4 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
we were for some time puzzled about the loud notes of a ‘ honey-eater * which 
we thought must be of the wattle-bird or friar-bird type; the loud liquid notes 
came from the midst of the thick sub-tropical growth that covers this coral 
islet. At last one day as I was hidden in the scrub near high-water mark 
watching for waders, a Crow-shrike flew on to a dead tree near by and gave 
forth the peculiar ‘ honey-eater ’ notes. The Crow-Shrikes were extremely 
shy and wary and scarcely ever showed themselves, and it was only by watching 
the beach, where they fed upon marine insects, worms, etc., that I was able 
to procure a specimen. They also fed upon the berries of the shrubs, but 
how they subsisted without water I do not know ; there was no water on 
the island, but perhaps the marine tit-bits that they found supplied all the 
moisture they required.” 
Mr. F. E. Howe writes : “ During the autumn of 1905 the call * Off-off - 
for-home ’ of this bird was heard. This call was unfamiliar to me, but Mr. 
L. Chandler tells me that the bird is an autumn visitor to Bayswater, and 
may be seen in the orchards after the apples — a fruit they appear very partial 
to, and from his description of their call this was no doubt the bird I heard.” 
Mr. E. J. Christian states : “In autumn this bird is apt to be a great 
nuisance to fruit growers. They are extremely cunning and not altogether 
shy. One may chase or frighten them from a garden with a gun, but as soon 
as the owner’s back is turned they will come again. They are not common 
here and I think that only one pair was here this autumn, yet this pair worked 
great havoc with the quinces. One day I watched one under a quince tree 
eating some of this fruit and a young hen Black-backed Magpie was near by 
eating grubs ; when she approached the Strepera the latter showed fight, 
and after fully ten minutes drove off the Magpie. They have a peculiar harsh 
note. They are not carrion eaters.” 
Writing of the southern bird (Otway Forester) Belcher says : “is without 
exception the most wary of all the forest-dwelling birds, as it is also one of 
the hardest to find if you happen to want a specimen.” 
Mr. E. Ashby has written : “ This bird was common at Boolarra in Gipps- 
land in 1886, also at Maryville, both in Victoria. I also saw large flocks of them 
in the New England district of New South Wales in March, 1909. The note 
of this bird is much more musical than that of S. melanoptera. I have never 
met with this species in South Australia.” 
Mr. A. G. Campbell wrote : “A stronghold of this bird is the Grampian 
Mountains in Victoria. When the nesting season, occupying October to 
January, is over, the birds collect into large flocks which patrol the outlying 
country in search of cranberries, as well as insect food. It is a characteristic 
sight any fine morning during winter to see quite fifty birds sailing down 
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