482 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Coccygus minor, Cabanis. 



MANGROVE CUCKOO. 



f Ciiculiis minor, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 1, 178S, 411. Woccyzus miiior, Cabakis, Cab. 

 Journal fiir Orn. 1856, 104 (Culm). — Baird, Birds N. Am. 18.58, 78. — Cuculus 

 seniculus. Lath. Iiid. I, 1790, 219. Coccyzus senkuliis, Nuttai.l, Man. I, 1832, 558. 

 — AlTD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 390, pi. clxix. — Ib. Birds America, IV, 1842, 303, pi. 

 cclxxvii. — GossE, Birds Jamaica, 281. — BoN. Conspectus, 1850, III. Enjlhrophrys 

 senkuliis, BoN. List, 1838. Coccygus chmmicus, ScL. Cat. 1862, 323. 



Sp. Ciiah. Lower mandible yellow, except at the tip. Body above olivaceous, strongly 

 tinged with ashy towards and on the head. Beneath pale yellowish-brown, darkest on 

 the legs and abdomen, becoming lighter to the bill. An elongated spot of dark plumbeous 

 behind the eye. Inner edges of the quills and under wing-coverts like the belly. Tail- 

 feathers, except the central, black, with a sharply defined tip of white for about an inch, 

 this color not extending along the outer web of the quill. Length about 12.00 ; wing 

 about .5.2.5. 



Had. Florida Keys to West Indies. Localities: ? Sta. Cruz (Newton, Ibis, I, 150); 

 Cuba (Cab. J. IV, 154 ; Gindl. Repert. I, 1866, 295) ; Jamaica (Gosse, B. Jam. 281). 



Thi.s .species is readily distinguishable by its fulvous under parts, dark ear- 

 coverts, and lack of rufous on inner webs of quills. It has the yellow liill 

 and dark tail, with broad white tips, of C. amcricanus, although the white 

 does not extend along the outer web of tlie feathers. 



According to Mr. Audubon, this species is a regular summer visitor to 

 Key West and the other Florida keys. 



This sj^ecies is more especially West Indian, occurring in nearly all tjie 

 islands. There are some local variations in color (Porto-Rican being much 

 redder, Bahanian paler), as well as in size, but in a large series from the same 

 island there will be found such differences as to warrant us in considering 

 all as one species. In a very large series before us, we cannot see any 

 tangible difference, although Calianis and Sclater recognize a C. ncsiotcs from 

 the Autillean "West Indies, as distinguished from C. senicidus from South 

 American aud the windward West Indies ; the former, smaller and paler, 

 and, according to Cabanis, with the white of tip of tail confined to the inner 

 web ; the latter darker beneath, and larger. These characters I do not find 

 substantiated, nor have I seen one specimen without white in both webs at 

 the ends of the tail-feathers. 



As the name of C. minor is the earliest one for at least the South Ameri- 

 can race, we retain it in preference to senicidus, as although scarcely minor 

 in this genus, it is so compared with Piaya, Geococeyx, and Saurothera. 



Habits. This species claims a place in the fauna of Xorth America as a 

 resident of the Florida keys. This is the only locality positively known as 

 its habitat within the limits of tlie territory of the United States. The 

 only specimen referred to in the ninth volume of the Pacific liailroad Sur- 

 veys was supposed to have been olitained in Florida. Mr. Nuttall, who 



