BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
59 
eggs. Usually two, white, spotted (more so at the larger end where a 
zone is formed) with various shades of brown and purplish-grey. 
Breeding-season: October to January. 
7. Ground Cuckoo-shrike Pteropodocys maxima Ruppell 
Pter'-o-pod-d'-cys—G k, pteron, wing; Gk, podocys , swift-footed: max'- 
im-a— L., maximus, greatest. 
distribution. Australia (except the north-western area). 
notes. Usually in pairs or small parties, chiefly frequenting the 
sparsely timbered areas of the inland districts. It spends a good deal 
of its time on the ground over which it moves rapidly; when flushed, 
its flight is undulating. Generally when disturbed it flies to the nearest 
timber; as a rule it is shy and cautious. It has a peculiar, plaintive, 
rippling call-note, usually uttered while on the wing, also another 
note which is a prolonged, harsh cry. Food: insects and their larvae. 
nest. A saucer-shaped structure, composed of grass, plant-stems, 
rootlets, or wool, bound together with cobwebs; lined with fine grass. 
Usually placed in a horizontal forked branch of a tree, at heights up 
to 70 feet from the ground. 
eggs. Usually three, dull asparagus-green, more or less obscured 
by numerous indistinct fleecy markings of olive-brown. Breeding- 
season: August to December. 
8. Blue-winged Kookaburra Dacelo leachi Vigors and Horsfield 
—8A. Female 
Da-ce'-lo —anagram of alcedo, L., alcedo, inis , kingfisher: leachi—D r W. 
E. Leach (1790-1836), Keeper of Zoology, British Museum. 
distribution. Northwestern and mid-western Australia, Northern 
Territory, and Queensland; also occurs in New Guinea. 
notes. Also called Leach's Kingfisher, Blue-rumped Kingfisher, 
Howling Jackass, and Queensland Kookaburra. Usually in pairs, 
inhabiting open forest country. It is similar in habits and economy 
to the Laughing Kookaburra. 
nest. In a hollow limb or hole in a tree. 
eggs. Three or four, pure white. Breeding-season: September to 
November. 
9. Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo gigas Boddaert 
gt'-gas—G k, gigas> giant. 
distribution. Eastern and southern Australia; introduced to 
Western Australia and Tasmania. 
notes. Also called Brown Kingfisher, Great Kingfisher, Giant King¬ 
fisher Laughing Jackass, Bushman’s Clock, and Settler’s Clock. 
Usually in pairs or small parties, chiefly frequenting open forest-lands. 
Its extraordinary laughing notes are a constant delight to all bird 
lovers, and are heard at their best in the early morn or just after 
