Patagojiian and Egyptian Geese. 
221 
arrived at the door with the little bird in his arms, having- found 
it in a meadow quite half a mile from its home. T.ast week it 
had another adventure. Someone left the door of its pen open, 
and it wandered into the one in which its parents were kept. 
These promptly went for it with murderous intent, and the little 
.^•oose then learnt what wing's were meant for, as it promptly 
took flight, looking- very handsome, when high in the air, 
ag-ainst the blue sky. The next day it was found with a neig-h- 
bouring- farmer's fowls, and was easily captured. These g-eese 
have a loud clangorous call, frequently heard at night. That 
of the female is much harsher than that of the male, and neither 
bird's voice is as musical as that of our wild grey geese. I 
have not heard the young bird give tongue yet. 
Another variety that I have bred is the Egyptian. These 
are pretty birds, closely allied to our Shelduck, with which bird 
they have, I believe, crossmated. These birds are also great 
fighters, both amongst themselves and with allied species, but 
they make up for this fault by being excellent parents. My 
birds used to lead their young ones from their pond, across a 
road into a neighbouring meadow, and easily managed to drive 
away the dogs that infested the highway. I neglected to pinion 
the last lot of young ones bred, and these finally left me for 
other shores, where no doubt they were shot by some pot 
hunter or collector. These young birds, when fully grown, 
used to roost upon the apex of the roof of their shelter. I 
have no doubt that in their native haunts they would be found 
sunning- themselves upon the dead branches of trees along the 
river banks. In the breeding season they have a curious habit 
of displaying to each other by spreading their wings to their 
full extent, and pointing their beaks to the heavens, all the time 
gabbling in the most vociferous manner. 

The Birds of Tasmania. 
Rv Weslky T. Page, F Z.S., etc. 
The following notes are largely a compilation from A 
NATURALIST IN TASMANIA, by Geoffrey Smith, M.A 
My only regret is that space does not permit me to include 
