BIRDS OF THE BRUSHES AND BIG SCRUBS 
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PLATE IV 
BIRDS OF THE BRUSHES AND BIG SCRUBS 
1. White-tailed Kingfisher T any sip ter a sylvia Gould 
T an-y-sip’ -ter-a — Gk, tanysipteros, long-feathered : syl'-vi-a — N.L., sylvia , 
woodland bird. 
Distribution. — Northern Queensland; also occurs in New Guinea. 
Notes. — A spring and summer migrant to the coastal districts; in- 
habits the dense brushes of those areas. Usually in pairs; arrives in No- 
vember and departs in February or March, sometimes as late as May. Call- 
note, a persistent trilling, not unlike that of the Sacred Kingfisher. Food : 
insects and small reptiles. 
Nest. — In a hole in a termites’ (white ants) nest in a tree or on the 
ground. 
Eggs. — Three to four, pure white. Breeding-season: November to 
January. 
2. Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis pyrrhophanus Vieillot 
Cac-o-mari-tis — Gk, cacos, bad; Gk, mantis, prophet: pyr-rho-pha-nus— 
Gk, pyrrhos, fire-coloured; Gk, phanos, bright. 
Distribution. — Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Northern 
Territory, and north-western Australia; also occurs in the Molucca Is- 
lands, Timor, and New Guinea. 
Notes. — Also called Square-tailed Cuckoo; a migrant, arriving in New 
South Wales and Victoria in October and departing during February or 
March. Usually singly; inhabits the brushes and dense scrubs; similar 
in habits to the Fan-tailed Cuckoo. Food : insects of various kinds, especi- 
ally hairy caterpillars. 
Parasitic. — Species that build open, cup-shaped nests are usually 
selected as foster-parents ; over thirty species have been recorded as hosts 
of this Cuckoo. 
Egg. — White, with a band round the larger end, blotched and spotted 
with faint purplish-brown and lavender markings. Breeding-season : Oc- 
tober to January. 
3. Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons Latham 
Rhip-id-ur-a — Gk, rhipis, rliipidos, fan; Gk, ura ( oura), tail: ru-fi-frons 
— L., rufus , red ; L., frons, forehead. 
Distribution. — North-western and northern Australia, and eastern 
Australia (from Cape York to Victoria). 
