OF THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. l8l 



as sharp in the sight, as it is active on the wing. The two in 

 iny collection were obtained in the neighborhood of this city. 



The Hawk Owl, like some other boreal birds of prey, 

 occasionally comes south in the winter in large numbers, and is 

 welcomed by collectors wherever it appears. These extensive 

 migrations occur most frequently in the east. In Quebec, 

 some years since, in the month of March, I saw them exposed 

 in the market day after day, and" when coming west by rail I 

 noticed many perched on trees near the track. 



Order COCCYGES. Cuckoos, etc 



Suborder CUCULI. Cuckoos, etc 



Family CUCULID^. Cuckoos, Anis, etc 



Subfamily COCCYGIN^. American Cuckoos. 



Genus COCCYZUS Vieillot. 



158. COCCYZUS AMERICANUS (Linn.). 387. 



Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 



Above as in the last ; below pui-e white. Wings extensively cinnamon- 

 rufous on inner webs of the quills. Central tail feathers like the back, the 

 rest black with large white tips, the outermost usually edged with white. 

 Bill extensively yellow below and on the sides. Size of the next. 



Hab. Temperate North America, from New Brunswick, Canada, 

 Minnesota, Nevada and Oregon, south to Costa Rica and the West Indies. 

 Less common from the eastern border of the Plains westward. 



Nest, on a bough, or in the fork of a low tree ; composed of twigs, leaves, 

 and soft vegetable material. 



Eggs, 4 to 8 ; pale greenish. 



It is a well-known fact that the British Cuckoo entirely 

 Ignores family responsibilities by depositing its eggs in the nest 

 of a bird of a different species, and with a pleasant ''cuckoo'^ 

 bids good-b3'^e to the whole connection. 



The two kinds we have in Canada are not so totally 

 depraved. They usually build a nest and bring up a family, 

 but even to them the duty does not seem to be a congenial one, 

 and they are sometimes known to slip an egg into each 



