3 68 



THE BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. 



is commonly accused of hard-heartedness. On the contrary, Dr. Brewer 

 relates an instance which came under his own observation, w r here the female 

 having been thoughtlessly killed by a small boy, the male bird took up the 

 incompleted task of incubation, and successfully reared a brood of five birds. 



Photo by R. F. Griggs. 



YOUNG BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS. 



The American Cuckoos deserve great credit for endeavoring to forsake 

 the ways of Old World species, which are inveterate cuckolds, like our own 

 Cowbirds. There are, however, marked instances of a lapse from virtue. 

 I once caught a Black-billed Cuckoo in a Catbird's nest, sitting closely, and 

 doubtless in the act of oviposition. Their eggs have been found besides 

 in the nests of Wood Thrushes and Robins, to whose eggs their own bear 

 a close resemblance. 



