. The popular natural history . Zoology. 282 THE COMMON KINGFISHER. it has been called the Settler's clock. In allusion to the cry of this bird, which has been compared by Sturt to the yelling chorus of unquiet demons, the natives call it by the name Gogobera. The home of the Laughing Jackass is usually made in the hole of a gum- tree {Eucalyptus), where it makes no sort of nest, but simply lays its eggs upon the soft decaying wood. The eggs are pearly white, and the bird keeps a vigilant watch over the burrow which holds its treasures, fiercely combat- ing any creature that may approach the e
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 282 THE COMMON KINGFISHER. it has been called the Settler's clock. In allusion to the cry of this bird, which has been compared by Sturt to the yelling chorus of unquiet demons, the natives call it by the name Gogobera. The home of the Laughing Jackass is usually made in the hole of a gum- tree {Eucalyptus), where it makes no sort of nest, but simply lays its eggs upon the soft decaying wood. The eggs are pearly white, and the bird keeps a vigilant watch over the burrow which holds its treasures, fiercely combat- ing any creature that may approach the entrance, and aiming the most desperate blows with its long pointed nnd po\verful beak. It is a really handsome bird, and, although not possessing such an array of brilliant plumage as fall: to the lot of many Kingfishers, is yet very richly coloured. The bird is decorated with a dark brown crest, and the general tint of the back and upper surface is olive brown. The wings are brown- black, a few of the feathers being slightly tipped with verditer and the breast and under portions are white, washed with pale brown, which forms a series of faint bars across the breast. The tail is rather long, and rounded at the extremity, and is of a rich chestnut colour, banded with -deep black and tipped with white. The common Kingfisher is by far the most gorgeously decorated of all our in- digenous birds, and can bear comparison with many of the gaily decorated inhabit- ants of tropical climates. It is a sufficiently common bird, although â distributed very thinly over the whole country ; and considering the great number of eggs which it lays, and the large pro- portion of young which it rears, is probably more plentiful than is generally supposed to be the case. The straight, glancing flight of the Kingfisher, as it shoots along the river-bank, its azure back gleaming in the sunlight with meteoric splendour, is a sight familiar to all those who have been accustomed to wander by the sides o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
