THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Mr. G. A. Heartland’s notes given by North in the Austr. Mus. Spec. 
Cat., No. 1, read : “ The Brown Hawk (Hieracidea orientalis) is scattered 
over the whole of Australia ; I have seen it from Gippsland in the south 
of Victoria to Kimberley in North-western Australia. When feeding their 
young they are very daring, and will seize Pigeons or half-grown fowls in 
order to satisfy the cravings of their brood. I once saw one seize a Pigeon 
w'hich was feeding in front of the Melbourne Town Hall, and after carrying 
its prey on to a ledge of the clock tower, proceeded to consume it in view 
of a large crowd of people who had witnessed the capture. These birds 
occasionally build their own nest, but more frequently utilise a deserted 
Crow’s nest. Near Melbourne I have found their eggs during October and 
November. I took a set of Crows’ eggs from a nest in a Casuarina on 6th 
November, 1893, at Werribee, Victoria, and fourteen days later found three 
slightly incubated eggs of the Brown Hawk in the same nest. On visiting 
the same nest a fortnight later, I found the Crows had resumed possession 
and laid three eggs. In Western Australia a pair of these birds were busy 
feeding three young, in a tall tree near our camp towards the end of July. 
Before daybreak the screams of the Hawks were heard as they passed over 
the camp to and from the nest, and although they worked incessantly until 
long after dark, the young ones were always hungry if the noise they made 
was an indication of the state of their appetites. During January, 1897, 
they were breeding at the Fitzroy River, Kimberley. They are fond of 
game, especially Quail, and if the grass happens to be set on fire by the 
natives, these birds immediately come to capture the lizards, mice or jerboas 
disturbed, and dashing through the smoke picked up a victim.” 
Berney records Hieracidea orientalis from the Richmond District, North 
Queensland {Emu, Vol. V., p. 19, 1905), with the note : “ The remarks made 
in connection with the preceding species as regards food and habits are 
applicable to this, except that I do not think the dark bird is so confiding, 
and as I have already stated, I am inclined to think that this is the less 
numerous of the two.” 
Hill wrote from the North-west of Victoria {Emu, Vol. VI., p. 177, 
1907) : “ A common bird in all parts of the district, though the eggs are 
rarely taken, owing to the inaccessible positions selected for nesting. Unlike 
the Goshawks, they usually build in exposed places in isolated trees. They 
live principally on rabbits, and during the summer months, when rabbit- 
shooting becomes a part of the farm work, I have seen these birds follow a 
shooting-party, and even fly over the dogs when hunting in order to secure 
the dead rabbits.” 
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