BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
69 
ing near water, and often in the same tree in which the nest of the 
Magpie-lark is built; but sometimes in other situations — under verandas, 
in sheds, and in vines growing about houses. 
Eff 9 s - — -Three or four, cream to yellowish-brown, with a zone of 
darker markings on the larger end. Breeding-season : August to December 
or January. 
22. Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flab elli for mis Latham 
Cac-o-man-tis — Gk, cacos } bad; Gk, mantis , prophet: fla-bell-i-form-is 
— L., flabellum, fan; L., forma , shape. 
Distribution. — Australia (except north-western Australia and North- 
ern Territory) and Tasmania; also occurs in the Aru Islands. 
Notes. — Also called Ash-coloured Cuckoo and Storm-bird. Singly or 
in pairs, frequenting open forest and scrub-lands. It is a tame and rather 
lazy bird, allowing one to approach quite near before it takes flight. Its 
call is a mournful trill of about six notes with a downward inflection, 
heard more often during the spring and summer months. In the autumn 
and winter it usually moves nearer the coastal districts. Food : insects and 
their larvae. 
Parasitic — recorded foster-parents number about forty-five species. 
Egg. — Dull white, heavily coloured all over with small spots of 
purplish-brown, with an ill-defined zone at the larger end. Breeding- 
season: August to December. 
23. Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Cacomantis castaneiventris Gould 
cas-tan -e-i-ven -iris — L., castaneus, chestnut; L., venter , belly. 
Distribution. — Northern Queensland (Cape York Peninsula) ; also 
occurs in the Molucca Islands, Timor, and New Guinea. 
Notes. — Usually singly or in pairs, inhabiting the tropical scrubs; 
placed in this group for comparison with the Fan-tailed Cuckoo. Very 
little is known of its habits. Food : beetles and other insects. 
Parasitic. 
Egg. — No authentic record of its egg is known. 
24. Rufous-breasted Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx russatus Gould 
Lam'-pro-coc'-cyx — Gk, lampros } bright ; Gk, coccys, cuckoo : rus-sa-tus — 
L., russatus , reddened. 
Distribution . — Northern and north-eastern Queensland; also occurs in 
the Molucca Islands and New Guinea. 
Notes . — Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting the open forest and 
mangroves. Similar in habits to the other Bronze Cuckoos. Usually selects 
Warblers ( Gerygone ) as foster-parents. 
Parasitic — recorded foster-parents number about thirteen species. 
Egg — Light buffy-olive to buffy-olive, minutely freckled with dark 
brown; the latter colour is more pronounced at either end and is in the 
form of a narrow band around the pointed end. Breeding-season: Sep- 
tember to February. 
