j/^S Whitlock, Birds on the Pilbarra Goldfield. [isf April 



old, which boldly faced me with extended wings and open beak. It 

 showed no fear, and attempted no resistance when I handled it. I visited 

 the nest twice, but saw nothing of the parent birds on either occasion. 

 Thouo-h the nest was very substantial, none of the sticks of which it was 

 composed was thicker than my little finger. The young Eaglet was in a 

 nondescript stage of plumage — the head and neck mostly white, but with a 

 tinge of cinnamon on the lower throat and breast ; rest of under parts 

 whttish ; back and wings mostly black, but flecked here and there with 

 white down. Cere black. Tarsus naked and dull greenish-yellow. Iris 

 deep brown. Beak black. 



The adult birds have a peculiar appearance on the wing. The short 

 white tail and white head and neck and the great expanse of wing make the 

 body appear quite stunted. They were not unlike huge bats when the 

 latter creatures are skimming along with outstretched wings. 



The call note is a curiously modulated " Pee-ah-h-h," the latter syllable 

 rather long-drawn and uttered in a tremulous manner. 



I observed another fine pair in the neighbourhood of Port Hedland, but 

 had no time to search for the nest. 



Grey Falcon {Falco hypoleucus).—h. single pair of these rare Falcons 

 was watched at close quarters out on the plains of the lower de Grey. I 

 found a nest from which the young had flown, but am not certain whether 

 it was the home of this pair or that of some other Hawk. 



Striped Brown Hawk {Hieraddea berigora\ native name Carra- 

 cal-lu. — The commonest Hawk of the Coongan district, and I again met 

 with it on the de Grey plains. I found half a dozen nests, from which I 

 obtained eggs. As a rule they were at a good height, but one at no greater 

 elevation than 20 feet. Unlike the others, this nest was away from the 

 centre of the tree, and was only reacTied with difficulty and some risk. An 

 interesting fact was related to me by a kangaroo-hunter on the de Grey. 

 He told me he had several times taken the eggs of this species (and 

 probably the next mentioned) from cavities in the huge ant-hills which are 

 so conspicuous on these vast plains. Three was the maximum number of 

 eggs I found, but in several cases the female was sitting on two. 



Brown Hawk {Hieraddea orientalis). — Less common than H. berigora, 

 but I noticed eggs in two nests. In each case an old Babbler's nest 

 {PomatorJiiniis rubeciihis) had been adapted for the purpose. 



Western Kestrel {Cerchneis unicolor, Milligan), native name Bin- 

 birri. — Much more common on the lower de Grey than on the Coongan. It 

 seems to favour the plains rather than the rocky timbered gorges of the 

 latter river. I obtained nests, however, in both districts. In all cases the 

 eggs were laid in hollow limbs of eucalypts, at no great height from the 

 ground. The first I took was in a dead limb, and I should have passed it 

 by had not the tell-tale flake of down at the mouth of a remarkably small 

 nest-hole arrested my attention. As it was, I climbed the tree, half 

 expecting to find the nest of Barnardius ocddentalis, for which I was then 

 searching. 



On the lower Coongan I obtained the remarkable number of eight eggs 

 from one nest. They were obviously the production of the same female, as 

 the eggs can be arranged in two sets and the patterns paired, the variation 

 of each complete set being in the tint of the markings. Probably the 

 female lost her first mate and paired again immediately. 



It is a remarkable contrast that the nests of this species should all be built 

 in hollow spouts, whilst an equal number of its close ally, C. cenchroides, in 

 the Irwin district of the south-west, should, with one exception, have been 

 adapted nests of the common Crow, the exception being built on the shelves 

 of a precipice, possibly in the nest of some other Hawk or Raven. 



