AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 197 



really is. They are one of the most silent of birds and enter or leave 

 thickets or trees with neither rustling of wings or sound of voice. We 

 look and see one solemnly staring at us, wide eyed, and the next time 

 we look he has gone with nothing to denote the direction or distance 

 of his flitting. Early in May or, in New England, about the tenth we 

 may look for the arrival of these weird birds and after a few days of 

 courtship, during which period the male do a great deal of kow, kow- 

 ing, they commence to build their nests. From their finished appear- 

 ance, or rather their unfinished appearance, one would not think that 

 this would be much of a task but it occupies the time of them both for 

 several days. They are very slow and deliberate in all their motions 

 and this probably accounts for the tardiness of their work. The top of 

 the nest, it cannot be called the interior for it has none, is lined with 

 catkins, but usually so shabbily arranged that the ends of the twigs 

 stick up through the lining in all parts. They commence to lay about 

 the middle of May in southern United States and not until about the 

 first of June in the northern portions of their range. They commence 

 to incubate as soon as the first egg is laid, and the others are deposit- 

 ed at intervals of two days to sometimes a week apart, so that the first 

 eggs are often hatched soon after the last one is laid. They are quite 

 stupid in some respects and I have known them to continue laying, like 

 the Flicker, when one egg was taken at a time, until, in one instance, 

 eleven eggs were obtained from one nest. The eggs are a deep bluish 

 green in color, much brighter than those of the Yellow-billed species, 

 but the color of the egg shell fades greatly if exposed to the light. 

 The young are attentively looked after by both parents and if the fe- 

 male is accidently, or otherwise, killed the male will alone tend to the 

 rearing of the family, thus showing a great difference between our 

 cuckoos and those of Europe, which neither build their own nest, hatch 

 their eggs nor look after the wants of their young, leaving these mat- 

 ters to the mercies of some other bird the same as does our Cowbird. 



The adult birds leave the nest with the greatest reluctance and will 

 allow themselves to be nearly taken in hand before gliding off, to try 

 and deceive the observer by feigning lameness, thus showing that they 

 are bright in some respects. It is an odd sight to see these long birds 

 sitting on so small a nest with their tail extending far in the rear and 

 their whole head and neck extending in front of the structure. I have 

 tried in vain to illustrate a sitting cuckoo with the camera, for while 

 they will allow a very close approach before taking alarm, I have not 

 yet found one which would return when I was prepared. 



The young cuckoos are objects of curiosity when first hatched, but 

 when in a few days they become covered with a coating of stiff quills, 



