BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 69 
nest of the Magpie-lark is built; but sometimes in other situations— 
under verandas, in sheds, and in vines growing about houses. 
eggs. Three or four, cream to yellowish-brown, with a zone of 
darker markings on the larger end. Breeding-season: August to 
December or January. 
22. Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cacomantis flabelliformis Latham 
Cac-o-man'-tis-G k, cacos , bad; Gk, mantis , prophet: fla-bell-i-form'-is 
—L., flabellum, fan; L., forma , shape. 
distribution. Australia (except north-western Australia and 
Northern Territory) and Tasmania; also occurs in the Aru Islands. 
notes. Also called Ash-coloured Cuckoo and Storm-bird. Singly or 
in pairs, frequenting open forest and scrub-lands. It is a tame and 
rather lazy bird, allowing one to approach quite near before it takes 
flight. Its call is a mournful trill of about six notes with a downward 
inflection, heard more often during the spring and summer months. 
In the autumn and winter it usually moves nearer the coastal districts. 
Food: insects and their larvae. 
parasitic. Recorded foster-parents number about forty-five species. 
egg. Dull white, heavily coloured all over with small spots of 
purplish-brown, with an ill-defined zone at the larger end. Breeding- 
season: August to December. 
23. Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Cacomantis castaneiventris Gould 
cas-tan'-c-i’vcn'-tris— L., castancus, chestnut; L., venter , belly. 
distribution. Northern Queensland (Cape York Peninsula); also 
occurs in the Molucca Islands, Timor, and New Guinea. 
notes. Usually singly or in pairs, inhabiting the tropical scrubs; 
placed in this group for comparison with the Fan-tailed Cuckoo. 
Very little is known of its habits. Food: beetles and other insects. 
parasitic. 
egg. No authentic record of its egg is known. 
24. Rufous-breasted Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx russatus Gould 
Lam'-pro-coc'-cyx-Gk, lampros, bright; Gk, coccys, cuckoo: rus-sa-tus- 
L., russatus , reddened. 
distribution. Northern and north-eastern Queensland; also 
occurs in the Molucca Islands and New Guinea. 
notes. Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting the open forest and 
mangroves. Similar in habits to the other Bronze Cuckoos. Usually 
selects Warblers ( Gerygone) as foster-parents. 
parasitic. Recorded foster-parents number about thirteen species. 
egg. Light buffy-olive to buffy-olive, minutely freckled with dark 
brown; the latter colour is more pronounced at either end and is in 
the form of a narrow band around the pointed end. Breeding-season: 
September to February. 
