Vol. XVI. 1 Bin/ Observers' Club. Ill 



Mr. A. E. V. Richardson, M.A., B.Sc, Superintendent of Agriculture, 

 was elected a provisional member of the club. 



The July meeting received some interesting information about the 

 Lyre-Bird. 



Mr. L. C. Cook, of Poowong, read a paper on the birds and their 

 habits. He showed that the human element in the nesting habits of 

 birds was sometimes beneficial. He destroyed nests of the Lyre-Birds 

 that were placed near the ground on his reserve, for the purpose of 

 inducing them to build higher, and so escape the ravages of the fox. 

 The fact that in place of four birds there are now eleven shows what 

 measure of success he has met. A neighbouring place where the birds 

 were left unmolested showed practically no increase. 



Mr. D. Le Souef, C.M.Z.S., exhibited some unique lantern slides of 

 the birds and their haunts, while the president, Mr. A. H. E. Mat- 

 tingley, C.M.Z.S., showed slides illustrating other bird life in the 

 same haunts. 



The eggs of Memira victoria' and M. sttperba were exhibited by 

 Mr. A. Chas. Stone, who remarked upon the variation in colouring of 

 the eggs of this family. 



Lieut. -Col. Bryant entertained the members at his rooms at the 

 August meeting. He gave a most interesting and instructive paper 

 on " Birds :Met With While on Foreign Service with the A.LF." He 

 illustrated his remarks with lantern slides, which included some re- 

 markable views of the war zone. The swamps bordering the Nile held 

 vast numbers of aquatic birds, the rarest of which was the Fan-tailed 

 Sandpiper. Numerous species of birds were seen around Cairo, and 

 hundreds of Kites frequented the city. These birds acted as excellent 

 scavengers, and did incalculable good for the health of the commnnity. 

 White Egrets were seen breeding in the Zoological Gardens at Cairo. 

 Lemnos Island was not rich in bird life. About a dozen difTerenl 

 species were noted, including the Mediterranean Gull, which fol- 

 lowed the old-fashioned ploughs of the peasants in search of food. 



Mr. Le Souef read an extract from the Btilletin of the Zoological 

 Society of New York dealing with the plume trade in India. It showed 

 that ;/^44,ooo worth of Egret plumes had been seized by the Customs, 

 and fines to the amount of 55,000 rupees had been paid. 



Mr. Harold Pottenger was elected a member of the club. 



The quarterly dinner and usual meeting was held on 21st Sep- 

 tember, 1916. 



The chairman, Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, suggested to the members 

 the desirability of using the bird movement to augment the patriotic 

 funds. Discussion ensued, and it was decided to go further into the 

 matter. Members were asked to offer suggestions for a motto for the 

 club at the next meeting. 



Several members gave some interesting field notes for this season 

 (1916), which went to prove that the birds had started breeding early. 

 Some remarkable observations on game-birds were related by Dr. 

 Norman M' Arthur. The method adopted by the Little Falcon (Falco 

 lunulatus) in killing its prey was to seek the upper position and strike 

 obliquely. The Black Duck, its favourite quarry, often rose forward 

 quickly, and the Falcon swept past its tail ; but the rapidity of its 

 flight soon brought it to the upper position again. When the Falcon 

 was successful it accomplished the feat of completely scalping its 

 quarry with its claw. 



