134 White, New Nests and Eggs from N.W. Australia. ^^J^ 



mu 

 Oct. 



plumaged birds (5th March, iqio), while another of 6 birds con- 

 tained 2 adult males and 4 dull-plumaged birds. 



The nest from which the eggs (type set) were taken (14th Decem- 

 ber, 1909) was placed in a dead branch lying amongst the rocks, 

 and built of acacia leaves on the outside and grass on the inside. 

 The eggs rested on a layer of rootlets, while the upper part of the 

 egg chamber was thickly lined with kangaroo fur. Many old 

 nests were found in similar positions and built of the same 

 materials.] 



Stray Feathers. 



A Long Way from his Beat. — On the 17th instant an opossum- 

 hunter brought to my camp for identification a magnificent White- 

 bellied Sea-Eagle [Haliastur leucogaster), which he had shot while 

 it was making a meal, in company with some Wedge-tailed Eagles 

 '{Uroaetus audax), at a heap of skinned opossum carcasses. My 

 camp on the Burnett River — a small stream here — is 90 miles from 

 the nearest point of the coast. I carefully measured the span 

 from wing-tip to wing-tip, and found it to be 6 feet 10 inches. — 

 F. B. C. Ford. Survey Camp, via Bayswater (0.), 22/5/10. 



Cuckoo Notes. — Cuckoos have visited us in large numbers this 

 season. They are especially plentiful around Frankston and Ring- 

 wood at present. In company with Messrs. F. E. Wilson and 

 H. Cowderoy recently I found a nest of the White-eared Honey- 

 eater {Ptilotis leucotis), containing an e^^ of the Pallid Cuckoo 

 {Cuculus inornatiis), and in a nest of the White-throated Thickhead 

 {Pachycephala pectoralis) a Fan-tailed Cuckoo {Cacomantis ruftilns) 

 had deposited her eg^. The nest also held an egg of the Thick- 

 head. The latter is probably a new record of a foster-parent. — 

 L. G. Chandler. Malvern, 12/9/10. 



Wood-Swallow and Cuckoo. — On loth December, 1909, I dis- 

 covered, on a branchlet of a tall red gum overhanging the Namoi 

 River at Manilla, a nest of Artamus snperciliosus. My attention 

 was attracted by the squeaking and fluttering of a young Cuckoo 

 {Cuculus inornatus). I saw the Wood-Swallow (female) leave the 

 nest, fly from the tree, and return again to the young bird and feed 

 it. After satisfying the fledgling's wants she returned to her nest. 

 As soon as the Wood-Swallow was nicely settled the Cuckoo would 

 again commence calling and fluttering its wings. The foster- 

 mother once more satisfied the voracious appetite. These trips 

 were repeated six times within about 40 minutes. The male 

 Wood-Swallow kept well away from the nest, calling and flying 

 from bough to bough. — H. Burrell. Manilla, N.S.W., 17/5/10. 



