﻿ANATOMY 
  AND 
  RELATIONSHIP 
  OF 
  GLOSSY 
  CUCKOOS 
  — 
  BERGER 
  593 
  

  

  Aponeurotic 
  

  

  Figure 
  71. 
  — 
  Lampromorpha 
  caprius. 
  Superficial 
  muscles 
  of 
  the 
  left 
  thigh 
  (lateral 
  view). 
  

   Explanation 
  of 
  symbols: 
  Bic. 
  fem., 
  biceps 
  femoris; 
  II. 
  tib., 
  iliotibialis; 
  Sar., 
  sartorius; 
  

   Semim., 
  semimembranosus; 
  Semit., 
  semitendinosus. 
  

  

  Except 
  for 
  the 
  rare 
  yellow-throated 
  cuckoo 
  {Chrysococcyx 
  -flavigu- 
  

   laris) 
  , 
  which 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  studied 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  it 
  is 
  known 
  that 
  all 
  of 
  

   the 
  glossy 
  cuckoos 
  are 
  parasitic 
  on 
  other 
  birds. 
  A 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  

   hosts 
  have 
  been 
  recorded, 
  but 
  for 
  the 
  African 
  species 
  the 
  most 
  im- 
  

   portant 
  hosts 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  following 
  families 
  : 
  Ploceidae, 
  

   Nectariniidae, 
  Sylviidae, 
  Muscicapidae, 
  and 
  Motacillidae. 
  Common 
  

   hosts 
  of 
  the 
  bronze 
  cuckoos 
  {Chalcites) 
  in 
  Australia 
  are 
  certain 
  thorn- 
  

   bills, 
  wrens, 
  and 
  scrub- 
  wrens 
  of 
  the 
  family 
  Sylviidae 
  (Serventy 
  and 
  

   Whittell, 
  1948, 
  p. 
  238) 
  . 
  For 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  Chalcites 
  in 
  India, 
  Baker 
  

   (1934, 
  pp. 
  353-354) 
  reports 
  the 
  most 
  common 
  hosts 
  to 
  be 
  sunbirds 
  

   and 
  spider-hunters 
  (Nectariniidae). 
  

  

  Friedmann 
  (1948, 
  pp. 
  115-116) 
  remarked 
  that: 
  "The 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  

   glossy 
  cuckoos 
  show 
  far 
  more 
  variation 
  in 
  color 
  and 
  markings 
  than 
  do 
  

   those 
  of 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  cuckoos 
  of 
  Africa." 
  The 
  eggs 
  of 
  Klaas's 
  

   cuckoo 
  {Lcmipromorpha 
  klaas), 
  for 
  example, 
  have 
  "the 
  ground 
  

   color 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  white, 
  pale 
  greenish 
  blue, 
  or 
  pale 
  blue, 
  and 
  either 
  unspotted 
  

   or 
  quite 
  abundantly 
  flecked 
  with 
  brick 
  red, 
  brown, 
  or 
  purplish 
  gray," 
  

   (ibid., 
  p. 
  136). 
  According 
  to 
  Barrett 
  (1945, 
  p. 
  149), 
  "five 
  kinds 
  of 
  

   bronze 
  cuckoos 
  occur 
  in 
  Australia, 
  and 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  four 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  

   bronzy-green 
  in 
  colour, 
  while 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  fifth, 
  the 
  narrow-billed 
  bronze 
  

  

  