19 
ifs powei*s of flight ai ‘0 very grcah It and the brown falcons are 
Uie cons! ant attendants uj)on the drovers of the lai'ge herds of cattle 
which tinvei’se tlio continent. The advancing cattle cause the 
quails to i^ise and fly, and these are then pounced upon by the falcons 
and kites which are circling around and in front. The Kites {^nilvus^ 
are the commonest bii*ds of prey in Queensland. They are to be seen 
in flocks of lmndi*eds about every settler’s homestead, where they 
perch upon the rails of the stockyards in the hopes of picking up offal 
from the slauglitering of cattle, &c. They are veiy hold, showing 
absolutely no fear of man. They fortunately seldom steal the poultry, 
preferring more easily obtained food such as offal or grusshoppeis. 
There are sevei'al species of Hawks, Goshawks, Harriei*s, etc., and a 
beautiful little Kestrel of a Nankeen colour; tliis hiixi exliibits the 
same pecnliaHly of “ hovering” as does the European species. Many 
of these Iiawks are veiy active and pertinacious in their attack upon 
tlio ]>ouliry flocks of the settlers. 
Tlio night birds of prey have some fine noble species among them. 
The Owls numhnr some lialf-a-dozcn or more species. In some dis- 
ti’icts they are common, but, being night birds, they are not so often 
soon, and many people even do not know that they exist in the colony. 
The Great Owl (Jiieracoglaux Sirennns) measures no less than 24 inches 
in length; it frequents the scrahsofthc coast districts, sleeping during 
the day in some dense scrubby tree; it is a swift flyer, is powcriul, and, 
at night its loud sonorous note can he hcai*d for a great distance. 
The Boohook Owl {spiloglmtx Boohook) is much smaller, and it is 
more commonly seen than any of the family. The peculiarity of the 
bii'd is its cry of “Buck-buck,” “Buck-buck;” this can often be 
heard at night, and upon a still evening even for over the dislanceof 
a mile. It sounds so exactly liko the English cuckoo’s note, that the 
immigrant upon hearing it for the first time, at once puts it down as 
that bird, and he is astonished to hear it at night time. 
INSESSORES. 
This order of birds is represented in Queensland by numerons 
species of numerous families, and they compnso some forms peculiar 
to the country. A glance at a few of the more prominent will be all 
that can be undertaken in this paper. 
The settler Avill not liave been long cstablLshod in his new home in 
the bush, before he makes the acquaintance of some species of the 
family CAriiiMULCiD*^: or Night-jars, the vulgar name for Avliich is 
“ goaf-Slicker.” These birds arc nocturnal in their habits, they are 
clothed with a peculiar moth-like plumage, and are noiseless in their 
flight. Their peculianty is the mouth, the enormous gape of which 
astonishes the seKIer who Bce.s it for the first time. At night, these 
birds force themselves into notice by reason of their rather niournlul, 
but loud cry of “ more-pork,” “ more-pork,” slowly hut frequently 
repeated, and which, like the “ buck-buck ” of the owl, is one of the 
voices of the niglit time in Australia. The bird is invariably called 
“more-pork” by the colonist. There are several species of them, 
