WINKING OWL. 
observed it in the daytime among the thick branches of the Casuarinoe 
which border the creeks.” 
Mr. T. P. Austin has sent me the following nice note from Cobbora, 
New South Wales : “ The only place where I have seen this species is within 
the boundary of this Estate, and it is fairly common here. I think I could 
find at least one pair almost any day I wished, as they always remain about 
their nesting-places during the day throughout the year. Just at dusk they 
saUy forth to feed, sometimes just as the sun sets, and at this time of the 
evening I have often seen them about my house. In my garden I was very 
interested one evening in watching one catching and eating bats. I saw the 
Owl come and perch upon a grape vine trellis within a few yards of me : it 
remained there a few minutes, then flew up into the air a few feet, and without 
any apparent exertion caught a bat in its claws, then returned to the treUis 
and ate it within a few minutes ; three times I saw the Owl do this, and then 
it flew away. I was not able to see if the bats were swallowed whole : if not, 
from the short time taken to devour them, they must have been gulped down 
in rather large pieces. The easy manner in which this bird caught the bats, 
it just looked as though the latter were trying to be caught. This is one of 
the birds which produces the note ‘ mopoke ’ : I have seen them just before 
dark uttering it, and upon another occasion, knowing one of their nesting 
hollows in a large red gum-tree on the bank of the Talbragar Liver, I went 
down to examine it. Before climbing the tree I threw a few sticks to try 
and flush the Owl if sitting, but saw nothing of her, so turned away to gather 
some more sticks : while doing so I heard a most peculiar noise, wLich 
appeared to come from the opposite bank of the river ; I turned round, 
thinking it was a small dog, as the noise resembled a half bark, half growl, 
such as a small dog utters when very frightened, but I could see nothing nor 
could I hear anything. Thinking I must have been mistaken, I threw another 
stick, then heard the same peculiar noise again. I then knew it must be 
the Owl, and just then a pair of Ptilotis penicillata arrived and in their \usual 
manner soon showed me the Ninox. When nearly up to the nest one of the 
birds came and perched upon a branch within forty feet of me, and started 
the peculiar growling noise immediately, which slowly changed into the well- 
known call-note ‘ mopoke,’ uttered about half a dozen times at intervals of 
a few seconds, and in a very low tone. I just kept quite still and watched 
her for a few minutes, when she flew into a neighbouring tree. While I was 
sitting beneath the tree blowing the eggs, the other Owl arrived, and the two 
of them then perched together, and held forth the note ‘ mopoke,’ ‘ mopoke,’ 
‘ mopoke,’ about twenty times very quickly and loudly, such as I had never 
heard it before. It sounded so weird to hear this well-known night sound 
339 
