Vol. Xiv."| Cheney, Birds of Wangaratta District, Victoria. 207 



Eurystomus pacificus. Australian Roller. — Locally, this was known 

 as the "Rain-Bird." Sometimes its arrival was coincident with bad 

 weather, to give colour to the saying. It was often shot and brought 

 to me as " probably the only bird of its kind in AustraUa." Sometimes 

 people sent in a more or less incorrect description of it to the news- 

 papers, and there was a little excitement about it. It was fairly 

 common, but, owing to its frequenting the tops of tall trees, not often 

 seen, unless people heard its raucous note. 



Alcyone azurea. Blue Kingfisher. — These birds are very hard 

 to satisfy in their choice of a nest. I have known them to work at four 

 or five nesting hollows before the final one was decided upon. Thus 

 they often nested very late. I have not known them to use the 

 same nest twice. 



Dacelo gigas. Laughing Kingfisher. — These birds were frequently 

 heard " laughing " heartily in the middle of the night, especially if 

 it was moonlight. 



Halcyon pyrrhopygius. Red-backed Kingfisher. — I saw one 

 specimen only ; it was near the King River. 



Halcyon sanctus. Sacred Kingfisher. — It was delightful to observe 

 a number of these birds bathing in a sunlit pool. Like the Blue 

 Kingfishei'S, they made a new nest everj^ season. 



Merops ornatus Australian Bee-eater. — ^In 1914 the nestlings 

 disappeared time after time from their nests, usually when they were 

 almost fledged. Two birds were observed making a trench along 

 the surface of the ground when the soil was soddened by the heavy 

 rain and the creek was flooding the cliffs. They persisted in their 

 efforts until a domed chamber was nearly rounded at the end, and 

 then deserted it. 



Chsetura caudacuta. Spine-tailed Swift. — In 1914 these birds 

 remained until the end of April. Usually we did not see them after 

 February I think there must have been an unusual number of 

 insects to keep them, thev were skimming so close to the ground. 

 Two or three were seen on the 5th November last, but the main flight 

 did not come until December. 



Cuculus pallidus. Pallid Cuckoo .^-These Cuckoos usually returned 

 to the plains in August, being the first of their family to do so. 

 Towards November they ceased to call, and were seldom seen until 

 about February, and then only for a few weeks. I watched one 

 enter the nest of a Whiteface ( Aphelocephala leucopsis^ several times, 

 but there was no egg there when I investigated. This particular 

 Whiteface's nest was in a large hollow in a tree. 



Cacomantis flabelliformis. Fan-tailed Cuckoo. — Several specimens 

 were found lying on the ground — the jugular vein severed in each 

 case. Fan-tailed Cuckoos usually return about the first week in 

 September, and from thence on are found pecking caterpillars off the 

 trees in the orchards. 



Mesocalius osculans. Black-eared Cuckoo. — I saw this species twice 

 — i8th November. 1913, and 30th November, 1914 ; in each case 

 the bird was picking insects off a plane tree. 



Chalcococcyx basalis. Narrow-billed Bronze-Cuckoo. — This was 

 the last of the Cuckoos to return. On i6th October, 1914, I saw 

 some Black-and-White Fantails chasing one along the ground. It 



