74 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII, 



Our Indian parasitic Cuckoos, numbering 17, are divided into eight 

 genera which may be distinguished as follows : — 



Family Cuculidje. 

 4.. Tarsus partly feathered. 



a. No crest. 



a'. Plumage neither metallic nor black. 

 a". Wing over 5*6. 

 a'". Secondaries in closed wing about up to 



half primaries Cuculus. 



b". Secondaries | length of primaries or more.. Hierococcyx. 

 b". Wing under 5'2. 

 c'". Bill compressed, tail feathers equal 



throughout... Cacomantis. 



d"'. Bill not compressed, tail feathers narrow- 

 ing towards tip Pentlxoceryx. 



V. Plumage partly metallic green or violet Chrysococcyx. 



c'. Plumage all black and white Surniculus. 



b. Head crested . ..=, Coccystes. 



B. Tarsus quite naked Eudynamis. 



The genus Cuculus contains four species which differ mainly in size, 

 all having dark ashy or brown backs and barred under plumage, with 

 unicoloured breasts (in old birds) and barred inner webs to the primaries. 



They may be distinguished as follows : — 



A. No sub-terminal black band on the tail. 



a. Wing 8" or over C. canorus. 



b. Wing under 8" 



a'. Edge of wing white C. saturatus. 



V. Edge of wing ashy , t ., ... .. G.poliocephalus. 



B. A black sub-terminal band on the tail C. micropterus. 



The two large Cuckoos canorus and micropterus may always be 



distinguished from one another at all stages by the band sub-tipping 

 the tail. 



The young of C. saturatus (the Himalayan Cuckoo) and canorus (the 

 Common Cuckoo) may be difficult to discriminate, but the former very 

 rarely has the white nape patch which is always present in the latter. 



The edge of the wing in the Common Cuckoo is mixed brown and 

 white, and is not pure white as in the Himalayan Cuckoo. The two 

 birds when compared together also vary in the barring of the lower 

 parts, the former having these bands considerably narrower and more 

 numerous. This, of course, is a matter of comparison only, so is not of 

 much use unless one has specimens of both species. 



