4 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
July, 1921 
TRANSACTIONS. 
BIRDS OF THE BAY. 
(Notes taken during a three months’ cruise of 
Moreton Bay.) 
By (Mrs.) L. M. MAYO. 
The Whistling Eagles ( Haliastur sphenurus) were 
very plentiful on Myora Beach. Every afternoon when 
the tide was out half a dozen of these birds would be 
circling overhead, to the great uneasiness of the Herons 
(White-fronted and Blue Reef) on the beach, or rather 
sand flats — the tide goes out nearly a mile in places from 
the shore. 
Twice I saw Eagles attack Herons in the air. As the 
Eagles narrowed the circle of their flight, all the Herons 
would rise, flapping aimlessly and screaming, then try 
to escape by doubling in the air (as a hare does on land) 
with their legs hanging and necks outstretched. They 
had a very lively fear of the Eagles, and so long as those 
birds were overhead they watched them. 
One Wedgeitailed Eagle kept to the hills by the 
shore. 
What I took to be a pair (their plumage was similar 
in every way, but one bird was a good deal larger than 
the other) of White-bellied Sea Eagles were constant on 
the beach, hunting for fish; and after a meal in the 
evening they used to make a tremendous “quacking’’ 
noise, like any geese. Until I actually saw the birds as 
they “sang their even-song,” 1 could not believe they 
were responsible for the noise. 
A pair of very beautiful red Eagles, with white 
heads and chests, also hunted round Myora pool. 
During March the birds on the sand flats comprised 
Pelicans, Black Swans, Curlews, Whimbrels, Godwits, 
Sacred Ibis, Cormorants (White-breasted and small 
Black), Dottrels (Red-capped, Black-fronted, and Black- 
banded). One lovely pair of White Egrets, still wearing 
their plumes, played round the fresh-water pool every 
day. We noted also Pied Oyster-catchers, Wild Ducks, 
and Kingfishers (//. sanctus and H. macleayi ). 
