He always begins his queer cry about an hour before sunrise.
Then he is heard again just at noon, and again at sunset. So he has
another name. He is called the "Bushman's clock."
In Australia there are great tracts of land where few white people
live. These tracts of land are called "The Bush;" and the settlers on
these lands are called Bushmen.
[Illustration: LAUGHING JACKASSES.]
The laughing jackass is a very sociable bird. He likes to watch the
Bushman at his work. He watches him as he pitches his tent, and builds
his fire and cooks his supper. He is a kingfisher.
Kingfishers generally live near the water. But this great brown fisher
lives in the woods. He eats crabs and insects. He relishes lizards
very much, and there are plenty of lizards in Australia.
[Illustration: HE LISTENS TO THE CRY OF THE LAUGHING JACKASS.]
He hates snakes. A great many snakes are found in Australia, and many
of them are very poisonous.
The laughing jackass is not a bit afraid of them. He kills them with
his long, sharp bill.
When he is angry he raises the crest on his head.
His color is a fine chestnut brown mixed with white. His wings are
slightly blue.
The mother-bird lays her eggs in a hole in a gum-tree. She does not
build a nest. She lays her eggs on the rotten wood at the bottom of
the hole. Her eggs are a lovely pearl white.
Here is one of the black men who live in Australia. He is listening to
the cry of the laughing jackass.