POPULAR AUSTRALIANS 



than with the Magpie, and the picture reproduced on page 

 100 will give a clearer idea of the bird than pages of 

 description. We were exceptionally fortunate to obtain a 

 series of pictures of the Kookaburra. Incidentally, as 

 mentioned elsewhere, it is the nearest approach to picturing 

 a tame bird of which we have been guilty. It was a wild 

 bird, nevertheless, and there need be, we suppose, no real 

 reason for our qualms. We have to thank certain resi- 

 dents of Ferntree Gully for our ability to obtain the pic- 

 tures. Photography in large trees such as the Jackass 

 occupies usually necessitates the possession of a certain 

 amount of tackle ; and we had none. Our anxiety as to 

 whether we would be able to obtain pictures of such a re- 

 presentative bird therefore may be easily understood. We 

 awoke one morning to find the solution within our grasp. 

 Our week-end headquarters at Ferntree Gully possessed no 

 alarm-clock among its limited furnishings, nor was one 

 needed. Three or four Jackasses shared between them the 

 odium usually incurred by that household article. We 

 were soon struck by the degree of trustfulness exhibited by 

 the unconscious humourists, and found that the residents 

 were wont to feed them with scraps from their tables. Our 

 experiments in the same direction were successful to the 

 extent of the major portion of our meat supply, and we 

 found it necessary merely to train the camera on a stump 

 in the yard which was well adorned with steak, fastened 

 by the way, to prevent a too hasty disappearance. The 

 meat disappeared though, as also did the tacks used to 

 secure it, and the series of pictures necessitated the expen- 

 diture of quite a large sum on prime gravy beef at 

 fashionably extortionate prices. 



There is no need to describe the habits of the Jackass, or 

 his idea of music — both are well known. The nest is 

 simply a hollow, usually in a fairly high tree, and the eggs 

 are laid on the powdered rotting wood. The eggs number 

 two or three, or more, and, as is usually the case with eggs 

 laid in a dark position, are pure white in colour. 



When the Kookaburras at the Gully house greeted us on 

 one occasion with an introduction to three lusty and rowdy 

 young ones, we decided that a raw meat diet was out of 

 the question, so we dug in the ground instead. A more 

 arduous process, but cheaper. The three youngsters were 

 left in a row on the fence while the parents explored the 



103 



