136 



In regard to their parental duties, our birds show considerable more reali- 

 zation of responsibility than the European. They are slightly parasitic 

 in their habits, that is, they occasionally drop their eggs in the nests of 

 other birds and shelve upon them the cares of raising their young, but the 

 practice is not common. The old English word "Cuckold" refers to and 

 is based upon this habit of the European bird. This is not a common 

 practice with the American, as it is with the Old World species, and is 

 perhaps only accidental. 



Economic Status. Cuckoos are almost entirely insectivorous, but 

 occasionally take small amounts of wild fruit. Their great value lies in 

 the fact that they show special fondness for certain insects that other 

 species rarely touch. Hairy caterpillars which, on account of their bristly 

 coatings, are safe from most fastidious birds are regularly eaten by Cuckoos. 

 The interior of a Cuckoo's stomach will be found to be lined with a coating 

 of spiny caterpillar bristles set in the walls and projecting from them 

 like fur. 



387. Yellow- billed Cuckoo, fr. — le coucou a bec jaune. Coccyzus americanus. 

 L, 12-20. Plate XVII A. 



Distinctions. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo may be mistaken only for its relative the 

 Black-billed. The yellow on the biU, from which it gets its name, is the easiest means of 

 identification. Additional distinguishing marks are a broad area of suffused cinnamon on 

 the wings, that is conspicuous in flight, and considerably more white on the ends of the tail 

 feathers. 



Field Marks. The long flexible outline in flight and the general coloration make this 

 bird recognizable as a Cuckoo. The yellow lower mandible, cinnamon wing marks, and 

 the large amount of white on the tail fix the species. 



Nesting. Loose structm-e of sticks not far from ground. 



Distribution. This species is of rather more southern distribution than the next, 

 but the data seem to point to its increase in nmnbers and range within the past thirty 

 years. Its range just overlaps the southern borders of Ontario, Quebec, and New Bruns- 

 wick. 



SUBSPECIES. There are two races of this species recognized in Canada. The 

 Eastern Cuckoo, the typical form, extends west to the plains. 



388. Black-billed Cuckoo, fr. — le coucou a bec noire. Coccyzus erythrophthal- 

 mus. L, 11-85. Plate XVII A. 



Distinctions. Can be distinguished from the Yellow-biUed by its all-black biU, lack 

 of cinnamon on the wings, and the smaller amoimt of white tips on the tail. 



Field Marks. The above make the best field marks available for the species. The 

 characteristic Cuckoo flight and outline are easily recognized. 



Nesting. Loose structiu*e of sticks not far from ground. 



Distribution. A bird of wider and more northerly distribution than the yellow-'^illed 

 Cuckoo; irregularly in the more settled parts of the covmtry south of the gulf of St. Lawrence 

 and west to the Manitoba line. 



^^ 



SUBORDER— ALCYONES. KINGFISHERS. 



The Kingfishers form a well-marked group represented in nearly all 

 parts of the world. Though evidently adapted to catching fish some have 

 given up their ancestral habits and watery habitats to live in the woods 

 on insects and earthworms. However, all these departures from type are 

 extralimital and mostly tropical; the well known Laughing Jackass of 

 Australia is a large aberrant Kingfisher. The North American Kingfishers 

 are all included under one family, Alcedinidce. 



