i6 
The Emu. 
a friend found a china nest-egg lying some distance out in the 
paddocks, and concluded that some poor Crow had had a bitter 
disappointment. 
When the fruit season comes round the Raven plays havoc 
among small fruits like the grape, and in this nefarious occupa- 
tion it has an able assistant in the Grey Crow-Shrike. With 
their powerful bills the birds not only demolish the berries, but 
pull off whole bunches and wickedly throw them, to one side. 
But, being wary, they only carry on their depredations on the 
outskirts of a plantation, whence they can retire on the 
slightest alarm. 
The diurnal birds of prey, the Hawks and the Eagles, are 
always ruthlessly slaughtered whenever opportunity offers 
throughout the whole country. Some of the species are 
often guilty of taking chickens and young poultry, but does 
the farmer ever ask himself where these birds are during the 
greater part of the year, and what they feed on then ? And is 
it noticed that they are never seen about the poultry yards 
during the springtime, when the young chickens are running 
about in numbers? The poor birds have offspring of their own 
to attend to, and are away in some secluded forest rearing their 
own young. Two species, the Brown Hawk and the Goshawk, 
are practically the only ones that are fond of stealing the poultry. 
The other larger species live on quadrupeds — rabbits, hares, &c. 
— and the smaller species on small birds ; but are all very partial 
to reptiles, and must devour an immense quantity of lizards 
and snakes. The Eaglehawk is coupled with the Raven as 
being very destructive to young lambs. But the large Harriers 
or Swamp Hawks are never troublesome, for they live almost 
exclusively on frogs and reptilia. 
The good character of the Laughing Jackass has of late been 
questioned, and rumours are about that he too has developed a 
strong liking for young chickens ; but it is not at all possible that 
this harmless bird would ever become a pest to the poultry 
breeder, who in reality is bringing his losses on himself by his 
own foolishness in allowing chickens to run in places where there 
is no protection, and he has only himself to blame if a Hawk 
picks off some of the tasty morsels, or a Jackass, thinking he has 
found some new reptile which it is his duty to kill, batters the 
life out of the little creatures. One morning a domestic hen 
with a brood of chicks was making its way across a road in a 
small country village, when suddenly a Jackass swooped down 
and alighted on a small tree-guard only a few feet away. The 
next move would probably have shown his intentions, but the 
hen anticipated the move (she had evidently seen one of those 
fellows before), and with one bound knocked him off his perch, and 
the enemy was demoralized. Poor Jack flew off and laughed 
dejectedly to himself in a neighbouring tree. 
Although of ungainly appearance, the Jackass is very quick in 
