oatmeal and honey. These birds were obtained on Cambridge Creek, some 30 miles north of Richmond township, Flinders River, North Queensland.—Fred. L. Berney. Richmond (N.Q.)
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Southerly Range of Long-billed Cockatoo.—In continuation of Mr. Geo. Graham's previous note (The Emu, vol. iii., p. 116), he states, under date 15th September:—"The most of our White Cockatoos have been absent since midwinter, leaving us with about ten only, with no 'Long-bills' among them." However, at a later date he says:—"In my immediate locality there are the usual six or eight Corellas, and on the 16th October, between Curdie's River and Cobden, I was surprised to see a large flock. I counted seventy without counting all of them. They must find the food supply suitable to their requirements, and will probably in the future become as numerous here as in the north. I have observed during the last twenty years that all new comers among the birds are spring and summer visitors before they become established as permanent residents."—W. J. Stephen.
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Rufous v. Black Butcher-Birds.—Last Sunday morning, whilst passing a grove of mango trees near the State Nursery at Kamerunga, my attention was drawn to a Black Butcher-Bird
(Cracticus quoyi), and surmising that he had a nest in one of the trees, I went and investigated, with the result that the nest was discovered in the last tree of the grove; I was quickly up alongside the nest, which contained three nearly full-fledged young ones, and you can judge the interest I felt when I found that two of them were brown and the other jet black. I have got the interesting little strangers at home and they give every promise of being easily reared, as they eat voraciously. Should they die I will put the bodies in spirits and send them to you, but if they live I will probably take them to Melbourne with me and present them to the Zoological Gardens, Melbourne. It is very evident to me that, whilst the adult birds of each sex are quite black, the male being black at all ages, the female's immature plumage is brown. I am particularly anxious to rear these young ones so as to ascertain at what age the females take on the black plumage.—E. M. Cornwall. Cairns (N.Q.), 27/10/03.
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Sociability of Birds.—Early in October, when strolling along a river bank, I found in a willow tree overhanging the water several birds nesting. They included the Restless Flycatcher (Sisura inquieta) and the Black and White Fantail (Rhipidura tricolor), the two nests being about 5 feet apart, and a Magpie-Lark (Grallina picata). The nest of the Restless Flycatcher had three eggs in, and that of the Fantail four. I could not see into the Magpie-Lark's nest, but the bird was sitting.
