Laughing kookaburra there. He probably obtained a preserved specimen from one of the naturalists who accompanied Captain James Cook to the east coast of Australia. Edme-Louis Daubenton and François-Nicolas Martinet included a coloured plate of the laughing kookaburra based on Sonnerat's specimen in their "Planches enluminées d'histoire naturelle". The plate has the legend in French ""Martin-pecheur, de la Nouvelle Guinée"" (Kingfisher from New Guinea). In 1783, the French naturalist Johann Hermann provided a formal description of the species based the coloured plate by Daubenton and Martinet. He gave it the scientific name "Alcedo novæ Guineæ". The current genus "Dacelo" was introduced in
Kookaburra (aircraft) Kookaburra (aircraft) Kookaburra was a Westland Widgeon light aircraft registered G-AUKA. When Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the Southern Cross disappeared during the "Coffee Royal" incident in 1929, pilot Keith Anderson and mechanic Bob Hitchcock flew in "Kookaburra" to search for the men. "Kookaburra" departed Richmond, New South Wales on 10 April and headed for the north of Western Australia via Broken Hill, Maree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs. "Kookaburra" was forced to land in the Tanami desert when the push rod on a valve on number two cylinder loosened, causing a loss of power. Hitchcock adjusted the