BLACK-EARED CUCKOO. 
on some of the primary-quills ; the lateral upper tail-coverts are margined with 
white at the tips ; tail bronze-brown, the middle feathers darker, broadly tipped 
with white, and an indication of a dark suhterminal hand ; the feathers on the 
fore-head have minute dark central lines ; a short line of black on the sides of the 
crown slightly behind the line of the eye ; lores whitish and continue over the eye 
and along the sides of the crown, where it widens out and inchnes to pure white ; 
upper eyelid whitish, short feathers in front of the eye, lower eyelid, and ear-coverts 
blackisli, the last intermixed with buffy-white ; the feathers leading from the base 
of the lores to below the eye whitish ; throat and entire under-surface pale cinnamon- 
buff, paler and inchning to white on the vent, lower flanks, and under tail-coverts, 
the bases of the feathers being dark sometimes show through ; axillaries, under 
\ving-coverts, and inner edges of the quills below cinnamon-rufous, remainder of the 
quills below pale bronze ; lower aspect of tail darker bronze-brown than the 
flight-quills with broad white tips and a dark subterminal band on the outer feathers. 
Eyes brown, feet and tarsus leaden black. Bill black. Total length 206 mm. ; 
cuhnen 14, wing 112, tail 90, tarsus 18. Figured. Collected at Point Torment, 
North-west Austraha on the 14th of February, 1911. 
Adult male. Similar to the adult female. 
Egg. Uniform brownish chocolate-colour 19-21 mm. by 15. 
Breeding-season. March (Central Australia). 
Gould in 1865 admits having only seen five examples of this species, two 
of which he had killed himself in New South Wales. He wrote : “ Judging 
from the little I saw of this species in a state of nature, its habits were those 
of the members of the genus Lamprococcyx ; thick shrubby trees of moderate 
height appeared to be its favourite resort, and its food to consist of insects 
obtained among the branches and from off the leaves, in search of which it 
hops about with stealthiness and quietude ; further than this little is known 
respecting it. One of my specimens was killed near Guiidermein, on the Lower 
Namoi, on the 24th of December, 1839 ; but the true habitat of the species has 
not yet been discovered. That it is confined to Australia is almost certain, 
but this can only be verified by future research. Gilbert, who observed this 
bird in Western Australia, states that it is very shy, and that he only met with 
it in the interior of the country. It utters a feeble, lengthened, and plaintive 
note at long intervals. It flies slowly and heavily, and but short distances at 
a time. The stomach is thin and capacious, and slightly lined with hairs of 
caterpillars.” 
Gilbert and Keane {Emu, Vol. XIII., p. 80, 1913) give accounts of the egg 
discoveries of this species in New South Wales and note that they saw young 
ones being fed by the Little Field-Wren, recording : “ On Dec. 12, 1912, an adult 
Black-eared Cuckoo was seen flying from the direction of a nest under observa- 
tion. Closer examination revealed that an egg of the Little Field-Wren had 
been ejected and was lying four inches from the entrance. Two eggs of the 
foster-parent and one of the Cuckoo were found in the nest, thus showing, as in 
common with other Cuckoos, that where a full set already exists one is thrown 
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