472 FAMILY CUCULID.E; CUCKOOS, HONEY-GUIDES. 



grasping a perch, than for climbing trees. They feed on insects, 

 worms, and soft fruits ; in procuring which they glide among 

 the twigs and foliage, leaping from branch to branch, and flitting 

 from one tree to another ; when on the ground, however, they 

 walk awkwardly, on account of the shortness of their tarsi. The 

 remarkable instinct of the true Cuckoos, of which one species is 



FIG. 267. GREY CUCKOO. 



a regular summer visitant in Britain, has been already noticed 

 ( 351). This Bird seems to be more universally spread over 

 the country, than any other of the migrating species ; for it is 

 found not only in open cultivated districts, but in the wood and 

 thickets of upland glens, and on bare rocky hills and bleak 

 moors. Nearly allied to the Cuckoo, are the Cowcows of 

 America, which, like our own race, derive their names from 

 their peculiar notes. Their general habits are the same ; but 

 they build nests for themselves, and do not intrude upon others. 

 To this family also belong the Indicators or Honey-guides 

 of Africa ; which are celebrated for their curious habit of guid- 

 ing the natives to the nests of the wild Bees, enticing "them to 

 the spot by flitting before them, and reiterating a peculiar cry. 

 They have short, strong, and rather conical bills, resembling 

 those of the Sparrow. Their skin is very tough, and protects 

 them from the stings of Bees ; but these sometimes kill them by 

 attacking their eyes. 



