Vol. IX. 



1909 



1 Stray Feathers. Q< 



It is easily distinguished from the notes of C. leucophcea. With 

 the majority of birds the male has a brighter and more con- 

 spicuous plumage than the female, but our Tree-creepers prove 

 an exception to this rule. The female of C. eiythrops has broad 

 buff markings on the breast, which are quite absent in the male. 

 There is also a difference between the sexes in C. scandens and 

 C. leucopJuBa. — L. G. Chandler. Melbourne, 16/8/09. 



Cleveland (Tasmania) Notes. — The Flame-breasted 

 Robins {Petrceca pJioeniced) have been in this district throughout 

 the winter this year. The Cuckoos left just before Easter 

 week, but the VVood-S wallows {Artatnus sordidus), Swallows 

 {Hirundo neoxena), and Tree-Martins {Petrochelidoii nigricans) 

 remained until the week following. Very cold weather set in, 

 and they abruptly left. The Small-billed Cuckoo-Shrike 

 {Graucalus parvirostris) quitted these forest lands at the same 

 time as the Swallows. The introduced bird, the English Gold- 

 finch {Carduelis cardnelis), was plentiful throughout the summer, 

 and nested freely in the various gardens of the township. They 

 have, however, been absent since March. These birds are very 

 fond of the seeds of the cornflowers. I heard the Goldfinches 

 were to be seen in great numbers at Latrobe, near Devonport, 

 during June. During a climbing trip up Ben Lomond last 

 Easter, I noticed a Pink-breasted Robin {Petnrca rhodinogastrd) 

 among the dwarf trees on the slopes of the mountain. On the 

 summit I flushed two Field-Wrens {CalantantJms fuliginosus) 

 and saw a Scarlet-breasted Robin [Petrceca leggii), a pair of 

 Mountain-Ducks {Casarca tadornoides) on Lake Baker (a lake 

 on the mountain's plateau), and a fine Wedge-tailed Eagle 

 {Uroaitns audax). This latter was not in sight until a dog 

 belonging to our party started yelping because he had become 

 separated from his master, who had climbed a rocky wall. The 

 Eagle came flying up from the valley below and poised high 

 above the dog, evidently wondering at the unusual noise. It 

 was a picture to be remembered : the dog frantically trying to 

 climb the rock ; the human figures further up; and above all, 

 in the clear air, the magnificent bird. After a while the latter 

 soared higher and then flew away. A flock of twenty Miners 

 {J^IyzantJia garrHld)\\'A.vQ. spent the winter in the back-yard here, 

 and are fed daily with crumbs, &c., on the window-sill. — (Miss) 

 J. A. Fletcher. 30/7/09. 



Notes on the Black-tailed Native-Hen (Micro- 

 TRIBONYX VENTRALIS). — I have noticed that several corre- 

 spondents to " Nature Notes " in TJie Argus have written about 

 this fascinating bird, which is so well known to us of the 



