353 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



containing what might have been the white of an egg. 2. Beak very dirty, 

 plumage comparatively clean, but in the throat and stomach undeniable 

 evidence of both white and yelk of egg. 3. Very clean, fuU-plumaged bird ; 

 stomach containing only a few ants and other insect-remains. Had I found 

 no more conclusive evidence than in No. 1, 1 should have treated the whole 

 story as a myth, attributing the flnid contained in the throat, &c., to an 

 unusual quantity, and an abnormal condition, of the glutinous substance 

 found naturally in the head and throat of this and allied species ; but 

 I know not how to argue in favour of No. 2, for in that case it seems to be 

 "proven"; whilst in No. 3 the accusation is utterly disproved. Is it a 

 recognised fact, — it was new to me, — or is it an acquired habit, something 

 akin to the Kea's love for (living) mutton-fat (Zool. 1881, pp. 290—301)? 

 for I should have mentioned that game-preserving is not carried on less 

 keenly than it was some years ago in the locality where these birds were 

 taken. I should be glad to know that egg-sucking is but a case of depraved 

 appetite in a few individuals of the " Yaffingale," whose merry " laugh ' 

 forms so pleasant an accompaniment to a woodland ramble. — Gr. B. Cokbin 

 (Ringwood, Hants). 



Dark Variety of Montagu's Harrier in Hants. — At the end of May I 

 heard of " a black hawk " having been killed near here, and on enquiry 

 I have not much hesitation in saying it was the dark variety of the above 

 species, which has been obtained once or twice before in this locality. I did 

 not see the specimen in question, but its occurrence is, I think, worth 

 recording. — G. B. Corbin (Ringwood). 



Egg-drills. — We have received from Mr. Marsden, of 37, Midland 

 Road, Gloucester, two specimens of egg-drills — a small one sold at 6d., 

 and a larger one at lOd. — which may be recommended. They are not so 

 well finished as the one previously noticed (p. 236), but they are less 

 expensive, and, being much shorter in length, are more conveniently 

 carried by the egg-collector. 



Notes from Western Australia. — As I believe this district has never 

 been explored from an ornithological point of view, having been settled 

 only ten years, perhaps some notes may be of interest to readers of ' The 

 Zoologist,' though, when I have been here longer, I shall have more to say 

 I trust. At present my camp is about twenty miles from the sea, and 

 about twenty miles north of the River Gascoyne, which, owing to a long 

 drought, has not run for three years. This spell of dry weather interferes 

 with bird-life ; many must have died of thirst, and stronger species moved 

 to where there is water. The country may be described as a mass of scrub 

 from two to ten feet high, with here and there sand-flats and clay-pans, 

 where water holds when rain falls. Numerous shallow gullies intersect the 

 country, and are fringed by the white or swamp gum tree (the only tree 



