lAO Cornwall, Birds Found Breeding near Mackay, N.Q. [^^P' jan. 



The Fasciated Honey-eater {^Ptilotis fasciogularis) is another 

 robust and noisy species. Although their favourite haunts are 

 the mangrove patches on the islands close to the coast, they are 

 often met with along the creeks and rivers, whilst odd pairs may 

 be noted in some of our town gardens. Nests have been noted 

 at Green Island, some 12 miles to the north of Mackay, where 

 they are particularly abundant; and on i8th November, whilst 

 visiting Victor Island, I found a pair of beautiful fresh eggs, and 

 also saw a nest containing two young birds, which were nearly 

 fledged. That their nesting season is a much-extended one is 

 proved by the fact that Mr. H. Neilson, v/hilst visiting a Darter 

 and Cormorant rookery in Thompson's Creek during the last 

 Easter holidays found fresh eggs of the Fasciated Honey- 

 eater. 



The Yellow Honey-eater {Ptilotis flavd) chooses to live in 

 town or in close proximity to the homes of settlers, where orange, 

 lemon, or mango trees offer ideal nesting sites. They are late 

 breeders. Eggs were noted in January and February, and on 

 20th May a pair was busy building in a mango tree in a town 

 garden. At the same time a pair reared a brood in one of the. 

 fine fig trees which adorn our streets, and when the young were 

 nearly able to fly they proved -a source of great anxiety to the 

 cabmen on the rank by repeatedly falling out of the nest on to 

 the roadway beneath. They were replaced time after time, 

 and one can only hope that they did not ultimately come to 

 grief 



Shoal Point lies about 1 5 miles to the northward of Mackay, 

 and forms the southern boundary of the shallow waters of 

 Habana Bay. Off the Point about 2 miles lies Green Island, a 

 pretty, scrub-clad little islet, where a pair of White-bellied Sea- 

 Eagles {Halinctiis Icucogaster) have their nest and the Nutmeg- 

 Pigeons {Myristicivora sp/iilGrrlioa) and Fasciated Honey-eaters 

 {Ptilotis fasciogularis) rear their broods amongst the mangroves 

 which fringe its shores. When the tide is low there are vast 

 areas of sand-banks and mud-flats laid bare, where many 

 wading birds find living easy, secure in their loneliness, for 

 the locality is far removed from the beaten track of the pot- 

 hunter. 



The Point itself rises gradually from the sand-ridges near the 

 beach into a prettily-rounded, verdure-clad hill, and right out on 

 top of this scrub, on a mass of climbers which smothers the crown 

 of a tall scrub tree, the Jabirus have placed their nest. The nest 

 was discovered by Mr. H. Nielson on the 30th of August last, when 

 he and the writer were " combing" the beach in search of the nests 

 of Pied Oyster-catchers, Red-capped Dottrels, and Long-billed 

 Stone-Plovers. A white spot on top of the scrub caught Mr. 

 Nielson's eye. He drew my attention to it, and the binoculars 

 defined a large bird of some sort sitting on a nest. Thinking it 



