THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 49 



one inch in size. It frequents the Gulf and Atlantic 

 coasts as far north as Connecticut and some remain here 

 all winter, although the vast majority go further south at 

 the approach of cold weather. Its cry is the same as 

 that of the common Crow, hut hoarser and more gutteral 

 and with a nasal twang. Although it obtains most of 

 its food along the seashore it is also frequently seen along 

 inland rivers, invariably resorting to woods for roosting 

 and nesting. Its food is confined to fish, shell-fish and 

 lizards, and garbage and offal found floating on the sur- 

 face of the water. 



€Va«r, Rain, See Cuckoo. 



Cuckoo. — Length, thirteen inches; extent, sixteen in- 

 ches; bill, three-fourths of an inch. There are two kinds 

 of Cuckoos, very nearly allied, the black-billed and 

 the yeUow-billed , the latter being the most numerous. 

 In the Yellow-billed Cuckoo the whole upper parts are of 

 a glossy drab, with greenish silk reflections; from this 

 must be excepted the inner webs of the wing feathers, 

 which are a bright reddish cinnamon; the two middle 

 tail feathers are like the back, the others black, 

 largely tipped with white ; the whole lower parts 

 are pure white; the legs and feet are light blue. The 

 general color of the Black-billed Cuckoo is nearly that of 

 the yellow-billed, but the tail feathers are all colored 

 like the back, the outer ones with very sliglit tips of 

 black and white ; the wings also want the bright cinna- 

 mon, while the bare eyelids are of a deep red color ; as 

 indicated by the name the lower mandible in one species 

 is yellow and in the other black. The upper mandible is 

 black in both. The females differ little in appearance 

 from the males. 



Unlike the European Cuckoo the American bird builds 

 its own nest, although it is not a very pretentious affair, 

 being composed of small sticks and grasses; that of the 



