48 CHECK LIST OF THE 



Subfamily COCCYZIN^. (American Cuckoos.) 



Genus COCCYZUS. 



{387) Yellow=billed Cuckoo. 



(v.occyzus americanus.) 



A regular, but not a common, summer resident ; breeding through- 

 out its range. 



{388) Black-billed Cuckoo. 



(Coccyzus erythrophthalmus.) 

 A common summer resident, breeding throughout its range. 

 Arrives about the twentieth of May, departs about the end of Sep- 

 tember. 



Suborder ALCYONES. (Kingfishers.) 



Family ALCEDINID/E. (Kingfishers.) 



Head large ; bill long, straight and strong ; gape- deep, edges nt t ser- 

 rate. Wings long ; tail short. Tarsus very short. Toes three in front, one 

 behind, the outer and middle toes united half their length, with a con- 

 tinuous sole beneath. 



We have but one species. 



Genus CERYLE. 

 (390) Belted Kingfisher. 



(Ceryle alcyon.) 



A common summer resident, breeding throughout its range. 



Arrives about the beginning of April, departs early in October. I 

 have several times found these birds spending the winter on rapid 

 streams in southern Ontario, and once near Bala in Muskoka. 



Order PICI. (Woodpeckers, etc.) 



Feet zygodactyle, i.e., having the toes in pairs — two forward ard 

 two behind (except in Picoides, in which the hind toe is wanting). Tail 

 feathers pointed and with strong shafts ; used as a prop to assist the 

 birds in supporting themselves against the trunks of trees. 



Family FICIDM. (Woodpeckers.) 



Bill stout, usually straight, with the tip distinctly trun(\ate (exi:(-pt 

 in Colaptes), adapted for hammering or boring into wood. Tongue long, 

 flattish, barbed, capable of great protrusion, adapted for securing insects 

 (except in Sphyrapicus.) Hyoid process peculiar, the horns genier^Ily vciy 

 long, curving up around the skull behind and over forward again to the 

 ear, or beyond. Claws compressed, sharp and strong. 



All are chiefly insectivorous, the majority of them obtaining their 

 food by boring into the trunks of trees and extracting the larvae which 

 feed upon the cambium. 



