SONGLESS BIRDS OF UUCllARJ) AM) WOODLAND. 2(55 



Cuckoos, the Black-billed (Uickoo is the more coiuiiioii in 

 Miissachusetts, and is therefore probably the more usel"ul. 

 (Jrasshoppers, locusts, and other insects are often eaten, but 

 practically no cultivated fruit and no grain. 



Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 



Cocci/ZKS ail If ri.i -d. n. n ,s" . 



Lenrjth. — About twelve inches. 



Adult.— \M\\ black above, yellow beiieatli ; upper parts olive-brown, with si'ay 

 tints and metallic lusters; under parts white; a briglit chmanion tint on 

 wings ; two inner tail feathers olive ; outer tail feathers bhickish, two with 

 white outer edge ; all but two hmer tail feathers broadly tipped with wliite. 



Nest. — A loose mass of sticks, in a bush or tree. 



jg^^s._ Usually larger and lighter colored than those of tiie preceding spe('ies. 



Season. — May to September. 



I'his bird is long and slender, but it is a little lai-ger and 

 more robust in appearance than the Black-billed Cuckoo. A 

 near view will show the ycillow of the under mandible and 



■''■y yC^ 'y^/7^^P'^''-i^i-.'iW^ 





Fig. 122. -The fall weh worm. The caterijillarB {a, h, c) are eaten hy Cuckoos. 



the characteristic markings of the tail, which serve to distin- 

 guish the bird in the field. Moreover, the notes of this 

 species are heavier and coarser than those of the Black-billed 

 (!uck()o. Schuyler Mathews well describes a characteristic 

 cry of this l)ird as Gr-r~r-oJp, cowlp, covlp-olp-olii. AH this 

 is delivered with little if any variation in tone, and in a voice 

 seemingly as deep as that of a Heron. 



