Bird Notes from Far and Near. 301 
3Biui> motes from jfau au^ IReau. 
naturp: notes. 
The Birds of Two Countries, 
some quaint australians. 
By James Drunnnond, F.T,.S., F.Z.S. 
(Coniinued from page 238). 
The Laughing Jackass, or " kookabuna," is a bird 
whose fame as a humourist has travelled far, and yet a person 
must hear two of them laughing to really appreciate this 
eccentricity of bird-life. There are two kinds of Laughing 
Jackasses, the grey and the blue, and the laugh of each is quite 
distinct, tliougli given in a somewhat similar way. One bird 
gives a " hoo-hoo-lioo," while the other chatters and cackles. 
Tlie sound rises in tone until it is very loud and then it quite 
suddenly dies away. Another bird who.se cry is a combined 
effort is the Stock-whip Bird. One of the pair (Mr. Lawson 
does not know which) emits a whistle, sharp and shrill, wliich 
ri.ses in crescendo, and is then cut short off with a " whit," very 
like the .sound of a wet stock-whip lash. Then the hitherto 
silent mate gives two quick notes, just as though it said, in 
startled tones, ''What, oh!" 
Closely related to the Stock-whip Bird are the Soldier 
Bird, all uniformed like a red-coat, and the Lkather-head. 
The latter has no feathers on its head. These two chatter all 
day long in the scrub. There are CuRLKWS in Queensland, too. 
"Ghost birds" they were believed to be when Mr. Lawson and 
his schoolboy friends passed up or down the river at night and 
heard them calling near the moonlit swamps. Their call is a 
moaning whistle, like wind crying through a half-opened case- 
ment. Sometimes they were disturbed by persons walking on 
the river bank, and they fled silently, without any sound at all, 
just like shadows. 
One of the most remarkable Australian birds is the 
Native Companion, sometimes called the Gigantic Crane 
and the Great Grey Crane. It dwells on the plains and is 
much addicted to playing and dancing. Its favourite game 
resembles a set of lancers. Pairs march out, bow, and retire. 
The last act in the performance is the forming of a grand chain, 
