164 



Crrarfuvg n( Natural ^t 



birds is very great : in short, everything 

 conspires, as might be expected, to render 

 perfect the design which is to l>e accomplished 

 by the seemingly unnatural propensity of 

 this bird. 



1 The growth of the young Cuckoo is ex- 

 tremely rapid : it has a plaintive chirp 

 which is not learned from its foster-parent ; 

 and it never acquires the adult state during 

 its stay here. A fierceness of disposition 

 shows itself long before it leaves the nest ; 

 for when irritated it assumes the manners 

 of a bird of prey, often making a chuckling 

 noise like a young hawk. When it is suffi- 

 ciently fledged, it does not long remain the 

 inmate of its supposed parent's domicile ; 

 for as its appetites for insect-food increase, 

 it cannot expect to obtain a supply by imi- 

 tating its little instructor : it therefore takes 

 a final leave of, and seldom offers any vio- 

 lence to, its nurse. All the little birds, how- 

 ever, who consider the young Cuckoo as 

 their enemy, show an inclination to revenge 

 the general cause, and compose the train of 

 his pursuers ; but none of them are so active 

 in the chace as the Wryneck, who, from this 

 circumstance, has been erroneously consi- 

 dered by many as the Cuckoo's attendant 

 and provider. The Cuckoo is said to be a 

 fierce pugnacious bird. Its principal food 

 consists of hairy caterpillars, grasshoppers, 

 snails, moths, cockchafers, &c., of which it 

 disgorges the hard parts after digestion, in 

 the same manner as birds of prey : it is also 

 said to eat the eggs of other birds. Mr. White 

 (of Selborne) remarks, however, that Cuckoos 

 cannot be birds of prey, as they have a weak 

 bill and no talons. 



Although we have already extended this 

 article to a greater length than was our in- 

 tention, we cannot refrain from making 

 room for the following remarks by Mr. Jesse : 

 "There is still a great mystery attached 

 to the natural history of the Cuckoo, and 

 one would willingly, if possible, rescue it 

 from the charge of a want of that natural 

 affection which has been alleged against it. 

 It has been stated that what has been said 

 by a very ancient and sublime writer, con- 

 cerning the defect of natural affection in the 

 ostrich, may be applied to the Cuckoo. It 

 is now, however, pretty well ascertained 

 that the ostrich only quits her eggs when 

 the sun is so powerful that the additional 

 warmth from her body would be detrimental 

 to them. She therefore returns to them in 

 the cool of the evening. I am persuaded 

 that the more we inquire and search into 

 the economy of nature, so far from finding 

 any defects, we shall have more and more 

 reason to be convinced that not only every 

 bird, but every animal from the highest to 

 the lowest in the scale of creation, is equally 

 well adapted for the purpose for which it 

 was intended." We should have mentioned 

 that it is to Dr. Edward Jenner, who first 

 introduced vaccination, that we are indebted 

 for having given the earliest and fullest ac- 

 count of the habits of this singular bird. 

 Many of our readers are doubtless familiar 

 with Logan's fine address to the Cuckoo, 

 beginning, 

 "Hail ! beauteous stranger of the grove ! " 



The GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO. {Oxylophus 

 ylandarius.) This species inhabits both the 

 south and the north of Europe ; and is 

 about the size of a Magpie. The beak la 

 black, and a little bent ; head crested ; the 

 crest being composed of bluish ash-coloured 

 feathers ; from the base of the upper man- 

 dible arises a band of black, which passes 

 through the eyes almost to the hinder part 

 of the head, and is broadest in the middle : 

 scapulars, upper wing, and tail-coverts, dark 

 brown, marked with small white and pale 

 cinereous spots ; quill-feathers brown ; tail 

 wedge-shaped, blackish, and all tipped with 

 white except the two middle feathers : legs 

 and claws black. 



The OKIEXTAL CUCKOO. (Eudynamys Ori- 

 entalis.) There are several varieties of this 

 species. The first is the size of a pigeon : 

 length about sixteen inches ; beak grey- 

 brown ; plumage nearly black, with a green 

 gloss, which in some parts assumes a sort of 

 violet hue. The tail is eight inches long ; 

 the legs are of a dusky grey colour ; claws 

 black : it is found in the East Indies. The 

 next varictyinhabits Mindanao: it is fourteen 

 inches long ; beak black, yellow at the tip ; 

 the plumage a blue-black j and the tail 

 generally carried spread. A third variety 

 is about nine inches in length : beak bright 

 orange ; plumage black, glossed with green 

 and violet ; tail wedge-shaped ; legs reddish- 

 brown ; claws nearly black. This species 

 frequents woods, and for the most part flies 

 in small flocks. It is held in veneration by 

 the Mahometans; but by epicures, who have 

 no religious prejudices in its favour, it is 

 esteemed a great delicacy. 



The GILDED CUCKOO. ( Chrysococcyx anra- 

 tus.) This beautiful little specimen of the 

 Cuckoo tribe is about seven inches in length: 

 the beak is of a greenish brown colour ; and 

 the upper parts of the body are of a rich 

 gilded glossy green ; on the head are five 

 stripes of white ; nearly all the wing-coverts 

 and the second quills have white tips, as 

 likewise the tail-feathers and the two greater 

 tail-coverts ; the throat and breast white ; 

 the sides and feathers which fall over the 

 knees marked with a few greenish bars ; legs 

 grey, covered with white feathers as far as 

 the middle : tail wedge-shaped, above three 

 inches long, and in its natural state spread 

 out like a fan. Le Vaillant, who discovered 

 this species in Southern Africa, remarks that 

 it is undoubtedly the finest bird of the 

 genus. 



There are many genera and species of 

 Cuckoos, it being a very extensive family ; 

 and a fine collection of them is to be seen in 

 the British Museum. We find it necessary, 

 however, to give but one more, and that is 



The YELLOW-BILLED AMERICAN CUCKOO 

 (Coccyzus Americanus\ the description of 

 which we take from Wilson, as follows : 

 " From the imitative sound of its note, it is 

 known in many parts by the name of the 

 cow-bird; it is also called in Virginia the 

 rain-crow, being observed to be most cla- 

 morous immediately before rain. This spe- 

 cies arrives in Pennsylvania, from the south, 



