124 Stray Feathers. [^^.^ 



Emu 

 Oct. 



Stray Feathers. 



Lyre-Birds. — In a letter to me lately, Mr. L. C. Cook spoke of 

 the lameness of a Lyre-Bird (Membra victoriai). He visited, in 

 company with a lady, a Lyre-Bird's nest that had just been 

 finished. " On approaching it the female bird flew off and at 

 us again and again, and finally raked the earth about and 

 picked up stray morsels and ate them within 4 feet of us, 

 alternately flying and running into the tree-tops around, but 

 never leaving us during the time we were there — about half an 

 hour. I then placed the lady in a favourable position, and, 

 making a detour, frightened two females and one beautiful male 

 bird to within 3 feet of her. The birds ran along the log on 

 which she was concealed, and she had a beautiful view of them." 

 — D. Le Souef. Melbourne, 14th August, 1912. 



* * * 



Notes of Restless Flycatcher. — In my article on Eyre Peninsula 

 ornithology I spoke of the Restless Flycatcher {Sisiira inquietd) 

 as uttering the strange grinding notes only when hovering above 

 the crround. In many years of observation I have found this to 

 be the rule ; but " there is an exception to every rule." Mr. 

 A. H. Chisholm, of Maryborough, Victoria, in a letter to me, 

 says : — " You may be interested to hear that I have found this 

 habit, while general, not constant with the Restless Flycatcher. 

 A year ago I saw one of these birds in the act of uttering the 

 grinding note while resting on a stump, and I was surprised. 

 Strangely enough, a day or so after reading your article in Tlie 

 Emu, I verified the previous observation by seeing and hearing 

 a Flycatcher uttering the grinding notes in good style while 

 sitting on the ground!' This is very interesting to me, for I 

 have never before heard of the Restless Flycatcher behaving 

 like this.— (Captain) S. A. White. Fulham, S.A., 8th 

 August, 1912. 



From Magazines, &c. 



Gould League of New South Wales.—The Gould League of Bird 

 Lovers of New South Wales is making steady progress. In con- 

 nection with Bird Day, 9th October, 1912, a "bird-life" supple- 

 ment to the Public Instruction Gazette has been issued. Printed on 

 art paper, enclosed in a neat cover, the supplement is well 

 illustrated, and contains some interesting articles and notes. 

 Mr. W. W. Froggatt writes upon "Insectivorous Birds"; Miss Amy 

 E. Mack contributes a fable, "Why the Bronze-Cuckoo Wails?" 

 which is characterized by her usual delicate fancy ; and Mr. A. G. 

 Hamilton deals with the subject of " Protective Colouration," and 

 gives a useful list of publications relating to Australian birds. 

 " Bird-Life Near Home," by Thos. P. Austin, is an article 

 ^abridged) from The Emu. Bird paragraphs, Gould League notes. 



