392 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Family CTJCUIilD-ffi.— The Cuckoos. 



Chae. Bill compressed, usaally more or less lengthened and with decurved culmen. 

 Rietal bristles few or none. Nostrils exposed, no nasal tufts. Tail long and soft, of eight 

 to twelve feathers. Toes in pairs, deeply cleft or not united, the outer anterior toe 

 usually versatile, but directed rather laterally than backward. 



"The Cuculidce form a strongly marked group of birds, easily dis- 

 tinguished among the Zygodactyli by the characters given above. 

 The outer toe is versatile, but in the American forms is more 

 lateral than posterior, in the skin standing sideways, or even an- 

 terior, more frequently than behind." {Hist. N. Am. B.) 



Of the several subfamilies which have been recognized by authors, 

 only three belong to eastern North America, and of these two are 

 mere stragglers from other regions. They may be characterized 

 as follows: 



Coooyzinse. Face covered with feathers; bill elongated, more or less cylin- 

 drical, straight or curved. Tail of ten feathers. 

 Bill about the length of the head, or not longer; curved. Loral feathers 



soft. Legs weak, tarsus shorter than the toes. Arboreal Coccyzus. 



Bill longer than the head; straight. Loral feathers stiff, bristly. Tarsi 



much longer than the toes. Terrestrial Geococcyx. 



Crotophaginae. Face naked; bill much compressed, with a sharp crest. 



Tail of eight feathers. Bill shorter than and nearly as high as the head. Crotophaga. 



Only Coccyzus has a claim to special notice in this connection, 

 Crotopha^ja and Geococcyx being "extrahmital" so far as this work 

 is concerned, although the latter approaches rather near, having 

 been obtained in the western portion of the Indian Territory 

 (Kiowa Agency) and in Southwestern Kansas. 



GenHS coccyzus VlETLLOT. 



Coccyzus TiErLLOT. Analyse, 1816, 28. Type, Cuoulus americanus Linn. 



"Gen. Chae. Head without crest; feathers about base of bill soft; nearly as long 

 as the head, decurved, slender, and attenuated towards the end. Nostrils linear. Wings 

 lengthened, reaching the middle of the tail; the tertials short. Tail of ten graduated 

 feathers. Feet weak ; tarsi shorter than the middle toe. 



