papular trttonarj? of &ntmatrtr ftaturr. 165 



about the 22nd of April, and spreads over 

 the country, as far at least as Lake Ontario ; 

 is numerous in the Chickasaw and Chactau 

 nations ; and also breeds in the upper parts 

 of Georgia ; preferring, in all these places, 

 the borders of solitary swamps, and apple 

 orchards. It leaves us, on its return south- 

 ward, about the middle of September 



" The singular, I will not say unnatural, 

 conduct of the European Cuckoo (Cuculus 

 canorus), which never constructs a nest for 

 itself, but drops its eggs in those of other 

 birds, and abandons them to their mercy 

 and management, is so universally known, 

 and so proverbial, that the whole tribe of 

 Cuckoos have, by some inconsiderate people, 

 been stigmatized as destitute of all parental 

 care and affection. Without attempting to 

 account for this remarkable habit of the 

 European species, far less to consider as an 

 error what the wisdom of Heaven has im- 

 posed as a duty upon the species, I will only 

 remark, that the bird now before us builds 

 its own nest, hatches its own eggs, and rears 

 its own young ; and, in conjugal and pa- 

 rental affection, seems nowise behind any of 

 its neighbours of the grove. 



"Early in May they begin to pair, when 

 obstinate battles take place among the males. 

 About the 10th of that mouth they com- 

 mence building. The nest is usually fixed 

 among the horizontal branches of an apple- 

 tree ; sometimes in a solitary thorn, crab, or 

 cedar, in some retired part of the woods. It 

 is constructed, with little art, and scarcely 

 any concavity, of small sticks and twigs, in- 

 termixed with green weeds and blossoms of 

 the common maple. On this almost flat 

 bed, the eggs, usually three or four in num- 

 ber, are placed; these are of a uniform 

 greenish blue colour, and of a size propor- 

 tionable to that of the bird. While the fe- 

 male is sitting, the male is generally not far 

 distant, and gives the alarm, by his notes, 

 when any person is approaching. The fe- 

 male sits so close, that you may almost reach 

 her with your hand, and then precipitates 

 herself to the ground, feigning lameness, to 

 draw you away from the spot, fluttering, 

 trailing her wings, and tumbling over, in 

 the manner of the partridge, woodcock, and 

 many other species. Both parents unite in 

 providing food for the young. This consists, 

 for the most part, of caterpillars, particularly 

 sucli as infest apple-trees. The same insects 

 constitute the chief part of their own sus- 

 tenance. They are accused, and with some 

 justice, of sucking the eggs of other birds, 

 like the crow, the blue jay, and other pil- 

 lagers. They also occasionally eat various 

 kinds of berries. But, from the circumstance 

 of destroying such numbers of very noxious 

 larva;, they prove themselves the friends of 

 the farmer, and are highly deserving of his 

 protection. 



"The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is thirteen 

 inches long, and sixteen inches in extent ; 

 the whole upper parts are of a dark glossy 

 drab, or what is usually called a Quaker 

 colour, with greenish silky reflections ; from 

 this must, however, be excepted the inner 

 vanes of the wings, which are bright reddish 

 cinnamon ; the tail is long, composed of ten 



feathers, the two middle onw being of the 

 same colour as the back, the others, which 

 gradually shorten to the exterior ones, are 

 black, largely tipt with white ; the two outer 

 ones are scarcely half the length of the 

 middle ones. The whole lower parts are 

 pure white ; the feathers covering the thighs 

 being large, like those of the hawk tribe. 

 The legs and feet are light blue, the toes 

 placed two before and two behind, as in the 

 rest of the genus : the bill is long, a little 

 bent, very broad at the base, dusky black 

 above, and yellow below ; the eye hazel, 

 feathered close to the eyelid, which is yel- 

 low. The female differs little from the 

 male ; the four middle tail-feathers in her 

 are of the same uniform drab; and the white, 

 with which the others are tipt, not so pure 

 as in the male. In examining this bird by 

 dissection, the inner membrane of the giz- 

 zard, which in many other species is so hard 

 and muscular, in this is extremely lax and 

 soft, capable of great distension ; and, what 

 is remarkable, is covered with a growth of 

 fine down, or hair, of a light fawn colour." 

 A specimen of this bird is said to have been 

 found in this country. 



CUCKOO-SPIT. [See CERCOPID*:.] 



CUCULID^E. An extensive family of Pas- 

 serine birds, characterized by having the toes 

 situated two before and two behind ; and so 

 named from including as the typical species 

 the well-known Cuckoo. These birds are 

 for the most part inhabitants of the warm 

 climates, and none permanently reside in 

 countries subject to severe winter cold. 

 They have a slightly arched compressed 

 beak, and a long rounded tail ; their wings 

 are moderately long, and they fly with ra- 

 pidity. They feed on insects, worms, and 

 soft fruits, which they procure while leaping 

 from branch to branch, or flitting from tree 

 to tree : when on the ground they walk 

 awkwardly, on account of the shortness of 

 their tarsi. [See CUCKOO.] 



CUCULINJE. The name given to denote 

 that sub- family of the CUCULID.E which con- 

 sists of the genuine Cuckoos. 



CULEX : CIILICIDJE. A genus and fa- 

 mily of Dipterous or two-winged insects, 

 consisting of the various kinds of Gnats. 

 They are distinguished by the length of the 

 proboscis, and their beautifully tufted an- 

 tennae. They generally abound in damp 

 situations, their larv:c being inhabitants of 

 the water. [See GNAT : MOSQUITO.] 



CURASSOW. (Crar.) A genus of Gal- 

 linaceous birds, inhabiting various parts of 

 South America. They are nearly as large as 

 a turkey. 



The CRESTED CURASSOW. (Crocc alector.) 

 This bird is nearly three feet in length. 

 The crest, which it can elevate or depress at 

 pleasure, is composed of twisted black fea- 

 thers, narrow at the base and broad at the 

 tip : the whole of the upper part of the 

 plumage is of a deep shining black colour, 

 reflecting purple and green shades ; the tail 

 is black, generally tipped with white ; the 

 abdomen and the inferior tail-coverts are 



