EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 175 



The bird, as is well known, builds no nest of its own, but is 

 parasitic on other species. Space does not permit me to give any 

 full account of the curious habits of the species, but the figures 

 in the plate give some idea of the small size and the varied 

 colourings of the eggs of the Cuckoo. A list of 120 species in 

 which Cuckoo's eggs have been found is published by Mr. Bidwell 

 in the "Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club " for March, 

 1896, and among the many curious facts related by Dr. Key, who 

 has devoted much attention to the study of the Cuckoo, is the 

 resemblance which is seen in some of the eggs of the species to 

 those of the foster-parent. Thus it happens that blue Cuckoo's 

 eggs are found in nests of the Bed start, and some of those 

 deposited in nests of species like the Sedge Warbler and the Water 

 Wagtail are almost exact copies of the foster-parent's eggs, but 

 are, of course, slightly larger. 



THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 

 (Coccyzus americanus.) 



Plate 49, Fig. 8. 



The claim of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo to be included in this 

 work is supported by the record of four British-killed examples. It 

 has a very extensive range on the American continent, breeding as 

 far north as New Brunswick and Minnesota, and as far south as 

 Texas, as well as in some of the West Indian Islands. 



The nest is generally placed in trees and large bushes, often in 

 a fruit-tree, or in a cedar, a crab, or a thorn. It is very carelessly 

 put together, and composed of small sticks loosely mixed with 

 grass, and is almost as slight and flat as the nest of a Pigeon. 



The eggs are from three to five in number, of an uniform bluish- 

 green, and measure from 14 to 11 inch in length, and from 098 

 to 0"83 inch in breadth. The shell is somewhat rough in texture, 

 and possesses little or no gloss. The colour fades rapidly, even 

 in a cabinet. 



THE BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. 



(Coccyzus erythrophthalmus.) 

 Plate 49, Fig. 6. 



An example of this species was shot by Dr. Bea at Killead, 

 ten miles from Belfast, near the end of September, 1871. It 



