THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
abundant in the interior. The stomach is membranous and very capacious : 
the food mostly birds.’ ” 
Dr. Macgillivray notes {Emu, Vol. XIII., p. 151, 1914) : “ Quite the 
most plentiful of the Hawk tribe throughout the Gulf country, where dozens 
may be seen in the air at a time. They nest on the smaller coolibah creeks 
on the downs country, and seldom on the main rivers. On 23rd March, 
1910, Mr. McLennan visited one of these creeks, and made the following 
note : Went to a waterhole about 8 miles from camp. Found four Kites’ 
nests containing two eggs each, one with one egg, and one ready for eggs. 
Two old nests were also found, under one of which were seven lizard’s eggs. 
These nests were at an average height of 12 feet from the ground.’ ” 
Even North, in the Austr. Mus. Spec. Cat., No. 1, has few notes 
concerning this bird and only two original ones regarding its nidification. 
I extract the following by Mr. H. G. Barnard of Duaringa, Queensland: 
“As shewing the partiality of the Accipitres for old nests, one in which 
three young Square-tailed Kites were reared last year is this year occupied 
by a Little Eagle, and a nest occupied last year by a Brown Hawk is now 
occupied by a Square-tailed Kite. Again, in June 1907, a pair of Wedge- 
tailed Eagles rebuilt an old nest, and when ready for the eggs for some 
reason deserted it : the nest is now occupied by a pair of Brown Hawks. 
Birds of prey are very fond of company, as the following will illustrate. 
Where the first nest of LopTioictinia isura was found there were nests also 
of Hieracidea orientalis with three young, Niscetus morphnoides with one 
young, Astur approximans building, from which I afterwards took a set of 
four eggs, Accipiter cirrhocephalus building on same date as I took set of 
Astur approximans eggs : I took a set of four from this nest. At the second 
nesting-site of Lophoictinia isura were nests of Hieracidea orientalis with 
young, and nests of Astur approximans building, and Accipiter cirrhocephalus 
with three eggs. The third colony contained the same species. Only one 
pair of each species was in each colony. An Ironbark {Eucalyptus) ridge 
seemed the favourite locality. The birds resort to the same place year after 
year to breed if not disturbed. The food of the Square-tailed Kite consists 
of young birds, which are evidently in many cases taken from the nest, as 
a nest of Ptilotis fusca with a dead fledgeling clinging to it was found in one 
of their nests. They also eat insects, as a large Mantis was dead in one 
nest, and was evidently left there for the female.” 
As contraiy to Gilbert’s experience, Mr. Tom Carter has written me : 
“ The long- winged Kite occurs sparingly about Broome Hill, and is 
destructive to poultry. On October 20, 1912, I was skinning a bird that had 
been shot by a neighbour while attacking his fowls. I dissected its gizzard 
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