236 CUCKOO. Class 11. 



neck are of a pale grey j the bread and belly white, 

 crofled elegantly with undulated lines of black. 

 The vent feathers of a buff color, marked with a 

 few dufky fpots. The wings are very long, reach- 

 ing within an inch and a half of the end of the 

 tail; the firft quil feather is three inches fhorter 

 than the others ; they are dufky, and their inner 

 webs are barred with large oval white fpots. 

 The tail confifts of ten feathers of unequal lengths 

 like thofe of the butcher bird : the two middle are 

 black tipt with white -, the others are marked with 

 white fpots on each fide their fhafts. The legs are 

 fhort ; and the toes difpofed two backwards and 

 two forwards like the woodpecker, though it is 

 never obferved to run up the fides of trees. The 

 female differs in fome refpedls. The neck before 

 and behind is of a brownifh red : the tail barred 

 with the fame color and black, and fpotted on each 

 fide the fhaft with white. The young birds are 

 brown mixed with ferruginous and black, and in 

 that (late have been defcribed by fome authors as 

 old ones. 



Weak 



