248 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
and the Phaenicophaine. The various species of the genera 
OCuculus and Hierococcyx are very hawk-like in their flight and 
outward appearance, but may be recognized by their head and 
bill, which are much longer in profile than those of a bird of 
prey, and by their zygodactylic feet. The genus Surniculus 
closely mimics the Black Drongo. 
Those who care to know more about the breeding habits 
and eggs of this group will find an interesting series of articles 
with coloured plates in Volume XVII. of the Journal of the 
Bombay Natural History Society.* 
Ten species, which include representatives of all the seven 
Indian genera, are found in Ceylon, but several of them 
are rare migrants, and one is rather a doubtful inclusion 
in our list. 
Rough Key to Ceylon Cuculine. 
A.—No crest ; tarsus feathered. 
I.—Wing over 5°6 ; appearance hawk-like. 
(a) Tail not regularly cross-barred; primary quills 
twice the length of secondaries. Genus Cuculus. 
(1) Wing 8 or over; tail same shade of brown 
throughout. 
C. canorus (The Cuckoo). 
(2) Wing about 6. 
©. poliocephalus (The Small Cuckoo). 
(3) Wing about 7°5; a broad black band at end of 
tail. 
C. micropterus (The Indian Cuckoo). 
(b) Tail regularly cross-barred ; primary quills half 
as long again as secondaries. 
Hierococcyx varius (The Common Hawk Cuckoo). 


*«The Oology of Indian Parasitic Cuckoos” (J. B. N. H. 8&., 
Vol. XVIL., pp. 72, 351, 678), by E. C. Stuart Baker. 
