INSESSORES. 619 



withal it is rather a sohtary bird and loves to dwell in 

 secluded situations, where, but for its loud ringing call, which 

 much resembles its aboriginal name, it would easily escape 

 detection. 



It flies rather heavily, and on alighting moves the tail up 

 and down for some time ; a similar movement of the tail also 

 invariably precedes its taking flight. 



Like the other species of Cuckoo, it deposits its single egg 

 in the nest of some one or other of the smaller kinds of birds : 

 it is of a perfectly oval form, of a flesh-white sprinkled all over 

 with fine spots of purplish brown, nine or ten lines long by 

 seven and a half lines broad. 



The stomach is capacious, membranous,and lined with hairs; 

 and the food consists of the larvae of insects of various kinds. 



The sexes are alike in plumage, but the female is a trifle 

 smaller than the male. 



Head and all the upper surface dark slate-grey; wings 

 brown, glossed with green ; tail dark glossy greenish brown, 

 each feather toothed on the edge with white, the extent of 

 which gradually increases until on the lateral feathers they 

 assume the form of irregular interrupted bars ; on the edge 

 of the shoulder a short narrow stripe of white ; on the under 

 surface of the wing an oblique band of white ; chin grey ; 

 under surface ferruginous ; bill black, except at the base of 

 the lower mandible, where it is fleshy orange ; irides dark 

 brown ; eyelash beautiful citron-yellow ; feet yellowish olive. 



Sp. 380. CACOMANTIS INSPERATUS, Gould. 

 Brush-Cuckoo. 



Cuculus insperatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part xiii. p. 19. 

 Cacomantis insperafus, Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av., torn. i. p. 104, Caco- 

 mantis, sp. 2. 



Cuculus insperatus, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. iv. pi. 87. 

 While traversing the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range 



