CUCULIN^. 325 



Length 10 to IQi inches ; wing 5| ; tail 5J ; bill at front \^ ; 

 tarsus f. 



The Small Cuckoo is found throughout the Himalayas, migrating 

 sparingly to the plains in the cold weather. I procured it as far 

 South as Nellore on the East coast ; and it appears to be C. Bartlettii, 

 Layard, of Ceylon, where stated not to be rare. It has, however, 

 been seldom seen except on the hills. At Darjeeling, it is tolerably 

 common, beginning its call still later in the season even than the 

 last one, this being rarely heard before the end of May, and conti- 

 nuing till the middle of July. It is a very noisy bird, and has a 

 loud peculiar unmusical call of several syllables, which it frequently 

 utters, both when seated on a branch and when flying from tree to 

 tree. The Bhootias attempt to imitate this in their name for the 

 species. 



The next bird has been placed as a Polyphasia by Horsfield ; but 

 I think it is more allied to the preceding one, though somewhat 

 abnormal in form and colour. 



202. Cuculus Sonneratii, Latham. 



Blyth, Cat. 349— HoRSF., Cat. 1019 — C. pravata, Horsf.— C. 

 rufovittatus, Drapiez — C. Himalayanus, apud Jerdon, Cat. 

 223 — C. venustus, Jerdon, 2nd Suppl. Cat. 223 — Basha kattl 

 pitta, Tel. 



The Banded Bay Cuckoo. 



Descr. — Above greenish-dusky, numerously cross-barred with 

 rufous (which colour, indeed, may be said to predominate), except 

 on the coverts of the primaries ; quills dusky-rufous on the edge of 

 the outer web, pale internally ; tail rufous, with a broad dusky bar 

 near the end ; the outer webs nearly dusky, and the tip white, and 

 the inner webs with narrow bars ; the whole under-parts, from the 

 throat, white, very faintly tinged with fulvous on the Hanks, and 

 marked with numerous narrow dusky cross-bars ; sides of head and 

 neck also white, similarly barred ; but the ear-covcrts arc coloured 

 like the back, and the frontal feathers arc white at the base, 

 showing conspicuously just over the bill. 



