SONGLESS BIRDS. Cuckoos 



Audubon gives this bird a bad character, saying : " It robs 

 smaller birds of their eggs, which it sucks upon all occa- 

 sions, and is cowardly without being vigilant. On this ac- 

 count, it falls a prey to several species of Hawks, of which 

 the Pigeon-hawk may be considered its most dangerous 

 enemy." 



Be this as it may, both of our Cuckoos are respectable 

 examples to their romantic but misguided European rela- 

 tive, for, like it, they lay their eggs at long intervals ; but 

 they still manage to scramble a nest together and rear their 

 own young, though they have to face the responsibility of 

 feeding nestlings, incubating, and laying more eggs, all at 

 the same time. So let us forgive the Cuckoo its faults, 

 and declare it the patron bird of the orchards and of over- 

 crowded nurseries. 



Black-billed Cuckoo: Coccyzus erythrophthalimis. 



Rain Crow. 



Length: 11-12 inches. 



Male and Female : Black bill ; eyelids red. Above, general colouring 

 same as last species. White spots on tail, small and incon- 

 spicuous. 



Note: " Kow-kow-kow ! kuk-kuk!" 



Season : May to late September. 



Breeds : Through North American range. 



Nest: In a bush ; a few sticks, with no edge to confine the eggs. 



Eggs : Hardly distinguishable from the last species. 



Range : Eastern North America, from Labrador and Manitoba south 

 to the West Indies and the valley of the Amazon ; west to the 

 Rocky Mountains. Accidental in the British Islands and Italy. 



It seems a slur upon literary tradition to call our birds, 

 which bear the name, Cuckoos. We are so used to associate 

 the word with the merry wanderer that " sings as it flies " 

 of Chaucer and Shakespeare and all the lesser singers since 

 their day. And every child, in thinking of a Cuckoo, 

 expects to find the twin of the irrepressible little foreigner 



