438 THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 



familiar snail of the old world gardens. They both also show a 

 partiality for fruit, especially that which has fallen from the 

 tree, and this is rather damaging to their prospects. As they 

 build in the shrubs of the gardens too, the young are liable to 

 fall victims to the ubiquitous town cat. Still the birds have 

 persisted now for many years, and as the suburbs are continually 

 growing, the chances of survival seem to be fairly hopeful. 



The Greenfinches which were liberated in the Sixties have 

 done fairly well, and are now established near Melbourne and in 

 the tea-tree scrubs about Port Phillip. Being of an incon- 

 spicuous colour, and living in fairly thick cover, they do not 

 suffer from birds of prey as much as birds which come more into 

 the open. The Goldfinches are much more in evidence. About 

 Geelong they are especially numerous, nesting in the trees 

 planted in the streets. About Hobart, too, they are seen in great 

 numbers amongst the hawthorn hedges. They are everywhere 

 welcomed, as they confine their attention to the haws and to 

 seeds and do not molest the orchards. 



The Skylarks are increasing, but slowly. The birds do not 

 scatter readily, and grassland areas are not extensive near the 

 capitals. Numbers find a home in the great Centennial Park of 

 Sydney, on the Emu Plains, and on the flats to the north and 

 west of Melbourne, and their blithe aspiring songs bring back 

 to many the meadows of Old England. 



The Indian Minah {Acridotheres tristis) is almost confined 

 to the neighbourhood of Melbourne, where it was introduced. 

 In the city and suburbs it is quite common, and attracts attention 

 by its not unmusical but disjointed notes. It feeds on insects 

 and seeds, and also has a keener taste for fruit than the Black- 

 bird, and on the other hand is not so handsome or so musical. 



The Indian Doves (Turtur suratensis) are plentiful about 

 both capitals, Melbourne and Sydney, and are seen in numbers 

 in the Parks and larger gardens. In these situations they are 

 secure, but where they have been sent to smaller towns, it is 

 found that they generally fall victims to the birds of prey. 



Ostriches have never been set at liberty to find their own 

 living in the bush, but several farms have been stocked with 

 these birds, and there seems to be no reason why a profitable 

 industry should not be established in the plumes. At the 



