42 OOLOGICAL NOTES. 



bronze-coloured eggs were deposited. One is an adult male, Lara- 

 prococcyx malayanus ; the other a young male, Cacomantis casta- 

 neiventris. Now, judging from analogy, one would reasonably 

 ex|iect to find the egg of the latter species of the same type as 

 those of Cacomantis Jlahelliforinis and C. insperatus, and I have 

 little hesitation in provisionally referring the Cuckoo's eggs found 

 in the nests of Gerygone raagnirostris as belonging to Lampro- 

 coccyx malayamis, until Mr. Boyd has an opportunity of watching 

 one of these Cuckoo's eggs hatched by the foster parent, and con- 

 clusively determining to which species the young bird belongs. 



The Cuckoo's eggs taken from the nests of Gerygone magnirostris 

 are elongate ovals in form and equal in size at each end, of a rich 

 deep olivaceous bronze, some specimens having minute black dots 

 on the larger end, and the surface of the shell smooth and glossy. 

 Specimens taken during 1893 measure as follows: — (A) 078 x 

 0-53 inch ; (B) 0-8 x 0-53 inch ; (C) 083 x 55 inch ; (D) 078 x 

 53 inch ; (E) 0-82 x 0-54 inch. 



In conclusion, I may here point out that eggs of a Cuckoo taken 

 near Sydney from nests of Rhipidura albiscapa, Malurus cyaneus 

 and Ptilotis chrysops, and described at different meetings of this 

 Society by Dr. George Hurst and myself, when we both referred 

 to them as belonging to Cacomantis insperatus, as it was the 

 only other species of Cuckoo found near Sydney whose egg we 

 were until then acquainted with, have been verified last season by 

 finding similar eggs in the nests of R. albiscapa, as well as seeing 

 in the same locality specimens of Cacomantis insperatus, and by 

 obtaining a young Square-tailed Cuckoo that was being fed by the 

 foster parents, E. albiscapa. 



That C. insperatus evinces a decided preference for depositing 

 its eggs in the nests of Rhipidura albiscapa, is signalised by the 

 fact that all the eggs I know of belonging to this Cuckoo that 

 were taken last season, both near Sydney and two hundred miles 

 inland, were found in the nests of the White shafted Fantail. 



