CUCrLID.E — THK CUCKOOS. 483 



was tlie first tci iiicliulc the ^laugrove Cuckoo amon,i;- 'N'ortli Amei'luaii birds, 

 speaks of it as an iiilialiitant chiefly of Cayenne, and as occasionally visit- 

 ing the extreme Southern States. Mr. Audubon, who was tiie first to meet 

 with the species within the limits of the United States, ojily obtained speci- 

 mens of it iu Florida, near Key West. I have seen a specimen which was 

 given to Mr. John G. Bell as having been procured in Southern Mississippi. 

 Mr. Gosse obtained specimens of this bird in Jamaica, though he had no 

 opportunity of observing its domestic economy. In the month of January 

 the specimens he dissected had eggs in their ovaries as large as duck- 

 shot. Dr. Gundlach gives it as a Cuban bird, but does not mention it as 

 one that breeds on that island. The Newtons met with this species in St. 

 Croix, but ajipear to have regarded it as not a summer resident, but only in 

 the light of a visitant in the winter. 



Mr. March, referring without doulit tn this species, mentions it as a con- 

 stant resident in the island of Jamaica, whei'e it is common in the lowlands 

 during summer. It is said to breed from jMarch to July, building in the 

 low branches of trees or in shrubs. The nest is described as a structure 

 composed of a few dry sticks, so loosely put together that it falls to pieces 

 on any attempt to remove it. Three, rarely four, eggs are laid, which are 

 of a glaucous-green color, oval, generally round at both ends, and varying 

 iu size from 1.25 inches by .90 to 1.38 inches by 1 inch. 



Of late years no specimens seem to have been obtained in Florida, either 

 by Maynard or by the many other explorers of the Peninsula ; and even 

 if the earlier notices are correct, we may have to consider it as merely a 

 straggler from the Bahamas, like Ceiihiola hahamriisin, CrotojiJutf/u ani, Pho- 

 nipara zcna, Virrosi/h'ia harhatuhi, etc. 



j\Ir. Audul>on, who was the only one of our naturalists who met with 

 the nest and eggs, discovered them near Key West. He describes the nest 

 as slightly constructed of dry twigs, and as almost flat, nearly resembling 

 that of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The eggs are the same in number and 

 form as those of that species, but are somewhat larger. It is said to raise 

 two broods in one season, and to feed its young on insects until they are 

 able to provide for themselves. An old bird, caught on its nest, which Mr. 

 Audubon saw confined in a cage, refused all food and soon pined itself to 

 death, — thus evincing, in his opinion, the great affection these birds have for 

 their own engs. An ey" in the Smithsonian Institution collection, given me 

 by Mr. John G. Bell of New York, is said to have been olitained in Mis- 

 sis.sippi with the parent bird. Its color has slightly faded, and, except in 

 its greater comparative breadth, it is not distinguishable from the eggs of 

 the Yellow-bill. 



