THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
inch deep, where a little wood had drawn out and left a small hole, into 
which the birds had bored their tunnel. Kingfishers are not too intelligent, 
or else are extra hopeful. ... At Mamgle Creek I saw a few of these 
birds, but none at Mungi. They are fairly numerous on the coast, and are 
often seen on the Fitzroy River. Dec. 16, 1911 : Cooper’s Camp, Melville 
Island. Rare here, while I did not meet with it on the north side of 
the Island.” 
Mr. Tom Carter has written me : “ The Sacred Kingfisher was not 
common in the region of the North-West Cape, nor the Gascoyne, and 
was not resident. Only two specimens were observed by me during 
a residence there of seventeen years, and both these were in February. 
Peculiarly enough, when on a visit there later, I shot one at Yardie 
Creek on Aug. 28, 1913, which was not breeding. It measured nine inches 
in length, which seemed large to me. They are abundant through the 
south-west, and to a certain extent are migratory. About Broome Hill 
they were practically absent during the winter months, and would make 
an appearance towards the end of September. Dates of first noted 
arrivals read : Oct. 2, 1905, Oct. 1, 1907, Sept. 23, 1908, Sept. 17, 1910 
and Oct. 7, 1912, so their arrival was fairly regular, and was soon 
observed from the loud piping notes of the birds. November appears to 
be the main breeding month of the birds at Broome Hill. January 22, 
1906 : Fledged young being fed by adults, on tadpoles mostly, caught 
from a stock tank, to the edge of which the young had been led by the 
parents. Feb. 22, 1906 : Caught a recently fledged young. Nov. 4, 1906 : 
Four fresh eggs in nest. Dec. 22, 1907 : Young in nest. Dec. 2, 1908 : 
Young heard in nest. Dec. 13, 1910 : Young in nest. Dec. 24, 1910 : 
Fledged young noticed. The adult birds constantly dropped in the water, 
in the centre of stock tanks, catching tadpoles, and often went below 
the surface. This species was common around Albany in summer months. 
The eggs are laid in holes of trees, often at a considerable height from the 
ground, thirty feet or more, sometimes as low as seven feet only.” 
Macgillivray in the Emu^ Vol. XIII., 1914, contributed an article on 
Queensland birds, and there reported : “ Mr. McLennan did not come 
across this species in the Gulf country, though I had previously obtained 
skins from Cloncurry. At Cape York, Mr. McLennan first noted them as 
numerous in the mangroves on 19th March, 1911. Of three specimens 
obtained, all proved to be young birds. They were also numerous on 
the Hannibal, Macarthur, and Bird Islands in June and July, 1911, and 
again in the Mud Bay mangroves in February and March.” 
A peculiarly invariable species with little constancy, this bird does 
