BRITISH BIRDS. 



267 



THE CUCKOO.* 



GOWK. 



(Ciiciilns catioriis, Linn. Coucou gris, Temm.) 



LENGTH fourteen inches ; breadth twenty-five j 

 the bill is black and somewhat bent ; eyes yel- 

 low ; inside of the mouth red ; its head, neck, 

 back, and wing coverts pale blue, darkest on the 

 head and back, and palest on the fore part of 

 the neck and rump; breast and belly white, ele- 

 gantly crossed with wavy bars of black ; the 

 quill feathers are dusky, their inner webs marked 

 with large oval white spots ; the tail is long ; 

 the two middle feathers black, with white tips; 



* This bird is placed by Temminck first, in his order Zygodac- 

 tyles, which includes three British genera, viz., the Cuckoo, the 

 Woodpecker, and the Wryneck. 



