JUNE 15, 1963 Registered at the General Post OfficeOffice, Sydney for transmission by post as a periodical VOL. XIV, No. 6 PRICE, THREE SHILLINGS CONTENTS Page CuCKOOS-H . 1. de S. Disney 169 K ANGAROOS AND W ALLAHI ES I ABORIGINAL LI FE A D ART- frederick D. McCarthy 174 Til E COMMO FRES IIWATER LEECII 179 F OSSI L M ARSUPIALS AND DRIF TI NG SA DS-R . A . Stir/on 180 CARN IVOROUS SECTS-C. N. Smithers 185 TRI LOBITES 187 COPPER M I N I N G AT CoBAR-£. 0. R ayner 188 1 ELLY·FI S II S n GS-£. C. Pope 193 SPONGES, T il E FIRST R EPUBLICA s-1. R . Simons 194 N OTES AND NEWS 197 B AT BANDING-P . D. Dwyer 198 (Photography. unless otherwise stated, is by 1-foward Hughes. ) • FRONT COVER: Head of the caterpillar of the Tailed Emperor B utterfly (Eriboea pyrrlws sempronius). The "horns" do not appear to have any special function. The head is black in young caterpillars of this species and green in old ones. A full-length photo of this spectacular caterpillar is on page 192. VoL. XIV, N o. 6 Junel5.1963 AUS IAN NATUR !STORY Published Quarterly by the Australian Museum College Street, Sydney Editor : J. W. Evans, Sc.D. Annual Subscription, Posted , 14/ - VoL. X IV. No. 6 JU E 15. 1963 --- CUCKOOS 8y H. J. de S. DISNEY T H E Order C uculiformes contains two Neomorphinae, Roadrunner and Ground ta mifles, Musophagidae or Planta in- Cuckoos. These incl ude the famous Cali- eater confined to Africa, and the Cuculidae fornian R oadrunner, (Geococcyx ca/ifor­ or Cuckoos with a world-wide di stribution. nianus), which a lthough it usually runs, can ' The Cuculidae are zygodactylou birds, in fly and makes its ne t in a low tree. which the outer toe i reversible to the back. Couinae. Thi subfamily is clo e to the They have been divi ded into six subfa milies. Phaenicophaeinae. but is confined to the the Cuculinae, Phaenicophaeinae, Crotopha- island of Madaga car. ginae. Ncomorphinae, Couinae, and Ccntro- podinae. Although members of some of the Ccntropodinae. These are tropical birds subfamilies a re found in both the Old and found from Africa through south-east Asia ew World s, there arc no genera common to Australia. to both. Fourteen Species 1 n Australia Cuculinae are the true or parasitic cuckoo . which a re not fo und in the New In Australia we have fourteen species of World. cuckoos: thirteen of these belong to the parasitic Cuculinae. The remaining species, P hacnicophaeinae are found in America the Phea ant Coucal (Cemropus phasianus) and South-east Asia. with one specie in belongs to the Centropodinae. one of our Africa. They differ from the Cucul inac by species actuall y make the cuckoo call li ke making their own nests. which are u ually the E uropean Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) flimsy structures made of twig . but the Koel (Eudynamis orientalis) has a Crotophaginae or Anis and G uira are a disti ntive "coo-cc" call and is sometime small American group whi ch bui ld large called the Coo-ce Bird. untidy tick nests. l n the case of the Ani Cuckoos are mainly tropical and nearly (Crotophaga ani) several fema les lay their all a rc migrato ry, although ome of the eggs together in the one nest. Australia n species do not appear to move June, 1963 Page 169 The Channel-b illed Cucl..oo. the largest pa rasitic cuckoo, i a migrant to Australia from the Malayan Archipelago. ( Length, 2-1 in.). very long distances. The C ha nnel-billed in its own genus, but Dr. D . L. Serventy Cuckoo (Scythrops novae-hollandiae) win- and H . M. Whittell (" Bird of Western ter in the Malayan Archipelago. returning Austra li a." 3rd edition, 1962) consider they to breed in Austra lia in the summer months. a ll belong to the genus Chrysococcyx. This i The Pallid Cuckoo (Cuculus pallidus) comes the same genus as the Bro nn or Didric south in August from the north to breed. Cuckoo (C. caprius) a nd Klaa ' Cuckoo The Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus ) (C. Klaas) in Africa . on the other hand, is only a visitor in summe r from the northern hemi phere Insectivorous Birds Para itized winter. where it occurs as fa r north as ln Au tralia the birds parasitized a re a ll Siberi a. T he European C uckoo migra te to in ectivorous: this may be because there South Africa, while the Madagascar Lesser are relatively few seed-eating birds in Au - Cuckoo (Cuculus polioceplralus) migrates tralia. It has been tated that, a cuckoos northwa rds to the African mainla nd after a re insectivo rous, if their eggs were laid in breeding. The Sh ining Bron7c Cuckoo nests of ced-eating birds the young would (Chrysococcyx lucid us). which breed in die. This. however. is not true for the Bronze New Zeala nd. ha been recorded occa ion- Cuckoos. The Shining Cuckoo of New ally in eastern Au tralia, but it winter Zealand, although it genera lly lays its eggs qua rters arc the Solomon rsla nds, a distance in nests of the Grey Warbler (Cerygone of about 2.000 miles of ocean. and onl y on ieata). has been recorded using the nests of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands have a few the introduced eed-eaters, the H ouse stracmlers been found. lt is not known how Sparrow (Passer domesticus) a nd the Chaf- the Shining Cuckoo does thi ama7ing ocean finch ( Frigil/a caelebs) . The Bronze or journey or by what route. Didric Cuckoo and Klaas' Cuckoo of Africa The Austra lian Bronte Cnckoos were previ- regula rly use the nests of weaver birds and ously placed in the genus Clralcites, with the other seed-eating birds. besides insect-eating Black-cared Cuckoo (Misocalius osculans) birds. Weavers either feed their young Pa((e 170 A u~tra/ia n arural History entirely on insect , although they themsclvc All the para tttc cuckoos how definite a rc feeding on seed. o r they feed their young preferences for particular species of birds for the fi rst five day on insects, as in the and types of nests to deposit their eggs. The case of the Sudan Dioch (Que/ea que/ea), Pa llid Cuckoo arrives in spring and lays its and gradua lly wean the young onto green eggs in cup-shaped nests, usually honey- gra s seeds. When in Northern Rhode ia in eaters'. The eggs closely resemble tho e of 1956 with Mr. C. W. Benson and Dr. D. L. the honeyeater in colour, being a pale fl esh Serventy I hot a young female Didric colour. marked wi th a few reddi h pots. Cuckoo. which had recently left the ne t. The Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis pyrro­ On examination. the tomach was found to phanus) eem to prefer domed ne t a nd be filled with !!ra s ceds and a few hard in particular in the Sydney di tict the Rock pa rts of bee tles~ T here were several weavers Warbler's (Origma so/it aria). The Brush or in the a rea. but none were seen attending the Square-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis variola­ young bird. An adult Didric was een sus), although very similar in appearance to nearby. Benson a nd Serventy reported this the Fan-tailed Cuckoo and belonging to the occurrence in " The Ibis," Vol. 99 p. 343. same genu , prefer to Jay in open ne ts, I 956. It i known that, unlike other para- usually fl ycatchers'. such as the Rufou sitic cuckoos. the Bronze C uckoos. both of Fantail ( Rhiphidura rufifrons), and the Africa a nd New Zealand, may feed thei r Scarlet Robin (Petroica multicolor) . All the own young after they have left their fo ter species of Bron7e C uckoos (Chrysococcyx). parents. I think the most likely explanation both in Australia a nd Africa, prefer to use of the emergence of thi habit is, as suggested as hosts sma ll birds which build domed independently by both Dr. A. J. Ma rshal! nests-in Austra lia usually nests of warblers and Mr. R . E. Moreau and tated in the and thornbills and in Africa weaver ne t . above report, that respon e to a young such as the Sudan Dioch , and T have cuckoo is vestigial in the adults of the several times seen them round the large Bronze Cuckoo and that it may have colonies of the latter birds. survival value where the young ha been The Koel i unique among cuckoo for receivi ng seed. the very great difference in colour of the The male Kocl or Coo-ee Bird. which has glossy, blue-black plumage. (Length. 18 io.). June. 1963 Page 17 1 plumage of the male and female. T he male is glossy blue-black, while the fema le has the upper parts and tail brown barred with New Subscription whi te. The crown is black and the under pa rts are buffy-wh ite barred with brown. Arrangements T hi is a la rge cuckoo, much larger than the previous species, being about 18 in. A s from July 1, 1963, payments by long, including the tail. This cuckoo usually post for subscriptions to "Australian places its eggs in the nests of orioles a nd the Natural History" should be addressed larger honeyeaters, like the Friar Bi rds to the Government Printer, Harris (Philemon spp.) Street, Ultimo, Sydney, who prints this maga~ine , instead of to the Australian Largest Parasitic Cuckoo Museum.