CUCULID^: 173 



Key of the Genera. 



A . Wings long and pointed ; difference between the 

 length of the primaries and secondaries 

 greater than the length of the tarsus 

 (CuculincB). 

 a. No occipital crest. 



a 1 . Plumage never metallic ; sexes alike Cuculus, p. 174. 



ft 1 . Plumage brilliantly metallic ; sexes dis- 

 similar Chrijsococcyx, p. 184. 



6. A strong crest on the head Coccystes, p. 192. 



J5. Wings short and rounded ; the difference be- 

 tween the primaries and secondaries about 

 half the length of the tarsus (Centropince). 



a. Hind claw elongated to twice the length of 



the others, straight and lark-like Centropus, p. 202. 



b. Hind claw curved and normal, not longer than 



the others Ceuthmochares, p. 210. 



Subfamily I. CUCULIN^. 



Wings long, pointed and flat, not fitting to the sides of the body ; 

 distance between the tips of the primaries and secondaries greater 

 than the length of the tarsus or culmen ; tarsus more or less 

 feathered in front and also covered by the long thigh feathers. 



FIG. 58. Wing of Guculus gularis. x \. 



Anatomical characters are : the absence of the femoro-caudal 

 muscle in the thigb, and the presence of a simple undivided band of 

 feathers on each side of the naked pectoro-ventral tract. Nearly all 

 the birds contained in this subfamily are of parasitic babits. 



