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THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



and often perched so close to us that 

 "we might have knocked them over with 

 sticks. 



Occasionally we made nooses out of 

 the midribs of young palm leaves, fas- 

 tening' them to the ends of sticks a few 

 feet in length. With these we snared 

 magpies and other birds by simply 

 passing the noose over their heads, 

 while they pecked at it and expressed no 

 alarm until it pulled them from their 

 perches. We sometimes offered them 

 a dead rat upon a stick. They ac- 

 cepted the gift with alacrity, perching 

 upon the upheld stick and sagaciously 

 pecking at, and loosening the strands of 

 palm fibre we had tied around the body. 

 First one and then another would take 



Before they were destroyed by rats the birds 

 were so tame that they could be snared with a 

 palm leaf noose upon the end of a short stick. 

 Plioto — A. R. McCullocli. 



charge of it, each i^ursucd by the rest; 

 but its weight prevented them from car- 

 rying it far, which indicated that they 

 will be inconsiderable as enemies of the 

 rats wliich have recently become such a 

 plague upon tlie island. The yapping 

 of a small terrier hunting rats at- 

 tracted magpies from all around, and 

 they chattered melodiously among them- 

 selves, regardless of the noise caused 

 by several enthusiasts, who with sticks 

 and stones, assisted in dislodging the 

 ciuarry. 



About sundown tlie magpies arouinl 

 our camp l)ecame ])avticularly garru- 



lous as they settled down for the night. 

 Each one appeared to have something 

 to say, and said it with a remarkable 

 variety of notes, so that the whole val- 

 ley resounded with their melodious 

 squawks and gurgles. This was in 

 happy contrast to the pathetic silence 

 prevailing over tlie remainder of the 

 island, where the birds, once so numer- 

 ous, are now practically extinct. 



WOOD-HENS. 



The rare and unicjue Rails, known on 

 the island as Wood-liens (Oci/drt>mu^ 

 sylvestris), i3roved to be equally cur- 

 ious, and came hurrying out of the 

 forest to investigate the cause of such 

 noises as the tapping of two stones to- 

 gether, or the notes of a mouth-organ. 

 Our first warning of their presence in 

 the undergrowth was generally a 

 startled cry, somewhat resembling that 

 of the common Guinea-fowl, which was 

 apparently intended as a warning to all 

 in tlie neighbourhood of the presence of 

 strange beings. Picking up pebbles 

 and tapping them upon tree-trunks or 

 rocks, we soon saw the birds hastening 

 towards us. Espying us within thirty 

 yards or so, tliey advanced more cau- 

 tiously, but, if we remained still, ap- 

 proached sufficiently close to be snared 

 with a palm-leaf noose. I tethered one 

 l)y the leg to a stone in order to take 

 its ])hotograph, and its efforts to es- 

 cape attracted the attention of another, 

 which endeavoured to assist the captive 

 l)y grasping its neck with its own long 

 bill and pulling with all its strengtli. 

 My presence with the camera within a 

 few feet caused them no concern, and 

 when the string slipped from the stone, 

 they moved away without undue haste, 

 perhaps discussing their strange ad- 

 ventuie. 



The woodhen's wings are so small 

 that it cannot fly, but its strong legs 

 have enabled it to ascend even the 

 steep faces of Mount Lidgbird, on the 

 summit of which we found it. Its 

 plumage is of a brown colour tinged 

 with green, which harmonises well witb 

 the dark brown earth and the green 

 foliage of the palm scrub in which it 

 wanders about, turning over leaves and 



