1^8 Stray Feathers. f 



Emu 

 St Oct. 



tion, a flock of 20 White-fronted Chats {Ephthianiira albifrons) has 

 spent the winter around the slo])es of the lagoon. They camp in 

 the shelter of the gorse bushes. 



14/8/10. — Black-breasted Plovers {/onijcy tricolor) with young 

 ones following them. 



16/8/10. — Spur-winged Plover's [LohivaiicUiis lohatns) nest and 

 eggs destroyed by sheep. 



17/8/10. — Black Duck {Anas superciliosa) disturbed from her 

 nest in rushes. The nest contained eight young ones. 



17/8/10. — Swallows {Hirundo neoxena) have returned. 



The Ground-Parrakeet (Pezo-porus formosus) was observed last 

 December in a paddock 3 miles from here. — J. A. Fletcher. 

 18/8/TO. 



* * * 



The Southern Limit of Rostratula australis, Gld. — The 

 Painted Snii)e may now be recorded as found in Tasmania. Mr. 

 W. Richardson (per favour Mr. W. L. May) sent a specimen in the 

 flesh to the Museum at Hobart, obtained at Sandford, south of 

 Hobart, on 23rd July, 1910. Mr. Richardson believes he has pre- 

 viousl}^ seen this species in the midlands, Lake Woods, in the spring 

 of 1909. It is a young male of last year's breeding, having the 

 superciliary mark and hne behind the eye slightly rufous, the 

 hind-neck and mantle being faintly fasciated ; the legs and feet 

 bluish-grey, nails deep brown ; bill blackish-brown on proximal 

 half and tip, the remainder being ])a]e brown. Gould* colours 

 these parts yellow on the bill, and with a flush of pale greenish- 

 yellow on the legs and feet. 



Mr. A. J. Campbellt speaks of our want of knowledge of the 

 movements of this rare bird, saying " it is probable that after rearing 

 their young in the south they retire into more interior quarters 

 during the year." With our limited knowledge, this holds good, 

 the present species being probably a southern wanderer. If it 

 were usual for the Painted Snipe to annually or periodically come 

 so far south, I am not surprised at its choosing so early a date this 

 year, because the signs of early spring were heard and seen on the 

 23rd July. The voice of the Pallid Cuckoo I heard in the Botan- 

 ical Gardens, Hobart, while Mahirus cyaneus (gouldi), Myzantha 

 garrula, and at least one of the Acanthizce were nesting 15 miles 

 south of Hobart. This in July in Southern Tasmania ! It is a 

 winter month under ordinary conditions. — Robert Hall. Hobart, 

 10/8/10. 



* 3|C * 



Tasmanian Notes on the Coot. — During some of my rambles 

 last season I was fortunate enough to come across several clutches 

 of the eggs of the Coot {Fitlica australis). The lagoon in which 

 they were found is a small one close to the Cleveland township. 



* " Birds of Australia," folio, vol. vi. 



t " Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds," p. 827 (1900). 



