CUCULID.E — THE CUCKOOS. 



477 



B> Tail-feathers all grayish-brown, with narrow terminal, obscnre spots of 



white. 



c. Lower niandihle lilaekish like the upper (pale lihie in life?). 



C. erythrophthalmus. No rufous on primaries, except in J'oung (which 

 liiive h\iu:k i^ill, brown tail-feathers, etc.). Beneath continuous white, 

 with a faint ashy-buff shade across the jugulum ; above grayish-brown. 

 Bare eyelids bright red in the adult. Length, 11.30; wing, 5.12 ; tail, 

 6.24 ; tarsus, .90 ; culmen, 1.00. Eab. Eastern Province of the United 

 States, south through eastern Middle America to Bogota. 



Coccygus americanvis, Bon.\p. 



YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 



Ctcculus americamis, LiNX. Syst. Nat. \, 1766, 170, 10. Coccyzus americanus, BoN. Obs. 

 Wilson, 1S25, No. 47. — Ib. Conspectus, 1S50, IV. — AuD. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 18, 

 V ; 520, pi. ii. — Ib. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 293, pi. cclxxv. — B.A.iiii), Birds N. Am. 

 1858, 76. — ScL. Cat. 1862, 322. — Cooper, Pr. Cal. Ac. 1868 (Sacramento, Cal.) — 

 Samuels, 83. — Coopek, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 371. Erythrophrys americaniis, Sw. Birds 

 II, 1837. — BoN. List, 1838. Cureus aincricamis, Bon. List, Eur. Birds, 1842. 

 ? Ciwulus dominiccnsis, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 170, 13. ? Cuculus dominicus, 

 Latham, Syst. I, 1790, 221 (considered distinct by Bonapakte). Coccygus dominicus, 

 Baip.d, pi. Cuculus carolinenttis (Bkisson), Wilson, Am. Oni. IV, 1811, 13, pi. 

 xxviii. Cuculus cincrosus, Temminc^k, Man. IV, 183,5, 277. Coccyzus pyrrhopterus, 

 ViElLL. Diet. Coccyytis hairdi, Sclateh, P. Z. S. March, 1864, 120 (.Jamaica ; no 

 rufous externally on wing). ? Coccygus julicni, Lawu. Ann. N. Y. Lye. VIII, June, 

 1864, 42, 99 (Sombrero Island ; no rufous on wing). 



Sp. Char. Upper mandible and tip of lower, black ; rest of lower mandible and 

 cutting edges of the upper, yellow. _ 



Upper parts of a metallic greenish- 

 olive, slightly tinged with ash towards 

 the bill; beneath white. Tail-feathers 

 (except the median, which are like 

 the back) black, tipped with white 

 for about an inch on the outer feathers, 

 the external one with the outer edge 

 almost entirely white. Quills orange- 

 cinnamon ; the terminal portion and 

 a gloss on the outer webs olive ; iris 

 brown. Length, 12.00 ; wing, 5.95 ; 

 tail, 6.35. 



Hab. Eastern ITnited States to the 

 Missouri plains. California and Ne- 

 vada (RinowAv) ; Mazatlan; Jamaica; 

 Porto Rico. Localities : ? Sta. Cruz (Newton, Ibis, I, 149, eggs !) ; Cuba (Cab. J. IV, 

 154; GtJNDL. Rep. I, 1866, 295); .Tamaica (Gosse, B. Jam. 279?) Costa Rica (Cab. 

 J. 1862. 167) ; Lower Rio Grande (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 466, breeds). 



There is considerable variation in tlie amount of rufous in tlie quills ; 

 soinetiines this shows very distinctly e.Kternally, sometimes it is entirely 

 replaced liy the Lronzed olive of the back. A greater auionnt of tlie rufous 



Coccygus americanus. 



