COUCAL. 
a much shorter and more arched bill, and in being somewhat smaller in size ; 
specimens from the western coast differ in being smaller than the bird of New 
South Wales, in having a more attenuated bill and a more uniform colouring 
of the tail. The greater part of the coastline of New South Wales, the eastern, 
northern, and north-western portions of Australia generally are tenanted by 
Centropus, but only in such situations as are favourable to their habits, namely, 
swampy places among the brushes abounding with taU grasses and dense 
herbage, among which they run with facility, and when necessity prompts, fly 
to the lower branches of the trees, from which they ascend in a succession of / 
leaps from branch to branch until they nearly reach the top, and then they fly 
off to a neighbouring tree. The most westerly part of New South Wales in which 
I have heard of their existence is lUawarra, where they are rare, and whence 
to Moreton Bay they gradually increase in numbers. , . . By dissection I 
learn that the males are always smaller than the females ; it also appears that 
when fully adult both sexes are alike in plumage, and have the biU, head, neck 
and abdomen black, whereas the young has the bill hom-colour, and the same 
parts which are black in the adult, of a deep brown with a tawny stripe dovm 
the centre of each feather.” 
Broadbent {Emu, Vol. X., p. 240, 1910) wrote : “ Coucal. Murray River. 
On 17th January I found a nest of this bird built on the ground in long grass. 
The nest is about 1 foot in diameter by 11 inches high, composed of small branches 
of bloodwood {Eucalyptus) tvdsted together and hned with grass, with entrance 
on top. The nest contained three young, covered with long down, and one egg, 
white in colour. Common on all the east coast of Queensland on grassy flats. 
At Cardwell common at aU times.” 
Mr. J. P. Rogers sent me a long description of a nest found at Parry’s 
Creek, North-west Australia. “ Nest contains four eggs. Feb. 1, 1909. The 
nest is placed in centre of a tussock of broad flag-leaved grass and is built with 
the flags and stems of the tussock. These are interwoven into the sides and 
roof of a rough nest which is lined on the bottom with gum-leaves. There is a 
little pathway built of gum and wattle-leaves from the mouth of the nest sloping 
down to within six inches of the ground : length of path eighteen inches ; the 
leaves on this path and hning the nest were renewed from time to time as soon 
as they showed brown green leaves were placed on top of them. Feb. 10, 
1909. New leaves on path to-day. For the first time I saw the bird on the nest 
and the tail was pushed right over the bird’s head by the top of the nest : from 
the appearance of the bird I should say it backed into the nest. Feb. 12, 1909. 
Eggs gone to-day ; there were some egg-shells in and near the nest, apparently 
a hzard’s work. Dimension of the nest : outside 14 x 14 X 14 in. high ; 
inside 7 X 7 X 9 in. high ; bottom of nest outside was 14 inches from ground.” 
387 
