444 Beyer, Allison and Kopman, Birds of Louisiana. [oct^ 



a few miles below Buras. On January 27, 1 saw another at Buras. Febru- 

 ary 8, I saw four together at Buras. All that I saw were on the public 

 road, very gentle, hopping along the fences or among the low branches of 

 orange trees. 



"I saw young oranges that had been bitten into, the damage of which 

 was blamed on them. Crackles are very destructive in orchards, but they 

 peck the fruit. These oranges had sections bitten out. I understand that 

 flocks of Anis are still seen in some orchards, but that twenty years ago 

 they were very numerous and destructive." 



171. Groove-billed Ani. (Crotophaga sulcirostris) . Occasional in 

 the southern parishes. One taken near New Orleans about 1890 is in the 

 Tulane University collection. 



172. Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) . Few birds are 

 more generally distributed in Louisiana than this species, and, though it is- 

 not unusually plentiful in any section, few are more uniformly common. 

 Any deciduous tree growth attracts it, though it is commonest in moist 

 situations. Yet it is by no means rare in scanty broad-leafed growths in 

 the driest parts of pine hills and barrens. While the scrubby blackjack 

 oaks of such situations often serve to conceal it, it is fondest, of course, 

 of more leafy covers ; but it resorts almost as readily to close groves in the 

 open as to the forest. Probably it occurs in greatest abundance where 

 cultivation borders the swamp or woodland in the lowlands. Low growths 

 are most attractive to it when they occur in very wet localities, so that it 

 often occurs in the marshes among the farthest outposts of the swamp. 



The average date of the general arrival of this species in the latitude of 

 New Orleans is April 15, though an irregular movement may occur the first 

 week in April. The earliest recorded movement for the neighborhood of 

 New Orleans is April 2 and the latest May 8. In advanced seasons it is 

 decidedly common by April 20 ; in late seasons, no large numbers will be 

 seen until May 1. It is seldom conspicuous except for a day or two at a 

 time, after the middle of September, though the last has been observed at 

 New Orleans on November 3, and a considerable passage of transients 

 has been noted as late as October 13 (1894). Nesting begins very shortly 

 after arrival, and laying usually begins about May 15. There are un- 

 doubtedly two broods raised in a season, fresh eggs having been discovered 

 in July. A comparatively little choice seems to be exercised in regard ta 

 nesting sites, except that low nests are commonest in wet situations. The 

 nidification in Louisiana does not differ essentially from that of the species 

 elsewhere, though, of course, its materials there are peculiar in some cases. 

 Near Jeanerette, St. Mary Parish, one of the writers found a strange 

 cuckoo's nest on July 5, 1895. It was in a buttonbush (Cephalanthus) 

 over the water; the foundation was lichen-covered oak twigs; the lining; 

 consisted of moss and dry cypress leaves. A very similar nest was found 

 in Plaquemine Parish on June 9, 1904. 



The habit of flying by night, and uttering its song as it flies, is very well 

 marked. The migrations seem to be performed usually in silence; but 

 after the first of May the nocturnal song is a common sound. 



