THE BIRDS OF THE COBBORA DISTRICT. 117 



*Aegotheles novae-hnltandiae (Owlet Nightjar). — Owing to its habit of living during the day in 

 hollows these birds are little seen, but I often hear them calling both during the night and day. I 

 have found several of their nests containing young, and once flushed a sitting bird from a partly 

 fallen-in old nest of a Red-backed Kingfisher, near the top of a high bank of the Talbragar River, the 

 nest containing three eggs, which I left to hatch. They are very tame little birds ; I have several 

 times known them to come into ray house. On one occasion I was writing rather late on a hot night 

 in my collection room, when one of these birds came in at the window and perched on the table in 

 front of me. I just put out my hand and caught it. ami even while in my hand the bird did not 

 show the slightest sign of fear, so I put it out of the window again. 1 had a similar experience witli 

 another which I caught in my bathroom early one morning. 



Euryslomus pacificus (Dollar Bird). -A few pairs arrive here every year in October, and mostly 

 take up their abode about the same locality year after year, which is mostly in the large redgums 

 growing on the banks of the river. I have never known them to breed a second time within the 

 same hollow ; they choose a fresh one each season, and it is generally high up. Four eggs form a 

 complete clutch for a sitting, but often only three are laid. The eggs are not always pure white; I 

 have found them pronouncedly Spotted, but the markings appearing as if beneath the surface of the 

 shell. Most of the birds lay in November, and as soon as the young birds are strong enough 

 they all take their departure. 



Dacelp gigas (Brown Kingfisher). — A very common bird throughout the whole district, mostly 

 met with in pairs or small communities. They breed here in great numbers, choosing hollows in trees 

 at various heights from the ground, sometimes quite low down, while others are as much as seventy 

 feet from the ground. The clutch is usually three, but I once climbed to a nest containing four young 

 birds. They are rather late breeders, most of them laying in October, but I once took a set of 

 slightly incubated eggs on the 16th December. 



Halcyon pyrrhopygius (Red-backed Kingfisher). — A few pairs arrive here every year during 

 the months of October and November, and usually take up their abode in ring-barked country, 

 resorting to the banks of dry creeks for nesting purposes. No matter how hard the clay may be 

 they appear to have no difficulty in drilling a tunnel into it. They are very close sitters ; I have 

 often caught them in their nests. They breed here very late ; I have taken eggs from the last week 

 in October up till January loth, and they mostly lay four or five eggs. I have never taken more 

 than the latter number. 



Halcyon sanctus (Sacred Kingfisher). — They arrive here every spring, but never in very great 

 numbers, and excepting when with young I have never seen more than two birds together, but 

 pairs are dispersed throughout the whole district, mostly within the vicinity of water. The nest 

 is usually within the hollow branch of a tree, but I have found them drilled into the soft sandy 

 soil near the top of a bank. They often betray the whereabouts of their nest by uttering loud, 

 screeching cries. They are late breeders, all the eggs being taken during November, and the 

 clutches were all four or five. 



Merops ornatus (Bee Eater). — Arriving here in large numbers during October, they have all 

 departed again by the end of March. Although I have found many of their nesting burrows, I 

 have never seen one drilled into a bank ; here they have all been in flat sandy country, but some- 

 times on the side of a deserted rabbit burrow. They breed late, most of them having eggs during 

 November and December, and a full clutch is nearly always five. I have never seen a larger one. 



Eurostopus albigularis (White-throated Nightjar). — A species which is very seldom seen during 

 the day, but while fishing in the river just after sundown 1 see a fair number of them. They drink 

 while on the wing in the same manner as Swallows. I have only found their nesting place twice — 

 once with a young bird, the other containing an egg ; that was on October 28th, 1910, both nests 

 being simply the bare ground amongst stones and eucalyptus leaves. 



