Ft CUCULIDAE Re), 
The young are brown mottled with white on the nape. Its 
flight and general coloration give the Cuckoo a distinctly Hawk- 
like appearance, and cause it to be systematically mobbed hy 
small birds, while ignorant peasants persecute it mercilessly, and 
assert that it “changes to a Hawk” in winter. Certain other 
members of the Family have the same raptorial aspect, notably 
the Asiatic Hawk-Cuckoo (/Hierococcyx); whereas several of the 
Centropodinae unconsciously mimic Pheasants in their colour, 
Fia. 69.—Cuckoo. Cuculus canorus. x 
“qr 
in their red orbits and their wedge-shaped tail. Geococcya is still 
more like a Galline bird in some respects; and Surniculus is a 
decidedly good imitation of a Drongo (Dicruridae). 
In early April the Cuckoo’s note heralds the approaching 
summer in Britain, and continues to be heard until June, after 
which it becomes hoarser and the first syllable is doubled ; in July 
the adults begin to disappear, yet stray examples—chietly, if not 
entirely, young—remain up to October, when they migrate as far 
as South Africa, Ceylon, and Celebes. None breed south of North 
Africa and the Himalayas. The eggs are invariably deposited 
in the nests of other birds, which rear the intruder and feed it 
until it leaves the country; but it is doubtful how many are 
VOL. IX 2A 
