LITTLE EAGLE. 
The nest was about 55 feet above the bed of the creek and on rather a thin 
limb. However, the' morning was calm, and I determined to try to scoop 
the eggs from the nest. With the aid of a fallen dead limb, and by cutting 
steps with a tomahawk, I reached the first branch, when do'wn fell the scoop. 
I would not climb down that thick trunk againj so up I went, minus the 
scoop, until I could see right into the nest, which was on a horizontal limb 
of not too thick dimensions. I was determined to have those two eggs, so 
worked my way cautiously along the limb until the critical moment came. 
I had to let go both hands and lean forward to grab the eggs. Fortunately 
the day was calm, and I got both eggs and myself safely down the tree. They 
are a perfect clutch, almost unspotted, and more pointed than the Irwin River 
specimens. The nest was about 2 feet in diameter, with a fairly deep cavity, 
lined with green eucalyptus leaves.” 
This was followed (p. 176) by the following full account : “ The favourite 
haunt of this species is near the permanent pools on the numerous rivers and 
creeks which are such a feature of the Pilbarra district once the hilly country 
is reached. On the upper Coongan, south of Marble Bar, were several pairs, 
but each pair seemed to restrict its wanderings within certain limits, and I 
never observed more than one pair on the wing at the same time. This 
Eagle, once identified, is easily recognised afterwards. Apart from its peculiar 
cry, the contour of the extended wings is very distinct from that of other birds 
of prey of the same size. The anterior margin of each wing forms a crescent. 
In flight, too, the primaries are separated at the tips. The cry is a succession 
of seven rapidly-uttered notes on an ascending scale, followed by a shrill and 
sustained ‘ Pew-u-u.’ 
“ The birds probably pair for life, and one is seldom seen without the 
other. It is a wary species, and even at the nest is difficult to approach 
closely. AQ of the four nests discovered on the Coongan were built at a 
considerable height, and in each case the most massive eucalypt was chosen. 
The nests, too, were in every case built on a horizontal branch at gome 
distance from the centre of the tree. The first one I robbed was at a height 
of 45 feet from the bed of an important tributary of the Coongan. It was 
a fairly large and well constructed nest, the foundation consisting of sticks 
up to an inch or more in diameter. The cup, though shallow, was neatly 
formed and lined with green eucalyptus leaves. It contained two fresh eggs. 
With the exception of trifling nest stains, these eggs were spotless, and in 
colour white, with the faintest tinge of green. Whilst I was robbing the nest 
the parent birds perched on a dead tree some ten chains away, and made no 
demonstration whatever. As I had observed at a nest in another part of 
this State, a colony of the Tree Martin {PetrocTielidon nigricans) was breeding 
125 
