CUCULUS 469 



p. 64 ; Shelley, Cat. B. Br. Mas. xix, p. 245 ; Blanf. F. Brit. Ind, 

 Birds, iii. p. 205 ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. O.'p. 685 ; Saunders, p. 287 ; 

 Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 169 ; Lilford, ii. p. 21, pi. 10 ; C. Jiepatieiis, 

 Sparrm. Mus. Carls, p. 55 (1789), 



Coucon gris, French ; Cuco, Portug. ; Cucu, Span. ; Cuculo, 

 Ital. ; Kuckuk, German ; Koekoek, Dutch ; Gjog, Dan. ; Gjok, 

 Norweg. ; Gok, Svved. ; Kdki, Finn. ; Kiekka, Lapp. ; Kukushka, 

 Russ. ; Takouk, Moor. ; Tdgug, Arab. ; Phuphu, Hindu. ; Kukku 

 Lepch. ; Kakko, Jap. 



ad. (England). Upper parts dark bluish ash, paler on the head and 

 bluer on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; quills ashy brown barred with 

 white on the inner web ; tail graduated, blackish, spotted and tipped with 

 white ; throat and upper breast pale ashy blue ; rest of the under parts 

 white barred with blackish ; bill blackish horn, at the base and along the 

 edge yellowish ; gape orange yellow ; legs and iris yellow. Culmen 0'9, 

 wing 8*35, tail 7'0, tarsus. 0'92 inch. Sexes alike. The young bird is 

 deep clove-brown above, barred with pale rusty brown, the feathers 

 mostly tipped with white, arid a white spot on the nape ; quills dark brown 

 barred with ferruginous and tipped with white, the inner webs barred 

 with white ; tail clove-brown barred with ferruginous and spotted and 

 tipped with white ; under parts buffy white, warmer in tinge on the 

 abdomen, and barred with blackish. A peculiar hepatic plumage, much 

 more rufous than that of the young bird is not seldom retained over the 

 firt year. 



Hob. All Europe up to, or a little beyond the Arctic Circle ; 

 Africa as far south as Natal and Damaraland; Madeira; Canaries; 

 Asia from lat. 67 N. south to Celebes and east to Japan. It 

 breeds in the northern and central portions of its range, 

 wintering in the south. 



In its general habits it is wild and shy, and is but seldom 

 seen though so often heard. On the wing it resembles a Hawk 

 and is tolerably swift, but on the ground it is ungainly, pro- 

 gressing by means of short hops. The well-known call is 

 uttered by the male, and the note of the female is a laughing 

 QuAckwickwick preluded by a low, harsh sound. Its food con- 

 sists almost exclusively of insects of various kinds, especially of 

 hairy caterpillars, but it also eats small snails and even seeds. 



Much has been written on the breeding of the Cuckoo, but I 

 may briefly remark that this species does not pair, arid that the 

 female has indiscriminate intercourse with several males. The 

 egg is probably laid on the ground and the female takes it in 

 her bill and places it in the nest of the bird she has selected 

 as a foster-parent. The eggs vary considerably in colour and 



