APPENDIX. 
381 
“ Up to the present season (1889) the instances of this bird 
breeding here have been very few, in fact only in two cases has 
it come under my notice during a residence in this locality of 
over twenty-five years, but the present season has been an excep¬ 
tion, for within a radius of a few miles I have in the past three 
or four months found no less than four nests ; the birds also have 
been much more numerous than they have been for many years 
previous, indeed for several preceding the present one they have 
been entirely absent. The first nest I found on the 8th of 
October, the last one on the 20th of December. 
“ The nest is a rough structure, very similar to that of Circus 
assimilis, Jard. & Selby, composed outwardly of sticks, and in the 
four I have examined, lined with small pieces of sheep’s skin with 
the wool on, picked up from carcasses of dead sheep scattered over 
the plains. The nests arc placed as a rule in the tops of Pine trees 
Callitris sp., where the topmost branches divide forming a three 
or more pronged fork or division, which securely holds the rough 
fiat structure in position. In two instances this year the disused 
nests of Hieracidea orientalis, were taken possession of, (from one 
of which in October last I took the Hieracidca’s eggs) the only 
additions being the pieces of sheep’s skin lining. The number of 
eggs for a sitting never so far as my experience goes exceeds two. 
As a rule the prey of this bird consists of insects, small reptiles, 
ifcc., to which oft'al is added whenever obtainable, but this year the 
prey judging from the quantity of remains in the nests as well as 
on the ground beneath consists chiefly of rabbits of all sizes, 
which considering the comparative weakness of this bird’s talons 
is somewhat singular.” 
Two eggs in Mr. Bennett’s collection, taken on the 8th of Oct. 
are of a dull white on the outer surface, green inside when held 
up to the light, one specimen (A).is ovoid in form, and has hair 
lines, freckles and dots of rusty-brown scratched over the surface 
of the shell, but particularly towards the larger end where a few 
irregular shaped blotches appear; the other specimen (B) is rounded 
in form, and is more sparingly and finely marked with the same 
colour, but has no blotches, and the markings are confined princi- 
