BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
59 
bound together with cobwebs. Built in the horizontal fork of a tree up to 
40 feet or more from the ground. 
Eggs. — Usually two, white, spotted (more so at the larger end where 
a zone is formed) with various shades of brown and purplish-grey. 
Breeding-season: October to January. 
7. Ground Cuckoo-shrike Pteropodocys maxima Ruppell 
Pter-o-pod-o-cys — Gk, pteron, wing; Gk, podocys, swift-footed: max ' - 
im-a — L., maximns, greatest. 
Distribution . — Australia (except the north-western area). 
Notes . — Usually in pairs or small parties, chiefly frequenting the 
sparsely timbered areas of the inland districts. It spends a good deal 
of its time on the ground over which it moves rapidly; when flushed, its 
flight is undulating. Generally when disturbed it flies to the nearest 
timber; as a rule it is shy and cautious. It has a peculiar, plaintive, 
rippling call-note, usually uttered while on the wing, also another note 
which is a prolonged, harsh cry. Food : insects and their larvae. 
Nest. — A saucer-shaped structure, composed of grass, plant-stems, 
rootlets, or wool, bound together with cobwebs; lined with fine grass. 
Usually placed in a horizontal forked branch of a tree, at heights up to 
70 feet from the ground. 
Eggs. — Usually three, dull asparagus-green, more or less obscured 
by numerous indistinct fleecy markings of olive-brown. Breeding-season: 
August to December. 
8. Blue-winged Kookaburra Dacelo leachi Vigors and Horsfield 
— 8 A. Female 
Da-ce r 4o — anagram of alcedo, L., alcedo , inis, kingfisher : leachi — Dr W. 
E. Leach (1790-1836), Keeper of Zoology, British Museum. 
Distribution. — North-western and mid-western Australia, Northern 
Territory, and Queensland; also occurs in New Guinea. 
Notes . — Also called Leach’s Kingfisher, Blue-rumped Kingfisher, 
Howling Jackass, and Queensland Kookaburra. Usually in pairs, inhabit- 
ing open forest country. It is similar in habits and economy to the 
Laughing Kookaburra. 
Nest. — In a hollow limb or hole in a tree. 
Eggs . — Three or four, pure white. Breeding-season: September to 
November. 
9. Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo gigas Boddaert 
gl'-gas— Gk, gigas , giant. 
Distribution . — Eastern and southern Australia; introduced to Western 
Australia and Tasmania. 
Notes. — Also called Brown Kingfisher. Great Kingfisher, Giant King- 
fisher, Laughing Jackass, Bushman’s Clock, and Settler’s Clock. Usually 
