1920.] iVesteni Australian Birds. 71^ 



were seen in most districts that I visited, including the Lower 

 Warren River in the extreme corner. They were particuhirly 

 numerous about the Vasse River in April 1019. 



A ludy who resided on the bank ot" the river called my 

 attention to a Brown Kingfisher that was perched on a tree 

 on the opposite side of the river to her house, and expressed 

 a hope that no one would shoot it, because it came there 

 every day and she liked to hear its cackling laugh. Then 

 she showed me, with great pride, some hen-coops with 

 several broods of young chickens and ducks placed on the 

 edge of the river (near where the Jackass was perched at 

 the time), and remarked that all the young birds were 

 growing well, but that one or two unaccountably disappeared 

 almost daily. I told her that, in my opinion, the Jackass 

 came there on purpose to eat them, which she would not 

 believe, but said she would watch it next morning. The 

 next time I met her she said she had seen the bird take a 

 young chicken the day after our conversation. 



Dacelo leacMi cliftoni. 



Pale Fawn-breasted Kingfishers were common about the 

 Lower Gascoyne and Minilya river-beds in September 1911, 

 1913, and 1911). I climbed to a nesting cavity in a white- 

 gum tree which contained four eggs on 1 August, 1911, 

 but a large Lace-Lizard or Monitor ( Varanus) took them 

 shortly afterwards. Fledged young birds were seen on the 

 Minilya River on 9 September, 1911. 



Cyanalcyon pyrrhopygius oT)scurus. 



On 2 October, 1913, I took five incubated eggs of the 

 Northern Red-backed Kingfisher from a hole in a steep 

 sandy bank of the Gascoyne River. As the eggs were in a 

 distinct nest of fine grass, weeds, etc., it is probable that it 

 had been originally made by a pair of Black and White 

 Swallows ( Cheramoeca) , several of which birds were breed- 

 ing in the vicinity. On 4 August, 1916, I observed a pair 

 of these Kingfishers breeding in a large white anthill at 

 Yardie (!)reek. 



