Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) a kookaburra.

1898		E.E. Morris Austral Eng. 216: The bird is generally called only a jackass, and this is becoming contracted into the simple abbreviation of Jack [AND].
1901		‘The Wayback Family’ in Sun. Times (Sydney) 13 Jan. 5/2: But the Waybacks wanted no rousing; true to their breeding, they were up with the laughing jack.
1916		Bulletin (Sydney) 20 Jan. 22/1: Can any Abo. brother truthfully say that he has seen a laughing Jack kill a venomous snake?
1922		A.D. Mickle Wee Dog 11: Never was a madder jollification than that of the jacks’ in the great gums [AND].
1936		Bulletin (Sydney) 1 July 21/4: Kookaburras would never go for the giant worms [...] We have [...] put them [...] not 19 ft. from a Jack; but he would not have them.
1949		B. O’Reilly Green Mountains 136: Mention of Australian birds should begin with the kookaburra. Jack is like the ‘digger’ – the gamest of his tribe [AND].
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 24: Far from being annoyed with me for leading them on this wild goose chase, Marjorie and Mr Boyd apologized for the jacky’s bad manners, and for the unneighbourly conduct of the platypus.