2-;o CUCKOOS. 



and many other species. Both parents assist in providing food for the young ; 

 this consists for the most part of caterpillars, particularly such as infest apple 

 trees : the same insects constitute the chief part of their own sustenance. They 

 are accused, and with some justice, of sucking the eggs of other birds, like the 

 crow, the blue jay, and other pillagers. They also occasionally eat various 

 kinds of berries; but from the circumstance of destroying such numbers of 

 very noxious larvae, they prove themselves the friends of the farmer, and are 

 highly deserving of his protection. — VVlLSON. 



A remarkable group of these birds {Diplopterus) is found in the tropical 

 parts of South America, inhabiting dense forests. They feed on grasshoppers 

 and small lizards, and one species is stated to lead so solitary a life, except at 

 the breeding season, that individuals are not to be found at a less distance 

 than half a league from each other. On the other hand, it is said that the 

 flocks of two other species are frequently found mmgled together, and that 

 the females build a large nest in common, in which they all deposit their eggs, 

 hatch them together, and bring up the young as if they were all of the same 

 family. They utter various cries, which have been compared to piririririri, 

 accompanied by a kind of laugh, guaagua^ and ending with choclii, pro- 

 nounced in a sort of crying tone. 



The members composing another genus {Piaya) are peculiar to the warmer 

 parts of America, where they reside in pairs in the plantations, searching 

 among the foliage for grubs and insects that live on the leaves. They are 

 rarely if ever found on the ground, but sometimes perch on the lower branches 

 of trees overhanging the water, where they may be seen constantly wagging 

 their tails and changing their position, as such places are generally prolific in 

 insects. 



The typical form is — 



The Red-headed Ground Cuckoo [Coua nificeps). 



Sub-Family IV. 

 THE ANIS OR TICK-EATERS. CROTOPHAGIN/E.* 



Gii.NERAL CHARACTr.KiSTits. — Bill more or less lengthened, with the culmen arched, 

 and the sides much compressed ; the nosirils basal, lateral, and pierced in the sub- 

 stance of the bill; the wings short and rounded; the tail lengthened, broad, and 

 graduated ; the tarsi long, and covered with broad transverse scales ; the toes long, 

 placed two and two, and the outer toes the longest ; the claws short and curved. 



These birds inhabit the islands of the West Indies and the tro- 

 pical parts of South America, preferring places under cultivation, 

 and more especially land in the neighbourhood of clear pastures 

 or low shrubberies and swamps. They easily make their way 



* KpuTWf, croton, a lick (parasite) ; ^070), phago, to eat. 



