366 ZOOLOGY. 



pressed, rather long ; wings moderate, rounded ; tail long ; tarsi and feet 

 long. Size small, colors plain. 



This group is composed of rather an anomalous collection of Cuckoos, 

 natives of all parts of the world except Europe. Africa and South 

 America produce much the larger number of species. 



The two North American cuckoos {Coccyzus americanus and C. 

 erythrophthalmns) belong here. The former, or yellow-billed cuckoo, is quite 

 frequently seen and oftener heard, as it is most generally perched in a tree 

 of thick foliage, and has a loud note. It is a plain-colored though rather 

 elegant-looking bird, with glossy drab plumage above and pure white 

 below, arriving early in May in the northern States. Unlike the cuckoo 

 of Europe this bird has sufficient regard for its reputation to have a home 

 of its own, which is generally constructed in the orchard or an isolated fruit 

 tree. Its note is something similar to the syllables kow-e, rapidly repeated, 

 from which it has acquired the name of " cow-bird" in some districts. 



The red-eyed or black-billed cuckoo is not so numerous, but very similar 

 in habits and appearance. 



Suh-fam. 4. CrotophagincB, or Anis. Bill rather long, arched, and much 

 compressed ; wings short, rounded ; tail long, broad ; tarsi and feet long. 

 Size various ; colors generally dull, sometimes black. 



This assemblage of birds is confined to tropical regions, and is composed 

 of about twenty species of very dissimilar general appearance. 



The American species, or anis, as they are usually called, are black birds 

 with singularly compressed and elevated upper mandibles, in fact having 

 the appearance of a prominent appendage in front. They inhabit the 

 West Indies and South America, being partial to cultivated grounds, pas- 

 tures, and meadows, through the thickest grass of which they readily make 

 their way by means of their ploughshare-like bills, in pursuit of grasshoppers 

 and other insects on which they subsist. The common ani {Crotophaga 

 ani), the greater ani (C. major), and the grooved-bill ani (C sulcirostris) 

 are common species. The latter has been observed in Mexico. 



Suh-fam. 5. CuculincB, or Cuckoos. Bill broad, curved, compressed ; 

 wings long, pointed ; tail long, graduated ; tarsi short, feet strong. Size 

 rather large ; colors various. 



A large sub-family, entirely confined to the old world. Nearly all the 

 species are found in the warmer regions of Asia and Africa, two only being 

 regarded as properly European birds. They are the crested cuckoo {Oxy- 

 lophus glandarius) and the common cuckoo {Cuculus canorus). 



The latter is one of the birds of Europe which has attracted attention 

 from the earliest period, and has found a place in the literature of all Euro- 

 pean nations. He is a plain-plumaged bird, of deep bluish grey above, and 

 white with blackish bars beneath the body. 



" There are few birds," as Sir William Jardine observes, " which have 

 excited so much interest as the common cuckoo. Its note in spring herald- 

 ing the return of sunny skies and bursting vegetation, carries with it dear 

 associations in every country where it is known ; while the singular provi- 

 sion of its making use of the nests of other birds in which to deposit its 

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