THE CUCKOOS 1769 



defiance. The typical golden cuckoo (C. cupreus}, illustrated on our first page, is a 

 somewhat smaller species, with the plumage of a metallic golden-green hue, the 

 throat being white. Mr. Layard says that "this beautiful little cuckoo is known by 

 the name of Didric, from its oft-repeated mournful cry of di-di-di-didric. We have 

 frequently seen a dozen or more in a morning, while their loud notes were incessantly 

 ringing in our ears; they are, however, so shy, that we only procured three speci- 

 mens in as many months. When calling, they perch on the summit of some dead 

 branch, ready to do battle with any male, or engage in an amorous chase after any 

 female that comes within their ken. They pursue each other with great ardor, 

 turning, twisting, and dashing about with great rapidity. The stomachs of those 

 examined contained nothing but small insects, chiefly swallowed whole." Mr. 

 Ayres has found the remains of an egg of the Cape sparrow in the stomach, and as 

 the cuckoo is parasitic on this species it looks as though it sometimes devoured the 

 eggs of the foster parent to make room for its own. 



The American cuckoos, although of sober gray and brown shades of 

 ne " ca " coloring, and resembling the true cuckoos in this respect, may always 

 be distinguished by their oval and not rounded nostrils. They are 

 gray or brown in color, generally with an olive gloss, although two species have 

 rufous backs. Except as regards their nesting habits, they are nearly allied to the 

 cuckoos of the Old World. One of the best-known species is the yellow-billed 

 cuckoo {Coccyzus americanus} , which is olive brown in color, with white tips to the 

 tail feathers; the under parts being white, and the inner side of the quills rufous. 

 This cuckoo, together with its near ally, the black-billed cuckoo (C erythrophthal- 

 mus) is migratory to the United States in summer, the latter extending its breeding 

 ranges as far to the north as Manitoba and Labrador. Dr. Coues says that the ways 

 of these cuckoos are shy and retiring. They are more often heard than seen, "pass- 

 ing from one tree to another stealthily, with a rapid, gliding, noiseless flight, and 

 they often rest motionless as statues for a long time, especially when crying out, or 

 when they have detected a suspicious object. The peculiar notes of this bird, 

 sounding like the syllables, koo-koo-koo, indefinitely repeated, are probably uttered 

 more frequently during the atmospheric changes preceding falling weather, and have 

 given rise to the name Rain crow, by which both our species of Coccyzus are known 

 to the vulgar. ' ' He also says that they are great plunderers of the eggs of small 

 birds, and are even said to devour the helpless nestlings. The nest is said to be 

 like that of a crow, but poorly constructed. In connection with the supposition 

 that our English cuckoo lays its eggs at intervals, it is interesting to know that the 

 yellow-billed cuckoo undoubtedly does so, since in its nest there have been found 

 fresh eggs and young in all stages, from the bird just hatched to the one able to fly, 

 showing that there must be a considerable interval between the laying of each egg. 

 Audubon gives an instance in which as many as eleven young birds had been 

 hatched in a season. The eggs are pale green. 



Found only in the Indian and Australian regions, two species being 

 peculiar to the former and four to the latter, the koels show a remark- 

 able sexual difference in color, the males being black, and the females rufous with 

 black bands. In most birds, when the parents differ in plumage, the young at first 



