THE VKI.I.OW-mi.l.Kl) CUCKOO. 307 



plciisurc, as he had used his best exertions to second my views. Klaus, on seeiuf;- the 

 egg in the bird's gullet, told me, that after killing female cuckoos, he had frequently 

 observed a newly-broken egg lyiiig upon the ground near whore they had fallen, which 

 ho supjjosed they had dropped in their fall, being at that moment ready to lay. I 

 recollect very well that when this good Hottentot brought me the fruits of his sports, he 

 frequently remarked, as he pointed to the cuckoos, ' This one laid her egg as she fell 

 from the tree.' Although I was convinced from this circumstance, that the female 

 cuckoo deposits her egg in the nests of other birds, by conveying it in her beak, I was 

 desirous to collect what facts I could on the subject. Klaas and I therefore began to 

 shoot as many cuckoos as we coidd meet with, which accounts for the great number of 

 this species we procured. However, among all the specimens there occurred only one 

 instance sunilar to that which I just mentioned, namely, that of a second female, ^^•hich 

 ■was transporting her egg in her mouth like the former." 



In length the gilded cuckoo is about seven inches ; the plumage above is rich glossy 

 green with golden reflexions ; the head is marked with tine small stripes of white, with 

 which the secondary quills and many of the wdng coverts are tipped ; the under parts are 

 white ; the tarsi yellow. In the female, the golden green is changed for a reddish gold 

 colour, and the stripes on the head are more obscurely marked. Besides the present 

 species, Africa produces several others, S(jme of which are even more rich and intense in 

 the metallic hues of their plumage. 



THE XELLOW-BILI.EU CUCKOO.* 



Those of North America belong to the genus Cocc//ziis of Yicillot, and arc distinguished 

 by a greater length of tarsus. They seem to delight in more deep woody solitudes than 

 the true cuckoos, the latter being often found on hilly pastures and open heathy ground, 

 if fringed with wood. A stranger who visits the United States for the purpose of 

 examining their natural productions, and passes through the woods in May or June, will 

 sometimes hear, as he traverses the borders of the deep, retired, high-timbered hollows, 

 an micouth guttural sound. He will frequently hear this without being able to discover 

 the source froni which it comes, as the yellow-billed cuckoo is both shy and solitary, and 

 always seeks the thickest foliage for concealment. This bird is of a grayish-brown, with 

 bronze reflexions, beneath white, the inner vanes of the primaries reddish cinnamon 

 colour, the lower mandible white, and the length from the bill to the tail about twelve 

 inches. Considerable discussion has taken place among philologists regarding the native 

 languages of North America, remarkable, we arc led to imderstand, for their great 

 number and strilung dissimilarity. We know not what may be the intention of the 

 yellow-billed cuckoo in speaking as he does, or whether he is distinctly comprehended 

 by his neighbom-s ; but the following is Mr. Nuttall's account of the elements of his 

 conversation : — " The male frequently betrays his snug retreat by his monotonous and 

 guttural /,-oir, koir, koif, /wn; or koo, koo, /wo, koo, and ko kiik, ko kiik, koo, koo, 

 koo, kiik, koo, ko, koo, koo, ko, koo, uttered rather plaintively, like the call of a 

 dove. At other times the koic, kon; ko/r, kow, and the 'tk, 'tk, 'tk, 'tak, or 'kk, 'kk, 

 'kk, 'kk, 'kkk, kow, kox; kow, kow, beginning slow, rises, and becomes so qiuck as almost 

 to resemble the grating of a watchman's rattle, or else commencing with this call, 

 terminates in the distinct cry of kow, ko/r, kow." From this peculiar iteration the 

 species in question has received the name of kow bird, and we do not wonder at it. It 

 may be satisfactory to know, that the St. Domingo cuckoo (C. Domiiiwif.% Nut.), although 

 it sometimes cries both kow, kow, kow, kow, and 'kk, 'kh, 'kk, 'kk, 'kk, 'kuk, yet often 



* Coccvzuw .\mL'ricaiuis. — Hoiiap. 



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