258 BARNARD, Birds of Coomooboolaroo [ 
Little Falcon ( Falco longipennis) . — Fairly plentiful, generally 
about swamps. One cf the fastest and most daring of the family 
and a great Quail catcher. One has been seen to decapitate a White- 
fronted Heron while on the wing. Once while working some timber 
out in the bush, I saw a Falcon start after a Little Lorikeet ( Glosso - 
psitta pusilla) . They had a great race through the tops of the trees 
for about a hundred yards, then turned and came back towards the 
place where I was working and when they were quite close to me the 
Falcon made his catch. Almost at the same moment another Falcon, 
which had evidently been watching the race, darted down and tried 
to take the Lorikeet from the captor. In the scuffle the Lorikeet was 
dropped and flew up into seme thick bushes, where it remained hid¬ 
den while the Falcons were flying around. Usually there are some 
Butcher-birds about, and in such cases they hunt the hiding bird out, 
when the Falcon, being cn the watch, has it in a flash. I have fre¬ 
quently seen the Butcher-birds helping the Falcons in this way. 
Brown Hawk ( Ieracidea berigora). — Common, and much in evi¬ 
dence in front of bush fires, where they catch grasshoppers and small 
game driven out by the fire. These Hawks are great snake killers, 
and may often be seen flying past with a snake dangling beneath 
them. Once when camped for a few days at a bore to look after the 
engine and pumping, 1 noticed a Black-throated Butcher-bird’s nest 
in a tall dead tree not far from my camp. Just after arriving at the 
bore on the first day, I heard a Brown Hawk calling, and looking up, 
saw the Hawk flying away from the vicinity of the nest with the 
Butcher-birds in hot pursuit. Next day I was on the look out and 
heard the Hawk coming, and so did the Butcher-birds. The pair flew 
out to meet the enemy, but the Hawk ignored them, though they 
were attacking him savagely. He flew right on to the nest and away 
again with a young* bird in his claws. Next day the performance was 
repeated, and the Hawk flew off in the same direction, probably to a 
nest, that was the last of the young birds, for the Hawk came no 
more, and the Butcher-birds kept away from the nest. 
I was out at the same bore not long ago, and noticed that some 
kind of Hawk had been trying to build a nest on the top of the plat- 
ferm right up against the wheel of the windmill, which is an 18 ft. 
wheel on a 50 ft. tower. The mill was working all the time. There 
were a great many sticks on the ground at the foot of the tower, and 
a good heap up on the platform, but these had not been formed into 
a nest. At another bore I once saw a Crow’s nest with nearly full- 
grown young built on the platform of a mill, but in this instance the 
mill was shut off and the wheel not turning. 
Nankeen Kestrel (Cerchncis cenchroide: s). — Formerly a common 
bird, but never found breeding. 
Osprey (Pandion haliaetufi). — Many years ago a single specimen 
used to perch on a dead tree over the lagoon, and when a bony-bream 
came near the surface, it would swoop down, plunging right under 
the w*ater, seldom missing the fish. Then it would rise from the water 
and fly away with the fish in its claws. It was once seen to rise with 
a small eel. 
Boobock Owl (Ninox boobook) . — Fairly common, and often flushed 
from hollow trees. It has been found breeding. 
Winking Owl ( Ninox connivens) , — Fairly common. Several nests 
have been found. 
Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua). —Not at all common, but seen on 
several occasions in the scrub. Both this species and the Winking 
Owl have the curious habit of keeping their night kill with them 
during the day. Being nocturnal birds, they should spend the day 
sleeping, but perhaps they are like the old black boys that used to 
camp out with us. They would often kill a Native Bear or goanna 
when going into camp and roast it straight away. Though they had 
as much bread, beef, etc., as they would eat for tea, if one woke up 
