Vol iM 4 IV ‘] MacGILLIVRAY, S.JT. Queensland . 
101 
Lake, where we saw many Swans, Avocets in the shallows, Red- 
capped Dotterels along the edge, and a few Spurwing Plovers. 
On the sandy country the daisies in bud early on our trip were 
now well grown, and flowering freely. The gravelly stretch 
between Sandy Creek and Fowler's' Gap was covered with Helip- 
teruni corymbiflorum and Craspedia crysantha. Several pairs of 
Gibber-birds were flushed, and a few Australian Dotterels. We 
lunched at the hotel, and, crossing the creek, disturbed a pair of 
Spotted Harriers from their nest by the roadside. After we 
left Euriowie the hills passed through were in places one sheet 
of golden yellow from Helipterum poly gall folium) at others a 
duller yellow where the Craspedia buttons were dominant. The 
rest of the way was without interest to ornithologists, but botani- 
cally had quite changed since we had passed over it a month 
before. 
Finis. 
The Nest of the Grey Fantail.— I brought home a deserted 
nest of a Grey Fantail (Rhipidura flabellifera ), and as I was 
curious to know exactly what quantities of different materials 
were used in its construction, I decided to count them. Verily 
it was a long and tedious undertaking, but eventually it was ac¬ 
complished. A very careful estimate gave 10,000 as the number 
of hairs or hair-like material used, while 2164 chips of rotten 
wood, 631 pieces of dry grass and stems, 257 pieces of fine roots, 
167 pieces of moss, 2 leaves (probably accidental), and about 
100 pieces of cobwebs were used in the construction of the nest. 
Obviously, these figures are approximately correct, as it is prac¬ 
tically impossible to arrive at the actual number, which would 
probably be in excess of those given. The nest in question was 
described in The Emu, Vol. XXIII., page 22. — Robt. H. D. 
Stidolpii, R.A.O.U., Masterton, N.Z. 
* * * 
Hovering by Hawks of the Genus Elanus.— Mr. W. B. 
Alexander, in a note (vide Emu, Vol. XXIII., p. 146 ), says 
that he was not previously aware that birds of this genus 
were in the habit of hovering. Mr. Sid. W. Jackson, in his 
article, on The Trip to the Diamantina River after the Letter- 
Winged Kite (Elanus scriptus), mentions the fact of this 
bird hovering over the nest when disturbed. As a matter 
of fact, he makes a special note with regard to this peculiar 
mode of flight. I would also like to record having seen 
a Grey Goshawk (A star novcc-hollandicc) hovering for a 
time over some young Rails, which had taken shelter in a 
clump of rushes on a bare marsh. The Hawk hovered for 
fully a minute at one time, till it found that the little Rails would 
not leave cover.—J. F. H. Gogerley, R.A.O.U., Ellerslie, Wallis 
Lake, N.S.W. 
