White Goshawk's nest 60 feet up in a big 

 Moreton Bay ash ; it contained two hard-set eggs. I had a terrible 

 lime climbing this tree. It was a hard tree to climb, and when I got 

 30 feet up T struck myriads of small yellow ants ; they got all over 

 me — in my eyes, ears, and nose — and bit savagely, so that you can 

 imagine what it was to go the other 30 feet and back again before 

 getting any relief. One nest was placed in a tree in which a colony 

 of Calornis had nested. Dui4ng the nesting season of the Goshawk 

 the adult young of the Calornis form their principal article of food, 

 and it is probable that the nesting of the Hawk is timed to that of 

 this Starling." 



Astur approximans. Goshawk. — Noted on the Cloncurry and 

 Leichhardt Rivers. At Cape York, on iith August, 191 1, when the 

 long grass was being burned off from several of the open pockets, 

 some Australian Goshawks and Brown Hawks were attracted to 

 whatever might be disturbed by the fire. On ist November, 191 1, 

 one of these birds was flushed from her nest containing two eggs. 

 This nest was placed 70 feet up. on a horizontal limb of a Moreton 

 Bay ash, and on his way home Mr. M'Lennan flushed another Aus- 

 tralian Goshawk from its nest 40 feet up in a Moreton Bay ash ; it 

 contained a young bird just hatched and two chipping eggs. The 

 eggs were very small for this bird. 



AcPipiter torquatus. Collared Sparrow-Hawk. — Seen several times 

 on Cloncurrv and Leichhardt Rivers. At Cape York, on 24th 

 November, 1910. a nest of this species was found, containing three 

 fully fledged young birds, in a Moreton Bay ash. The birds were not 

 at all common. 



Erythrotriorchis radiatus. Red Goshawk. — Noted on many occasions 

 at both Sedan and Byromine. One that was shot for a specimen 

 was eating a Galah at the time. This species also came under notice 

 on the Leichhardt and Gregory Rivers. 



Uroaetus audax. Wedge-tailed Eagle (Eagle-Hawk). — Common in 

 the Gulf country. At Lorraine, on the Leichhardt River, Mr. 

 M'Lennan " saw a Nankeen Heron that he had previously disturbed 

 coming down the river at full speed with a Wedge-tailed Eagle in 

 pursuit. The Eagle stooped when opposite him, but missed the 

 Heron, which took refuge in the tea-tree." 



At Cape York this Eagle was noted on two occasions. 



Haliseetus leucogaster. White-bellied Sea-Eagle. — Mr. M'Lennan 

 first met with this species at Sedan, on the Cloncurry River, early in 

 March, and afterwards at Byromine. When camped on the Leich- 

 hardt River he made the following note : — " Heard a strange bird 

 calling as soon as I woke, so I got the gun and proceeded to investigate, 

 but did not succeed in locating the bird. Returned to camp, had 

 breakfast, and then went down the river. iMter a while I left the 



