( I ( IMD.K TIIK CI (KoOS. 4^3 



WHS the first lo in* liulc tlu* Man^nnvt* Cuckoo amoii^f Xnrtli AiiuM'ican birds, 

 sjK'uk.s ol" it as .lu iiil«al»i'ant cliictly of Caycnno, and as (jccasioiially visit- 

 in*; tlie oxtrenie Soiitlicrn Stales Mr. Aiuluhon, wImj was tlie first to iinu't 

 witli tlie species witliiii the limits of the Tiiited States, oidy (»l>tained speei- 

 iiieiis (if it in Florida, n«'ar Key West. I have seen a specimen which was 

 ^'iven to Mr. John (1. liell as havin;j; heen ]>rocurcd in Southern Mississii)]>i. 

 Mr. (losse obtained specimens of this hiid in Jauiaica, thouLjh lie had no 

 o]»portunity of ohservinj,' its domestic econ(»m}. In the month of Januarj" 

 the specimens he dissected had e,u}j;s in their ov.iVi«\s as larj^'e as duck- 

 shot. J)r. (iuikI'icIi «,dves it as a Cuban bird, l)ut do. 3 not mention it as 

 one that breeds on that ishind. The Xewtons met with this species in St. 

 Croix, but appear to have regarded it as not a summer resident, Imt only in 

 the light of a visitant in the winter. 



Mr. March, referring without doubt to this sj)ecies, mentions it as a con- 

 stant resident in the island (»f Jamaica, where it is connnon in the lowlands 

 during summer. It is .said to breed from March to July, building in the 

 low branches of trees or in shrubs. The ne.st is described as a .structure 

 composed of a few dry sticks, so loosely put together that it falls to i)ieces 

 on any attempt to remove it. Three, rarely four, eggs are laid, which are 

 of a glaucous-green color, oval, generally round at both ends, and varying 

 in size from 1.23 inches by SH) to l.'-\S inches by 1 inch. 



Of late years no specimens seem to have been obtained in Florida, either 

 by Maynard or by the many other explorers of the J'eninsula ; and even 

 if the earlier notices are correct, we mav have to consider it as merely a 

 straggler from the Bahamas, like CcrtJiiohi hahrnnctisi.s, CrotupJiaiin an'i, Vho- 

 nipara zcmf, Vhrost//ria harhutuhi, etc. 



Mr. Audubon, who was the only one of our naturalists who met with 

 the nest and eggs, discovered them near Key West. He describes the nest 

 as slightly ccjnstructed of dry twigs, and as almost Hat, nearly resembling 

 that of the Yellow-billed ( 'uckoo. The esiis are the same in number and 

 form as those of that species, but are somewhat larger. It is said to raise 

 two broods in one season, and to feed its young on insects until they are 

 able to provide for themselves. An old bird, caught on its nest, which Mr. 

 Audubon saw confined in a cage, refused all food and soon pined itself to 

 death, — thus evincing, in his opinion, the great affection these birds have for 

 their own eggs. An egg in the Smithsonian Institution collection, given me 

 bv Mr. John Cr. Bell of Xew York, is said to have been oljtained in Mis- 

 sissij^pi with the parent bird. Its color has slightly faded, and, except in 

 its greater comparative breadth, it is not distinguishable from the eggs of 

 the YeUow-biU. 



