206 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This Cuckoo very 

 closely resembles the Black-billed in size and 

 plumage, but there are slight differences in 

 coloring that render the identification compar- 

 atively easy. The wing feathers are tinged with 

 rufous, the black tail feathers are heavily tipped 

 with white, and the under mandible is yellow. 

 Otherwise the coloring is the same. It seems 

 that their range differs somewhat, for in Maine, 

 where the Black-billed is a common bird, the 

 Yellow-billed is rare, except in the southwestern 

 portion. Its notes are harsher and more varied. 

 Its feeding and nesting habits are very similar, 

 and its domestic affairs in general are as badly 

 managed. Farmers are coming to more fully 

 recognize the value of these birds, for a pair will 

 destroy all the caterpillars in a goodly area in 

 the orchard, and they also eat beetles, moths, 

 grasshoppers and crickets. Sometimes luscious 

 blackberries and raspberries seem too attractive 

 for them to resist, but the harm they do to fruit 

 and berries is slight. 



Mourning Dove. Of this numerous family 

 the Mourning Dove is the only one now resident 

 in the Northern States, if we except the Domes- 

 tic Pigeons. Formerly the Wild Pigeon was so 

 numerous that when migrating the flocks were 

 said to *Marken the sun." And when alighting 

 in the forest, their combined weight was suffi- 

 cient to break down great trees. They were 

 trapped and shot by hundreds and thousands, 

 sold for a trifle, and in many cases, where there 

 was no market close at hand, were fed to the 

 pigs. This ruthless destruction went on until, 



