KM t
e -\Tn te rTtTa inTTi7ni “g l1i ttle i en titled ‘Bush Wanderings o f a N a tu ra list,’ by the late
Mr. H. Wheelwright, b e tte r known as th e ‘Old Bushman.’ He relates as follows ( p .l2 7 ) :—
“ A b o u t a n h o u r before sunrise th e bushman is awakened b y th e most discordant
sounds, as i f a tro o p o f fiends were shouting, whooping, and laug h in g ro u n d him iu one
Muld cho ru s; th is is the m orning song o f the ‘ L a u g h in g J a ck a ss,’ wa rning h is feathered
mates^ th a t d ay b re ak is a t hand. A t noon th e same wild lau g h is heard, and as the sun
sinks in to th e west, i t again rin g s thi-ougli the forest. I shall n ev er forget th e first nio-ht
i slept in th e open b ush in this co u n try : it was iu th e Black Fore st. 1 woke about dayb
reak a fte r a confused sleep, and for some minutes I could n o t remember where I was, sucli
were th e e x trao rd in a ry sounds th a t g ree ted my e a r s ; th e fiendish lau g h o f th e Jackass, the
clear, flute-like note o f th e magpie; the hoarse cackle o f the W a ttle -b ird s ; the ja rg o n of
flocks o f L e a th e rh e a d s ; and th e screaming o f thousands o f P a rro ts as th ey d ashed th ro u g h
th e forest, a ll jo in in g in chorus, formed one o f the most e x trao rd in a ry concerts I have ever
heard, and seemed a t th e moment to have been g o t up for the pimpose o f welcomino- the
sfyanger to th is land o f wonders on th a t eventful morning. I have h e a rd it himdreds o f
tim es since b u t nev e r ty i t h th e same feelings th a t I listened to i t then. The Laughino-
Ja ck a ss is th e bushman’s clock, and being b y no means shy, o f a companionable nature, a
TOnstant a tte n d a n t about th e b u sh -ten t, and a d estro y e r o f snakes, is regarded like the
Ro b in a t home, as a sacred b ird in th e Au stra lian forests. I t is an uncoiith-looking bird, a
h u g e species o f land-Kingfisher, n e a rly th e size o f a crow, o f a rich chesnut brown and
d irty wb ite colour, th e wings slightly chequered with Hght blue, afte r the manner o f the
B ritish J a y ; th e ta il feathers long, ra th e r pointed, and bai’red with brown. I t has the foot
o f th e Kingfisher, a v e ry formidable, long, pointed beak, and a larg e m o u th ; i t has also a
IrTn/l n r nr-oci’ TTrlM/»r. ri- C -rrT-l-\re« rerereren.r* re** ■£**.: *.T* X **.* Jl _ JT * •( /* • lerocious
1 the hole
-- ----- , «— Ill |jauis, aiiu. u j iiu iuciiiis s liy ; thefr
p rincipal food appears to be smaH reptiles, g ru b s and caterpillars. As I said before, it
destroys snakes. I never b u t once saw th em a t th is g am e : a pair o f Jackasses h ad disabled
a carpet-snake u n d e r an old gum-tree, aud th ey sat on a dead branch above it, every now
and th en d a rtin g down and pecking it, and b y th e ft antics and ch a tte rin g seemed to consider
i t a capital joke. I can’t say wh e th e r th ey a te th e snake—I fancy n o t; a t lea st the
only rep tile s I ever found in th e ir stomachs have been small lizards. The first sig h t th at
stru c k me on lan d in g in London was a poor old Lau g h in g Jackass moped u p in a ° a g e , in
Ratcliffe H ig hw ay : I neve r saw a more miserable, ivoe-begone o b jec t; I qu ite pitied my
poor old friend, as he sa t dejected on his p erch : and th e th o u g h t stru ck me a t the time th a t
Ave Avere p robably n e ith e r o f u s benefited in changing the quiet freedom o f th e b ush for the
noise and b ustle o f th e modern Babylon.”
5Ir. E . P . Ramsay kin d ly sends me a note to the effect th a t the average dimensions of
th e eggs o f Dacelo gigas are 1‘65 inches b y 1-4 in breadth.
5 ir. Keulemans has been most happy in catching th e a ttitu d e o f the b ftd in th e plate
o f th e p resen t species, th e figure being draAvn from a living specimen in the Zoological
Gardens. B o th races are Hlustrated in th e plate, th e ne a re r figure b eing tak en from a
Queensland specimen, while th e o th er is draAra from a b ird procured b y my friend J lr . J .
F . R u tte r, n e a r Melbourne, and presented to me b y tb a t gentleman.