THE PHEASANT CUCKOO. BIRDS. THK TACCO. 



337 



a flat, thin nest, composed of a few twigs and fragments 

 of herbage, upon the horizontal branch of a tree, and 

 lays four or five eggs. Upon these the female sits 

 with an assiduity which forms a remarkable contrast 

 to the desertion of their offspring by the typical Cuckoos; 

 she will remain upon her nest until the hand is almost 

 in contact with her, and when compelled to quit it by 

 the approach of danger, will flutter along the ground 

 as if maimed in the wing, in order to entice away the 

 intruder. 



THE PHEASANT CUCKOO (Centropus phasianus), a 

 large and remarkably fine species inhabiting New 

 South Wales, is readily distinguished by the great 

 length of the claw belonging to the true (or inner) hind 

 toe. From this character the name of Lark-heeled 

 Cuckoos has been conferred upon the present species 

 and its allies. It measures about thirty inches in 

 length, of which fully half is occupied by the broad 

 and ample tail. Its general colour is a rich brown, 

 paler beneath, streaked on the body, and barred on the 

 wings and tail, with buff, each streak or bar being 

 narrowly edged with black. This bird inhabits swampy 

 places among the brushes, where it runs through the 

 herbage with great facility. When disturbed, it flies 

 up to the low branch of some tree, and thence ascends 

 by leaping from branch to branch to the top of the tree, 

 whence it flies off to another. Unlike some of the pre- 

 ceding species, the Pheasant Cuckoo takes the trouble 

 of hatching and rearing its own young, building a large 

 nest of dried grasses, usually in the midst of a tuft of 

 grass. The nest is domed, and furnished with two 

 openings, through one of which the head, and through 

 the other the tail of the female protrudes whilst she is 

 engaged in the work of incubation. 



THE SENEGAL LARK-HEELED CUCKOO (Centropus 

 sencgalensis), which appears to inhabit nearly the whole 

 of Africa, is not more than sixteen inches in length, 

 and has the head, back of the neck, and upper part of 

 the back, black ; the rest of the back and the wings cinna- 

 mon-red; the rump and tail feathers blackish, more or 

 less streaked transversely with fine buff lines ; the lower 

 part of the body is buffy white. As in the preceding 

 species, the shafts of nearly all the feathers are thick, 

 stiff, and brilliant, giving a peculiar character to the 

 plumage. This bird lives in pairs in the forest, and 

 feeds upon locusts and other large insects. It breeds 

 in the holes of trees, and the male and female assist 

 each other in the task of incubation. The note of 

 the male is described by Le Vaillant as resembling the 

 words coura-coura-hovi-coura-how. 



THE RED-WINGED CUCKOO (Centropus rufipennis), 

 a common species in -India and in the eastern islands, 

 is known to the European residents in India as the 

 " Crow Pheasant," from its presenting a certain resem- 

 blance both in appearance and manners to those two 

 birds. It resides both in wooded and cultivated 

 grounds, and in the open jungles, and feeds principally 

 on the ground, walking along somewhat pompously, 

 with its ample tail widely spread, and picking up not 

 only large insects, but also centipedes, scorpions, and 

 even small lizards and snakes. Colonel Sykes found 

 in one of these birds a snake eight inches, and a lizard 

 thirteen inches in length. The head of the latter was 



in the stomach and partly digested, whilst the body was 

 still in the oesophagus. The note of this species is 

 described as a monotonous cry of hoot-hoot-hoot, or 

 hoop-hoop-hoop. The young bird is said by Mr. Blyth 

 to be almost constantly repeating a curious hoarse 

 sound " like a person choking, which," he says, " is not 

 pleasant to hear." The nest, which is of very large 

 size, and domed, is placed in a thick bush or tree. It 

 has a single aperture in the side. 



THE TACCO (Saurothera vetula). Several American 

 species of this family, called Ground Cuckoos by Mr. 

 Gray, are distinguished by their long straight bill, which 

 is curved only at the point, and denticulated along the 

 margin, their long tarsi and their short toes. They are 

 thus organized for dwelling more upon the ground than 

 most of the other Cuculidae. The present species, 

 which is the best known, is an inhabitant of the West 

 Indies, and especially of the island of Jamaica, where 

 it is tolerably abundant in the woods, and is known as 

 the Rain-bird, from its uttering its peculiar cry before 

 rain. This bird is about fifteen niches in length, 

 including its long wedge-shaped tail. It is of a brown 

 colour above, and pale yellowish-brown beneath, with 

 the chin and throat nearly white ; all the tail-feathers, 

 except the two middle ones, are tipped with white. Its 

 food consists of caterpillars and other large insects, and 

 of small lizards, snakes, and other animals which it is 

 able to overcome. In pursuit of its prey, it runs with 

 facility not only on the ground, but also on the trunks 

 and branches of trees, the latter being the situation in 

 which it most commonly meets with the small lizards on 

 which it preys, and it passes with the most astonishing 

 facility through the thickest bushes. Its common cry 

 resembles the word taceo; but when on the wing, or 

 alarmed at any object, it pronounces the syllables cra- 

 cra-cra, or qua-qua-qua, in a tone so much resembling 

 a sudden burst of laughter, that it is known in some 

 places by the name of the Laugher. This species 

 builds a nest at the foot of a tree, composing it of dry 

 roots, moss, and leaves, and lays four or five eggs. 



SPARRMANN'S HONEY GUIDE (Indicator Spar- 

 manni) is of a rusty-gray colour above, having the wings 

 brown, with a yellow spot at the bend. It is about six 

 inches in length, and inhabits the southern parts of 

 Africa, where, with some allied species, it is noted for 

 its fondness for feeding upon bees, and especially upon 

 the contents of their combs. In search of these 

 dainties, the Honey Guides seek out the nests of the' 

 wild bees, which are generally built in holes of trees, 

 and endeavour to force their way in ; to protect 

 them from the stings of the industrious insects whose 

 premises they thus invade, they are furnished with a 

 covering of stiff and hard feathers, and with a skin so 

 dense, that Le Vaillant asserts that it gave him some 

 trouble to pierce it with a pin. Nevertheless, they are 

 occasionally destroyed during their burglarious pro- 

 ceedings by the bees, which then cover up the body 

 with a waxen vault to prevent its decomposition ren- 

 dering it a nuisance in the nest. By their cries when 

 haunting the vicinity of a wild hive, and probably 

 engaged in capturing the bees as they issue from, or 

 return to their home, these birds often lead the Hottentots 

 and others to the place ; indeed, the older naturalists 



