318 CUCKOOS 



Iowa, Wise., and s. border of the Great Lakes, and casually to N. Y. 

 and Pa. 



Washington, extinct, known only from specimens shot :'n Seut., 1865. 



Nest, said to be in a hollow cypress or sycamore tree, but no au+b^ntic 

 account of the nidification of this species has been published. Eggs (laid 

 in captivity), white, 1'44 x 1'12. Date, probably lay in June. 



The complete extermination of the Paroquet throughout the greater 

 part of its range is due chiefly to four causes : first, it was destructive to 

 fruit orchards, and for this reason was killed by agriculturists; second, 

 it has been trapped and bagged in enormous numbers by professional 

 bird-catchers; third, it has been killed in myriads for its plumage; and, 

 fourth, it has been wantonly slaughtered by so-called sportsmen. In 

 short, in the present century the Paroquet has always disappeared soon 

 after its haunts were invaded by civilized man. At present it it appar- 

 ently restricted to southern Florida, and there mainly if not wholly to 

 the 'hammocks' northeast and east of Lake Okeechobee, where in 

 April, 1904, near Taylor Creek, I saw thirteen birds. 



1891. HASBROUCK, E. M., Auk, VIII, 369-379; BUTLER, A., Ibid., 

 1892, IX 49-56 (range). 



XIV. ORDER COCCYGES. CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. 



41. FAMILY CUCULID^E. CUCKOOS, ANIS, ETC. (Fig. 53.) 



Only thirty-five of the some one hundred and ninety known species 

 of Cuckoos are found in the New World, and they are largely confined 

 to the tropics. 



Cuckoos, as a rule, are rather solitary birds, inhabiting wooded 

 areas. The Anis, however, are always gregarious and live in open places. 

 Their flight is weak, generally from tree to tree, and their feet are largely 

 used as a means of progression. Some species hop, others walk, and one 

 is celebrated for his speed as a runner. They are possessed of peculiar 

 vocal powers, and their strange calls are frequently the origin of their 

 popular names. Many species are remarkable for the irregularity of 

 their breeding habits. The Old World Cuckoo (Cuculus canorw), like 

 our Cowbird, places its eggs in the nests of other birds, and leaves to 

 them the duties of incubation and rearing of the young. The Anis are 

 communistic, and build but one nest, in which several females lay and 

 share the task of incubation. The smaller species are insectivorous, 

 but the larger ones add small reptiles and batrachians to their fare. 

 The eggs of all North American species are white or bluish white, and 

 are sometimes laid at such widely separated intervals that the same 

 nest may contain fresh eggs and young birds. The young are hatched 

 naked and the feathers of the Juvenal plumage, which is the first to be 

 acquired, remain in their sheaths until they are well-grown. 



383. Crotophaga ani Linn. ANT. Ads. Bill much compressed 

 vertically, nearly as high as long. Black, feathers of foreparts of the body 



