THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
short, at twenty yards off, he flew up into a tree. Another bird of the same 
kind discovered himself by making a motion to pounce down upon us as we 
passed underneath, and it seemed evident that they took us for kangaroos, 
having probably never before seen an upright animal in the island of any 
other species. These birds sit watching in the trees, and should a kangaroo 
come out to feed in the day-time, it is seized and torn to pieces by these 
voracious creatures. This accounted for why so few kangaroos were seen, 
when traces of them were met with at every step, and for their keeping so 
much under thick bushes that it was impossible to shoot them.” 
This experience took place on Thistle’s Island, west of Port Lincoln, 
South Australia, on Feb. 21, 1802, and is worthy of special comment. There 
can be little doubt that the “ white eagles ” were a form of the present 
species, but I can find no records from South Australia. Gould does not 
mention that locality : Campbell gives it but notes no records, while though 
North includes it, he refers to the Northern Territory of South Australia only 
in his text. Consequently, if I be right in concluding there are no recent 
records from South Australia, we have here an undoubted case of extermination 
of a bird in recent times. Save for Flinders’ account we might even have 
denied its occurrence in South Australia. Had the bird been inconspicuous 
there would have been no note, and its range might have been considered as 
restricted as at present. 
I had overlooked a note sent me by Captain White which reads : “ This 
is a rare bird in South Australia and it is only one or two occasions I have 
seen it. Last season (1912) I saw a fine specimen out on the salt plains north 
of Port Adelaide : it was a very timid bird and kept well out of harm’s way,” 
and the same worker recorded in the Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A., Vol. XXXVIII.^ 
1914, p. 424 : “ Only two of these birds were seen throughout the trip (into 
Central Australia from Oodnadatta), but, despite my efforts, I was unable to 
secure either.” 
These notes seem to emphasize my remarks, as no one has searched 
South Australia so thoroughly for birds as my friend, and it is therefore 
certain that it is very rare as far as that territory is concerned. 
There seems to be little known of its life-history and it must be regarded 
as one of the rarer Australian birds. North’s observations {Austr. Mus. Spec. 
Cat., no. 1, Vol. III., pp. 187-188, 1911) cover most that has been recorded : 
“ It chiefly frequents the thickly-timbered coastal districts, but also haunts 
forest lands, and occurs sparingly inland. It is one of the useful members 
of the Accipitres, feeding largely upon insects : the contents of stomachs 
examined consisted principally of this kind of food. A young male shot at 
Bungonia, near Goulburn, New South Wales, had the stomach filled with the 
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