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NATURE NOTES.
BY ORIOLUS.
. THE SHORTEST DAY.
SOMETIME during the week-end,
21st. 23rd June, the sun was at Its
northern declination; exactly when does
not matter much, because those days
were of uniform coldness. But even
the shortest day of the year, though It
has the least sunlight, is not the coldest.
The sun Is the source of all warmth,
but other conditions control the cold.
Separate readings at Melbourne over a
number of years show that the average
coldest day comes about a month later
in July. So though we have passed the
shorcest day, the middle of winter Is a
pleasure, or. perhaps, a terror sttll in
store for some of us.
The English song thrush cccnts to be
the only garden bird which appreciates
our winter. As soon as the cold weather
commences they start to sing, and the
foggier or frostier the morning the
louder and more cheerful the song be
comes. Soon after the first glimmer of
light breaks these mornings a thrush
tunes up, and in the dusk of a whiter
evening they are still singing. The song
of the morning Is usually heard from the
summit of some tall tree, and always
the same singing perch.
IN PRAISE OF NORFOLK ISLAND
TINES.
"Wnore the wild wintry gales sweep
off the ocean with a concentrated blast
there is only one tree to plant for a
wind break, and that is the Norfolk
Island pine (Araucarla excelsa). You
can see on almost any exposed foreshore
how the wind tears the heart out of
Ptnus -inslgnis, and then rends Its frame
and leaves an ugly twisted skeleton. The
wort oik Island pines defy the elements
in an astounding fashion. On an ocean
beach they grow up as straight as gun
barrels, with Immense boles, even though
their feet may be on salt water and sand
dunes. There is a very famous and
beautiful grove of these wonderful pines
at Manly Beach, in Sydney, , and here
we have some at Elwood and St. Kllda.
It is a mystery why they are not being
planted around the open sections of
Westernporfc and on French Island, in
stead of the Flnus inslgnis 7" — "Nor
folk."
A THIEVING KINGFISHER.
A friend In Toorak who has a gold
fish pond situated in a large garden re
lates the following pretty story. It was
noticed recently that the fish in the
ponjj, ' which . formerly numbered about
60 had diminished In some mysterious
fashion till there were scarcely a dozen
left. As the gorden was free from cats
and kookaburras — the usual garden fish
thieves— a sharp watch was kept, with
the following result. Early one morning
a splash was noticed in the pond, and a
second or so later a beautiful little azure
kingfisher appeared and darted to the
limb of a nearby tree with a glistening
goldfish wriggling In lis beak. You can
imagine that the sight of the little king
fisher — ultramarine blue on the back
and wings, with an orange-colored breast
and sharp black beak — emerging . from
the water with the gleaming fish almost
compensated for its loss.
It Is unasual to hear of this little
blue kingfisher in a suburban garden, be
cause they are not common even In
their natural home along the banks of
n river. One clear distinction In habit
between this blue bird and the green
halcyon Is that the blue lakes all its
food from the wulcr, while the green
one invariably gets its on land.
' AN ARMOR-PLATED NEST.
Mr. R. Oldfield (Nhlll) tells of the
strange nesting place chosen by a pair
of chestnut- tailed thornbills. A dis
carded .enamel tea pot was placed In a
1
broom brash to be used as a target, and
when the boys had finished with it .the
thornbills built a cosy nest. Inside. These
birds made certain of the safety of their
brood by providing them with the latest
armor plating, proof against kooka
burras, owls and hawks.
Many of the half tame wild birds,
such as grey thrushes, yellow-tailed
thornbills and scrub mrens, which live
around farm houses, will use artificial
nesting boxes if they are given protec
tion from cats. Only last season I saw
the nest of a pair of scrub wrens in a
hanging fern basket on the verandah of
a house, and a month later the same
pair hatched a second brood from a nest
in a ball of twine hanging to the garage.
The ltluc Boronla.
When Mr. A. G. Campbell sent a note
about the Little Desert a week -or so
ago It caught the eye of Mrs. V. Audsley,
of South Clayton. This reader was par
ticularly interested In tho district de
scribed since it is the home of the blue
boronla, so inquired about the plant
from Mr. Campbell. The answer to this
request for Information has been handed
to me by -Mr. Campbell, who suggests
that it might be of interest to many
other readers as well.
He says: — "The blue boronla (Boronla
cocrulea) is found also about the Gram-
plans, but is straggling in growth and
short-lived. It may. however, like other
boronlas, lend itself to great improve
ment by selection and growth from cut
tings when its unusual coloring will be
an attraction. Boronla pinnata, the
Glppsland variety, is now obtainable
from nurseries. There is a tall free-
growing form In the Grampians as well.
In South Australia a fine hardy bush
is Boronla edwardi, of fine pink color,
and for close relatives are Corrca, Phc-
baltum and Erlostcmon, all wonderfully
hardy and showy natives. Thryptomenc
cllata, the dense roekrlovlng plant of
the Grampians, is one .of. our finest
heathers, although not as well known
as the variety Mitchell!.
"Any native plants that take the fancy
of tho expert gardener would be worth
experimenting with either from' cuttings
at this time of the year or seed later."
The Eyes of Teal.
K.G.P. (South Ynrra), who watches
the birds In the Botanical -Gardens, has
noticed that the eyes of the teal which
come to the lake there vary In color,
some being ruby red and others nearly
black. The explanation Is that the eyes
of old teal, whether male or female,
sometimes change to red. The birds
with the brown or black eyes would be
the young ones.
A similar example In which the color
of the feet and bill indicates age Is
that of the common silver gull. The old
birds . are always conspicuous with red
feet and bill, while these parts are olive
or brown colored In the young ones.
When Snakes Hibernate.
Commenting on this subject, Mr. C.
James (Glsbomc) says that In his experi
ence snakes in timber country show a
preference for hibernating in . logs and
stumps. Land which has been ploughed
and left uuworked is also much favored
jby snakes for their winter quarters. The
writer adds that he came across an
active brown snake early In June, and
at that time wondered whether it was
,| a sign of a mild winter.
,| I once heard a farmer remark that
1 1 he had dug out moro dormant snakes
;|from beneath,, a dead stump on the crest
of a ridge or a bank than In any other
place.
Various Notes.
Referring to a recent note on albino
birds. Mr. G. Allen (Malvern) tells of
a pure white kookaburra which he saw
many years ago In the wild mountainous
country of north-eastern Victoria.
The hawk Ecen In the King's Domain
near St. Kilda-road, by "George" was
a peregrine Falcon. This Is probably
the same bird which has been noticed
around tlie Botanical Gardens each win
ter for years past.
The Orchid about which C.L.S. In
quires Is one of the Greenhoods. The
specimen sent was withered eo much
that It could not be definitely Identified.
an armor-plated nest. a fiair of cliestnut-tallcd Thornbills, which, by the uay live iu tlie Mallee, chose this old teapot for a nesting she. Help
an armor-plated nest.
a fiair of cliestnut-tallcd Thornbills, which, by the uay live iu tlie
Mallee, chose this old teapot for a nesting she.
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