THE MYSTERIOUS CUCKOO 181 



ing consists of insects of all kinds — snails, slugs, and earth- 

 worms, some of the latter, obtained in damp places, being 

 of great size. All sorts of seeds and fruits are also eaten by 

 it, and the food of all the other species is similar ; but the 

 brush-turkeys of the east side of the continent are, I think, 

 more frugivorous than the megapodes. 



These birds have many different notes and calls, an 

 idea of which it is almost impossible to convey by means 

 of words. The sounds most often heard are a loud, harsh, 

 detached note, quickly repeated, and a low murmuring 

 sound, which seems to be a note of affection or love. 

 The cries cannot be compared to those of any other bird 

 that I know of. 



The banks of the river are so high that it is impossible 

 that it can ever contain sufficient water to overflow them. 

 Yet a grove of trees grows on each side of the upper 

 course, attracted by the moisture. This grove is a mile 

 across in some places, and the trees are so matted 

 together with scrub and a kind of cane or reed, that we 

 could not get through it without cutting a passage for 

 the horses. 



While we were engaged in this work I again heard the 

 cuckoo, mentioned in the last chapter, and this time I 

 succeeded in obtaining a view of the bird. It was a small, 

 dull-coloured bird, with a plumage of greys and browns ; 

 and though I can neither identify it nor declare positively 

 that it was a cuckoo, there is no doubt about the note. 

 Though not precisely similar to that of the common 

 cuckoo, the call is so nearly like it that the bird is known 

 to the colonists as " the cuckoo." I have heard many of 

 the men speak of the bird, which is well known in the 

 Swan River district, but I never obtained a specimen ; 

 nor can I find it described in any work on Australia. 

 According to several books I have consulted, the 

 Australian cuckoo has not the characteristic note of its 

 family. This, I think, is a mistake, at any rate there is a 

 bird on the western side of Australia with a note so 

 cuckoo-like that it deceives all who hear it. 



Several small finches were seen here ; but as no small 



