Page:The Emu volume 20.djvu/223

 Arago writes:—"At length we returned by the Bay of Seals,, where we saw prodigious numbers of these animals, which contended, no doubt, with clouds of Pelicans assembled at the south point of the cove for the sovereignty of the place, which I yield to them with all my heart."

Circus assimilis. Allied Harrier (?)—Pairs seen in various parts of Dirk Hartog Island, and once or twice on Peron Peninsula. I tried in vain to locate the nest of a pair which haunted the neighbourhood of the West well.

Astur cruentus. Lesser Goshawk. —A pair occasionally seen near the Ten-mile well.

Accipiter torquatus. Sparrow-Hawk.—I often saw a male, and occasionally a female, of this species near the hut I was occupying at the Ten-mile well. I hoped they would breed in an adjacent wanyu thicket, but I failed to find their nest.

Uroaetus audax. Wedge-tailed Eagle.—Though much persecuted, this species holds its own on Dirk Hartog. It is more abundant at the north end them in other parts. During my recent visit several nests were found. Mr. Len. Bryant very kindly procured me a fine pair of eggs taken from a large nest of sticks newly lined with green leaves. This nest was placed on a spur of rock that had broken away from the cliff on the west side of the island, and was reached with some difficulty. The site was about 150 feet from the waves below. Nests have often been found placed on large bushes or wanyu trees, and I was told of an old one built on the spur of a ridge at the foot of the main range of hills traversing the island. On Peron Peninsula the Wedge-tailed Eagle is much less common; I saw only one bird myself.

Haliaëtus leucogaster. Sea-Eagle.—Not so common as the Wedge-tailed Eagle, but pairs breed around the coasts of Dirk Hartog Island, and to a lesser extent around the Peron Peninsula. The only nest I examined was the one before mentioned,, amongst the Cormorants at the Quoin Bluff. It was a poor structure—a few sticks arranged in a rough circular form with a very scant lining of seaweed. It contained two Eaglets about a month old. A pair of eggs was taken in August from another headland near Herald Bay. These were secured by an aborigine, who boiled them with a view to making a meal of them. They proved too strong even for his taste. At the West well Sea-Eagles several times perched on the vane of the windmill close to my camp.

Hieracidea berigora. Brown Hawk.—Sparingly distributed throughout Dirk Hartog and the Peron Peninsula. At the former locality I was shown a pair of fresh eggs taken about the end of August. A pair near my Ten-mile camp drove away the lawful owners of a Crow's nest. I left the locality before the eggs were laid.

Cerchneis cenchroides. Kestrel.—Early common around Shark Bay, breeding in cliffs, and also on Peron, in old Crows' nests in the mangroves. Another pair had selected an unusual place, the nest being actually on the ground. A hole had been excavated in a corner formed by a galvanized iron fence erected around an open water-hole. I was told four eggs were subsequently laid. Another nest was a natural cavity in a huge rock; this was partly filled with sand, on which the four eggs were laid.