Oreoica cristata. — 10/9/98. Nest at Bullock Creek with two fresh eggs. Two or three caterpillars in nest unable to move.
Acanthorliynchus tenuirostris. — The Spinebill makes its first appearance in town about March, and I think it clears out again before nesting,
Melithrepius luniilatus. — 31/8/95. Strathfieldsaye. Came across a great flock of Lunulated (White-naped) Honey-eaters, which must have been several hundreds strong.
Ptilotis auricomis. — Remarkably abundant both in town and bush. 16/10/97. Nest with two unfledged young in hakea. Bird does not leave till I am looking right into nest, when it jumps hurriedly out and tries to draw me off by the old dodge of feigning to be hurt.
Halcyon sanctus. — In a bank of a gully I found a tunnel, which I thought belonged to a Pardalote, and while I was digging it out a Sacred Kingfisher suddenly appeared, in a state of great agitation. On digging further I caught sight of the eggs, with the other bird crouched behind them, apparently in great fear. As she (it was probably the female) would not leave the nest, I had to put my hand in and lift her out, when she came without a struggle, and lay quite still in my hand for a moment before endeavouring to escape. The nest contained five fresh eggs on the bare earth. Glossopsittaciis condnniis, &c. — Very common in some years when the gums are blossoming. They usually arrive about Easter. Chenopis atrata. — 2'ill()<:). A wild Black Swan has joined the tame one on Lake Neangar, Eaglehawk. The Victorian Naturalist is to the fore again in bird matters. In the March number (vol. xvii., p. 11), Mr. G. A. Keartland contributes a paper, " Amongst the Birds in Riverina," in which he records the field observations made by himself and Messrs. C. C. and T. A. Brittlebank in Eastern Riverina during the previous September. One of the special objects of this pleasant excursion appears to have been to obtain information of the nidification of the handsome Green-Leek or the Barraband Parrakeet. The party has certainly been successful in this respect, for it either found or obtained complete data of 14 nests, each containing six eggs. Possibly such regular and large clutches may be attributed to an exceedingly favourable season. In " The Breeding of the Barraband Parrakeet " at the Micklefield Vicarage, England, mentioned in The Avicultural Magazine (vol. vi., p. 217, 1900) the number of eggs to the clutch is not stated, but " three young were hatched." One of the surprises of the trip was the finding of the Osprey (^Pandion) so far from its natural haunts — the sea coast. Had it been the Sea-Eagle {Haliactus), which in immature plumage much resembles the Osprey, ornithologists would not have been astonished, because the Sea-Eagle is known to frequent and has been shot in Riverina. The same issue of the Naturalist contains an article by Mr. Robert Hall, which is concluded in the following (April) number, entitled, " Among the Birds of Western Australia."
