98 



Dllll) GALLEKY. 



Order XXVII. CUCULIFORMES. Cltckoo-tribh. 



Tlif Ijirds coniprising- this order furin a fairly well-marked group, and 

 are divided into two families, tlie Ciiciiliihe or Cuekoos, and the Almo- 

 lihuij'uhe or Turacos. la the former the foot is of the true zygodactylous 

 type, with tlie first and fourtli toes turned backwards and the second 

 and tliird forwards; Init in the Turacos tlie fourth toe is less completely 

 reversed, and we find what is known as a semi-zygodactylous type, 

 similar to that seen in the Madagascar Hollers. 



Family 1. Cucuhd.e. Cuckoos. (Plate XXII. fig. 1.) 



[( ';isi- (54 ^ '^\\Q CucuUihe are a cosmopolitan family, feeding on insects and 

 fruits, and specially interesting on account of the peculiar parasitic 

 habits of many of the species, which impose the burden of hatching 

 their eggs and rearing their young on other birds. One or more eggs 

 are placed iu the nest of some suitable foster-mother, whose owu young 

 are subsequently ejected by the youug Cuckoo. Many Cuckoos, 

 however, are not parasitic, but build their own uests and rear their 

 young in the ordinary manner. 



Six subfamilies are recognised ; the first including the true Cuckoos 

 {Ciicii/iiuc), hawk-like birds, of which our common Cuckoo {Cuculus 

 caiwrit.s) (1385) [PI. XXII. fig. 1], from whose note the family derives 

 its name, is the type. It is a summer visitor to Great Britain, Eurojje, 

 and Asia, migrating southwards iu winter as far as Australia and 

 South Africa. The female deposits her egg on the ground, and conveys 

 it in her bill to the nest of the foster-parent, the latter being generally 

 some insectivorous bird such as a Pipit, Wagtail, or Warbler, etc. The 

 eggs laid by different individuals differ greatly iu colour, and often 

 resemble those of the host ; the most remarkable type of egg is blue, 

 and generally found in nests of the Redstart, when it is only to be 

 distinguished l)y its greater size. The large Hawk-Cuckoo [Hierocuccyx 

 sparverioides) (1384) of the Himalaya and Eastern Asia closely resembles 

 in appearance and flight a species of Sparrow-Hawk [Accipiter vin/attis) 

 found in the same countries. This resemblance is quite unexplained ; 

 but, as it is sufficient to cause great alarm to small birds in general, is 

 possibly connected with the breeding habits. Another well-known 

 member is the so-called " Brain-fever- Bird" {Cuccomaiitis meruliiKoi) 

 (1386). 



A well-known European and African species is the Great Spotted 

 Cuckoo [Cuccystes pamdarius) (1382), a rare straggler to Great Britain. 

 The host selected by this bird is usually a Magpie or Crow, and from 

 four to eight eggs have been iouud in one nest. The Drougo-Cuckoos 

 [Sunuculus) (1383) are small black species closely resembling the 



