J.8 Fletcher, Further Notes on the Spotless Crake. r,st^"r"i ■ 



abouts. A fact worth recording is that Crakes are partial to ripe 

 blackberries, and I have flushed them from the tops of low, 

 tangled masses of the brambles when the plants were covered 

 with fruit, in early autumn. 



Two seasons' experiences among the vSpotless Crakes seemed 

 to indicate that three eggs form the normal clutch ; four is an 

 exceptional number, and frequently only two are laid. The 

 heavy, continuous spring rains of last season (1915), as already 

 stated, delayed the nesting, but larger clutches were observed 

 Among those noted were several nests containing five eggs, and 

 in three cases six foi^med the clutch. Of these latter, one clutch 

 contained a double-yolked egg. Would the clutch otherwise 

 have been seven ? There is much variation in the eggs, and to a 

 certain extent the colours harmonize with the surroundings of 

 the nest. I have seen one clutch of a uniform pale green colour, 

 and the nest was hidden under a luxuriant growth of summer 

 grass growing in a hollow of the creek's bank, and was made of 

 the same material. When rashes and reeds form a decaying, 

 matted mass, the eggs laid in nests thereon are a darker brown, 

 and not attractive in appearance. Again, where the surrounding 

 herbage and grasses are more open, with shafts of sunlight 

 filtering through, the markings on the eggs laid in these sites 

 resemble those of our Large-billed Ground-Thrush {Oreocincla 

 macrorhyncha). Some of the specimens have a brown cap on 

 the larger end. Variations exist in the shape also. Many of the 

 eggs are round and chubby ; others elongated and swollen. 



Studying Spotless Crakes, one suffers discomfort and dis- 

 appointment. But how quickly one forgets the long hours of 

 wading, or standing knee-deep in mud, the sharpness of the frosts 

 in the early morning, and the frights with snakes, when a nest 

 is found or the birds are seen ! 



Birds in Melbourne Zoological Gardens* 



By D. Le Souef, C.M.Z.S.. the Director. 



Australian Honey-eaters are comparatively easy to keep in 

 captivity provided that they have suitable food, and we find 

 them quite hardy in our large flight aviary (50 feet x 25 feet x 

 30 feet high). Despite the number of birds in it (about 100), 

 both the White-naped Honey-eater [Melithreptus lunulatus) and 

 White-plumed Honey-eater {Ptilotis penicillata) bred last year and 

 reared their young. As is well known, many birds, especially 

 Finches, have, when in aviaries, a habit of pulling other birds' 

 nests to pieces and building their own with the material stolen, 

 but with Honey-eaters this does not seem to occur often. In 

 the same aviary the Pied Grallina (Grallina picata) also builds its 

 mud nest, and successfully rears its young. 



In the young White-naped Honey-eater the top of the head 



