258 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Mr. North in the Vict. Nat. August, 1900. It is not uncommon 

 in parts of the N.W. Cape peninsula. It appears mostly in the 

 dense low scrub on the flat between the range and the sea, but 

 also occurs in the spinifex in the high range. It flies readily 

 when disturbed, and does not appear to creep so much as the 

 Amytis and Stipiturus ; but its flight is heavy and fluttering, and 

 only for about twenty or fifty yards. They will lie very close 

 after being once flushed. I have no data of their breeding except 

 on Oct. 25th, I shot two which appeared to have been recently 

 breeding. One of them contained a grasshopper fully an inch 

 long, the other a quantity of small black beetles. The only 

 noise I have heard them utter is a harsh ** chat chat." Turkeys 

 in down were noted on July 11th, the first eggs on June 4th, and 

 the last on Aug. 28th. July 12th, found a Spotted Harrier's 

 nest with two eggs. These birds were common this good season, 

 and I found numerous nests up to Sept. 13th, when a nest con- 

 tained two fresh eggs. The nests are built sometimes in a tree 

 forty feet from the ground, or in a bush only four feet high. They 

 frequently contain large Lizards in a paralysed state, placed for 

 the benefit of the sitting bird ; one nest contained four eggs. 



Kites {Milvus ajjinis) were very common in 1900, but rarely 

 visited the coast. Inland, when driving through the high grass, 

 they were at times a nuisance, as several of them would accom- 

 pany the buggy in order to feed upon the numerous grasshoppers 

 which were disturbed in the vegetation. The birds would 

 flit close past the horses' heads, making them startled and ner- 

 vous. They appeared to catch the grasshoppers with their feet, 

 and fed on the wing. About the middle of July numbers of their 

 nests were to be found in the white gums. The birds appear to 

 prefer to build towards the end of horizontal limbs. Little Eagles 

 {Nisaetus morphnoides) generally build in the fork of a large 

 straight-stemmed tree. I found a nest containing one egg on 

 July 18th, another on the 21st with two, and one with newly- 

 hatched young, and a fourth nest the next day with two eggs 

 much incubated. The birds are very shy, and seem to be fond 

 of feeding on the Teal. Black-shouldered Kites {Elanus axillaris) 

 were fairly plentiful this winter, but very shy. They have not 

 occurred here since the great drought of 1890-91. I failed to 

 find any nests, but saw birds here early in October. About 



