70 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
25. Horsfield Bronze Cuckoo Chalcites basalis Horsfield 
Chal-ci-tes —Gk, chalchites, containing bronze: bas-a-lis —L., basalis, 
based. 
Distribution .—Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in Java, 
the Molucca Islands, and Aru Islands. 
Notes .—Also called Narrow-billed Bronze Cuckoo. Usually singly or 
in pairs, frequenting open forest and heath-lands. It is a migrant to the 
southern parts of Australia and Tasmania, arriving during the spring, 
departing at the end of summer. Its call-note is a mournful whistle with 
a downward inflection. In the breeding-season its call is often uttered at 
night. Food: insects and their larvae. 
Parasitic —recorded foster-parents number about sixty-four species, 
chiefly those that build domed nests near the ground. 
Egg. —Pinkish, uniformly spotted all over with small reddish spots. 
Breeding-season: July to January. 
26. Little Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx minutillus Gould 
min-u-till'-us —L., minutillus, very little. 
Distribution .—Northern Australia; also occurs from the Malay Archi¬ 
pelago to New Guinea. 
Notes .—Little has been recorded about the habits of this species ex¬ 
cept that it frequents open forest country and mangroves. 
Parasitic —recorded foster-parents number four species, chiefly 
Warblers ( Gerygone). 
Egg. —Uniform greenish-olive. Breeding-season: September to Feb¬ 
ruary. 
27. Shining Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx lucidus Gmelin 
lu-cid-us —L., lucidus, shining. 
Distribution .—Eastern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and 
Tasmania; also found in New Zealand, Chatham Island, and accidental 
to Macquarie Island. 
Notes. —This is the typical Bronze Cuckoo of New Zealand, where it 
breeds. On rare occasions specimens have been taken along the eastern 
coast of Australia and Tasmania; it is believed that this is one of its 
migratory routes. Food: insects and their larvae. In the field this bird 
cannot be distinguished from the Golden Bronze Cuckoo. 
Parasitic —foster-parents, small insectivorous birds. 
Egg- Uniform greenish-olive or bronze-coloured. Breeding-season: 
spring and summer months. 
28. Golden Bronze Cuckoo Lamprococcyx plagosus Latham 
pld-go-sus —L., plagosus, mournful. 
Distribution. Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in the 
Pacific Islands. 
