"old beaten copy of the Reader's Digest book"
Old? Nah! First edition, 1976; that's not old. But Caley ("What bird is
that?") 1931 and Dr Leach, "An Australian bird Book". first published in
1911 also give the accolade to the Pallid Cuckoo.
On the other hand, my 'old' (and long-departed) friend Alec Chisholm, as
Editor-in-Chief of the Angus & Robertson "Australian Encyclopaedia" (1957 or
there-abouts) hedges his bets. Volume 2, page 99:
"BRAINFEVER-BIRD, a name sometimes used, in various countries, for
various species of cuckoos which are much given in the breeding season to
uttering monotonous calls at night."
"Various countries"? So try the Landsborough Thompson "A New Dictionary of
Birds" (1964) at page 106:
"BRAIN-FEVER BIRD: Name Applied to the Hawk Cuckoo Cuculus varius of
India, both representing the sound made ("brain fever, brain fever") and
suggesting the wearisome effect of its loud and constant reiteration;
sometimes misapplied to other species, for the second of these reasons (see
CUCKOO).
I did "see CUCKOO", but it did not add anything, (page 170): "The Cuckoo C.
canorus breeds almost throughout the Palaearctic region ... Its congeners
include ... the Hawk Cuckoo C. varius Known in India as the 'Brain-fever
bird' and closely resembling the Shikra Accipiter badius in plumage."
Sleep well.
Syd
> From: Peter Ewin <>
> Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:14:39 +1000
> To: <>, <>
> Cc: ? birding-aus <>
> Subject: RE: [Birding-Aus] koels
>
> I was always under the impression that the Brain-fever bird referred to the
> Pallid Cuckoo in Australia - that is certainly what my old beaten copy of the
> Reader's Digest book has.
> Cheers,
> Peter
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