PLATE IV 
BIRDS OF THE BRUSHES AND BIG SCRUBS 
I. White-tailed Kingfisher Tanysiptera sylvia Gould 
Tan-y-sip'-ter-a—Gk, tanysipteros, long-feathered: syl'-vi-a— N.L., sylvia, 
woodland bird. 
distribution. Northern Queensland; also occurs in New Guinea. 
notes. A spring and summer migrant to the coastal districts, in¬ 
habits the dense brushes of those areas. Usually in pairs; arrives in 
November and departs in February or March, sometimes as late as 
May. Call-note, a persistent trilling, not unlike that of the Sacred 
Kingfisher. Food: insects and small reptiles. 
nest. In a hole in a termites* (white ants) nest in a tree or on the 
ground. 
eggs. Three to four, pure white. Breeding-season: November to 
January. 
2. Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis pyrrhophanus Vieillot 
Cac-o-man'-tis-G k, caatf, bad; Gk, mantis, prophet: pyr-rho-pha-nus- 
Gk, pyrrhos, fire-coloured; Gk, phanos, bright. 
distribution. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Northern 
Territory, and north-western Australia; also occurs in the Molucca Is- 
lands, Timor, and New Guinea. 
notes. Also called Square-tailed Cuckoo; a migrant, arriving in 
New South Wales and Victoria in October and departing during Feb¬ 
ruary or March. Usually singly; inhabits the brushes and dense scrubs, 
similar in habits to the Fan-tailed Cuckoo. Food: insects of various 
kinds, especially hairy caterpillars. 
parasitic. Species that build open, cup-shaped nests are usually 
selected as foster-parents; over thirty species have been recorded as 
hosts of this Cuckoo. 
egc White with a band round the larger end, blotched and spotted 
with tain! purplish-brown and lavender markings. Breed.ng-season: 
October to January. 
3. Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons Latham 
Rhip-id-ur'-a- Gk, r hi pis, rliipidos, fan; Gk, ura 
-L., rufus, red; L., Irons, forehead. 
distribution. North-western and. northein 
Australia (from Cape York to Victoria). 
(oura ), tail; ru'-fi-frons 
Australia, and eastern 
