﻿and the preparation of the meal; its presence, however, is seldom detected until it emits 

 its extraordinary gurgling, laughing note, which generally calls forth some exclamation 

 according with the temper of the nearer, such as " There is our old friend the Laughing 

 Jackass" or an epithet of a less friendly character. So remarkable are the sounds emitted 

 by the bird that they have been noted by nearly every writer on New South Wales and its 

 productions. Mr. Caley states that its "loud noise, somewhat like laughing, may be heard 

 at a considerable distance, from which circumstance and its uncouth appearance, it probably 

 received the extraordinary appellation given to it by the settlers on their first arrival in the 

 colony." Captain Sturt says, "Its cry which resembles a chorus of wild spirits, is apt to 

 startle the traveller who may be in jeopardy, as if laughing and mocking at his mis- 

 fortunes," and Mr. Bennett in his 'Wanderings' says "Its peculiar gurgling laugh, 

 commencing in a low and gradually rising to a high and loud tone, is often heard in all 

 parts of the colony, the deafening noise being poured forth while the bird remains perched 

 upon a neighbouring tree; it rises with the dawn, when the woods re-echo with its gurgling 

 laugh; at sunset it is again heard, and as that glorious orb sinks in the west, a last 'good 

 night' is given in its peculiar tones to all within hearing." It frequents every variety of 

 situation; the luxuriant bushes stretching along the coast, the more thinly timbered forest, 

 the belts of trees studding the parched plains and the brushes of the higher ranges being- 

 alike favoured with its presence ; over all these localities it is rather thinly distributed, 

 being nowhere very numerous. Its food which is of a mixed character, consists exclusively 

 of animal substances ; reptiles, insects and crabs, however, appear to be its favourite diet ; 

 it devours lizards with avidity, and it is not an unfrequent sight to see it bearing off a snake 

 in its bill to be eaten at leisure ; it also preys on small mammalia. I recollect shooting ;t 

 Great Brown Kingfisher in South Australia in order to secure a fine rat I saw hanging from 

 its bill, and which proved to be a rare species. The Dacelo gigas breeds during the months 

 of August and September, generally selects a hole in a large gum-tree for the purpose and 

 deposits its beautiful pearl-white eggs, which are one inch and nine lines long, by one inch 

 and five lines broad, on the decomposed wood at the bottom. When the young are hatched, 

 it defends its breeding-place with great courage and daring, darting down upon any intruder 

 who may attempt to ascend the tree. The sexes present so little difference in their 

 plumage, that they are scarcely distinguishable from each other ; neither do the young at a 

 month old exhibit any great variation from the adult, the only difference being that the 

 markings are somewhat darker and the brown more generally diffused. 

 Mr. Diggles' account of the present species is as follows: — 



"This, the most common of the three species known to inhabit Australia, is found in South 

 Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the southern parts of Queensland- It generally fre- 

 quents open timbered country or cleared land in the neighbourhood of stations, farms, or where 

 timber is being burned off, when snakes, lizards, locusts, &c. offer it an ample repast- Should 

 it meet with a reptile with which it is unable individually to cope, its loud cries soon bring 

 others to its assistance. In dealing with a snake, its custom is to seize the reptile, ascend a 

 short distance in the air and drop it, immediately following and repeating the process a 

 number of times, until its victim, stunned and bewildered, falls an easy prey to its 

 voracious enemy, who, first battering it from side to side, finishes by swallowing it entire. 

 Snakes two feet long have been taken out of the stomach, a fact which should lead persons 

 to afford so useful an animal all possible protection. It is usually seen perching on a dead 

 branch almost motionless, or merely moving its head from side to side, as it intently scans 

 the ground from its elevated position. The popular name by which this bird is universally 

 known is derived from the circumstance that it imitates in no small degree a loud boisterous 

 laugh, which is continued for some time and accompanied with an upward jerking motion 

 of the tail. The nest is situated in the hole of a tree. The eggs, two in number, are 

 pearl-white and about the size of a pigeon's.'' 



For the subjoined account of the habits of the present bird I am indebted to an 



