^°'g/^^-] Stray Feathers. 167 



flowers. The spectacle of these lovely birds, with gay plumage 

 flashing in the sunlight, hovering over the white, pink, or red 

 blossoms, was worth going miles to see. Close by I watched 

 for some time a pair of Pennant Parrakeets {Platyccrcus elegans) 

 feeding in the tree-tops. The White-winged Chough {Corcorax 

 nielanorhaviphus) was well represented in this part. I noted 

 flocks of over 50 members each. 



The Pallid Cuckoo {Cuadus inornatus) was first heard on 13th 

 August, and on 22nd August I was surprised to note a company 

 of Fairy Martins {Petrochelidon arid) flying about a swampy 

 paddock in the vicinity of M'Callum's Creek, and near by I 

 flushed a Pipit {AutJius aiistralis). These are the earliest dates 

 on which I have observed these two species. Many of the 

 stationary species are nesting, and some of the earlier-nesting 

 Honey-eaters have their broods abroad. On 25th August I 

 found a Brown Tree-creeper's {C.scandens) nest with the unusual 

 clutch of four eggs.* The nest was built in a hollow fence-post 

 at a depth of nearly 3 feet. Viewed by the bright light of a 

 burning leaf, the pink-splashed eggs, resting on their bed of soft 

 down in the narrow post, looked charming indeed. — A. H. 

 Chisholm. Maryborough (Vic), 22/11/09. 



Charlotte Plains Bird Notes.— A few days ago a friend 

 and I took a trip to the Charlotte Plains, a large, open tract of 

 country, 10 or 12 miles from Maryborough. We were unfor- 

 tunate in our choice of a day, for the weather proved 

 unfavourable. 



The native birds we saw most of were the Yellow-rumped Tit 

 {Acanthisa chrysorrhoa), the White-fronted Chat {EpJitJiianura 

 albifrons), the Red-rumped Grass-Parrot {Psephotus kcEmatonotus), 

 the Rosella {Platycercus eximius), the White-backed Magpie 

 {GyinnorJiina leiuonota), the Miner {MyzantJia garruld), and the 

 White-browed {Artamus supevciliosiis) and Masked Wood- 

 Swallows lyA. personatus). With the exception of the Miner 

 and the domed-nest builders, the majority of these birds 

 were nesting. It appears to be a custom among the Wood- 

 Swallows to gather into a flock on the approach of stormy 

 weather. During the afternoon I watched with interest the 

 antics of a large number of these birds (of both species) that had 

 thus flocked, and were performing excited evolutions about the 

 low shrubs and bushes. One nest of the Masked species I found 

 contained two eggs of an unusual shade — a distinct green ground 

 colour, thickly spotted and marked with brown. 



Other birds we found nesting in lesser numbers were the 

 Brown Tree-creeper {Climacteris scandens), the Whiteface 



* Some species of Tree-creepers occasionally lay four eggs. — Eds. 



