﻿sixth primaries, and forming a conspicuous white spot ; most of the primaries slightly- 

 glossed with greenish blue along the outer web; the secondaries rather paler brown, 

 narrowly tipped with white, the innermost ones palest ; upper tail coverts rufous banded 

 with blackish-brown ; tail rufous banded with blackish -brown and tipped with white, the 

 latter colour predominating and the brown bars becoming narrower as the feathers approach 

 the outermost, the latter being rufous only at the base ; underneath white, indistinctly and 

 narrowly banded with dusky brown; upper mandible black, lower mandible pale yellow; 

 feet dark olive-brown. Total length 17 inches, of bill from front 2*6, from gape 3*5, 

 wing 9 0, tail 7'0, tarsus 075, middle toe 1*5, hind toe 0*5. 



Female. Exactly similar to the male, but has not, perhaps, so much blue on the wing- 

 coverts or the rump, the latter being more rufous. 



Hob. South Eastern Australia, from New South Wales as far north as the southern 

 parts of Queensland. (Gould, Diggles). 



Although said to have been originally obtained by Sonnerat in New Guinea, the 

 present species has never been procured in that country by any subsequent naturalist, and 

 we must suppose that the above-mentioned author made a mistake in the locality, or else 

 that the bird procured by liim had been brought alive from the coasts of Australia. 



There seem to me to be two races of the common ' Laughing Jackass,' which, how- 

 ever, are not sufficiently distinct to be characterized as different species, but I have 

 invariably noted that the birds from Queensland are darker in coloration on the back and 

 scapulars and the blue on the wing-coverts is brighter. The Australian Naturalists will 

 do well to see if these differences are constant, especially as Queensland specimens seem to 

 run a trifle smaller than those from other parts of the continent. 



The present species thrives capitally in confinement and many arrive annually in this 

 country. At the Zoological Gardens several specimens are always to be seen in the' 

 Western Aviary, and the naturalist can form some idea of the wild chorus to which 

 writers have alluded, by listening to the chaotic laughing of the birds in confine- 

 ment in the Regent's Park. They are accustomed to sit on the broad bar which 

 traverses the centre of the cage, often remaining motionless for a considerable time, till 

 one, raising his bill sky-ward, commences a low gurgle in which one after another joins, 

 till a chorus is produced which may pass for laughing, and is certainly at times by no means 

 dissimilar to the noise produced by the ' Laughing Hyena.' The note is considerably 

 harsher and more disagreeable than that of its small congener the Buff Laughing King- 

 fisher, Dacelo cervina, two or three specimens of which are also exhibited in the same aviary. 

 I cannot quite understand why the bird should have been named by the Australian colonists 

 the Laughing Jackass, unless it be that they suppose the bird's note resembles the noise which 

 would emanate from that animal if he attempted to laugh, or from the ludicrous aspect of 

 the bird when its curiosity is aroused ; if anything attracts its attention the expression 

 assumed by the bird is most comical. In confinement the species becomes tame, and 

 although mostly to be seen on the perch, it is active enough on the ground, its mode of 

 progression being by a series of large hops. 



The following exhaustive account of the life-history of the Laughing Jackass is copied 

 verbatim from Mr. Gould's 'Handbook' (I.e.) 



" The Dacelo gigas is a bird with which every resident and traveller in New South Wales 

 is more or less familiar, for, independently of its large size, its voice is so extraordinary as to 

 be unlike that of any other bird. In its disposition it is by no means shy, and when any 

 new objects are presented to its notice, such as a party traversing the bush or pitching 

 their tent in the vicinity of its retreat, it becomes very prying and inquisitive, often 

 perching on the dead branch of a tree and watching with curiosity the kindling of the fire 



