THE TRUE CUCKOOS. . 23 



Spotted Cuckoo feeds entirely upon insects. It is parasitic 

 upon various species of Magpies and Crows, sometimes even 

 placing its egg in the nest of a Raven. Magpies, however, and 

 occasionally the Blue-winged Magpie {Cyanopolius cyanus) are 

 its most frequent victims, and Mr. Saunders says that he has 

 found four Cuckoo's eggs deposited in a Magpie's nest along 

 with six of the rightful owner's. Lord Lilford, who has given 

 an excellent account of the habits of the present species, says 

 that the greatest number of Cuckoo's eggs found by him in one 

 next was eight, with five of a Magpie. "In almost every case in 

 which we found eggs of both species together, the Cuckoo's 

 eggs were more advanced towards hatching than those of the 

 rightful proprietor of the nest." The voice of the male bird is 

 said by Mr. Saunders to be a harsh " kark-kark,'' and that of 

 the female to be like the words " biirroo-burroo " rapidly re- 

 peated. 



Nest. — None; the bird being parasitic, as described above. 



Eggs. — Although bearing some resemblance to those of the 

 Magpie, the eggs of the Great Spotted Cuckoo can be told by 

 their elliptical shape, and by the smoother texture of their shell. 

 The ground-colour is pale greenish-blue, with spots of brown, 

 and underlying purplish-grey spots ; in some cases the spots are 

 evenly distributed over the egg, while in others they are col- 

 lected round the larger end, imitating the Magpie's egg in the 

 frequent possession of a zone. The eggs of the Great Spotted 

 Cuckoo vary considerably in size, as will be seen by the measure- 

 ments. Axis, I-25-I-4 inch; diam., o-95-i-o5. 



THE TRUE CUCKOOS. GENUS CUCULUS. 



Ciiciilus^ Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. i68 (1763). 



Type, C. canorus (L.). 



The True Cuckoos have no crest, and are distinguished fur- 

 ther by their rounded nostril, which is surrounded by a swollen 

 membrane. The wings and tail are long, and the latter is fan- 

 shaped. 



They are found in nearly every country of the Old World, 

 some of them, like our Common Cuckoo, inhabiting the tem- 

 perate regions of the north during summer, and migrating 



