"Laughing Jackasses."—On a farm near Bayswater these birds are so tame that they take worms from a ploughman's hand, and one recently was so keen in his pursuit of upturned "treasures" that a plough-horse stepped on him.—H. K.
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Effect of Drought on Birds.—I think a great many of our feathered friends must have died during the drought, as there are very few to be seen here this season, so far. The clutches of eggs I have noticed were all very pale in colour, not like those of other years, excepting the eggs of Waders, which remain normal in their colouration.—Sep. Robinson. Condamine River (Q.), 24/8/03.
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Owl and Great Kingfisher.—A correspondent, under date 6/8/03, Toowong (Queensland), sends the following note:—"On Sunday last, while looking through a patch of scrub, I disturbed an Owl. As it flew away, the partly eaten body of the common Laughing Jackass fell to the ground. It was quite fresh, and had evidently been killed on the previous night. The Owl was too wild to allow of anything like a close observation, but appeared, although of large size and strong flight, not quite large enough for the Great Owl. I have seen the latter in possession of the body of a large flying squirrel, but that the Jackass should be a victim seemed unusual."
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Owl in Curious Plumage.—The accompanying photograph is of a Chestnut-faced Owl (Strix novæ-hollandiæ), which was killed in a barn at Coombank, 118 miles out of Launceston, Tasmania. As will be seen, it is a young bird, but for some reason or other the nesting down does not seem to have been shed from its legs, which gives the bird a very curious and striking appearance. It would be interesting to know if anyone has noticed a similar case. The bird also has a small amount of down on its head. The photograph of the bird, and also some of the down feathers, were kindly sent over to me by Mr. H. C. Thompson, of Launceston.—D. Le Souef. Melbourne.
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Emu Bones on King Island.—Of no small interest is the decision of the Melbourne Museum that two bones (a thigh and a portion of a pelvis) from King Island belong to the Emu (Dromæus novæ-hollandiæ). The remains, in a fair state of preservation, were found on the margin of a lagoon on the east coast. In other parts of King Island, and also on other large islands in Bass Strait, notably Kent Group, sand-drifts sometimes expose remains of the Tasmanian wombat, now extinct on all islands but Tasmania itself, but this is the only occasion on which the Emu has been associated with them in the dune sands forming the land surface of to-day. It is significant that the specimens show no difference from the corresponding bones of the mainland
