BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
59 
bound together with cobwebs. Built in the horizontal fork of a tree up to 
40 feet or more from the ground. 
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-o-cys —Gk, pteron, wing; Gk, podocys, swift-footed: max'- 
im-a —L., maximns, 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— Dr W. 
E. Leach (1790-1836), Keeper of Zoology, British Museum. 
Distributor —North-western 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, inhabit¬ 
ing 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 
gi'-gas —Gk, 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 
