34 ^^""^y ^^^theru [,l7i,y 



witnessed between Tasmanian Butcher-Birds {Cracticus cinerens, 

 Gld.), which was commented upon in the February issue by Dr. 

 Dudley Buxton, who gave similar instances of pugnacity among 

 British birds. My friend, Mr. Foster Leek, of Mersey Bluff, was 

 fortunate enough to witness the termination of an encounter 

 between nocturnal fliers, such an incident being, I think, 

 previously unrecorded. One morning last summer Mr. Leek 

 left his cottage about 5.30, and on passing through the garden 

 gate noticed what looked like a heap of feathers outside the 

 fence. On examining the object, he found that two night-birds — 

 a Spotted Owl {Ninox maculata, V. and H.) and a Frogmouth 

 {Podargus strigoides) — had been apparently engaged in a fierce 

 duel, and had become entangled and unable to separate. Curiously 

 enough, one foot of the Frogmouth was caught in the Owl's 

 mouth. Both were much exhausted, the plumage was dirty and 

 bedraggled, the eyes blinded with debris. The Podargus, 

 although the larger, appeared to have suffered more than the 

 Owl, which is compactly built, and I should say would give a 

 good account of himself in battle. On being separated, the Owl 

 flew to a fence, where it rested for a time, afterwards flying off 

 to some more secluded spot ; my friend placed the Frogmouth 

 on the low branch of a tree in a sequestered nook, where it 

 remained all day, but disappeared before nightfall. The 

 Spotted Owl is the author of the very familiar '' Mopoke " call 

 in our bush during the nights of winter and spring, a sound 

 which the bush-dwellers invariably attribute to the Podargus, 

 which is frequently called the Mopoke. I am aware that some 

 observers believe the Podargus also calls " Mopoke," but the 

 only sound which I can personally attribute to the latter is a 

 curious moaning noise, uttered when sitting upon a stump or 

 fence. The true Boobook Owl (A^. boobook) we have not in 

 Tasmania, or, at any rate, I have not so far seen a specimen, 

 during a long residence in the bush, nor are there any in our 

 museums. — H. Stuart Dove. W. Devonport (Tas.), 2/6/09. 



Blue Wrens Nesting in Ivy. — The pair of Wrens (J/«/?^;'«.y 

 cyaneus) mentioned in the October issue of The Emu (viii., p. 

 95) started to build in an ivy shrub {Hedera Australiand) on 

 5th October. The nest was placed 5 feet 6 inches from the 

 ground, and, as far as I observed, the female carried the material 

 for construction and built the nest entirely herself, the male bird, 

 always on the alert, watching operations from a pepper-tree 

 {Schznus violle) close by, where he could warn his mate of 

 intruders. One morning while thus occupied a male Sparrow 

 {Passer doDiesticiis) challenged and viciously attacked him, when 

 the female Wren instantly came to the rescue and drove the 

 Sparrow off. The Wrens naturally were jealous of the situation, 



