BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 87 



Observations. — Owing to the great similarity in colouring of this 

 species and the Narrow-billed Bronze-Cuckoo, some difficulty 

 frequently arises when endeavouring to identify the two species, 

 especially when they are perched a little distance away. It is some- 

 what hard to say whether this species or C. basalis is the more 

 plentiful, one species being frequently found in a district while 

 the other is absent. 



The foster-parents of the Bronze-Cuckoo are : — 



Yellow-rumped Tit {Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) 

 Tasmaniau Tit {A. diemenensis) 

 Blue Wren [M alums gouldi) 

 Scarlet-breasted Robin (Petroeca leggei) 

 White-fronted Chat (Ephthianura albifrons) 

 Tawny-crowned Honey-eater (Glycyphila fulvifrons). 



*CHANNEL-BILL 



(Scythrops novce-hollandice, l^ath.) 



Male. — Head and neck uniform pearl-grey ; rest of upper surface 

 darker olive-grey ; all the feathers of the back and wings have 

 broad brownish-black ends, giving these parts a mottled appear- 

 ance ; tail has a broad subterminal bar of brownish-black and is 

 tipped with white ; under surface greyish-white, paler on the throat, 

 with more or less indistinct broad bands on sides of body, thighs, 

 and under tail coverts ; tail pale olive-grey with alternate broad 

 markings of white and black on the inner webs ; bill yellowish-brown ; 

 legs and feet olive-brown. Dimensions in mm.: — Length, 635, 

 bill, 100; wing, 355; tail, 280; tarsus, 42. 



Female. — Similar to male. 



Eggs. — " Inclined to oval in shape; texture of shell somewhat 

 coarse; surface sUghtly glossy; colour vinaceous-buff, dully 

 blotched with chestnut or umber and purplish-brown. IMueh 

 resembles those of the Hill Crow-Shrike (Strepera arguta) of Tas- 

 mania. Dimensions in inches: — (1) 1.66 x 1.13, (2) 1.63 x 1.26 " 

 (A. J. Campbell). 



Geographical Distribution. — Tasmania (accidental), Australia in 

 general; also a number of islands in the Austro-IMalayan region. 



Observations. — A specimen shot at Clarence Plains in Novem- 

 ber, 1867, and exhibited at a meeting of the Tasmanian lioyal 

 Society in the same month, was the first specimen of this species 

 to be recorded for this island. I do not think any others have been 

 procured since. In some parts of the mainland this bird, w4iich is 

 the largest of the Australian Cuckoos, is called the " Flood-Bird." 



