on his Visit to Australia.



289



chicks. These birds breed freely here every year. A series of

small aviary compartments contained Piping Crows, Winking,

Boobook and Australian Barn Owls ; Brown Hawks, and a

splendid pair of Bnff-breasted Laughing Kingfishers (. Dacelo

cervina), but perhaps the gems of the collection were six fine

Banlcsian Black Cockatoos which occupied a small aviary to

themselves. These birds lived almost entirely 011 Brazil Nuts,

appearing to care little or nothing for any other food, but four of

them which Mr. Fe Souef allowed me to bring home have now

taken to a much more general diet. Ostriches do well here and

have, I believe, bred, but I do not appear to have made any note

on this point. Turkeys are allowed to wander loose about the

Gardens, where they pick up insects and the crumbs left by

visitors, pradtically keeping themselves, and thriving well in the

dry climate.


Pheasants, especially the j^oung ones, do not seem to

thrive here, probably owing to the scarcity of small insect life in

so dry a climate. Various Waterfowl are kept, and do well, the

most interesting species I noticed being Eyton’s Tree Ducks, of

which there were several specimens.


Australian Finches are practically unrepresented in the

collection, and so far no attempt has been made to keep the

various Honey-eaters and other insectivorous indigenous birds.


Some years ago the Director liberated a number of Indian

Doves— Turtur cambaiensis and T. suratensis, and these have

thriven and are now abundant throughout the district. Piping

Crows with cut wings are allowed to roam the Gardens, one albino

specimen being a great favourite, and wild examples are often

seen walking about the grounds with the captives. I must not

forget to mention a pair of the fine Australian Bustards, known

to the Colonists as “Wild Turkeys,” which were allowed the

free run of the Zoo.


Of purely wild birds I saw very few, the most common

being the charming Black and White Fantail Flycatcher

(.Rhipidicra tricolor ), known there, as in other parts of Australia

as the “ Willie Wagtail ” or “ Shepherd’s Companion.” It is

delightfully tame, and is generally seen on the ground searching

for insects, all the time gently wagging its tail from side to side.



