30 Alton's naturat.trt'?^ i.ttrary. 



herself takes any interest in the future welfare of the egg she 

 has foisted on her victim, or of its product, there is no evi- 

 dence worth a moment's attention." It is certain that the 

 young Cuckoos are left to find their way south in the autumn 

 entirely by themselves, the old birds having left long before, 

 and in the British Museum are three birds shot by myself on 

 the same day within a quarter of a mile of the same spot, which 

 must have been migralinj; south in company. 



The food of the Cuckoo a]opears to consist entirely of in- 

 sects, and it is a true friend of the farmer and gardener, espe- 

 cially as it is believed to be the only kind which devours the 

 larvae of the Tiger-Moth — the "Woolly Bear," as it is generally 

 called. Most birds decline to eat this creature, but the 

 stomach of the Cuckoo has been found completely lined with 

 the hairs from off this caterpillar's body. 



Nest.- None; the bird being parasitic. 



Eggs. — Variable to an extraordinary degree, as described 

 above. 



THE AMERICAN CUCKOOS. GENUS COCCVZUS. 



Coccyzus, Vieill. Analyse, p. 28 (18 16). 



Type, C. aiu erica Hits (L.). 



The American Cuckoos have much the same form as the 

 ordinary True Cuckoos of the Old World, but are rather plainer 

 in colour, without bars on the under surface of the body, and 

 have the nostril oval in shape. They also make nests, and are 

 not parasitic, as far as is known. 



Two species have wandered to Europe, but they can only be 

 regarded as occasional visitors, of accidental occurrence. 



The members of the genus Coccyzus occur throughout the 

 greater part of the New World, visiting the temperate regions 

 of North America in summer, and occurring throughout tro- 

 pical America as far south as the Argentine Republic, but not 

 visiting the extreme south of the South American continent. 



I. THE VELT>0\V-niT,T,F.n Cl^CKOO. COrCVZUS AMERICANUS. 



Cucuiu^ anicricatius, Linn. S. N. i. p. 170 (1766). 



