150 -^^-^^^ Feathers. [isf'jan. 



CORCORAX. — I have confirmed the fact that two females at 



least of Corcorax melanorJiamphus lay in one nest. I examined 



a nest on Wednesday (7/1O/08) just before sunset, and found 



it empty but ready for eggs ; examined it again following 



Saturday and found five eggs of two distinct types. — H. L. 



White. 



* * * 



Bird Robbers. — One day in October, 1897, while wandering 

 through gums and bull-oaks at Springvale, I noticed an Orange- 

 winged Tree-runner {Sittella chrysoptera) carrying something in 

 its bill. Tracing it to a high fork in a bull-oak {Casuaniia), I 

 found it was nest-building. But the bird had not been long 

 away on the search for more material before a Little Tit 

 {Acanthiza nana) appeared and began to tug violently at some 

 of the fibrous part of the Tree -runner's nest. It dislodged a 

 piece and carried it off to its own nest not far away. This is the 

 only instance of the kind I have ever noticed among native birds. 

 — A. G. Campbell. Pomonal, Victoria. 



Young Stone - Plovers {BurJiinus grallarius) and 

 Shingle. — Having received two young birds from a friend as 

 a donation towards my collection, I at once placed them in the 

 aviary. Soon after, on my approaching them, I was struck with 

 the quaint and peculiar attitude they fell into. One would think 

 at times the earth had gaped and swallowed the pair ; the 

 similarity of colour in plumage and site selected for squatting 

 by the birds would deceive the trained eye of a pot-hunter. It 

 is the only means of concealment provided by nature against the 

 searching eye of their greatest enemy, the Wedge-tailed Eagle 

 {Uroactus audax). I photographed them as a study in colour 

 protection. Although not in their natural haunts, they were 

 very wild at the time, as depicted by the expression of fear and 

 the outstretched attitude on the shingle. They have now become 

 very docile, and never attempt to pose as per photo. — Harry 

 Burrell. Manilla, New South Wales, 23/11/08. 



More New Foster-Parents. — Acanthisa uropygialias is 

 among the foster-parents of Chalcococcyx basalis. I took a nest 

 on Wednesday last (28/10/08) containing two eggs oi AcantJiiza 

 and the Cuckoo's ^gg, all fresh. The nest was situated about 12 

 feet from the ground, in a dead bull-oak stump. The softer 

 white wood had decayed and fallen away, leaving a shell outside 

 about ^-inch thick, and a space of about i Y^ inches between it 

 and the heart of the tree. A strip about an inch wide was 

 broken out, just giving nice clearance for the birds, and the 

 opening in the nest could be seen. Last year, on 6th October, 



