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
The Australian Bird Guide thought that the Australian Bird Guide edged out "The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, 9th edition" by Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight, edited by Sarah Pizzey (2012). The review thought the index of the Guide was not as good as the Pizzey and Knight guide. The reviewer preferred the Guide because of the “currency of information, denseness of text, and quality and quantity of illustrations. They also state that because of the difference in emphasis of the different guides there are many reasons to own more than one of the guides. This review looked at the following guides