70 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
25. Horsfield Bronze Cuckoo Chalcites basalis Horsfield 
Chal-ci-tes — Gk, chalchites , containing bronze : bas-a-lis — L., basalis, 
based. 
Distribution. — Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in Java, 
the Molucca Islands, and Aru Islands. 
Notes. — Also called Narrow-billed Bronze Cuckoo. Usually singly or 
in pairs, frequenting open forest and heath-lands. It is a migrant to the 
southern parts of Australia and Tasmania, arriving during the spring, 
departing at the end of summer. Its call-note is a mournful whistle with 
a downward inflection. In the breeding-season its call is often uttered at 
night. Food : insects and their larvae. 
Parasitic — recorded foster-parents number about sixty-four species, 
chiefly those that build domed nests near the ground. 
Egg. — Pinkish, uniformly spotted all over with small reddish spots. 
Breeding-season : July to January. 
26. Little Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx minutillus Gould 
min-u-tiir-us — L., minutillus, very little. 
Distribution. — Northern Australia ; also occurs from the Malay Archi- 
pelago to New Guinea. 
Notes. — Little has been recorded about the habits of this species ex- 
cept that it frequents open forest country and mangroves. 
Parasitic — recorded foster-parents number four species, chiefly 
Warblers ( Gerygone ). 
Egg. — Uniform greenish-olive. Breeding-season: September to Feb- 
ruary. 
27. Shining Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx lucidus Gmelin 
lu-cid-us — L., lucidus , shining. 
Distribution. — Eastern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and 
Tasmania; also found in New Zealand, Chatham Island, and accidental 
to Macquarie Island. 
Notes. — This is the typical Bronze Cuckoo of New Zealand, where it 
breeds. On rare occasions specimens have been taken along the eastern 
coast of Australia and Tasmania; it is believed that this is one of its 
migratory routes. Food: insects and their larvae. In the field this bird 
cannot be distinguished from the Golden Bronze Cuckoo. 
Parasitic — foster-parents, small insectivorous birds. 
Egg. — Uniform greenish-olive or bronze-coloured. Breeding-season : 
spring and summer months. 
28. Golden Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx plagosus Latham 
pla-gd-sus — L., plagosus , mournful. 
Distribution. — Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in the 
Pacific Islands. 
