BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
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PLATE IX 
BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
1. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Coracina novce-hollandice Gmelin 
Cor-a-ct-na — Gk, coracinos, raven-like: nova-hollandice — of New Holland. 
Distribution. — Australia generally, and Tasmania; accidental to New 
Zealand; also occurs in the Celebes, Timor, Molucca Islands, and New 
Guinea. 
Notes. — Also called Blue Jay, Summer-bird, Blue Pigeon, Lapwing, 
Cherry-hawk, Leatherhead, and Jay. Usually in pairs or small flocks, 
inhabiting open forest-lands chiefly. It is partly nomadic, being observed 
less in the winter than in the summer. Its flight is undulating and power- 
ful; it is seldom seen upon the ground. The call is a strange rattle of 
flute-like notes often uttered while in flight. Food : large insects and their 
larvae, procured among the leaves of the trees ; also berries. 
Nest. — A small, nearly flat structure, composed of fine twigs, grass, 
bark-fibre, plant-stems or leaves, and fibrous rootlets, bound together 
with cobwebs. Some nests are decorated on the outside with small pieces 
of bark. Usually built in the angle of a forked horizontal branch of a tree. 
Eggs. — Usually three, olive-green to pale olive-brown, spotted, chiefly 
on the larger end, with different shades of umber and chestnut-brown, and 
underlying spots of dull grey. Breeding-season: August to January (New 
South Wales) ; February, March, and July (Queensland). 
2. White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike Coracina hypoleuca Gould 
hy-po-leuc -a — Gk, hypo , under; Gk, leucos, white. 
Distribution. — Northern tropical Australia; also occurs in the Aru 
Islands, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. 
Notes. — Usually in pairs or small flocks, inhabiting open forest 
country. It is very similar in habits and economy to the Black-faced 
Cuckoo-shrike. 
Nest. — A small, nearly flat structure, composed of grass and fine 
twigs, bound together with cobwebs. Usually built in the angle of a forked 
horizontal branch of a tree. 
Eggs. — Usually two, bluish-green, blotched with different shades of 
brown, and underlying markings of purplish-grey. Breeding-season: 
October to January. 
