482 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Coccygus minor, Cabanis. 



MANGROVE CUCKOO. 



1 Cuculus minor, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 411. 1 Coccyzus minor, Cabanis, Cab. 

 Journal fiir Orn. 1856, 104 (Cuba). — Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 78. — Cuculus 

 seniculus. Lath. Ind. I, 1790, 219. Coccyzus seniculus, Nuttall, Man. I, 1832, 558. 

 — AuD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 390, pi. clxix. — Ib. Birds America, IV, 1842, 303, pi. 

 cclxxvii. — GossE, Birds Jamaica, 281. — Bon. Conspectus, 1850, III. Erythrophrys 

 seniculus, Bon. List, 1838. Coccygus dominicus, Scl. Cat. 1862, 323. 



Sp. Char. Lower mandible yellow, except at the tip. Body above olivaceous, strongly 

 tinged with ashy towards and on the head. Beneath pale yellowish-brown, darkest on 

 the legs and abdomen, becoming lighter to the bill. An elongated spot of dark plumbeous 

 behind the eye. Inner edges of the quills and under wing-coverts hke the belly. Tail- 

 feathers, except the central, black, with a sharply defined tip of white for about an inch, 

 this color not extending along the outer web of the quill. Length about 12.00 ; wing 

 about 5.25. 



Hab. Florida Keys to West Indies. Localities: ? Sta. Cruz (Newton, Ibis, I, 150) ; 

 Cuba (Cab. J. IV, 154 ; Gundl. Repert. I, 1866, 295) ; Jamaica (Gosse, B. Jam. 281). 



This species is readily distinguishable by its fulvous under parts, dark ear- 

 coverts, and lack of rufous on inner webs of quills. It has the yellow bill 

 and dark tail, with broad white tips, of C. americanus, although the white 

 does not extend along the outer web of the feathers. 



According to Mr. Audubon, this species is a regular summer visitor to 

 Key West and the other Florida keys. 



This species is more especially West Indian, occurring in nearly all the 

 islands. There are some local variations in color (Porto-Eican being much 

 redder, Bahanian paler), as well as in size, but in a large series from the same 

 island there will be found such differences as to warrant us in considering 

 all as one species. In a very large series before us, we cannot see any 

 tangible difference, although Cabanis and Sclater recognize a C. nesiotes from 

 the Antillean West Indies, as distinguished from C. seniculus from South 

 American and the windward West Indies ; the former, smaller and paler, 

 and, according to Cabanis, with the white of tip of tail confined to the inner 

 web ; the latter darker beneath, and larger. These characters I do not find 

 substantiated, nor have I seen one specimen without white in both webs at 

 the ends of the tail-feathers. 



As the name of C. minor is the earliest one for at least the South Ameri- 

 can race, we retain it in preference to seniculus, as although scarcely minor 

 in this genus, it is so compared with Piaya, Geococcyx, and Saurothcra. 



Habits. This species claims a place in the fauna of North America as a 

 resident of the Florida keys. This is the only locality positively known as 

 its habitat within the limits of the territory of the United States. The 

 only specimen referred to in tlie ninth volume of the Pacific Railroad Sur- 

 veys was supposed to have been obtained in Florida. Mr. Nuttall, who 



