306 
Bird Protection 
r The Emu 
L April 
their cries. Now distant against the sky, now lost in the darkness 
of the land, the birds might he thought to have no aim in their 
manoeuvres, but closer watching showed that each was most 
nearly touching the earth at one particular breeding burrow. At 
first the velocity with which the spot was traversed scarcely in¬ 
dicated any desire to land, but after many gradually narrowing 
loops had been described, there came a time when the speed de¬ 
creased, and the wings flickered somewhat. On the next circle 
the bird poised, and then alighted as softly as snow at the very 
mouth of the burrow — not even then to rest until darkness was 
complete. Cape Woolamai was as busy as a bargain sale, new 
arrivals running hither and thither, inspecting, rejecting, visiting, 
courting, fighting, and singing their deep sea chanty. By half¬ 
past 8 it seemed that fully 100 acres of the cape was a mass of 
excited birds. Angry squawks here and there denoted that 
fights were in progress in some of the burrows. Now and then 
a bird could be seen hastily emerging, while his successful rival 
screamed with harsh triumph. Similar scenes had been enacted 
simultaneously on a dozen minor rookeries around the island. 
Altogether they represented a line of breeding burrows six and a 
half miles long, and the birds must be numbered in millions. The 
birds, which have come in from the sea to breed, will remain 
until late in April. During all this time similar stirring fights 
may be witnessed every night. Silence at last returned; birds 
which had found no burrows, or had been ejected from those 
which they considered theirs, were walking awkwardly up and 
down, muttering in what might be taken to be sullen resentment. 
At the mouth of one burrow one unmistakably proud householder 
was sending forth to the skies an unmusical paean of sheer de¬ 
light. So another great problem has been solved. For the past 
week everywhere one has gone on this pleasant island one has 
been informed that the Mutton-Birds return to the dav, to the 
hour, to the minute, each year; on that, all those who are not 
hopeless disbelievers in the Mutton-Birds legend have agreed. 
The only point has been that nearly everyone has named a dif¬ 
ferent day, a different hour, a different minute. Let all doubts 
be resolved. The Mutton-Birds returned to Phillip Island at 8 
o'clock on November 23. Those few who named this date and 
time are entitled to the respect which they will receive. 
Bird Protection 
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND NATIVE BIRDS’ 
PROTECTION ASSOCIATION. 
The annual meeting of the association was held at Rockhamp¬ 
ton on January 29, 1925. In moving the adoption of the annual 
report and balance sheet, the President, Mr. A. Boldemann, 
