418 CUCULID^. . 



it was found breeding by Mr. Edward Newton. Its appear- 

 ance to the west of the Rocky Mountains, long ago asserted 

 by Nuttall and Townsend, was subsequently doubted, but 

 has since been fully established by Mr. Cooper (Ornith. Calif. 

 i. p. 372) and others. On the eastern side it commonly 

 ranges from the Missouri plains to the Atlantic, and north- 

 ward to Ontario and New Brunswick ; but, though Audubon 

 says he observed it in Labrador, it does not seem to reach 

 Newfoundland. Mr. Dresser records one, on Herr Benzon's 

 authority, as having occurred at Julianehaab in Greenland, 

 in 1874. It occasionally visits Bermuda, and Wedderburn 

 and Mr. Hurdis noticed its arrival there, October 9th, 

 1849, in an extraordinary flight of thousands, most of 

 which disappeared the following day. On the continent 

 of Europe only one example is known, which, says M. 

 Alph. Dubois (Bull. Ac. R. Belg. ser. 2, xxxix. pp. 9-11), 

 was killed at Bois-de-Lessines in Hainault, October 22nd, 

 1874 the same season, be it remarked, in which the sup- 

 posed specimen was obtained on Lundy Island. 



The bill has the upper mandible brownish-black, inclining 

 to yellow at the base ; the lower yellow except at the tip, 

 which is dusky : the irides are brown : the upper part of the 

 head, neck and body, the wing-coverts and the two middle tail- 

 feathers are mouse-colour, the last being tipped with dark- 

 brown, and having the shaft rufous; the wing-quills are 

 brown, the primaries tinged with reddish, and, except the 

 exterior pair, have the hidden part chestnut ; the remaining 

 tail-feathers are blackish-brown, tipped with white, increasing 

 in extent on each pair from the middle outwardly, and on the 

 exterior occupying nearly all the outer web ; the chin, throat 

 and lower parts are white, the sides of the neck tinged with 

 ash-grey : legs, toes and claws, lead-colour. 



The whole length is about twelve inches, from the carpus 

 to the tip of the wing five inches and five-eighths ; the first 

 primary shorter than the second. 



The sexes hardly differ ; but the young are easily distin- 

 guished by having the tail-quills dusky, with the white tip 

 smaller and less well defined. 



