112 CUCKOOS, | 
It is generally resident throughout its range, and in 
March makes its nest, selecting for a site a hollow tree, 
or the deserted home of a Crow or Hawk. Two to four 
eggs are laid, which, like the eggs of all Owls, are pure 
white. 
CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. (ORDER COoccy: GES). 
Cuckoos. (FamMILy CUCULIDz.) 
Ax Cuckoos have two toes directed forward and two 
backward, but the cause or use of this character it is dif- 
ficult to understand, so widely do the members of this 
family differ in habit. Some are arboreal, never visiting — 
the earth, while others are terrestrial, running with great 
swiftness, and rarely perching far above the ground. 
Most Cuckoos—all our thirty-five American species— 
have noticeably long tails, which they raise and droop 
slowly just after alighting, or when their curiosity is 
aroused. 
Of the one hundred and seventy-five known species, 
. only two are found in the northeastern €tates—the Yel- 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, billed and the Black-billed Cuckoos. 
Coccyzue americanus. ‘Che former is generally the more com- 
Plate XXII. =mon. It is a retiring bird, and you 
will doubtless be first attracted to it by its notes. It does 
not perch in an exposed position, nor make long flights, 
but usually flies from the shelter of one tree directly into 
the protecting foliage of another. If you catch a glimpse 
of it in passing, its long tail and brownish color will 
suggest a Dove. 
Cuckoos are mysterious birds well worth watching. 
I would not imply that their deeds are evil; on the con- 
trary, they are exceedingly beneficial birds. One of 
their favorite foods is the tent caterpillar which spins the 
