l56 Le Souef, North Queensland Birds. [ ,sf "jan. 



fore the Albatrosses gave a fine exhibition of their power of flight. 

 Two species were seen— the White-capped {Diomedea cauta) and 

 Wandering {D. exulaiis). The most of the latter were in their 

 darker juvenile plumage, which varies in the different specimens. 

 I have never seen these birds north of Brisbane, and they rarely 

 go nearer the coast than three miles. We saw a flock of Diving- 

 Petrels {Pelecanoides urinatrix), and Mutton-Birds {Pufmus 

 sphenurus) were very plentiful. 



Cuckoos in Tasmania. 



By (Miss) J. A. Fletcher, R.A.O.U (Springfield, Tas.) 



I HAVE had very little experience with Cuckoos or their eggs. 

 Have occasionally found the egg of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo 

 {Cacomantis ff,abeUiformis) in nests of the Brown-rumped Tit- 

 Warblei {Acanthiza diemenensis) or Long-tailed Wren- Warbler 

 {Malurus longicaudus) ; of the Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcococcyx 

 plagosus) in nests of the Yellow-tailed Tit- Warbler {A. 

 chrysorrhoa) ; and that of the Pallid Cuckoo {Cticulus pallidas) 

 in nests of the Yellow-throated Honey-eater (Ptilotis flavigula). 

 On one occasion I found the remains of a Pallid Cuckoo's egg in 

 the nest of a Wood-Swallow {Artamus sordidus), whose clutch had 

 been stolen. 



My sister, on 19th September, 1910, found the nest of a pair of 

 Striated Field-Wrens {Calamanthus fuliginosus) in a clump of 

 rushes by the roadside at Conara. It contained two eggs of the 

 Calamanthus and one of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo. On several 

 occasions I have observed an adult Cuckoo giving food to a 

 young bird of its own species, which had apparently lately left 

 the nest. I often wonder whether Cuckoos watch over the well- 

 being of their offspring or whether they simply give the crying 

 fledgeling food because, after the manner of young birds, it calls 

 to them as they pass by. 



My scout, Miss Lowther, on 4th December, 1913, found a nest 

 of the Emu-Wren (Stipiturus malachtirus) containing one egg — 

 that of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo. This was left for a week, and, 

 finding that the Emu-Wrens had deserted, I took the nest and 

 egg. The builders had evidently resented the presence of the 

 Cuckoo's egg in the nest. Miss Lowther, on 7th October, 1914, 

 found an Emu-Wren's nest containing two eggs of that species 

 and one of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo. A week previously a Cuckoo 

 had been seen examining the tussock in which the nest was built, 

 though at that time it was not known that the Emu-Wrens were 

 building there. 



On 28th November, 1914, I found an Emu-Wren's nest con- 

 taining a young Bronze Cuckoo. Two Emu-Wren's eggs had been 

 ejected. The young Cuckoo, though only a few days old, filled 

 the tiny nest. An adult Bronze-Cuckoo was heard near by. 



