CUCKOOS. 



879 



was in a tender and Jiajipy state, placed it carefully in the crapin;; mouth of the young 

 Scijthrops ; tliis feeding jirocess continued until tiie bird was capable of attending to 

 its own wants, which it now does, feeding in company with the Dacelo in the usual 

 manner." 



Structurally, the American members of the Cuculinaj differ hut slightly from their 

 Old World relatives. The former do not exlii))it tlic juculinr jiarasitic breeding 



Ifj. — Scyilirojii noca-Iioltamliu:, chauuelbilled cuckoo. 



habits, and are, on the contrary, credited with great affection for their mate and for 

 th.ir offspring. Still, some individuals, at least, possess the peculiarity of the eggs 

 ripening only with long intervals, which in the European siiecies is thought to have 

 caused its breeding vagaries. Dr. T. M. Brewer, in .speaking of our common yellow- 

 billed cuckoo, remarks as follows : — 



"No writer besides Mr. Audulioii makes any mention of, or appears to have been 

 aware of, the peculiar iiabits of tiiese birds in hatching out their successive depositions 

 of eggs, one by one. In this resjject they are eccentric, and do not always exhibit 



