THB vrCTOEIAN NATURALIST. 



Differs from A. rufigularis (Gould) in its smaller size, lighter 

 or more brownish tinge of the upper surface, and by yellow spines 

 on the cheek instead of white. 



Comparative dimensions, in inches, of Eastern and Western 



birds : — 



Length. Wing. Tail. Bill. Tarsus. 



A. RUFIGULARIS ... IO.5 4.75 4.5 .75 l.O 



A. FLAVACANTHUS ... 9.25 4,0 4.O .7 .9 



NOTE ON THE MAGPIE. 

 By D. Best. 



{Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, loth March. 1899.) 



Many discussions have taken place in our Club on the question 

 as to whether the Magpie, Gymnorhina leuconota, Gould, is an 

 insectivorous or vegetable feeder, but this particular question has 

 nothing to do with the object of my short paper, or, as I prefer to 

 call it, note. 



I may, however, be allowed to express an opinion, heterodox 

 perhaps, that the bird has always been, as it is now, omnivorous, 

 but that, like man himself, has taken advantage of the opportuni- 

 ties offered by increase of settlement to indulge in luxuries it 

 never before dreamt of, and hence its incurring the enmity of 

 many of our farmers. 



Although a lover of birds, I confess to knowing very little about 

 them, but I am constrained to say that however much I might be 

 desirous of increasing my very limited knowledge, I certainly 

 could not do so to any great extent from any of the books I have 

 looked into on Australian birds. Of course I am speaking only 

 of Australian, or perhaps I should more correctly say Victorian 

 authors, as I have no desire to court criticism outside my own 

 colony. 



So far as my reading goes, all I can learn is generally that a 

 bird breeds in such a month, that it constructs a certain kind of 

 nest, and lays so many eggs of such a size and coloration, and 

 that it has a certain range. As to the number of eggs in a clutch 

 and the colour, these seem two of the most important points to 

 our ornithologists, and whilst I fully recognize that these, as also 

 the other mentioned particulars, are of importance, I regret that 

 so many discussions have taken place on them to the exclusion of 

 more interesting details. Nowhere from our authors do I get 

 any of the interesting and instructive life-history obtainable from 

 the English periodicals on British birds. As illustrating my con- 

 tention, in no Victorian publication that has come under my 

 notice have I seen anything describing the first attempts of a bird 

 to teach its young to fly, or to search for food, or in how many 

 days from its birth the young bird is considered strong enough to 



