204 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



Black-billed Cuckoo. To the Nature lover 

 certain times of the year are associated with 

 certain sounds, and he is not at all satisfied 

 if each hurrying season does not bring to his 

 yearning ear its characteristic voices. For me, 

 the welcome, though strident frog chorus and 

 the faith-inspiring strain of the Song Sparrow 

 are so intimately associated with the advent 

 of spring that I cannot fully realize that the 

 season of Nature's awakening has really come 

 until I have received the message from these 

 never failing heralds. The first scent of clover 

 always assures me that the Bobolinks are tink- 

 ling gaily over the broad grass fields at home, 

 for to me clover blossoms and Bobolink song 

 are closely associated. And with the coming of 

 the sultry days when summer seems to settle 

 down for her busy season, I listen intently for 

 the strange, mellow, elusive "^, k, koo^ koo, koo, 

 koo, koo, " the fascinating call of the Black-billed 

 Cuckoo. 



Something in the quality of these notes sug- 

 gests the makeup of the bird, both as to appear- 

 ance and character. As this call is uncertain 

 and unobtrusive, so the bird is shy and retiring, 

 with nothing of bustle or bluster about it. 

 Sometimes in August from the lawn I hear the 

 gentle '^ koo, koo,'' but am not at first able to 

 say whether the bird is in a near-by tree, or 

 a half mile away in the woods. On silent 

 wing he slips into the thick foliage, blending 

 so perfectly with his surroundings that he is 

 quite hidden. If there is a caterpillar's nest 

 in the tree, he is soon very busy with these 



