A2 From Magazines, &c. fist^'^iui 



extract the sweet nectar, which is out of reach of the shorter- 

 billed birds. The Singing Honey-eater {Ptilotis sonora) is also 

 present, and somewhat troublesome, owing to its love for a little 

 fruit in the hot weather. A bird not previously observed in the 

 district is the Tawny-crowned Wox\&y-^z.\.&x {Glycyphila fulvifrons), 

 which is usually found in open heath country, where it leads a 

 somewhat solitary life. The Noisy Miner {Myj^antka garnila), 

 another of the Honey-eaters, often seen in the hills, has also 

 made a visit to add its name to the record. It is thought that 

 the appearance of the birds is due to the abundance of eucalyptus 

 now in bloom, from which this family draw their chief food 

 supplies. — Advertiser (Adelaide), 10/2/08. 



The Ways of the Emu. — In The Australasian of the 21st 

 March last, Mr. C. H. M'Lennan, under the nom de plume 

 " Mallee-Bird," contributed a valuable field observer's paper on 

 the Emu {Droviceus novcs-hollandicE). Mr. M'Lennan's remarks 

 are the more interesting because he is a genuine student of the 

 bush, besides being a successful dingo-hunter, and writes what 

 he has personally studied, taking nothing for granted. Regard- 

 ing the breeding habits of the Emu, Mr. M'Lennan states : — 

 " I have reason to think that in selecting its nesting place the 

 Emu has some strange foreknowledge of the weather — call it 

 instinctive or what you please — because I have noticed that in 

 seasons which have turned out very wet the bird frequently 

 builds its nest on high ground, and, as the nesting season begins 

 often as early as the month of June, and extends to November, 

 the nest site has to be selected before the winter and spring 

 rains have fairly set in. The nest is generally placed amongst 

 low scrub upon a slope facing the rising sun ; but in seasons 

 which afterwards turned out to be exceptionally dry I have 

 found the nest on low ground, even in depressions. The lignum 

 swamps are another favourite nesting place, and there, of course, 

 the bird usually selects one of the hummock islands. Building 

 the nest is not a matter of much importance. The eggs are as 

 often as not laid upon the bare ground, surrounded wi<th a ring 

 of twigs, leaves, and other loose litter in the outline of the Emu's 

 body. There is generally a slight depression where the bird has 

 scratched away the loose earth, but occasionally the eggs are 

 found lying upon a bed of dry leaves. The female lays in the 

 early morning, an ^gg every second day, and I notice two 

 distinct types of egg both in shape and colour. One of them is 

 pale green, and round in shape, in contrast with the other, 

 which is more of an oval or pear shape, the shell a deep, dark 

 shade of green, and much thinner than in the other type. From 

 the time the last egg is laid until the first downy chick is 

 hatched varies from 54 to 57 days, and that is the period when 



