^"'ig^s"'] Dove, Birds at Essendon. 7I 



Casual visitors to the lake in Queen's Park are Black Duck 

 (Anas superciliosa, Gm.), White-fronted Herons {Notophoyx 

 novcs-JiollandicE, Lath.), and Australian Dottrel {Peltohjas aus- 

 tralis, Gould).* A pair of the latter appeared for a few hours at 

 the margin of the lake during the first week of May, and then, 

 as with the Grass-Bird, disappeared, to be seen no more for a 

 season. During part of last summer a friend and myself were 

 staying at the country town of Avoca, and were much interested 

 in watching the Dottrels, which are very numerous about the 

 waterholes in that locality. This species is marked about the 

 head and breast with black and white in strong contrast ; yet, in 

 spite of this apparently conspicuous colouration, when an 

 individual alights at the edge of a pool after one of its short 

 flights, it becomes practical'y invisible, and requires close 

 attention to discover its whereabouts until it makes one of the 

 quick little runs characteristic of its class. As an acute observer 

 remarks : — " How they do the thing is a mystery ; there is not a 

 moment's hesitation, or searching for a spot — the bird appears 

 simply to sink into the surroundings, and to become at will, for 

 the time, part and parcel of them." 



A few months ago a fine White-fronted Heron {NotopJioyx 

 novce-hollandicF, Lath.) alighted at the edge of the lake, and 

 would doubtless have stayed some time had it not been assailed 

 by a pair of " Willie Wagtails " {Rhipidura tricolor, Vieill.), who 

 have for some time been housekeeping in the Park, and consider 

 themselves guardians of that domain. So fierce were their 

 assaults upon the long-legged intruder that, after shifting his 

 position several times to various parts of the lake shore, he was 

 at length compelled ignominiously to take flight and seek more 

 hospitable regions. 



The Black Cormorant in New Zealand. 



By Edgar Y. Stead, Christchurch (N.Z.) 



I WLSil to make a plea to your clemency on behalf of the Black 

 Shag [PJialacrocorax carbo), a bird whose character is, in my 

 opinion, nothing like as black as his plumage. And while I 

 would be the last person to deny that the Shag does take 

 trout, I am thoroughly convinced that he deserves much more 

 consideration from anglers than he usually receives. 



The chief point to which I would call attention is the indis- 

 criminate slaughter of the Shags caused by the price that is put 

 on their heads. On this account birds are killed which have 

 been bred on the sea-coast, have lived in salt waters or estuaries, 

 and have probably never even seen a small trout in all their lives. 

 In many waters where there are both eels and trout the Shags 



*? Black-fronted Dottrel ( ,-Egialitis melaitops). — Eds. 



