TAWNY FROGMOUTH. 
nasal. Heard at close range, it sounds like a hoarse whisper ; at a little 
distance it. sounds metallic. Constable Montgomery, of Eldorado, was able 
to confirm my observations. He has seen and heard the Frogmouth many 
times.” 
In the next volume (p. 206) the differences in the calls are given in the 
musical scale, but no further comment was made, a note reading : “ The 
remarkable faculty this bird possesses of hiding itself was well seen one day 
when we observed one flying about. Being very weak-footed, and dazed by 
the light, it was unable to perch, thus falling to the ground. After searching 
for a few minutes, we found it, apparently dead, with wings outstretched 
and head flat on the ground. It took no notice of the sundry liftings and 
straightenings we gave it. Picking it up, we started to carry it home. On 
the way it suddenly opened its beak and turned round with wide-open eyes. 
Its bearer dropped it in fear. Again it lay as though dead. I thought I 
would take a photograph of it as it was. Without a sound it had gone. 
About twenty minutes’ vigorous search ensued, and it was not found until 
a boy went to pick up a piece of bark (as he thought) ; but it defied aU efforts 
at photography.” 
Although Miss Cheney’s account had been so detailed and apparently so 
accurate and convincing, Mr. J. W. Mellor wrote in the Emu (Vol. XV., p. 53, 
1915), contending “ that the ‘ More Pork ’ notes are uttered by the Boobook 
Owl, and that the Frogmouth does not use this ‘ call.’ ” 
Two pages further (p. 55), not at all in any connection with this 
controversy, the opinion of Mr. Martin W. Elliott, of Dumbleyung, near Wagen, 
West Australia, appeared : “ The Boobook Owl may say ‘ More Pork,’ but to 
say that the Frogmouth does not is quite incorrect. I have heard it give the 
cry scores of times.” 
From the preceding observations the only unprejudiced conclusion must 
be that this bird does make a cry which can be roughly translated by the words 
“Morepork” or “Boobook.” Thus the fact that the aboriginals gave its 
name to the very early settlers as “ Poo-book,” as recorded by Latham in 1801, 
is a very strong item, while Gould noted that the Tasmanian colonists called 
it “ More Pork,” and further emphasised the value of this informat^bn by 
noting that, at that time, it was a familiar common bird and made the call 
when seated on the verandahs of the houses of the settlers. I would consider 
Miss Cheney’s explanation accurate and convincing, viz. that the two calls 
are dissimilar in sound and utterance, though separately both would give the 
human mind a si mil ar idea of “ Morepork ” or “ Boobook.” It may be, aS 
in the case of the incubating birds just above noted, that the call varies 
according to locaflty and that while the Tasmanian and Victorian form (for 
VOL. vn. 
25 
