Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and Gray Sparrowy Birds 



birds look alike. Their haunts are almost identical ; their habits 

 are the same ; and, as they usually keep well out of sight, it is 

 not surprising if confusion arise. 



Neither cuckoo knows how to build a proper home; a bunch 

 of sticks dropped carelessly into the bush, where the hapless 

 babies that emerge from the greenish eggs will not have far to 

 fall when they tumble out of bed, as they must inevitably do, 

 may by courtesy only be called a nest. The cuckoo is said to 

 suck the eggs of other birds ; but, surely, such vice is only the 

 rarest dissipation. Insects of many kinds and " tent caterpillars " 

 chiefly are their chosen food. 



Yellow-billed Cuckoo 



(Coccyius americanus) Cuckoo family 



Called also: RAIN CROW 



Length — ii to 12 inches. About one-fifth longer than the robin. 



Male and Female — Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in 

 feathers. Underneath grayish white. Bill, which is as 

 long as head, arched, acute, and more robust than the black- 

 billed species, and with lower mandible yellow. Wings 

 washed with bright cinnamon-brown. Tail has outer quills 

 black, conspicuously marked with white thumb-nail spots. 

 Female larger. 



Range — North America, from Mexico to Labrador. Most common 



in temperate climates. Rare on Pacific slope. 

 Migrations — Late April. September. Summer resident. 



" Kak, h-kuk, k-kuk. k-kuk ! " like an exaggerated tree-toad's 

 rattle, is a sound that, when first heard, makes you rush out of 

 doors instantly to " name " the bird. Look for him in the depths 

 of the tall shrubbery or low trees, near running water, if there is 

 any in the neighborhood, and if you are more fortunate than most 

 people, you will presently become acquainted with the yellow- 

 billed cuckoo. When seen perching at a little distance, his large, 

 slim body, grayish brown, with olive tints above and whitish 

 below, can scarcely be distinguished from that of the black-billed 

 species. It is not until you get close enough to note the yellow 

 bill, reddish-brown wings, and black tail feathers with their white 

 "thumb-nail" marks, that you know which cuckoo you are 



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