248 BIRDS. ZYGGDACTYLI. 



also purple ; beneath the eyes a white stripe pointing backwards ; 

 upper mandible vaulted over part of the forehead. 19 inches 

 long. Inhabits Africa. Shaw, viii. pi. 4, 5. 



Gen. 2. INDICATOR, Vieill. 



Bill short, depressed, dilated on the sides, a little bent and 

 notched at the point ; ridge distinct ; nasal furrow large ; 

 nostrils basal, a little tubular ; tarsus shorter than the external 

 toe ; the anterior toes united to the first joint ; wings with 

 the third feather the longest . 



I. major, Stephens. Great Honey-guide. Upper part of the head, 

 hinder part of the neck, wing-coverts, and back brownish olive- 

 green ; rump and tail-coverts white ; breast and under parts pale 

 yellow, the middle of the neck with black spots. 10 inches long. 

 Inhabits Africa Shaw, ix. pi. 27- 



I. minor, Steph. Plumage olive gray, with the quills brownish, mar- 

 gined with yellow ; belly and tail whitish, the latter with the 

 middle feathers black ; bill and legs brown. Inhabits Southern 

 Africa. Shaw, ix. 140. 



Gen. 3. CUCULUS, Lin. 



Bill as long as the head, compressed and slightly curved ; nos- 

 trils basal, pierced in the margin of the mandible, and sur- 

 rounded by a naked and prominent membrane ; legs feathered 

 below the knee ; fore toes united at their base ; hind toes di- 

 vided, the exterior reversible ; tail long, more or less gradua- 

 ted ; the third quill-feather the longest. 



The Cuckoos area shy and solitary race of birds, which live' chiefly on insects and 

 caterpillars, and are remarkable for depositing their eggs in the nests of some of 

 the smaller birds. Only one species is a native of Great Britain. 



C. canorus, Lin. Common Cuckoo. Head, neck, breast, and upper 

 parts deep bluish gray, darkest on the wing-coverts; belly, 

 thighs, and under tail-coverts white, with transverse black bars ; 

 tail-feathers blackish, spotted with whitish, as are the exterior 

 webs of the quills ; membranous margin of the bill and around 

 the eyes orange yellow. 10| inches long. Europe. B Selby, 

 Must. pi. 37 and 45***, fig. 1. 



This well known species usually makes its appearance in Britain early in April, 

 and begins to utter the cry from which it has derived its name, in almost every 

 language, about the middle of the month. This, which is the note of the male, 

 ceases about the close of June, and the birds soon after leave the country, the old 

 ones in July, and the young in the beginning of September. The nest which the fe- 

 male cuckoo selects for the deposition of her egg is commonly that of the hedge spar- 

 row, though sometimes that of the water-wagtail, yellow-wren, titlark, yellow-ham- 

 mer, green-linnet, or some other small insectivorous bird. The female is somewhat 

 smaller than the male, but has generally the same markings. The details of colour- 

 ing, however, are so much subject to variation in this species, that scarcely two are 

 marked alike. 

 C. clamosus, Lath. Plumage bluish black ; wing-feathers fuscous ; 



feet yellowish ; bill black. 10 inches long. Inhabits Southern 



Africa. Shaw, ix. 108. 



