channel-billed

“The channel-billed cuckoo shrieks her discordant warning of the approaching wet season; and the scrub fowl utters those far-off imitations of the exclamation of civilised hens.”

The Confessions of a Beachcomber

“During the cool months it seldom breaks the silence; when the leaves of the purple-fruited terminalias begin to redden and fall, when the native nutmegs are soft, furry and brown, and before the calophyllums blossom, the pheasants, responding to the universal thrill, assume their status as the loudest (save the harsh-voiced channel-billed cuckoos) and most persistent singers of the forest Perhaps the term “singer,” applied to sweet-voiced birds generally, should not be associated with one of such original and powerful style.”

Last Leaves from Dunk Island

“on behalf of the koels and channel-billed cuckoos.”

to outline or not to outline