ORDER COCCYGES. 



CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, TROGONS, ETC. 

 Suborder CUCULI. Cuckoos, 



Family CUCULIDi^. Cuckoos, Anis, etc. 



The family Cuculidas contains about i8o species from different 

 parts of the world, and of these 9 (including subspecies) occur in 

 North America. They are rather solitary birds and are rarely found 

 away from trees. Unlike the European species, the American 

 Cuckoos build their own nests, although occasionally their eggs are 

 found in the nests of other birds. Its peculiar note suggests its name, 

 and is a familiar sound to those who wander in the woods and fields. 

 They are of great value to the agriculturist, as besides other insects 

 they destroy immense numbers of caterpillars, including the Canker 

 Worm, and the Tent Caterpillar, Clisiocanipa atnericana. 



Subfamily COCCYGINi^. American Cuckoos. 



Genus COCCYZUS Vieill. 



185. Coccyzus americanus (Linn.). 

 Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 



Distr.: Eastern North America, from the plains to the coast and 

 Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, breeding throughout its range. Occurs 

 in winter in West Indies and Central America. 



Adult: Under mandible, mostly yellow; upper mandible, dark; 

 upper parts, brownish gray, with a faint gloss of greenish; under 

 parts, dull white; greater portion of primaries, rufous brown, tipped 

 with grayish olive; outer tail feathers, black, tipped with white. 



Length, 11 to 12; wing, 5.60 to 6; tail, about 6; bill, about i. 



A common summer resident in' Illinois and Wisconsin. Arrives 

 from the south in May and remains until October. Apparently less 

 common in northern Wisconsin. 



The nest is a mat of twigs and small sticks, built in a bush or the 

 lower branches of a tree, rarely more than six or eight feet from the 



504 



