THE CUCKOO. 



Cuculus canorus, LINNJEOS ; Le Coucou, BUFFON ; Der gemeine Kukuk, 

 BECHSTEIN. 



ALTHOUGH it is not larger than the turtle-dove, its length is 

 fourteen inches, but seven of these are included in the tail, 

 three quarters of which are covered by the folded wings. The 

 beak, black above, and bluish beneath ; the feet have two claws' 

 before and two behind. The head, the top of the neck, and 

 the rest of the upper part of the body are of a dark ash colour, 

 changing like the throat of the pigeon on the back and wing- 

 coverts. 



In the female, which is smaller, the upper part of the body 

 is of a dark brown, with dirty brown spots, which are scarcely 

 visible. The under part of the neck is a mixture of ash grey 

 and yellow, crossed with dark streaks. The belly is of a dirty 

 white, with dark transverse lines. 



HABITATION. When wild, it is a bird of passage, which arrives in April 

 and departs in September, and even much sooner, according to an English 

 observer. 



In the house, it may be let run about, or confined in a krge wooden 

 cage. 



FOOD. When wild, it cats all sorts of insects, particularly caterpillars 

 on trees. 



When confined, it is fed with meat, insects, and the universal paste 

 made of wheat-meal. 



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