204 Chknky, Birds of Wangavatta District, Victoria. [isf A^rii 



20 minutes' waiting it sidled along a fence, where it probably thought 

 that we could not see it. Again checked, it returned fi-om another 

 direction several times, until it was able to snatch the dead bird. 

 Farmers believe that many of their losses in chicken-rearing are due 

 to this bird. A form with a richer-coloured back may possibly be 

 A. cruentus, the Lesser Goshawk. 



Accipiter torquatus. Collared Sparrow-Hawk . — This bird has 

 frequently been seen, usually flying rapidly in search of prey. 



Uroaetus audax. Wedge-tailed Eagle. — Why will people destroy 

 these magnificent birds ? They are beginning to understand that 

 Eagles probably do not kill lambs, but they persist in shooting them 

 "for sport." In the North-East of Victoria the Wedge-tailed Eagle 

 is a common bird, and the children rejoice to see one on a tree in the 

 school-ground : but, at the present rate of slaughter, there will soon 

 be none left for anyone to admire. The birds nest near Specimen 

 Hill. 



Hiera'etus morphnoides. Little Eagle. — I had not noticed this bird 

 until November, 19 14, when it was seen rising from the same paddock 

 day after day. 



Haliastur sphenurus. Whistling-Eagle. — The most widely spread 

 bird of prey in the North-East. It was a sight worth seeing when a 

 flock circled in the upper air. 



Elanus axillaris. Australian Black-shouldered Kite. — In the 

 autumn this bird's note was often heard in the eucalypts ; sometimes 

 it was mistaken for that of the Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike. 



Elanus scriptus. Letter-winged Kite. — ^We saw this bird twice 

 in three years. 



Falco melanogenys. Black-cheeked Falcon. — More frequently met 

 with on the hill-slopes than on the plains. 



Falco lunulatus. Little Falcon. — This species also was more often 

 a denizen of the hills. 



Hieracidea berigora. Brown Hawk. — This bird usually fiew about 

 the fields in summer time. During the spring and autumn it was 

 seen in the valleys, but in the winter we had no record of it whatsoever. 



Hieracidea occidentalis. Striped Brown Hawk. — The same remarks 

 apply to this as to the preceding species. 



Cerchneis cenchroides. Nankeen Kestrel. — The remarkable hovering 

 powers of this bird are always a subject of interest. The farmers 

 consider that they owe a great debt to the Kestrel because of the 

 mice it kills. 



Ninox boobook. Boobook Owl. — The weird note — " Boobook " — 

 of this species gave a great interest to the quiet bush night. Its call 

 altered slightly with the season, in the autumn becoming somewhat 

 higher in tone. 



Ninox maculata. Spotted Owl. — This Owl was occasionally seen 

 flying about in the half light, and resting on a branch in the day-time. 



Ninox connivens. Winking-Owl. — We noticed this bird a few times. 



Strix delicatula. Delicate Owl. — This Owl has a variety of calls ; 

 the commonest, of " Yo yo," puzzled many people for a time. It 

 seems like the call of a sheep-drover urging on his dogs. 



