HUNTER. 277 



HUNTER.* 

 Old Man. Rainlnrd. 



Piaya pluvialis. 



Cuculus pluvialis, GM. Sloane. pi. 258. 



Piaya pluvialis, LESSON. 



THE appellation of Rainbird is indiscriminately 

 applied to both this and the preceding, as is, in a 

 less degree, that of Old Man. I use a term by 

 which I have heard it distinguished, in St. Eliza- 

 beth's, perhaps derived from the perseverance with 

 which it " hunts" (i. e. searches) for its prey. 



The manners of this fine bird greatly resemble 

 those of its relative, and its prey is also similar. It 

 is a bird of large size and imposing aspect, and its 

 puffed plumage and long barred tail give it an 

 appearance of even greater magnitude than it pos- 

 sesses. Its voice is sometimes a cackling repetition 

 of one sound, increasing in rapidity until the 

 separate notes are undistinguishable. At other 

 times it is a hoarse croaking. The craw projects 

 below the sternum, and the skin of that part of 



* Length 19 inches, expanse 1 9 ^, flexure 74, tail 1 If, rictus 2, tar- 

 sus If, middle toe 1^. Irides hazel; feet bluish grey ; beak black, gonys 

 pale grey. Plumage extremely loose and unwebbed. Head dark grey, 

 merging on the neck into dark greyish-green, which is the hue of the 

 back, rump, and wings, with metallic gloss. Tail feathers broad, gradu- 

 ated, glossy black, tipped with white, broadly on the outmost. Throat 

 and breast white, the latter greyish ; the remaining under parts deep red- 

 brown. Eyelids blackish. Interior of mouth black. 



