. Nests and eggs of birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania . nd on the Blackall Range. The old birds werefeeding fledged young at the end of September; the garrulous cries of the young made one of themost prominent sounds of the bird-life of the bush. For the purposes of breeding it usually forms a tunnel in a White Ants nest on a tree, andin an enlarged chamber at the terminus lays four or five, rarely six, rounded pearly-whiteeggs. Sometimes the nesting-place is low down, often at an altitude of between twenty andthirty feet, but seldom more than fifty or sixty feet from the ground.
. Nests and eggs of birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania . nd on the Blackall Range. The old birds werefeeding fledged young at the end of September; the garrulous cries of the young made one of themost prominent sounds of the bird-life of the bush. For the purposes of breeding it usually forms a tunnel in a White Ants nest on a tree, andin an enlarged chamber at the terminus lays four or five, rarely six, rounded pearly-whiteeggs. Sometimes the nesting-place is low down, often at an altitude of between twenty andthirty feet, but seldom more than fifty or sixty feet from the ground. The eggs vary from four to six in number for a sitting, in New South Wales five eggs moreoften constitute the usual complement, they are rounded in form, many specimens being abruptlypointed at the smaller end, pure white, the shell being close-grained, smooth, and usually eggs, especially those received from Mr. J. A. Boyd, when resident at Ripple Creek, HerbertRiver, Queensland, are coated with the reddish-brown earth of the Termites nest, and when. nesting-place of maclkay s kingfishertermites nest. HALCYON. 369 this is removed they are usually found to be almost lustreless. A set of six taken by Mr. Boyd,on the i8th November, 1893, measure as follows:—Length (A) i x 0-82 inches; (B) i x o-8iinches; (C) i02 x o85 inches; (D) i-o2 x 0-85 inches; (E) i-oi x 0-85 inches; (F) 0-98 x0-83 inches. A set of five I saw Mr. George Savidge take at Copmanhurst, on the gth November,1898, measure:—Length (A) 0-98 x 0-82 inches; (B) 0-98 x o-86 inches; (C) 0-98 x 0-85inches; (D) 0-96 x 0-83 inches; (E) 0-97 x 0-85 inches. During many years observations by Mr. J. A. Boyd, while resident at Ripple Creelc, Septemberand the three following months constituted the usual breeding season of this species. Thegreater number of fresh eggs, however, was found in November. An early record of theirbreeding, was when he saw adults feeding young ones on the 3rd September, 1889. On the i8
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