444 The Cuckoo-like Birds 



the so-called true Cuckoos (Cuculus), the habits of one species of which have 

 already been given. These birds to the number of about a dozen species are 

 widely spread throughout the whole of the Old World except Polynesia, and may 

 be known by the usual grayish or brownish Hawk-like plumage and the fan- 

 shaped tail, while the closed wings extend beyond the upper tail-coverts. They 

 are birds about ten or twelve inches long, of swift, very Hawk-like flight and pecul- 

 iar resonant call notes, that of the common Cuckoo (C. canorus), together with 

 an allied South African species (C. gularis], having the well-known cuckoo call. 

 Their food consists mainly of caterpillars, grubs, worms, and soft-bodied insects, 

 and all are more or less migratory, some being particularly so. Thus the com- 

 mon Cuckoo is found in summer over all of Europe up to or possibly beyond the 

 Arctic Circle, as well as in northern Asia, and retires in winter to Africa, the 

 Indian peninsula, and the Malay countries. It is a shy, wild bird, often heard but 

 seldom seen, due in part doubtless to its continued persecution by ignorant 

 people, who assert that it turns into a Hawk during the winter months. To the 

 eastward the place is occupied by the closely related Himalayan Cuckoo (C. 

 saturatus], which differs by its smaller size and stouter bill, and the Gray-headed 

 Cuckoo (C. poliocephalus), which is still smaller and much darker colored. The 

 latter species is also a very shy bird, frequenting the borders of the old forests 

 and giving frequent voice to its peculiar and decidedly unmusical call. The 

 Indian Cuckoo (C. micropterus] is known by its dark brown upper parts and paler 

 tail, which has a broad subterminal band of black. It is a migratory species with 

 a fine melodious call, but its breeding habits remain practically unknown. The 

 most marked of the African species is the Black Cuckoo (C. clamosus}, distin- 

 guished at once by its glossy greenish black plumage and white-tipped tail. As 

 its technical name indicates, it is a noisy bird, the note being very loud and 

 harsh, and it is also an excessively shy, active bird, flitting about in the tops of 

 the lofty trees, and is secured with great difficulty. 



Hawk-Cuckoos. Differing structurally from the last genus in having 

 relatively shorter wings are the Hawk-Cuckoos (Hierococcyx), which are remark- 

 able for the close resemblance in flight and plumage to the Sparrow-Hawk, 

 the likeness being so close as to cause the greatest alarm among all small birds 

 when one appears. Even the plumage of the young birds resembles that of 

 several immature birds of prey. The coloration is grayish above and more or 

 less brownish or rufous below, with the tail strongly black-banded and the 

 large eyes yellow. There are seven species of Hawk-Cuckoos which range from 

 eastern Siberia to India and the Malay Peninsula and islands, four species being 

 found in India proper, the best-known being the common Hawk-Cuckoo (H. 

 varius). This is a resident bird wherever found, except perhaps in Ceylon, 

 and frequents well-wooded country, feeding largely on caterpillars, but also, 

 it is said, on fruits and buds. The nesting season extends from April to June, 

 and the eggs, which are blue in color, are deposited chiefly in the nests of Bab- 

 blers. Its "loud crescendo notes," as Jerdon terms its calls, are frequently 

 heard both by night and day, at least during the nesting season. The largest 

 of the group is the Great Hawk-Cuckoo (H. sparverioides), a bird some fifteen 



