THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
in broad daylight. I have examined many of their nesting hollows, both 
with eggs and young ; when the latter are nearly feathered, they are extremely 
fat, giving them the appearance of being much larger than their parents, 
and about this period the nesting hollow is a stinking mass of filth. They 
usually lay three eggs, and when the young are first hatched they look like 
a ball of snow-white down.” 
D’Ombrain, in the Emu, Vol. IV., p. 128, 1905, writing about the birds 
of the Casterton District, Victoria, records : “ I know very little about the 
habits of this Owl, though the species is fairly plentiful here. Probably 
their general grey colour saves them from detection. These birds are 
frequently caught by the legs in rabbit traps. 1 have had two live specimens 
so taken. One had a dislocated * knee,’ which I reduced. On two 
subsequent occasions it was re-dislocated and reduced, till finally it became 
so thickened and deformed I decided to kill the bird. For this purpose I 
gave it three doses at different times of prussic acid on meat. Result, nil 
Then I gave it arsenic twice, and still the bird hved, until finally I chloro- 
formed it and skinned it. It had grown quite tame. The irides are a 
beautiful bright yellow, and eyes brighter and larger than the Boobook’s, 
and constantly ‘ winking ’ (conniving), hence the specific name. The legs 
are short, thick and powerful. The note or cry of this Owl is exactly like 
that of the Boobook.” 
Hill mentions {Emu, Vol. VI., p. 177, 1907) : “ One pair nested regularly 
in a hollow branch not far from the house (Victoria). Last year one of the 
birds unfortunately was shot before the young had left the nest, and 
although the other remained m the vicinity of the tree for some time, both 
the young died when nearly old enough to leave the nest.” 
From the Austr. Mus, Spec. Cat, No. 1, Vol. III., p. 305, I quote the 
following item. Writing from Cullenbone, Mudgee, New South Wales, on 
the 22nd May, 1907, the late Mr. J. C. Cox remarked : ‘‘A strange night bird 
has made an appearance in this neighbourhood for about a couple of months, 
and its cries have puzzled those who have heard it. It was thought at first 
to be a fox barking. The cry is very like a dog barking, so much so that it 
starts the dogs. It is not the bark of a common dog, but more like that of a 
Newfoundland or St. Bernard. The bird repeats it twice at intervals in a 
bass tone, ‘ ouf, ouf.’ When the birds are in pairs the cry of each is 
dissimilar, probably being male and female. Sounds travel a long way on 
a calm night, and the cry of this bird is heard nearly half a mile away. 
Three men went to look for the cause of the noise, and found it came from 
a tree-top. Firing into the tree, two large birds flew out, but it was too dark 
to make a successful shot or see the birds distinctly. It is an Owl, I should 
340 
