THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
to five abandoned eggs, one nest only containing seven eggs. There were 
skeletons of two dead swans at the nests and many eggs scattered on 
the shore adjacent. Upon enquiring from Mr. Muir what was the cause 
of this sad state of affairs, he told me that the lake had been dry for 
some years, but filled again (salt water) in 1910, and the swans built 
their nests and laid the eggs about October, but a heavy storm came 
on and the water washed over the nests causing them to be abandoned. 
In the record wet year of 1900, in the North-west, odd pairs of swans 
bred at many small water-holes. I saw a nest containing seven eggs on 
an islet covered with samphire bush on a flooded saltmarsh at Maud’s 
Landing, on May 1, and eggs were observed in various seasons at dates 
between May 1 and July 12.” 
Mr. H. E. Dove has forwarded me an item concerning these birds as 
“ weather prophets ” which must incite interest : “ On December 20th, 
1908, a pleasant day with breeze from the north, not at all unpleasantly 
warm, the Black Swans {Chenopis atrata) were going through extraordinary 
evolutions in the lakes at Essendon, Victoria, turning on their backs so as 
to immerse the head, neck and upper-part of body, while in this position 
kicking both legs in the air, then righting themselves only to repeat the 
movement. This went on for half-an-hour or so, at the same time the 
Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) were chasing each other on the wing 
round and round the lake. The friend who was with me, a man of 
keen observation who has spent nearly all his life in various parts of 
Victoria, said, ‘ We shall have some bad weather after this.’ Next 
morning, 21st December, we had a heavy blow from N.W. w'ith a dust- 
storm like a thick fog ; the wind raised a high sea on Port Phillip, 
overturned aU the tents at Altona Bay, and capsized two wagon-loads of 
crockery which had gone out for the use of the campers ; damage was 
sustained by buildings and shipping. This violent wind lasted until 
11 a.m., when a shift occurred to the S.W., with coolness and cessa- 
tion of the thick dust. Afterwards rain set in and lasted most of the 
afternoon, with wind from N.W. backing to N.E. On 24th December, 
the Black Swans were again behaving in the same eccentric manner on the 
lake, the wind being S.W. light and the temperature agreeable ; the 
evening, however, was squaUy and cold ; next day, 25th, high, cold wind 
all day, and morning of 26th colder still, wind S. and heavy showers. 
The afternoon was clear, the night very cold, more like July than 
December in these latitudes. So the predictions of the waterfowl were 
amply fulfilled in both cases.” 
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