rrrrrjD.E — the ctxkoos. 475 



makiiijjj a low cooing; noise like tlmt of a dove, for wiiicli it was at first mis- 

 taken. He afterwards heard it cooinu harslily and cliatterinn its niandil)les 

 together, at the same time jerkinif up its tail and erecting' its crest. 



Where not molested, Dr. Cooper states that tliey Iteenme (juite tame, and 

 seem to have a preferenee for towns and lioiises. At Santa liarhara he 

 observed one younij; l>ird nearly lled«j;ed as early as May. 



Mr. A. J. Grayson had one of these birds in confinement, wliieli became 

 (piite tame, and readily fed upon any kind of raw meat, but ]treferred lizards 

 and small birds, tlie latter of wliieli it swallowed, featliers and all. If ^iven 

 to him alive, he would ]>lay with them awhile before swallowiiii^ them, as a cat 

 does with a mouse. They are sometimes tamed, and ke]»t aljout gardens to kill 

 mice and insects. I)r. Kennerly also states that when taken alive they soon 

 become quite tame, and willingly remain al»out a house, soon destroying all 

 the mice in the vicinity, which taev catch with as nnuh dexteritv as a cat. 



^Ir. Dresser found this bird abundant throui^hout the me.s(|uite regions, and 

 more particularly so near the liio Grande. He found its eggs near San An- 

 tonio in April and May, and received them even as late as the 2:h1 of Se]»tem- 

 ber. They build a clumsy nest of mesquite twigs, ]»laced at some heiglit 

 on a bough or in a hollow tree, and lay from two to four pure \vhite eggs. 

 The stomajhs e.xamined bv^ Mr. Dresser were found to contain small snakes, 

 lizards, and ticks. He had one in a semi-domesticated state at Matanioras, 

 which became very tame, and was so mischievous that he could not let it 

 remain in the house. It would steal and hide evervthing that it could carrv 

 off, and was particularly fond of tearing uj) letters and u]>setting the inkstand. 

 It was never caged or tied up, and would frequently i)ay th«^ neighbors a 

 visit, always returning before evening. He fed it on raw meat and lizai'ds. It 

 flew with great ease, and was very fond of ])erching on the house-to}). This 

 bird had a singular antipathy to a tame parrot, and ' ^ner the latter was 

 let out of the cage, it would get into a rage, and e » the house-to}> 



or decamp to some of the neighbors. 



The eggs ire white, of a roumled oval, equal at eithei and measure 



1.60 by 1.2:i inches. 



Gkxu.s COCCTGUS, Vieillot. 



Cocctfzus, Vieillot, Analyse, 181G. iTypc, ('ncuht,'i americantis, LiNN.) 

 EnithrophniK, Swaixsox, C'la.ss. Birds, II, lS:i7, 322. 



Gex. Ch.\r. Head without crest: feathers about ba.«e of l>ill .«oft : bill nearly as lone 

 as the head, deeurved, slender, and attenuated towards the end. Nostrils linear. Wings 

 lengthened, reaching the middle of the tail ; the tertials short. Tail of ten graduated 

 feathers. Feet weak ; tarsi .<horter than the middle toe. 



The species of Cocrt/f/us are readily distinguished from those of Gcococcyx 

 by their arboreal habits, confininij: themselves mainlv to trees, instead of 

 living habitually on the ground. The plumage is soft, fine, and compact. 



