BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
69 
ing near water, and often in the same tree in which the 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 —Gk, cacos, bad; Gk, mantis, prophet: fld-bell-i-fdrni-is 
—L., flabellum, fan; L., forma, shape. 
Distribution .—Australia (except north-western Australia and North¬ 
ern 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 
cos-tan -e-i-ven -iris —L., castaneus, 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 Lam prococcyx russatus Gould 
Lam -pro-coc - cyx- Gk, lampros, bright; Gk, coccys, cuckoo: rus-sd-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. 
, huffy-olive t0 huffy-olive, minutely freckled with dark 
brown; the latter colour is more pronounced at either end and is in the 
iSr to7ebr r o Trv band ““ POinM e " d ' : Sep- 
