FAMILY CuculldK. 



Yellow-biU is a trifle larger than the Black-bill, and is 

 distinguished readily by the presence of yellow on the 

 under mandible, though the rest of the bill is black like 

 that of the Black-bill. The tail feathers of this BJ 

 too, are broadly white-tipped. The nest is the ron 

 kind of an affair constructed of bits of sticks, twigs, and 

 grasses, and is generally lodged in the branches of a low 

 tree or among the bushes. The egg is a light, greenish 

 blue. The bird is distributed throughout the East, but 

 is less frequent (in the northern part of its range) than 

 the Black-bill. 



There is very little to say about the Yellow-bill's 

 music perhaps the less said the better. Mr. Cheney 

 sums up the matter in these few words : " The Yellow- 

 oreasted Chat exhibits the same rhythmic peculiarity in 

 his chattings, and so does the Woodpecker drumming on 

 a board or dry limb for the mere sound of it ; but in 

 quality nothing can be compared with this slopping per- 

 *ormance, unless it be that of the loose-mouthed hound 

 lapping from a pan of milk." It is evident that no one 

 can improve on that description. The song written out 

 should appear about like this, though one could never 

 promise that the tone was exactly A : 



S Ritarct et dim. ...'.. ?/ etc. 



- olp, cowlp, cowlp, owlp, olp, olp, 



It begins with a series of gurgling sounds which rap- 

 idly merge into one another, and then runs down in a 

 slower and slower succession of syllables sounding like 

 cowlp, cowlp, cowlp, cowlp, cowlp. It is a perfect 

 ritardando which could not be excelled by the Chat 

 himself who is an expert at that sort of thing. 



The Yellow-bill is a solemn, silent- winged bird devoted 

 to the interests of the orchard ; if there are plenty of 

 tent caterpillars he is happy and will do some execution 

 in a remarkably short space of time. Mr. Chapman 

 writes that in examining the contents of the stomach of 

 one of these birds he found " the partially digested re- 

 mains of forty -three of these caterpillars." 

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