226 



KINGFISHERS. 



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Fig. 74.— Tail-feathers of Black-billed Cuckoo. 



888. Coccyzus erythrophthalmus ( Wih.). BLArR-nn.i.En 



Cuckoo. Ad, — Upper purus j^ruyirtli brown with u sli>jflit j^rcen irloss; wiii;^ 



iin<l tail tin; sitiiic, the 



latter imrrowly tipped 



with white; uiuler 



paits dull white; l)ill 



hiaek. L., 11-83; W., 



5-r)0 ; T., tj"2t5 ; B. from 



N., -74. 



liemnrks. — This species is to he distiiifjuislied from the Yellow-billed 



Cuckoo chiefly by tlic absence of rufous in tlie winj^s, black in the tail, and 



yellow in the lower mandible. 



Ran(je. — Eastern Nortii America; breeds as far nortli as Labrador, and 

 winters in Central and South America. 



Washini,'ton, ratlier rare S. K., .May 2 to Oct. 15. Sinj,' Sinj;, common S. 

 K., May 3 to Oct. 7. Cambridj^'c, common S. H., May IT) to Sept. 20. 



Nest,, similar to that of the precedinj;, but more compactly built; location 

 the same. K(jij»,, two to five, jj^recnish blue, of a deeper shade than those of 

 the precedin<^ species, 1'14 x -So. 



This species resembles the preceding in habits. The two birds may 

 be distinguished in life by the differences in the color of their bills and 

 tails. Mr. William lirewster has called my attention to an easily rec- 

 ognizable difference in their calls. The i)re.sent species has a much 

 softer voice, and the cow, coiv notes arc connected. 



The Ani (3S3. Crotnphuja a/ii), a common species in the Bahamas and 

 Greater Antilles, is of accidental occurrence in Peimsylvania, Florida, and 

 Louisiana. Its plumaj^c is black witli bluish niHections, tlie tail is rounded, 

 the bill hijjh and thin, the deptii at the nostril equaling or exceeding the 

 distance from tlie nostril to the tip of the bill. 



Family Alcedinid^. Kingfishers. 



Kingfishers are most numerous in the Malay Archipelago, and the 

 majority of the one hundred and eighty known species are found there. 

 Only eight are American, and seven of these are confined to the tropics. 

 They are solitary birds of somewhat local haltit. All the American 

 species are, as their name implies, fish-eaters, and are rarely found far 

 from the water. Some of the Old- World species, however, are forest- 

 inhabiting and feed on small. insects, molliisks. etc. 



390. Ceryle alcyon (IJ/m.). Bklteo Kinofismer. (See' Fig. 35.) 

 All. $ . — Upper parts bluisli gray ; wings with small white spots, most of the 

 feathers tipped with white, the inner web of the primaries white at the biuse ; 

 tail-feathers with numerous spots and broken bands of white ; a white spot 

 before the eye ; throat white, this color passing on to the sides of the neck 

 and nearly meeting on the back of the neck ; a band across the breast, and 



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