CUCULID.E. 



343 



SUB-FAMILY IV. 

 Crotophagix.e.* The Anls or Tick-eaters. 



Gen. Charac. — Bill more or less lengthened, with tbe euhnen arched, and the 

 sides much compressed ; the nostrils basal, lateral, and pierced in the sub- 

 stance of the bill ; the wings short and rounded ; the tail lengthened, broad, 

 and graduated ; the tarsi long, and covered with broad transverse scales ; 

 the toes long, placed two and two, and the two outer ones the longest ; the 

 claws short and curted. 





Fig. 140. — THE GREATER TICK-EATEE. 



{Crotophaga major.) 



These birds inhabit the islands of the West Indies 

 and the tropical parts of South America, preferring 

 places under cultivation, and more especially land in 

 the neighbourhood of clear pastures or low shrub- 

 beries and swamps. They easily make their way 

 among the thickest foliage or grass by means of 

 their sharp-edged bills, with which they scatter the 



* K'pwTujr, croton, a tick (parasite) ; (pc'tyoj, phago, to eat. 



