AUSTRALIAN 210 ASHTON: Welcome Swallow Breeding in Fairy Martin Nest BIRD WATCHER

Atlas of Australian Birds project reported White-faced Herons feeding on road kills (Blakers et al. 1984). One of six White-faced Herons collected at Westernport Bay, Victoria in June 1979 while feeding in pastures had 13 adult flies (Diptera, unspecified) in its stomach (Lowe 1983).

Feeding on garbage tips has been recorded in other members of the Ardeidae. Slater (1970) included garbage tips in the habitat of the Pied Heron Ardea picata. He did not indicate the food taken. Dean (1978) listed references to Cattle Egrets Ardeola ibis feeding on refuse tips in Uganda, Seychelles and Morocco. Food was not identified but one observer thought insects were the attraction, not refuse. Cattle Egrets seen by me at a garbage tip at Greenwell Point, New South Wales in 1976 were also feeding on flies which they caught both on the ground and while airborne, snatching them from the air with ease. Again to apply the terms of Hancock & Kushlan (1984), they used Standing Flycatching and Aerial Flycatching methods. I did not see them take any refuse.

References Blakers, M., Davies, S.J.J.F. & Reilly, P.N. (1984), The Atlas of Australian Birds, Melbourne

University Press, Melbourne. Dean, AR, (1978), 'Cattle Egrets feeding on refuse tip', Brit Birds 71, 268. Hancock, J. & Kushlan, J. (1984), The Herons Handbook, Croom Helm Ltd., London. Klapste, J. (1982), 'White-faced Heron Ardea novaehollandiae feeding on carrion', Aust. Bird

Watcher 9, 171-172. Lowe, K W. (1983), 'Feeding behaviour and diet of the White-faced Heron Ardea

novaehollandie in Westernport Bay, Victoria', Corella 7, 101-108. Slater, P. (1980), A Field Guide to Australian Birds, Non-Passerines, Rigby Ltd., Adelaide.

By J.N. HOBBS, 12 Hume Street, Dareton, NS. W 2717 • Welcome Swallow Breeding in a Fairy Martin Nest

Marchant & Fullagar (1983), in an analysis of 1169 nest records for the Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena, did not record it breeding in the nest of another species nor have I found reference to this in a limited survey of the literature. An account of the breeding of Welcome Swallows in a broken nest of the Fairy Martin Cecropis ariel follows.

A Welcome Swallow was seen at times perched near a road culvert at Aldinga Beach, South Australia (35° 17'S, 138° 27'E) from mid August 1983. Casual inspections of the partly water-filled culvert revealed only about 20 Fairy Martin nests of previous breeding seasons until close inspection became possible on 11 October 1983. Then a broken Fairy Martin nest amongst others at the southern end of the culvert was found to contain four well-feathered young Welcome Swallows which were being fed by the parents.

Fairy Martins had been recorded in 1980-82 breeding seasons at these nests and vandalism to them had been noted. The nest being used by the Swallows had lost its neck, the line of attachment to the culvert roof being clearly marked. The bulb of the nest remaining formed a deep saucer, a small section of the rim of which 3.0 x 1.5 em had been repaired by more recently applied mud. The nest was thickly lined with soft material including feathers.

On 6 October two of the young fledged and the remainder had done so by 9 October. On 20 October three eggs were found in the same nest to which an

VOL. 11 (6) JUNE 1986 SCHULZ: Straw-necked Ibis taking a Western Brown Snake 211

adult Swallow carried a feather. Brooding followed and two young had hatched by 14 November and fledged on 2-3 December.

No Fairy Martins nested in the culvert, though present in the area, during this season. When the culvert was inspected during the 1984 breeding season it was found that previous nests had been swept away by water and no other nests built.

Reference Marchant, S. & Fullagar, P.J. ( 1983), 'Nest records of the Welcome Swallow', Emu 83, 66-74.

By C.B. ASHTON, P.O. Box 125, Aldinga Beach, S.A. 5173 • Straw-necked Ibis Taking a Western Brown Snake

In the literature there are scattered accounts of snakes, including venomous species, being captured by large species of wading birds: Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus (Hobbs 1979); Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia (Gill 1963); Black-necked Stork Xenorhynchus asiaticus and Great Egret Egretta alba (Coburn 1977); Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopica (Vestjens 1977). I could find no first-hand accounts of the Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis feeding on snakes, although several references (Frith 1969, Vestjens 1976) mention snakes as part of the bird's diet. Most references to diet refer to its marked preference for grasshoppers and locusts (e.g. Ellis 1958, Carrick 1959, Macdonald 1973, Cowling 1974, Vestjens 1976). Rose (1973) examined the stomach contents of two Straw-necked Ibis and found the remains of a variety of insects, centipedes, a spider and a snail but no traces of any reptiles.

On 25 July 1985 a flock of 30 Straw-necked Ibis were observed foraging on grassland dominated by Danthonia caespitosa adjacent to Clarkes Creek, 4.5 km south of Wanganella in south-west New South Wales. One Ibis was suddenly observed holding a snake in its beak, grasping it by the mid section. In order to identify the snake I forced the Ibis to take flight, which resulted in the snake being dropped. The snake, identified as a Western Brown Snake Pseudonaja nucha/is, was found to be in poor condition and subsequently died. This is a common species of snake widespread in inland Australia (Cogger 1983). It weighed 17.5 g and had a total length of 43.5 em.

References Carrick, R (1959), 'The food and feeding habits of the Straw-necked Ibis and the White Ibis

in Australia', CSIRO Wild/. Res. 4, 69-92. Coburn, M. (1977), 'The snake catchers', Bird Obs. 547, 49. Cogger, H.G. (1983), Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, revised edn, Reed, Sydney. Cowling, S.J. (1974), 'Observations on ibis feeding on the Australian Plague Locust', Emu 74,

256-257. Ellis, R (1958), 'Observations on the Straw-necked Ibis', Emu 58, 312. Frith, H.J. (ed.) (1969), Birds in the Australian High Country, Reed, Sydney. Gill, R.G. (1963), 'Plumed Egret eating a snake', Aust. Bird Watcher 2, 20. Hobbs, J.N. (1979), 'Australasian Bittern taking a Black Snake', Aust. Birds 14, 43. Macdonald, J.D (1973), Birds of Australia, Reed, Sydney. Rose, A.B. (1973), 'Food of some Australian birds', Emu 73, 177-183. Vestjens, W.J.M. (1976), 'Straw-necked Ibis', in Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian

Birds, 89, Reader's Digest Services, Sydney. -- (1977), 'Reptilian predation on birds and eggs at Lake Cowal, N.S.W.', Emu 77, 36-37.

By MARTIN SCHULZ, 167 South Beach Road, Bittern, Victoria 3918 •