132 THE AUSTRALIAN KINGFISHER. 



seems to find great attraction in the glare of a fire, and in the evening is apt to glide silently 

 through the branches towards the blaze, and perching upon a neighboring bough, to pour 

 forth its loud yelling cry. The "old hands" are in nowise disconcerted at the sudden dis- 

 turbance, but shoot the intruder on the spot, and in a very few minutes convert him into a 

 savory broil over the fire which he had come to inspect. 



At the rising and the setting of the sun the Laughing Jackass becomes very lively, and is 

 the first to welcome the approach of dawn, and to chant its strange exulting paeans at the 

 return of darkness. From this peculiarity, it has been called the Settler's Clock. In allusion 

 to the cry of this bird, which has been compared by Sturt to the yelling chorus of unquiet 

 demons, the natives call it by the name of Gogobera. 



We evidently have in this bird another example of the frequency with which one idea 

 runs through and intersects the various divisions of the animal kingdom, mystically uniting 

 by undefinable bonds the various departments and innumerable groups of living beings. 

 Several of these remarkable facts have already been mentioned, where the question was of 

 form ; and we have in the Laughing Jackass, and its resemblance in that respect to the laugh- 

 ing hyena, a similarity of voice in two very opposite beings. In the same manner, the voice 

 of the harmless ostrich is a roar so precisely resembling that of the fierce and carnivorous lion, 

 that even the Hottentots have been unable to discriminate between the bird and the quad- 

 ruped. As a general rule, color is but little developed in the mammalian forms, and very 

 greatly so among the birds. Yet we have several instances among the mammals such as the 

 mandril and several other quadrumana where the vivid coloring of the skin is but little 

 inferior to that which paints the plumage of the tropical birds. 



SEVERAL species belonging to the same genus are worthy of a passing notice, among which 

 we may mention LEACH'S DACELO (Dacelo leacMi), and the BUFF DACELO (Dacelo cermna). 

 The former of these birds is a remarkably handsome creatiire, and inhabits the northeastern 

 parts of Australia, where, according to Mr. Gould, it takes the place of the laughing jackass. 

 It is a little smaller than that bird, and resembles it. greatly in its form and general habits. 

 Its head and crest are dark brown, and the abdomen is covered with numerous narrow wavy 

 brown bars. In the male bird the wings and tail are richly colored with deep orange ; but in 

 the female the tail is chestnut, barred with a bluish black. 



The Buff Dacelo inhabits the thickly wooded portions of the northern and northwestern 

 districts of Australia, where it may be seen and heard sitting on the topmost branches of the 

 loftiest trees, taking observations of the surrounding country, and yelling in a most unmusical 

 manner. When three or four pairs of these birds get together upon a single tree, they become 

 quite excited by mutual noise, and make such a horrid uproar that nothing can be heard 

 except their deafening outcries. It is a very shy bird, and not easily approached within 

 range of shot. 



The general color of this bird is a pale fawn marked with brown, and with a considerable 

 amount of rich blue in the wings and tail of the male, the tail-feathers being largely tipped 

 with white. The tail of the female is chestnut, boldly barred transversely with deep black, 

 and tipped with buff. 



OF the genus Halcyon, the AUSTRALIAN KINGFISHER affords a good example. 



This bird is a resident in New South Wales from August to December or January, and 

 then passes to a warmer climate. Like the preceding birds, it cares little for the presence of 

 water, making its subsistence chiefly on large insects, such as locusts, caterpillars, grasshop- 

 pers, and cicadas, which it seizes in its bill, and beats violently against the ground before 

 eating them. It is also very fond of small crabs and other crustaceans. Mr. Gould mentions 

 that the stomachs of Australian Kingfishers that had. been shot were found crammed with 

 these creatures. To obtain them, it is in the habit of frequenting the sea-shore, and pouncing 

 upon the crabs, shrimps, prawns, and various other creatures as they are thrown on the strand 

 by the retiring tide, or forced to take refuge in shallow rock-pools, whence they can easily be 

 extracted by the long bill of this voracious bird. 



