BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



CUCKOOS seem to have less individuality than many 

 of our birds; they resemble several of them. 

 They are not unlike catbirds in their quiet, stealthy move- 

 ments; they are slender, gray-and-white, and long-tailed 

 like mockingbirds; they build nests somewhat like those 

 of mourning doves. 



They are shy, solitary birds, that are known by their 

 note rather than by sight. I never heard of any one but 

 Wordsworth and Wilson Flagg who loved cuckoos or called 

 them "darlings of the spring." The European cuckoo has, 

 however, a very different nature and a more joyous note. 



Burroughs is most amusing in his comments. He says: 

 "We cannot hail our black-billed as 'blithe newcomer,' as 

 Wordsworth does his cuckoo. 'Doleful newcomer,' would 

 be a fitter title. There is nothing cheery or animated in 

 his note, and he is about as much a 'wandering voice' as 

 is the European bird. He does not babble of sunshine 

 and of flowers. He is a prophet of the rain, and the 

 country people call him the rain crow. All his notes are 

 harsh and verge on the weird." ^ 



He is, however, worthy of consideration. He is of great 

 value to farmers and apple-growers because of his appe- 

 tite for caterpillars and grasshoppers. Professor Beal 

 wrote as follows: "The common observation that cuckoos 

 feed largely on caterpillars has been confirmed by stom- 

 ach examination. Furthermore, they appear to prefer 

 the hairy and spiny species, which are supposed to be pro- 

 tected from the attacks of birds. The extent to which 

 cuckoos eat hairy caterpillars is shown by the inner coat- 

 ings of the stomachs, which frequently are so pierced by 

 these hairs and spines that they are completely furred. 



1 From "Under the Maples," by John Burroughs, pages 87 & 88. 



[232] 



