Ixxi 



Southern and Eastern marine beds of Tasmania cover in one unbroken 

 series the whole period represented in Australia and in Northern Tas- 

 mania by the lower marine beds, lower coal measures, and upper marine 

 beds ; and that the final oscillation of land, producing conditions favourable 

 to the deposits of the upper coal measures of Australia and Tasmania, was 

 the only one which extended as far as the South and East of Tasmania. 

 However, Mr. Johnston was greatly pleased that this matter was being 

 tested, as far as possible in the, North and South, in a practical way by 

 means of the diamond drill, and he hoped to see this most useful practical 

 test still fui-ther employed in our important coal basins, not only to measure 

 the value of our coal seams vertically, but also sufficiently extended to 

 ascertain their extent horizontally. 



NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



The hon. secretary exhibited a skull of a rabbit with the incisor teeth of 

 both jaws unusually long, the lower incisors being 1^ inch, upper ones f 

 inch in length. Similar overgrowths have been frequently reported as 

 occuring in all of the rodent family when one or more of the incisors had 

 been lost, but in this case, the abnormal divarication of the lower pair had 

 led to the growth of all four teeth since they could not meet so as to wear 

 each other down. 



Colonel Legge exhibited two specimens of the Ceylon ese Serpent Eagle, 

 Spilornis Spilogaster, Blyth, an adult, and immature bird, and made some 

 remarks on the genus Spilornis. The Serpent Eagles formed an interesting 

 section of small, weakfooted, eagles, with an Indo-Malayan distribution, 

 extending from the Himalayas eastwards through Burmah to Formosa, 

 and south-eastwards through Southern India, Ceylon, the Andamans, 

 Sumatra, Java, Borneo, to Celebes, and the Philippines. The section 

 comprised the one genus only, which might be said to be a typical Indo- 

 Malayan form, for it appeared only, in one case, that of the Celebes 

 Serpent Eagle, *S'. Rufipectus, to cross the remarkable dividing line dis- 

 covered by Wallace, and which, passes upwards through the strait between 

 Bali and Lombock, and thence between Borneo and Celebes to the east- 

 ward of the Philippines. The fauna and flora to the eastward of this line 

 was Australian in character, and to the westward of it Indian. 

 Apparently, the genus had not yet been found in Papua, but, some day, 

 when that island was perhaps annexed to Australia, our naturalists might 

 discover examples of it. The largest number of the genus S. Cheela 

 ranged from the Himalayas to Burmah, and had been found in Formosa. 

 Its smaller representative was S. Melanotis of Southern India. In Java, 

 a very similar species to the Ceylonese existed, the S. Bacha of Daudin, 

 which is also found in Sumatra. It is darker than the Ceylonese bird, and 

 the edge surrounding the paleoculli of the lower features is scarcely darker 

 than the surrounding colour. Another species is described from the 

 Andamans, by Hume, as smaller than S. Bacha. The species ranging 

 further to the eastward are S. Pallidus from Borneo, S. Rtifipectus from 

 Celebes, ^S*. Sulaensis from the Sula Islands, and S. Holospilus from the 

 Philippines. The habits of the Ceylonese Serpent Eagle were interesting. 

 It was a denizen of gloomy forests, and one or two pairs were always to be 

 found in the magnificent trees surrounding the grand old tanks made by 

 the ancient kings of Ceylon. It sat on a limb overhanging the water, 

 its crest now and then erected, and its brilliant yellow orbs glaring on the 

 water beneath, where it watched for the appearance of some hapless frog 

 or water snake. On the beautiful rivers of the forest regions of Ceylon, 

 which dried up in the hot season, leaving a broad sandy bed with a limpid 

 stream trickling down it, these eagles were also to be found, silently seated 

 on the look-out for their prey. Now and then, in the heat of the day, 

 these birds soared aloft, circling round and round, uttering a loud scream 

 of three long drawn syllables, but, as a rule, they were very silent. 



Mr. Morton exhibited some very beautiful photographic views of Lord 



