LAMPEOCOOOYX. 247 



Dawson River, Richmond and Clarence Rivers Districts, New 

 South Wales, Interior, "Victoria and South Australia, Tasmania, 

 West and South-west Australia. (Bamsay.) 



LAMPROOOCOYX BASALTS, Horsfield. 



Narro-w-biUed Bronze Cuckoo. 



Gowld, RandhJc. SJs. Ami., Vol. i., sp. 385, p. 626. 222? ^3. 



The range of this bird does not extend so far as that of L. 

 plagosus, not being found in either Northern or Western Australia. 

 Like the preceding species, it is one of the first harbingers of 

 Spring, and tal^es its departure again about the middle of Autumn. 

 It deposits its single egg in the nest of any of the smaller birds, 

 the first I found being in the nest of Meliornis novce-hoUandice, 

 and I have also at various times taken it from the nests of the 

 following species : — Malurus cyaneus, EpMhianura alhifrons, 

 ZoBtefrops caerulescens, Petrceca leggii, Est/relda temporalis, 

 Geobasileus cJwysorrhoea, Smicrornis hrevirostris, and Acanthima 

 Ivneata; it will be seen from the above, that this species evinces 

 no decided preference for either those nests that are open or dome- 

 shaped, but seems to bestow its favours pretty equally in the choice 

 of a foster parent for its young. 



From a nest of Acanthiza nana, Dr. Ramsay in 1856 took no 

 less than six eggs, three of them being Bronze Cuckoo's, two of 

 Lamproooccyx plagosus, and one of L. basalts. (See P.Z.S., 1865, 

 p. 461). 



The egg of this species is pinky-white minutely freckled aU over 

 the surface with light brownish-red or pinkish-red dots and spots, 

 in some instances these markings are confluent forming coalesced 

 patches on the egg but on no particular portion of it, sometimes 

 being on one side only, at other times on the end. The dimensions 

 of six eggs are as follows: — ^length (A) 0'68 x 0-48 inch ; (B) 0-76 

 X 0-5 inch ; (C) 0'72 x 0-5 inch ; (D) 0-71 x 0-5 inch ; (E) 0:66, x 

 0-47 inch ; (F) 0-68 x 0-48 inch. The colouring matter of the 



