142 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



beautiful bird (Jardine's Harrier), having shot several specimens, and 

 secured nests with eggs and young. As early as April I noticed a pair of 

 these birds building a nest in a small tree about eight feet from the ground. 

 This nest I visited regularly, always seeing the birds, which made slow 

 progress with their work until the end of August, when they forsook it, 

 although the nest was just completed. Aug. 17th, I found a nest of this 

 bird about seven feet from the ground, in a similar tree. It contained 

 three fresh eggs, laid on a lining of green leaves. Aug. 27th, I took one 

 egg from another nest, considerably incubated, and next day took two young, 

 half-grown, from a nest about twenty feet from the ground, in a white gum 

 tree. They would have made most interesting skins, but as my native boy 

 and I were desperately hungry and hunting for food, we lunched off the 

 unfortunates. I always found the crops of those I shot contained Lizards 

 only. My friend Mr. Keartland, who was naturalist for the late unfortunate 

 Wells Expedition, says he found this bird nesting in desert gums in the 

 far interior. Close to the last mentioned nest was a pool of some size, on 

 which were numbers of Coots (Fulica australis), Teal (Anas punctata), and 

 small Grebes. I shot three Rollers (Eurystomus pacijicus). This pretty 

 bird is very abundant on the Gascoyne River. Asiatic Dotterel (Cirre- 

 pidesmus asiaticus) appeared in flocks about the middle of September, 

 which is earlier than usual, and are still here on the open plains, and 

 occasionally on the beach. Sanderlings (Calidris arenaria) were quite 

 common on the beach since October; I shot five on the 13th. I saw Grey 

 Plover (Squatarola helvetica) on the beach in November, but almost always 

 singly. I shot a Golden Plover (Charadrius orientalis) last month. On 

 Nov. 23rd I saw a White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Polioa'etus leucogaster) busy 

 with something on the beach. On my approach it flew heavily away, with 

 a long object trailing from its talons to the ground. This it eventually 

 dropped, and I found it to be some species of sea-snake new to me, about 

 5 ft. 6 in. in length and 3 in. in diameter, still alive. I am sorry to say 

 this noble bird will kill lambs and weakly ewes ; I have caught it in the 

 act. The same day, after some careful stalking, I shot a wader new to me. 

 It appears to me to resemble a Purple Sandpiper, but it is many years 

 since I last saw this bird in Iceland, when the Rev. H. H. Slater secured 

 a specimen, and we took a nest of eggs on snow-covered mountains. 

 Gould's handbook does not mention this bird, so I am in doubt. One day 

 last winter I picked up, side by side, a deid White-breasted Sea-Eagle 

 (Haliastur leucostemus) and Western Brown Hawk (Hieracidea occidentalis) ; 

 they appeared to me to have fought a bitter fight, terminating fatally to 

 both. — Thomas Carter (Point Cloates, N.W. Australia). 



