482 NOKTII AMKKICAN niRUS. 



Coccygus minor, Cahanis. 



MANGROVE CTTCKOO. 



f CuchIhh minor, fJMKi.iN, Syst. Xat. I, 1788, 411. f Coccyzns vnnor^ Carams, Cal). 

 .Tutiniiil fur Oiii. l^^.'>«>, lol (i ulci). — lUiui*, Hinls N. Aiu. isr.8, 7S. — Cuculus 

 scniculiis, Lath. IikI. I, 17Sh», 21S». ai>ccijzuH Heniruhui, NrrrAi.i., Man. I. 1832, i^aS. 

 — All). Oni. IJin^r. II, K>;34, ."»<> \A. < '\ix. — In. liinls America, IV, 1812. ;jo:{, pi. 

 oclx.wii. CossK, IJinIs ,laiiiai(.i, 281, — IJos. Coi-sjifctus, IS.'iO, III. Eriithrophnjs 

 scnicu/us, r>oN. I,ist, 1S38. Coccijc/us Uominicus, i'^vL. Cat. 1802, 32.'J. 



►^p. TiiAH. Lowor inmulilih* yellow, except ar the tip. Body ahove olivaeeous, strongly 

 tin<;e(l with ashy towards jiiul <>ii the lusul. Heneath pale yelJowish-hrown. <larkest on 

 the lefTsand abdom<Mi, l»eooniinj,' lighter to the hill. An eloiij:ati'<l spot of dark plumbeous 

 behind the eye. Inner ah^c^ of the qnills and nnder wing-eoverts like th > belly. Tail- 

 feathers, except the central, black, with a sharply delined ti[) of white f-,r about an inch, 

 this color not extending along the outer wt-b of the (juill. Length about 12.00 ; wing 

 about .'».25. 



Hais. Floiida Keys to West Indies. Localities : ? 8ta. Cruz (XnwTo.v, Il»is, I, 150) ; 

 Cuba (Cap.. J. IV, ir>4 ; Ctpxpi,. Repert. I, 18()G, 295) ; Jamaica (Ciossk, B. Jam. 281). 



This species is readily (listiiiLiuisliable by its fulvous under parts, dark ear- 

 coverts, and la{;k of rufous on inner webs of quills. It lias the yellow bill 

 and dark tail, with broad white tips, of C. arnrriri(nv>i, although the white 

 does not extend along the outer web of the feathers. 



According to Mr. Audubon, this S])ecies is a regular summer visitor to 

 Key West and the other Florida keys. 



This species is more es])ecially West Indian, occurring in nearly all the 

 islands. There are some local variations in color ( Porto- Rican being much 

 redder, IVihamaii paler), as well as in size, but in a large series from the same 

 island there will be found such diderences as to warrant us in considering 

 all as one species. In a \ery large series before us, we cannot see any 

 tangible difference, although ( 'abanis and Sclater recognize a C. ncsiotes from 

 the Antillean West Indies, as distinguished from C. finiiculus from South 

 American and the windward West Indies ; the former, smaller and paler, 

 and, according to Cabanis, with the white of tip of tail confined to the inner 

 web ; the latter darker beneath, and larger. These characters I do not find 

 substantiated, nor have I seen one specimen without white in both webs at 

 the ends of the tail-feathers. 



As the name of C. minor is tlie earliest one for at least the South Ameri- 

 can i-ace, we retain it in preference to seniculus, as although scarcely minor 

 in this genus, it is so compared with Piaya, Geococcf/x, and Snarothero. 

 5 Habits. This species claims a place in the fauna of North America as a 

 resident of the Florida keys. This is the only locality positively known as 

 its habitat within the limits of the territory of the United States. The 

 only si)ecimen referred to in the ninth volume of the Pacific Railroad Sur- 

 veys was supposed to have been obtained in Florida. Mr. Nuttall, who 



