i;68 



THE PIC ART AN BIRDS 



rightful home is well known. The cuckoo feeds entirely on insects, and it is 

 believed to be the only bird which e#ts hairy caterpillars. It has also been accused 

 of devouring eggs, and this idea may have arisen from eggs being found in the 

 mouth of a cuckoo. These were no doubt the bird's own eggs, which it was con- 

 veying to some nest. 



Represented in India and Australia by the nearly allied group of the 

 bronze cuckoos ( Chalcococcyx) , the golden cuckoos form a genus con- 

 fined to Africa, and represented by four species. These birds differ 

 from the true cuckoos by their metallic coloration, of which the latter show no 



Golden 



Cuckoos 



YELLOW- BILLED CUCKOO. 



(One-half natural size.) 



trace. Among them, the emerald cuckoo (Chrysococcyx smaragdineus) is one of the 

 most beautiful of birds, being of a brilliant metallic emerald green on the upper 

 parts, and also on the throat and chest; while the breast and under parts are bright 

 yellow. Found all over tropical Africa, it inhabits the wooded country; and is con- 

 spicuous, not only from its brilliant coloration, but also from its habit of sitting on 

 the top of a tree, sometimes for hours together, uttering its loud call of love or 



