214 



Fletcher, Bird Notes from Cleveland, Tasmania. [,st^Aprii 



trampled reeds and scattered feathers testified. Her assailant 

 must have been a cat or dog, but then a cat could hardly have 

 got out in the water. The breast and neck of the dead bird were 

 torn and gnawed, but her would-be eater had evidently been 

 disturbed. The Duck was in splendid condition, linings of fat 

 showing on her mangled frame. Quite safe in the nest were two 

 eggs, cold, so the bird must have been dead some hours. The 

 eggs were quite fresh. The same date another nest containing 

 three eggs was discovered. Of these it was interesting to note 

 that two eggs were partly incubated ; the third had the vein 

 system just showing. This latter was the smallest of the three 

 and an ordinary typed egg. The others were whiter, with a 

 calcareous formation at smaller end. One naturally wonders if 

 the fresher egg were an intrusive one. The next find was 

 another nest of same species. It was interesting, owing to the 

 fact that it contain-ed four eggs. When lifting these out for 

 examination one was noticed to be smelling so badly, though no 

 crack was apparent, that it was set aside for inspection when 

 away from the nest. The other eggs were apparently quite fresh, 

 good examples of their kind, except that one was a trifle smaller 

 than usual When the fourth egg was opened it was found to 

 contain a Duckling clothed in black down and with tiny black 

 feet. Decomposition had set in. I suppose in this instance 

 the Musk-Duck had repaired an old nest and laid her three eggs 

 over the one. Later on, on the 22nd of November, two more 

 nests were found, each containing two eggs ; also a nest from 

 which young had gone. All nests were in deep water, and were 

 built in the tall reeds. The second nest with two eggs was 

 cunningly hidden, with entrance hardly visible. Strange to say, 

 on top of it a pair of Harriers i^Circiis goiildi) had a nest partly 

 built. I wonder how the two would have lived together if the 

 Duck had not finished incubation when the Hawk commenced 

 to sit ! Close by was the Harriers' nest of last year. I should 

 have very much liked to watch these strange neighbours, 

 but was unable to do so. Lagoon observations are very difficult ; 

 standing in the icy cold water with leeches as companions is 

 certainly not very enjoyable. Most of my observations were 

 made between 4 and 7 a.m., and as I always found the eggs of 

 the Musk-Ducks well covered up, I suppose this early hour was 

 the feeding time of the birds. 



Stray Feathers, 



Storm-Petrels.— As an illustration of the manner in which 

 errors in natural history are disseminated by popular writers, 

 I may refer to a statement in " Creatures of the Sea," by Frank 

 T. Bullen (1905). In his chapter on Petrels he describes Storm- 

 Petrels (Mother Carey's Chickens) as never seeming to rest upon 



