230 The Laughing Jackass. 



Laughing" Jackass is an extremely unpopular nei.ghbour in the 

 small bird and animal world, so it perhaps is fortunate that 

 the jackass is not a common Knglish bird! It is a species that, 

 besides partaking" of a variety of food, is able to adapt itself to 

 varied localities. Any place becomes home, whether forest or 

 moimtain sides, but the most frecjuented places are in the thick 

 Australian Bush, with a river handy. It is also to be foimd in 

 the coastal reg'ion. In these places it finds its varied food and 

 lives its somewhat solitary life. The months of August and 

 September are chosen for breeding" and the spot selected is a 

 hole in a tree, usually a gum tree. The nest is practically 

 nothing" at all; the female jackass deposits her white egg's on 

 the rotten wood at the bottom of the hole in the gimi tree. Woe 

 betide an alien bird that approaches the nesting" tree. The jack- 

 ass is a most jealous guardian, and will attack a human being 

 who tries to filch the eggs or young. A warm reception would 

 meet the feathered intruder, with probably a fatal result. 



The Laughing Jackass is not often imported to the British 

 Isles. I have often tried to obtain a pair, without success, and 

 it was only after an immensity of trouble and wearisome waiting 

 that I eventually managed to secure o)ic bird, and had the satis- 

 faction of at last owning a really tine speciiuen. From the very 

 first it proved to be remarkably tame, not only taking food from 

 my hand, but allowing me to scratch his head and offer other 

 caressing" attentions w^ithout " getting the wind up." The bird 

 reminds one of a toucan in many ways. In the first place it has 

 a large beak, and. secondly, its tail keeps moving up and down 

 in a kind of see-saw movement similar to the toucan's. It is 

 interesting and amusing to watch my kookaburra, when handed 

 food. He takes it gently from the hand, holding" it plumb in the 

 middle by his beak; then he makes a funny sort of " kissing " 

 sound and chuckles, especially if the morsel happens to be a 

 mouse. Then whack! — he bangs it on the perch first to the 

 right, then to the left, either in order to " kill " it. or merely to 

 l:)reak the bones before swallowing. He serves every kind of 

 food in the saiue way, but his favourite is a mouse. He crunches 

 the head first with his beak, pressing gently but firmly, and 

 anparently with no effort; you merely hear the " crack " of the 

 skull ! Then he squeezes the body to break any bones and thus 



