48 BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 



GREY BUTCHER-BIRD (Jackass) 



(Cracticus cinercus, Gould). 



Male. — Head, ears, and back of the neck black; rest of the 

 upper surface, iucludiug shoulders, grey, with a faint tinge of 

 bluish ; tail black, tipped, principally on the inner webs, with 

 white, except the tv/o centre feathers, which are wholly black ; 

 upper tail coverts white; space between the eyes and the bill, 

 middle of the secondaries, and throat white ; rest of the under 

 surface greyish-white ; primaries black ; bill bluish lead colour, with 

 black tip; legs black. Dimensions in mm.: — Length, 326; bill, 

 40; wing, 154; tail, 121; tarsus, 34. 



Female. — Whole of the upper surface, including head and 

 shoulders, ashy-grey ; tail brownish, tipped like male, only 

 obscurely so ; secondaries also brown, edged with white ; throat 

 dirty-white; rest of under surface greyish- white, more grey than 

 white; bill and legs same as male. Dimensions in mm. : — Length, 

 285; bill, 36; wing, 137; tail, 109; tarsus, 31. 



Young. — " An adolescent male had the marginal wing coverts 

 tipped with buff and the median wing coverts tipped with olive ; 

 the feathers of the mantle had brownish-olive tips. Iris light 

 brown " (J. R. M'Clymont). 



Nest. — Somewhat large and open; composed of long, thin twigs 

 compactly woven together and lined with long, fine grass. It is 

 placed among the branches of a tree at no very great distance from 

 the ground; a she-oak is a favourite tree. Dimensions of a typical 

 nest : — Over all, 7 in. ; egg cavity, 5 in. ; depth of same, 2i in. 



Eggs. — Clutch three to four; roundish oval in shape; texture 

 fine; surface glossy. The eggs of a clutch vary considerably. In a 

 clutch before me one egg is pale green with only a broad band of 

 reddish-brown and purplish-brown round the larger end; another 

 is fawn colour, spotted and blotched all over with reddish-brown ; 

 a third is warmish green, banded at the larger end and the rest of 

 the surface spotted with both reddish-brown and purplish-brown; 

 the fourth is a little more green, densely spotted, especially about 

 the stouter end, with small reddish-brown spots. Dimensions in 

 mm. of a clutch :— (1) 31.5 x 24, (2) 32.5 x 24, (3) 32.25 x 24, (4) 

 33 X 22. 



Breeding Season. — August to November principally. 



GeograpJiical Distribution. — Tasmania. 



Observations. — The distribution of the "Jackass," as it is 

 familiarly called, is fairly general throughout the island, though 

 in some districts it is much more plentiful than in others. Properly 

 speaking, this bird is merly a sub-species of the mainland Butcher- 

 Bird (Cracticus destructor), the chief point of difference being its 

 larger bill. 



This so-called "Jackass" is a very famihar bird, either to 

 dwellers in town or country. Its favoured haunts are moderately 



