'\T] ^^'i^^- 225 



shower of rotten wood and bark rained from above, and ' Banjo ' 

 ran from tree to tree looking up at the unattainable birds and 

 barking with excitement. About one trunk he circled, barking 

 and snifhing, and then again returned to it, still not absolutely 

 satisfied ; and I suppose it was this second visit and the tone of 

 his bark that caused me instantly to mark the tree. It was a 

 kamahi of considerable girth, but its shell only, alive and green ; 

 the interior was rotted away until almost level with the ground, 

 and the space within — about 2 feet in diameter — floored with 

 wood powder, dry and sweet. On this brown carpet rested two 

 eggs, small for the size of the Parrot, dull white in colour, and 

 evidently much incubated. The interior of the hole had been 

 gouged and chiselled by the sitting hen until no scrap of it within 

 neck-stretch remained unmarked." The author succeeded in 

 obtaining photographs of the Kaka at the nesting-tree. 



Correspondence. 



WORK OF THE UNION : SOME SUGGESTIONS. 



To the Editors of " The Eniu." 



Sirs, — In the last issue of The Emu (vol. xiv., part 3) two of our 

 most prominent ornithologists make certain disassociated remarks 

 that seem to me to be well worth taking into serious consideration 

 conjunctively, and to merit amplification. 



Firstly, Mr. A. J. Campbell, in his article on " Missing Birds," 

 states : — " Would it not be well for members to unite to protect, 

 or to aid in the protection of, some of the fast-failing forms of our 

 avifauna ? In point of fact, is not protection of native birds 

 one of the chief planks of the R.A.O.U. ? " And Mr. Henry L. 

 White, when writing on " Australian Cuckoos," says : — " I consider 

 that the future preservation of our native birds is lai^gely in the 

 hands of the public school teachers." 



In offering a few remarks on matters arising from these notes, 

 I want first to endorse Mr. White's opinion. Certainly, the 

 ornithologist of the future is under the care of the school teacher 

 at present, and on the training he receives there depends 

 markedly his subsequent attitude toward the study. And it is 

 equally certain that, if boys have instilled in them a proper 

 appreciation of birds (and, accordingly, a protective spirit), a vast 

 amount of good will have been accomplished. Very well. What, 

 then, is the R.A.O.U. doing toward this desirable end ? Not all 

 that it should, I am afraid. That many members have assisted 

 the Education Departments of their respective States in a general 

 way is true enough ; but systematic service is needed. 



To begin with, the official guides on the highway of knowledge 

 — the teachers — should, I think, l)e given more attention. 

 Speaking only of Victorian schools, I know that there are many 

 teachers who take a warm, vital interest in our birds, and find 

 them a source of inspiration ; but I know, too, alas ! that many 



