THE COMMON CUCKOO. 



121 



OF THE CUCKOO TRIBE IN GENERAL. 



THESE birds have their bill weak, and more or less bending. T 

 nostrils are bounded by a small rim ; and the tongue is short 

 pointed. The toes are situated two forward and two backward. TL* 

 tail is wedge-shaped, and consists of ten soft feathers. 



The different species of Cuckoos are scattered through the four 

 quarters of the globe, but they are much more common in the hot than 

 in temperate or cold climates. One species only is found in Great 

 Britain. 



THE COMMON CUCKOO. 



The Cuckoo is about fourteen inches in length, and twenty-five in 



breadth. The bill 

 is black, strong, 

 and somewhat 

 curved. The upper 

 parts of the plum- 

 age are chiefly of a 

 dove-color; ths 

 throat is pale grey ; 

 and the breast and 

 belly are white, 

 crossed with undu- 

 lated lines of black. 

 The vent featbers 

 are of a buff-color, 

 marked with a few 

 dusky spots. The 

 two middle tail 

 feathers are black, 

 tipped with white. 

 The plumage of the 

 young birds is 

 chiefly brown, 

 mixed with fer- 

 ru g i no us and 

 black. 



The Cuckoo visits us early in the spring. Its well-known cry if 

 generally heard about the middle of April, and ceases about the end 

 of June: its stay is short, the old Cuckoos being said to quit this 

 country early in July. These birds are generally supposed to build 

 no nest; but, what is also extraordinary, the female Cuckoo deposits 

 her solitary egg in the nest of another "bird, by which it is hatched. 

 The nests she <shooses for this purpose are generally those of the Hedge 

 Sparrow, Water- Wagtail, Titlark, Yellow-Hammer, Green Linnet, or 



COMMON CTJCKOO. 



