326 Lord Walden on the Cuculid?e 



Linnaeus under his genus Cuculus, and received titles ; and one 

 species was added as a variety. Of these, three belong to other 

 genera, and of the remaining nineteen titles eleven have been 

 more or less satisfactorily identified, leaving eight designations 

 either undetermined or wrongfully or doubtfully applied. Two 

 of these undetermined titles were based on species originally 

 described, one by Marcgrave, the other by Seba, at a date when 

 imagination was largely drawn upon for facts. Still Cuculus 

 coimutus may yet perhaps be found among the American Tro- 

 gons, although C. brasiliensis, founded on Seba^s description and 

 figure*, is, I very much fear, a hopeless case. The plate repre- 

 sents a crested bird of a dingy carmine colour, with yellowish 

 wings and tail, the bill stout, carved, and short, the feet with 

 three toes in front encircling a branch. It is singular that 

 Brisson, who never saw a specimen of this bird, and took his de- 

 scription from Seba, should have given not only the length of 

 each toe, but should also have alluded to them in pairs as anterior 

 and posterior. BufFon, who termed Seba^s bird Le Couroucoucou 

 (Hist. Nat. vi. p. 298), considered it a link between the Tro- 

 gons and the Cuckoos, " En supposant que son indication donnee 

 par Seba soit moins fautive et plus exacte que la plupart de 

 celles qu'on trouve dans son gros ouvrage^^ f- 



C. dominicus, L., ex Brisson (Ornith. iv. p. 10), who described 

 either from a Guianian or a Louisianian example, or else from 

 one from St. Domingo in M. de Ueaumur's cabinet, thus con- 

 founding the three, but not telling us from which individual he 

 made his description. Dr. Cabanis (Mus. Hein. iv. p. 75), 

 considers Brisson's C. dominicensis to be the same as C. ameri- 



* (Rer. Nat. Thesaurus, i. p. 102, t. 66. f. 2.) " Rostrum ejus dilute 

 rubrum, breve, et incurvum est, quale Pseudo-Psittacorum. Caput, 

 pariter dilute rubruui, crista ornatur saturatius rubente, ex nigris varie- 

 gata. Dorsum quoque saturate rubicundum est : at dilutioreui ventris 

 ruborem nounullse distinguunt plumulfe flaventes. Alas dilute rubentes 

 supra investiunt pennse, flaventibus etiam aliis interstincta?. Penuas 

 remiges, longam^ue caudam, saturate flavo conspicuas colore, umbra quasi 

 nigricans obfuscat." 



t Conf. Columha arlfrms, Moehring, Av. Gen. 103, not to be con- 

 founded with Cuculus acljlnis of the same author (C. persa L.), Hermann, 

 Tab. affin. animal, p. 184. 



