180 CUCULID^ CUCULUS 



(Woodward), Durban, Oct., Feb. (Bt. Mus.), Newcastle, Sept. 

 (Butler) ; Transvaal Lydenburg dist. January (Ayres) ; Portuguese 

 east Africa Inhambane, Feb. (Francis). In Nyasaland and 

 German east Africa it also appears to be only found during the 

 summer months judging from the dates given. 



Habits. This bird, in the neighbourhood of Cape Town, is 

 rather shy and seldom seen, as it usually perches well within the 

 luxuriant foliage of the oak trees. It is, however, very abundant, 

 and the loud and characteristic note, only used by the male, can be 

 heard at almost any time of the day till quite late in the evening. 

 It is impossible to express the cry in words, but it may be briefly 

 described as a clear shrill whistle of three distinct notes, each 

 separated by half a tone, following one another in quick succession. 

 In the suburbs of Cape Town it is first heard at the beginning of 

 October and continues till February. 



Like other cuckoos these birds feed on insects and are especially 

 fond of caterpillars. A male obtained in Cape Town on November 

 14, 1884, was found to have its stomach full of the large hairy 

 caterpillars of a bombycine moth, Metanastina pithyocampa, 



Levaillant states that this bird lays its eggs in the nest of the 

 Capokvogel (^githalus capensis), the Jan Fredrik (Cossypha cqffra), 

 the Reclameur (Cossypha bicolor), and the Coryphee (Erythropygia 

 coryphceus). This is confirmed by Ivy to a certain extent, who gives 

 an excellent account of the nesting habits of the bird in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Grahamstown as follows : 



" In November, 1896, I found an egg of this Cuckoo in the nest 

 of a * Cape Robin ' (Cossypha caffra), together with two eggs of the 

 latter bird. 



" In the same month I found a young Cuckoo of this species 

 in the nest of a Rock-Thrush (Monticola rupestris). The nest, which 

 was placed on a ledge of a krantz or cliff, had been extended on 

 either side with a packing of loose moss so as to prevent the young 

 Cuckoo from upsetting it. One broken egg of the Rock-Thrush 

 lay on the ground below the nest. We waited an hour for the 

 foster-parents, which had flown off on our first approach, to return, 

 but they did not do so, although an adult Cuckoo (C. solitarius) 

 flew past (fig. 62). 



" In December, 1897, I saw a pair of Cape Robins (Cossypha 

 caffra) flying in attendance on a young Cuculus solitarius ; they 

 were much more demonstrative than is their usual habit with their 

 own young. The two flew before us for over a mile along a water- 

 cut, while the old Cuckoo kept calling out. 



